How to Get Better Photos in Any Light

Miracles in Low Light

Portrait of another world
"If you keep the shutter open long enough, even pictures shot in the darkest night can appear sunlit," says John-Paul Jespersen of his long nighttime exposures. Depending on cloud cover, he exposes anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes to capture the colors of a moonlit world, creating images of what seems like a wholly different planet.

His key to landscapes is motion: Gently lapping waves and slowmoving clouds create soft, blurred lines in a composition. Fog turns lights -- man-made or Mother Nature's -- into highly diffuse light sources, making it seem as if you're shooting within a giant light tent.