It is simply a wired remote control that allows the photographer to lock the shutter button to take LONG exposures without actually standing there and holding the button down. On the old school cameras, there was a pneumatic valve bulb that was used as a cable release for the camera. It looked somewhat similar to the little pump on a blood pressure cuff. It worked by sending a blast of air from the bulb. As long as the bulb was pressed, the shutter would stay open.
When the bulb was released, the shutter would close. Nowadays, cable releases work differently. When you're ready to stop the exposure, you simply slide off the lock and the shutter ends.
Bulb Mode Idea 1: Taking pictures of lightning. Bulb is great for shooting lightning because it allows the photographer to stop the exposure when needed based on changing conditions, without being locked into a 30 second exposure. When I shoot lightning, I set up the camera on a tripod, set the DSLR to bulb mode, plug in my shutter release, and start an exposure.
The camera keeps taking a picture as I watch the lightning and imagine how the different lightning bolts will appear on the final image.
Once the picture in my head of the different strikes looks about right, I stop the exposure. This way I can end right after the last lightning bolt instead of waiting around for the 30 seconds to end and hoping another bolt doesn't strike in the same place as another one did.
Bulb Mode Tip 2: Star trails. Shooting star trails is really fun. Since the Earth rotates, the stars change their position in the sky. By using bulb mode and an exposure of 20 minutes or more, you can capture beautiful star trails at night. The stars look like they are all streaking falling stars. Bulb Mode Situation 3: Light Painting. Light painting is when a photographer sets the camera on bulb mode and then paints light with flashlights on the subject in a dark location.
For more on this technique, check out my night photography book or read this old post. Bulb Mode Tip 4: Shooting fireworks. For the same reasons as for shooting lightning, it's nice to be able to control when the picture will stop. The good news is that cable releases are usually quite inexpensive. However, you have to get the right cable release for your specific camera. They are not universal. In my experience, they are NOT worth the money. A cable release is a very simple device, so just get the cheapest one that has decent reviews.
How do you actually paint the light? Do you point the torch and click it on for a second, 2 seconds, 3 etc…..? Do you switch it on at a certain position and drag it to another quickly or slowly? This is where a remote release becomes essential for shooting with Bulb mode. A remote release is a cord that attaches to your camera — typically screwing into the shutter button or connecting via a dedicated port. It allows you to operate the shutter without touching the camera. Which can be intimidating!
To get an accurate exposure in Bulb mode the best way is really trial and error. Try a shot at 30secs and see how it looks. And so on. Once you start to see your subject appear clearly you can start to fine tune in 1sec intervals. Some Olympus cameras have novel features called Live Bulb and Live Composite modes that show your image building in real time as you keep the shutter open and allow light to enter the camera.
The Basics: Bulb Mode is an exposure setting that is used when seeking to use a shutter speed of more than 30 seconds. Generally, this would be used in extremely low light situations, such as taking photos of the night sky. To use Bulb mode — accessed by turning the shooting mode dial to B on some EOS cameras , and as a shutter speed setting in M on others - you hold down the shutter button for as long as you want the shutter to remain open.
To really make Bulb shooting work for you, you need to use a sturdy tripod, and ideally a remote shutter release, both of which will prevent the camera from moving during exposure.
0コメント