Long exposure photos without a tripod
So, you’ve hiked up to the top of a mountain to get photos of the city below, but have forgotten your tripod. When you left for the hike at the base of the mountain you told yourself that it would be a burden to carry and that you would probably not need it anyway. So you made the mistake of leaving it at the base and hiking up with only your camera, a water bottle and a warm top. Now you’re at the top watching the sunset and the light dims down, you wish you had your tripod with you to get those impressive long exposure night-time landscape shots. Not too worry, there is still a way to take those long exposure shots without a tripod. For little cameras (compact ones) you can just balance it on a rock or other sturdy object without much of a problem. However, SLR cameras present more of a challenge. Since you don’t have a tripod, holding the camera is out of the question and balancing it on a rock is difficult with an SLR as it will always be angled and will most likely shake.
Here is what I suggest you do- set the camera to the desired exposure. I suggest a low F-stop number (big opening of the diaphragm) and a long shutter-speed. Your ISO should be set too, this depends entirely on the shutter-speed and aperture. The higher the ISO (film speed) the more sensitive the camera sensor is to light and the more light will be absorbed. Therefore keep it around 200 or 400, any more and you will start getting over exposed and/or grainy shots.
Go to your camera settings and set mirror lockup to “on”. This will prevent the mirror from flicking up and starting your capture with a shake. Next set your camera to timer, this way when you push the shutter release, the pressure to the shutter button doesn’t cause shake either, the same principle as using a remote. Now take out your warm top from your bag, bunch it up and place it where you want to take the photo from. Now nestle your camera in the bunched up jersey and you now have a makeshift “tripod” base. The more jumpers/clothes you use, the better. This way you can shape the “base” any way you like and the camera will experience no shake at all.
You may need to endure a bit of cold while your camera is resting on your warm clothes, but the photos will be worth it!