I’ve saved some of my favorite advanced techniques for this chapter, which devotes a little extra space to some special features of the Nikon D500. This chapter covers GPS techniques and special exposure options, including time-lapse photography and very long and very short exposures.

Continuous Shooting

Even a seasoned action photographer can miss the decisive instant during a football play when a crucial block is made, or a baseball superstar’s bat shatters and pieces of cork fly out. Continuous shooting simplifies taking a series of pictures, either to ensure that one has more or less the exact moment you want to capture or to capture a sequence that is interesting as a collection of successive images, as seen in Figure 6.1.

I use continuous shooting a lot—and not just for sports. The upside is that I may be able to capture an image or a sequence that I could never grab in single shot mode. The downside is that I end up with many shots to wade through to find the “keepers.” I know that sounds like I am using my Nikon like a machine gun, and hoping that I capture a worthwhile moment through sheer luck, but that’s not really the case. Here are some types of scenes where the rapid fire capabilities of the D500 pay big dividends.

• Action. Of course. If you’re shooting a fast-moving sport, continuous shooting is your only option. But it’s important to remember that lightning-quick bursts don’t replace good timing. A 90 mph fastball moves about 13 feet between frames when you’re shooting at the D500’s maximum of 10 fps. A ball making contact with a bat is still likely to escape capture. Continuous shooting may provide its best advantages in capturing sequences, so that each shot tells part of the story.
• Bracketing. I almost always set my camera to continuous shooting when bracketing. My goal is not to capture a bunch of different moments, each slightly different from the last, but, rather, to grab virtually the same moment, at different exposures (or, less frequently, with different white balance or Active D-Lighting settings). I can then choose which of the nearly identical shots has the exposure I prefer, or can assemble some of them into a high dynamic range. The high burst rate of the D500 makes bracketing and hand-held HDR (high dynamic range) photography entirely practical. Software that combines such images does an excellent job of aligning images that are framed slightly differently when creating the final HDR version.
• Ersatz vibration reduction. I shoot three or four concerts a month, most of them with my beloved 70-200mm f/2.8 VR Nikkor, always hand-held, and always with VR turned on. I usually add a little simulated vibration reduction by shooting in continuous mode. While I have a fairly steady hand, I find that the middle exposures of a sequence are often noticeably sharper than those at the beginning, because my motions have “settled down” after initially depressing the shutter release button. My only caution for using this tool is to limit your shots during quiet passages, and avoid continuous shooting during acoustic concerts. The rat-a-tat-tat of a Nikon D500 (even in Quiet Continuous mode) will earn you no friends.
• Variations on a theme. Some subjects benefit from sequences more than others, because some aspect changes between shots. Cavorting children, emoting concert performers (as described above), fashion models, participants at weddings or other events all can look quite different within the span of a few seconds.

To use the D500’s continuous shooting modes, hold down the release mode dial’s unlock button and rotate the dial until either C_L or C_H appear. When you partially depress the shutter button, the viewfinder will display at the right side a number representing the maximum number of shots you can take at the current quality settings. The large buffer in the D500 will generally allow you to take as many as 200 shots in a single burst with a fast memory card, such as my 64GB Lexar Professional 2933x XQD 2.0 card. Moreover, you can potentially achieve that rate using any single file format—RAW or JPEG—except TIFF or NEF (RAW) Uncompressed 14-bit.

Figure 6.1 Continuous shooting allows you to capture an entire sequence of exciting moments as they unfold.

Naturally, there are factors that can reduce both the number of continuous shots, as well as the frame rate. If you use slower XQD or SD cards, shoot RAW + JPEG, or are recording backup images to the second slot, expect some performance penalties. Slow shutter speeds obviously reduce frame rates; you can’t fire off 10 frames per second with a 1/4-second shutter speed, for example. Flicker reduction, focus+release/release+focus AF priorities (as described in Chapter 5), and using Quiet Continuous (which defaults to a maximum of 3 fps), also impose limitations. (The latter is almost a misnomer: it’s continuous, but it ain’t quiet.) Just remember that the D500’s claimed frame rates specify manual focus, manual exposure, a shutter speed of 1/250th second or faster, and VR (if available) turned off.

In practice, though, you’ll rarely need to shoot 200 frames in a row, and you may actually want to set a lower max number using Custom Setting d2. The D500’s internal “smart” buffer can suck up photos much more quickly than the memory card. When the buffer does fill, you can’t take any more continuous shots until the D500 has written some of them to the card, making more room in the buffer. Note that the shots remaining indicator in the lower-right corner of the viewfinder never displays higher than 99, and so may not decrement at all if you’re capturing only a few images and the buffer is able to keep pace.

