Night Photography in Shrewsbury

Night Photography Shrewsbury

I’ve been meaning to do some night photography in Shrewsbury for weeks, and last night I got my chance. I had nothing special in mind, just a gentle stroll around the town with my camera and tripod. My aim was to enjoy myself.

mixed light photograph of English Bridge Shrewsbury. Philip Dunn
Mixed light photograph of the English Bridge in Shrewsbury.  A 5 second exposure has given a pleasant silky look to the flowing water of The River Severn

Which camera?

I took my trusty little Fuji X-Pro 1 rangefinder camera and my folding Gitzo Traveller tripod. Not forgetting an old-fashioned cable release. That’s because, sensibly, the shutter button on the X-Pro 1 has a real screw fitting on top. So no remotes needing batteries, no electronics to fiddle with, or wires to get tangled. Just a proper, basic 9 inch cable release with a button press.

night photography in Shrewsbury - bowling match by flood light, Philip Dunn
Almost dark, but the crown green bowlers bowl on under flood lights in Shrewsbury. ISO 5000 was needed to ensure a usable shutter speed – but it was not quite fast enough to stop the moving bowl

Which Lens?

My lens of choice on the X-Pro 1 is an 18-55mm f2.8 Fujinon – beautiful quality and simple to use.

From the high ground near Shrewsbury Cathedral, I saw that the Old Shrewsbury Crown Green Bowling Club greens were in full use as the light faded. Flood lights were coming on and there was obviously a competition in full swing. As always with the people in Shrewsbury, the club was very welcoming and enjoyed the idea of me taking some photographs.

night photography in Shrewsbury. Welsh Bridge, Philip Dunn
Night Photography in Shrewsbury – now it is almost completely dark and the blue has gone from the sky above Welsh Bridge. This needed an exposure of 10 seconds

ISO and exposure

I upped the speed to ISO 5000 and opened the aperture to around f/3.5 for the shots of the bowlers. This gave me a workable shutter speed of around 1/125th sec. Still not fast enough to freeze those bowls, though.

Next I moved on take a mixed light picture looking across the River Severn towards the English Bridge. The biggest hazard here was constantly having to say hello to the lines of joggers who used the riverside path for their training. The Shropshire Shufflers came by with their coach. What a jolly, polite group they are. You don’t often see joggers with smiles on their faces – the Shufflers are an exception.

Night Photography

night photography in Shrewsbury cobble stones. Philip Dunn
Shiny cobble stones and black and white buildings help to create atmosphere in this picture taken during my session of Night Photography in Shrewsbury

I moved on the the Welsh Bridge at the other side of Shrewsbury. By now Mixed Light photography was turning rapidly into Night Photography in Shrewsbury. The sky had lost its glorious blue and was almost black. However, I decided to take a picture anyway.

Hand held

A brief stop in a cobbled side alley produced a another picture. No tripod, just that ISO 5000 again and an aperture of f/5 gave me a shutter speed of 1/8th sec. This was hand held therefore I rested the camera against a wall. I’m getting lazy.

Altogether a pleasant hour taking pictures and meeting people. No award-winning photographs, but I can definitely recommend a session of Night Photography in Shrewsbury.

 

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