Daytime Long Exposure Photography – Learn to Capture Time – 9 sessions (5 online , 4 on-location)

This is a workshop to explore the creative aspects of long exposures taken during daylight. Similar in concept to night photography, daytime long exposures record 1 to 15 minutes of time in a single photo. This no longer freezes actions, but rather records the element of time, where water surfaces smooth over to a mirror finish, clouds form bands in the sky, lights and shadows soften and people start disappearing. This creates unique and intriguing images of the world that we usually perceive in momentary exposures. The resulting imagery is peaceful, can be otherworldly and strangely beautiful.

To enable DLE, we use neutral density filters in front of our lenses, which removes 99+% of the natural light and forces us to take longer exposures for correct illumination. This workshop will cover equipment and its settings to achieve correct exposure, white balance, post processing techniques for photos, but also subject matter and composition, all important factors in creating fine art imagery.

The workflow for this course will include five online zoom lectures with basics of the technique, image processing and critique, alternating with four photo shoots in various locations around Boston. The image reviews will allow students to learn and practice editing techniques as well as share their work. Classroom sessions will be held online by Zoom, photo shoots are in-person outdoors, where the group can maintain distance. Please also note that the location shoots will be in the closer Boston area and require some driving as well as some walking in sometimes uneven terrain.

The first class session will cover all aspects of DLE photography. If you are unable to attend that first class, we strongly recommend that you consider waiting to take the course when it is offered in a future workshop session.

Dates / Time: 

9 sessions: Wednesdays 6 – 9 pm EST ( 5 classroom sessions on line using zoom,  4 in-person on-location photo shoots in the Boston area)

Dates:  May 26, June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, July 7, 14, 21 (in case of inclement weather, classes may be made up outside this schedule)

Location and Covid Guidelines :

As long as the State of Massachusetts Covid Guidelines at the time of class allow:

This class will be have 4 in-person, on-location sessions held outdoors in the Boston area.

Class maximum will be 10 participants to allow for required social distancing. Students and Instructor must wear masks and maintain 6 ft distance at all times.

Prerequisites:

This course is suitable for intermediate and advanced photographers wanting to learn long exposure photography. An understanding of their camera and its controls is needed, especially manually controlling exposure time, aperture, ISO and white balance.

Gear Requirements: Any camera which has RAW file capability and manual exposure controls will work for this class. Additionally, students will need a tripod and intervalometer/remote control for steady long exposures as well as at least one 10 stop (1000x or 3.0 density) neutral density filter. Equipment needs will be covered in the first session and filters can be purchased before the first photo shoot. Have your gear handy for the first classroom event if you have questions.

The Instructor

Jürgen Lobert is a Massachusetts-based fine art photographer, born and raised in Germany. He received a Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry from Gutenberg University in Mainz before moving to the US in 1991.

Jürgen specializes in several night photography disciplines, daytime long exposures as well as urban exploration and infrared photography. He has been practicing photography since 1975 using color negative or slide film and adopted digital cameras in the late 1990s, now using Nikon cameras.

Jürgen started specializing in night photography in 2011, and adopted Lightroom and Photoshop for editing photos. Jürgen embraced this specialty quickly and started organizing night and long exposure photo events for others through Meetup groups in 2012, founding his own, the Greater Boston Night Photographers, in late 2013.

In addition to organizing about 40 photo shoots and workshops annually, he has also been lecturing at camera clubs, serving as a photo competition judge, organizing professional workshops and offering personalized coaching. Jürgen is a member of the Boston and Stony Brook Camera Clubs, a member of the Photographic Society of America and the Professional Photographers of America and he started teaching night photography at the New England School of Photography (NESOP) in 2017 until it closed in 2020. He maintains a blog about photography topics with how-to instructions and detailed insight into complex topics and has his own Patreon channel for advanced photo topics.

Jurgen Lobert website