Mastering the art of long exposure in black and white

Stephen McNally has mastered black and white long exposure photography, having multiple exhibitions under his belt, and his appetite for the genre has only grown over the years. Working as a hairdresser, his photography forces him to get outside, to seek out new locations, to see familiar places with fresh eyes, and gives him enormous satisfaction.

Here, we find out how Stephen's work has evolved in terms of process and kit – and why he's so enthusiastic about the technique.

Stephen started out shooting popular subjects such as seascapes at sunset and sunrise, but decided to change to something he found more challenging. "I just got fed up with doing that, everyone was doing it. I wanted to challenge myself more, and do more with the camera," he explains.

As well as creating a surreal element to a photograph, a huge part of the appeal of long exposure is the element of surprise – you don't know what the image will look like until you close the shutter and see the screen. When the camera shutter is open for a long period of time, a trail of movement created by naturally moving objects such as water, clouds or even people is captured. This part of the image contrasts with the still subjects in the scene, which remain pin sharp.

As Stephen puts it: "The ethereal feel to the photograph draws me in. Long exposure photography flattens the sea, even though the eye can see huge waves coming in and out. You can pause all that in a long exposure photo – that's the magic of it."

Stephen returns time and time again to the same places in the North West of England. He has his favourite trees and likes to see how they change through the seasons. When he's somewhere new, he scopes out the landscape first and takes a mental note of spots he plans to return to.

If you're shooting seascapes, "you've got to research the tides," he urges. "I normally photograph an outgoing tide. If you photograph an incoming tide, you'll find your camera moves during the exposure, so your images won't be sharp. It's a lot firmer on an outgoing tide.

Stephen tends to shoot in the autumn, as it's better to have an overcast or even cloudy day to capture a long exposure of a sky, as you naturally let in more light to your camera. "I don't shoot in the middle of summer as I'd have to leave at 2am, so I usually start in September as dawn is about 6am. I research my locations, when the sun will come up, and where the light will be cast. If it's murky and partly cloudy, I know I've got something to work with," he explains. He starts by looking at a histogram on his camera to work out the available light and how much time he'll have.

There's a melancholic atmosphere to Stephen's photos which is partly due to the subject matter. He tends to focus on industrial landmarks or abandoned buildings – places now neglected that were once full of life. "I'm drawn to old buildings," he says. "When I was in Anglesey in Wales recently, I stumbled upon this old farmhouse (see right image above), and I thought, how long has this farm been in ruins? And why did they have to give up maintaining it? Where are the people who lived and worked there?"

These reminders of the past are also wonderfully suited to monochrome. "With black and white photography, the composition becomes the focus, it has to be strong," he adds.

Upgrading his camera allowed Stephen to adapt his process. He started out with a Canon EOS 450D (now succeeded by the Canon EOS 850D), before moving to a Canon EOS 60D (now succeeded by the Canon EOS 90D) and most recently, the Canon EOS R6. Despite switching to mirrorless, Stephen is still able to use his favourite EF lenses with no impact on quality with the Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R.

"I love the touchscreen on the Canon EOS R6, it's so intuitive. You can just touch the screen to alter your f-stop or ISO," he says.

Stephen often shoots in Bulb mode, which enables him to hold the shutter open for as long as his finger is on the shutter-release button. Using a cable release means you can avoid any camera shake caused by holding down the shutter. "Bulb mode is essential for keeping the shutter open for long periods while shooting in the dark or with a 10- or 16-stop ND [neutral density] filter," he says.

Stephen frequently takes multiple cameras on a shoot with him as a way of passing time. When he's taking a 20-minute exposure on his Canon EOS R6, he can set up another camera from a different angle and this keeps him busy while he's waiting.

The final tool in Stephen's kitbag is his editing software. He shoots in RAW and in colour, so it gives him more information to work with when editing. He then converts his image to black and white before editing in software such as Adobe Photoshop or the free Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP). "I adjust the levels and curves and add some gradients. If I'm working on a file for more than 10 minutes, it gets deleted. I want to avoid too much editing, so I try to get it right in the camera," he explains.

The quest for low light and excellent long exposure photography is quite a challenge. "Nine out of 10 times it's not a success," explains Stephen. "The best thing to do for those wanting to explore this genre is to experiment and get out at first light," he adds.

"Having an ND filter, at 10-stops or above, will be useful. Alternatively, shoot in low light, just before dawn. You'll get exposures of up to 50 seconds before dawn, which should produce excellent results. I use reverse grad ND filters too when it's darker on the horizon, as that's going to be the lightest spot when the sun comes up."

Find a spot, research your location, seize the early morning and try Stephen's technique of capturing long exposure black and white photos. Stephen's final piece of advice is to: "Devour as much information as you can and then put that into practice. You'll never get what you want if you don't put in the effort."



Written by Natalya Paul