There is something magical about long exposure photography [1] – allowing your camera to capture light and details for a longer period of time can create some stunning photographs. From traffic lights and light painting [2] to smoky water and star trails, or even photographing the Milky Way – the possibilities are endless.
Equipped with a sturdy tripod [3] and a good knowledge of how light travels you can create your own long exposure photos [4]. While it certainly takes time and a lot of practice to master fully, long exposure photography is a great way to learn more about light and widen your creativity.
Today we have 40 great examples of long exposure photographs. Some of those images have a shutter speed as short as 2 seconds while others are over 30 minutes long. Hopefully some of those images will inspire you to give long exposure photography a shot!
Stars
photo by John Fowler [5]
As the windmills and the heavens turn
photo by @sage_solar [6]
Sunrise at Swine’s Den
photo by Jonathan Combe [7]
MV Ever Transport III
photo by Harald Kobler [8]
Orb spining
photo by Disco-Dan [9]
Celestial Mooring
photo by jason jenkins [10]
Trace of a Northern Light
photo by Timo Horstschäfer [11]
A Thousand Suns Wouldn’t Shine as Bright
photo by jason jenkins [12]
Cause and effect
photo by Kenny Louie [13]
Double Arch and Milky Way
photo by John Fowler [14]
Experimenting with long exposure
photo by Paul Stocker
The Lighthouse
photo by Jonathan Combe [15]
Night Stars Milky Way
photo by alfa.83 [16]
Lily Lighting
photo by Andrew Nourse [17]
Long exposure of a Ferris Wheel from Luna Park
photo by matthewwu88 [18]
Hogeweidebrug Utrecht
photo by Marcel030NL
Long Exposure Waves
photo by Tim Sackton [19]
Long exposure of the surf coming in near Poipu, Kauai
photo by Frank Kovalchek [20]
Tyne Bridge – Long exposure
photo by steve r watson [21]
Long Exposure in Yurikamome (Daiba, Tokyo, Japan)
photo by t-mizo [22]
Long exposure Seascape
photo by Darren Shilson [23]
Glow in the Dark
photo by Jon Phillips [24]
Pillars
photo by Thomas Leth-Olsen [25]
Dromana Pier
photo by Scott Cresswell [26]
Knightsbridge, London
photo by Nikos Koutoulas [27]
IMG_0032
photo by illum [28]
Campfire Blackhole
photo by Aaron Wagner [29]
Sunset Pier
photo by Samuel Sharpe
Weather Maker
photo by Ian Sane [30]
Sunshine
photo by Luke Detwiler [31]
The Hollow Line – Light Graffiti
photo by Rob Walker [32]
Milf Powers
photo by darkday [33]
Spring Runoff
photo by Ian Sane [34]
Twist in the Road
photo by Yogendra Joshi [35]
Light Graffiti – Goku
photo by Rob Walker [36]
Inexact Time
photo by Dan DeChiaro [37]
The Boles
photo by Jordi nll [38]
The Green Wheel at Roskilde Festival 2009
photo by Stig Nygaard [39]
Oversum Winterberg light explosion
photo by Thomas Wensing [40]
Guardian
photo by Paško Tomić [41]
I hope you enjoyed this post and that the photos we included sparked some ideas. Please feel free to share your own long exposure photographs with us by leaving a comment via Twitter [42] or Facebook [43].