Someone to Watch Over Me

I took this photograph last week on a ridge overlooking Lehi, Utah. I found the location a few days earlier and thought it would make a nice location to try some long exposure night shots. Even though I am not entirely pleased with how this image turned out, I thought it was worth sharing how it was done.

The shadowy figure looking over the city was created entirely in camera with a simple technique. I set the exposure for a shutter speed of ten seconds and put the camera into self-timer mode. I started the timer and took a stance in front of the camera standing as still as possible. Once I heard the shutter open, I counted to five and then quickly exited the frame. The result is the transparent outline of my body in the image.

This technique is similar to the way I created the Weeping Angels image last year (though I like that result MUCH better).

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 10 seconds, f/4, ISO 100