32 Captivating Long Exposure Photographs

gtomustang21 Published 02/03/2014

When you leave the camera shutter open for a longer period of time, letting light seep in slowly instead of all at once, you can create some amazing effects.

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1.
Car lights illuminate a sharp bend along the mountainside.
2.
This 24-minute light painting took a lot of coordination, but it ends up with a pretty captivating scene.
3.
Water droplet on a CD and light painting in the background.
4.
30-second exposure of a lighthouse beam.
5.
Fireflies lighting up the night.
6.
Planes taking off.
7.
Zooming in on a spinning Christmas tree creates a trippy effect.
8.
Niagara Falls absorbing the colorful city lights.
9.
The worlds first 14-loop roller coaster in the UK.
10.
Rushing river water forms a silky smooth surface.
11.
This is how far a bottle rocket flies in 5 seconds.
12.
An 8-hour long exposure reveals stunning star trails.
13.
A plane takeoff looks much cooler in this long exposure shot.
14.
Ever wonder how the roomba cleans the room?
15.
16.
Light painting of orbs.
17.
13 seconds of Norwegian sky.
18.
Outfit a model helicopter with LEDs and you end up with this awesome picture.
19.
The beautiful Albion Falls in Hamilton, Ontario, over a course of 5 minutes.
20.
Spinning objects make for great long exposure shots, but being strapped to a spinning merry-go-round gives a whole new perspective.
21.
Don Pettit takes these 10-15 minute exposures while aboard the International Space Station. The auroras, lightning, city lights, and the star trails all combine for an incredible spectacle.
22.
2-second exposure standing at the back of a Chicago subway.
23.
Spinning steel wool lit on fire.
24.
Fireworks are cool enough without some long exposure and zooming, but this looks amazing as well.
25.
This is how far a bottle rocket flies in 5 seconds.
26.
Glow sticks drift down a waterfall.
27.
The moonlight shining through the clouds over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
28.
By combining two long exposure shots together, one while he zooms in, photographer Lincoln Harrison creates some surreal photos.
29.
7-second exposure of a ferris wheel.
30.
This shot, zooming out of a keyboard, shows just how cool long exposure photography can be. This would have taken hours to create digitally, but with a 4-second exposure, it happened at the click of a shutter.
31.
The Milky Way over an Australian beach home to bioluminescent plankton.
32.
One way to make a snail look fast.

1.
Car lights illuminate a sharp bend along the mountainside.
2.
This 24-minute light painting took a lot of coordination, but it ends up with a pretty captivating scene.
3.
Water droplet on a CD and light painting in the background.
4.
30-second exposure of a lighthouse beam.
5.
Fireflies lighting up the night.
6.
Planes taking off.
7.
Zooming in on a spinning Christmas tree creates a trippy effect.
8.
Niagara Falls absorbing the colorful city lights.
9.
The worlds first 14-loop roller coaster in the UK.
10.
Rushing river water forms a silky smooth surface.
11.
This is how far a bottle rocket flies in 5 seconds.
12.
An 8-hour long exposure reveals stunning star trails.
13.
A plane takeoff looks much cooler in this long exposure shot.
14.
Ever wonder how the roomba cleans the room?
15.
16.
Light painting of orbs.
17.
13 seconds of Norwegian sky.
18.
Outfit a model helicopter with LEDs and you end up with this awesome picture.
19.
The beautiful Albion Falls in Hamilton, Ontario, over a course of 5 minutes.
20.
Spinning objects make for great long exposure shots, but being strapped to a spinning merry-go-round gives a whole new perspective.
21.
Don Pettit takes these 10-15 minute exposures while aboard the International Space Station. The auroras, lightning, city lights, and the star trails all combine for an incredible spectacle.
22.
2-second exposure standing at the back of a Chicago subway.
23.
Spinning steel wool lit on fire.
24.
Fireworks are cool enough without some long exposure and zooming, but this looks amazing as well.
25.
This is how far a bottle rocket flies in 5 seconds.
26.
Glow sticks drift down a waterfall.
27.
The moonlight shining through the clouds over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
28.
By combining two long exposure shots together, one while he zooms in, photographer Lincoln Harrison creates some surreal photos.
29.
7-second exposure of a ferris wheel.
30.
This shot, zooming out of a keyboard, shows just how cool long exposure photography can be. This would have taken hours to create digitally, but with a 4-second exposure, it happened at the click of a shutter.
31.
The Milky Way over an Australian beach home to bioluminescent plankton.
32.
One way to make a snail look fast.