Live Time

One of the coolest features in the Olympus OM-D camera is its Live Time Mode. With it, you can see a long exposure come to life as it happens. I wanted to add a little magic when photographing the hazy Petronas Twin Towers earlier tonight.

In Live Time Mode, I rotated the camera slowly while hand-holding it and monitored the result on the LCD screen. The car lights, street lights, traffic lights and building lights turned into circular streaks.

When I see the light trails and exposure becoming optimum, I clicked the shutter again to stop the exposure. Previously and with other cameras, B or Bulb Mode is a hit-and-miss or trial-and-error affair.

Live Time reminds me of the time when I was a kid developing prints in the darkroom and seeing the pictures come to life in the chemical trays. Sheer magic!

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f11, 8 secs.

Live Time

And I Keep Wondering Who’s Holding The Sun Now

The sun sets in the West but at a different spot, depending on the time of the year. From the same vantage point, I observed it going down to ‘camera left’ of the Petronas Twin Towers a few weeks ago. To oversimplify; the cyclical deviation is due to the tilt in the earth’s axis of rotation.

When in the city, you may want to juxtapose the setting sun against a landmark or the skyline. Depending on your distance to the foreground object or building, a little or a lot of walking may be required. The fine-tuning can make a big visual impact.

The title of the post  is inspired by a forgotten song I heard on the radio as I was driving home. Who’s Holding Donna Now – a 1985 hit single by DeBarge. Wonder no more.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f11, 1/4000 sec.

Who's Holding The Sun Now