The frame rate you select will depend on the kind of shooting you want to do. For example, when shooting multiple exposures, if you’re carefully planning and composing each individual exposure, you might not want to shoot continuously at all. But if your subject is moving, your double exposure might be more effective if you select a frame rate that matches the speed of motion of your target. Here are some guidelines:

• 7.0–10.0 fps. Use these for sports and other subjects where you want to optimize your chances of capturing the decisive moment. Perhaps you’re shooting some active kids and want to grab their most appealing expressions. This fast frame rate can improve the odds. However, there is no guarantee that even at 10 fps the crucial instant won’t occur between frames. For example, when shooting major league baseball games, if I want to shoot a batter, I keep both eyes open, and keep one of them on the pitcher. Then, I start taking my sequence just as the pitcher releases the ball. My goal is to capture the batter making contact with the ball. But even at 10 fps, I find that a hitter connects between frames (remember that 90 mph fastball jumps 13 feet between shots). I usually must take pictures of a couple dozen at-bats to get a shot of bat and ball connecting, either for a base hit or a foul ball.
• 4.0–6.0 fps. You can choose any setting from 1–9 fps for Continuous low speed, using Custom Setting d1. A slightly slower rate can be useful for activities that aren’t quite so fast moving. But, there’s another benefit. If your frame rate is likely to be slowed by one of the factors I mentioned earlier, using a moderately slower frame rate can provide you with a constant shooting speed.
• 1.0–3.0 fps. You can set Continuous low speed mode to use a relatively pokey frame rate, too. Use these rates when you just want to be able to take pictures quickly, and aren’t interested in filling up your memory card with mostly duplicated images. At 1 fps you can hold down the shutter release and fire away, or ease up when you want to pause. At higher frame rates, by the time you’ve decided to stop shooting, you may have taken an extra three or four shots that you really don’t want. Slow frame rates are good for bracketing, too. Set the D500 to take a three-frame bracket burst, and you can take all three with one press of the shutter release. You’ll find that slower frame rates also come in handy for subjects that are moving around in interesting ways (photographic models come to mind) but don’t change their looks or poses quickly enough to merit a 10 fps burst.

A Tiny Slice of Time

Exposures that seem impossibly brief can reveal a world we didn’t know existed. Electronic flash freezes action by virtue of its extremely short duration—as brief as 1/50,000th second or less. Although the D500’s optional electronic flash unit can give you these ultra-quick glimpses of moving subjects, an external flash, such as one of the Nikon Speedlights, offers even more versatility. You can read more about using electronic flash to stop action in Chapter 9.

Of course, the D500 is fully capable of immobilizing all but the fastest movement using only its shutter speeds, which range all the way up to 1/8000th second. Indeed, you’ll rarely have need for such a brief shutter speed in ordinary shooting. (For the record, I don’t believe I’ve ever used a shutter speed of 1/8000th second, except when testing a camera’s ISO 25800 or equivalent setting outdoors in broad daylight.) But at more reasonable sensitivity settings, say, to use an aperture of f/1.8 at ISO 200 outdoors in bright sunlight, a shutter speed of 1/8000th second would more than do the job. You’d need a faster shutter speed only if you moved the ISO setting to a higher sensitivity (but why would you do that, outside of testing situations like mine?). Under less than full sunlight, even 1/4000th second is more than fast enough for any conditions you’re likely to encounter.

Indeed, most sports action can be frozen at 1/2000th second or slower, as you can see in the high jump image in Figure 6.2; I caught the leaper at the peak of the action, so 1/800th second was easily fast enough to freeze her in mid-air. At ISO 100, I used f/5.6 on my 70-200mm lens to allow the distracting background to blur.

Of course, in many sports a slower shutter speed is actually preferable—for example, to allow the wheels of a racing automobile or motorcycle, or the rotors on a helicopter to blur realistically, as shown in Figure 6.3. At top, a 1/1000th second shutter speed effectively stopped the rotors of the helicopter, making it look like a crash was impending. At bottom, I used a slower 1/200th second shutter speed to allow enough blur to make this a true action picture.

Figure 6.2 A shutter speed of 1/800th second was fast enough to stop this action.

Figure 6.3 A little blur can be a good thing, as these shots of a helicopter at 1/1000th second (top) and 1/200th second (bottom) show.

But if you want to do some exotic action-freezing photography without resorting to electronic flash, the D500’s top shutter speed is at your disposal. Here are two things to think about when exploring this type of high-speed photography:

• You’ll need a lot of light. Very high shutter speeds cut extremely fine slices of time and sharply reduce the amount of illumination that reaches your sensor. To use 1/8000th second at an aperture of f/6.3, you’d need an ISO setting of 1600—even in full daylight. To use an f/stop smaller than f/6.3 or an ISO setting lower than 1600, you’d need more light than full daylight provides. (That’s why electronic flash units work so well for high-speed photography when used as the sole illumination; they provide both the effect of a brief shutter speed and the high levels of illumination needed.)
• High shutter speeds with electronic flash. You might be tempted to use an electronic flash with a high shutter speed. Perhaps you want to stop some action in daylight with a brief shutter speed and use electronic flash only as supplemental illumination to fill in the shadows. Unfortunately, under ordinary conditions you can’t use flash in subdued illumination with your D500 at any shutter speed faster than 1/250th second. That’s the fastest speed at which the camera’s focal plane shutter is fully open: at shorter speeds, the “slit” described above comes into play, so that the flash will expose only the small portion of the sensor exposed by the slit throughout its duration. (Check out “High-Speed Sync” in Chapter 9 if you want to see how you can use shutter speeds shorter than 1/250th, albeit at much-reduced effective flash power levels.)

Working with Short Exposures

You can have a lot of fun exploring the kinds of pictures you can take using very brief exposure times, whether you decide to take advantage of the action-stopping capabilities of your built-in or external electronic flash or work with the Nikon D500’s faster shutter speeds. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Take revealing images. Fast shutter speeds can help you reveal the real subject behind the façade, by freezing constant motion to capture an enlightening moment in time. Legendary fashion/portrait photographer Philippe Halsman used leaping photos of famous people, such as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Richard Nixon, and Salvador Dali to illuminate their real selves. Halsman said, “When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears.” Try some high-speed portraits of people you know in motion to see how they appear when concentrating on something other than the portrait. Figure 6.4 provides an example.
• Create unreal images. High-speed photography can also produce photographs that show your subjects in ways that are quite unreal. A motocross cyclist leaping over a ramp, but with all motion stopped so that the rider and machine look as if they were frozen in mid-air, make for an unusual picture. When we’re accustomed to seeing subjects in motion, seeing them stopped in time can verge on the surreal.
• Capture unseen perspectives. Some things are never seen in real life, except when viewed in a stop-action photograph. Edgerton’s balloon bursts were only a starting point. Freeze a hummingbird in flight for a view of wings that never seem to stop. Or, capture the splashes as liquid falls into a bowl, as shown in Figure 6.5. No electronic flash was required for this image. Instead, two high-intensity lamps with green gels at left and right and an ISO setting of 1600 allowed the D500 to capture this image at 1/2000th second.

Figure 6.4 Shoot your subjects leaping and see what they look like when they’re not preoccupied with posing.

Figure 6.5 A large amount of artificial illumination and an ISO 1600 sensitivity setting allowed capturing this shot at 1/2000th second without use of an electronic flash.

• Vanquish camera shake and gain new angles. Here’s an idea that’s so obvious it isn’t always explored to its fullest extent. A high enough shutter speed can free you from the tyranny of a tripod, making it easier to capture new angles, or to shoot quickly while moving around, especially with longer lenses. I tend to use a monopod or tripod frequently when I’m not using an image-stabilized lens, and I end up missing some shots because of a reluctance to adjust my camera support to get a higher, lower, or different angle. If you have enough light and can use an f/stop wide enough to permit a high shutter speed, you’ll find a new freedom to choose your shots. I have a favored Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens that I use for sports and wildlife photography, almost invariably with a tripod, as I don’t find the “reciprocal of the focal length” rule particularly helpful in most cases. I would not hand-hold this hefty lens at its 500mm setting with a 1/500th second shutter speed under most circumstances. Nor, if you want to account for the crop factor, would I use 1/750th second. However, at 1/2000th second or faster, it’s entirely possible for a steady hand to use this lens without a tripod or monopod’s extra support, and I’ve found that my whole approach to shooting animals and other elusive subjects changes in high-speed mode. Selective focus allows dramatically isolating my prey wide open at f/5.6, too. Of course, at such a high shutter speed, you may need to boost your ISO setting—even when shooting outdoors.

Long Exposures

Longer exposures are a doorway into another world, showing us how even familiar scenes can look much different when photographed over periods measured in seconds. At night, long exposures produce streaks of light from moving, illuminated subjects like automobiles or amusement park rides. Extra-long exposures of seemingly pitch-dark subjects can reveal interesting views using light levels barely bright enough to see by. At any time of day, including daytime (in which case you’ll often need the help of neutral-density filters to make the long exposure practical), long exposures can cause moving objects to vanish entirely, because they don’t remain stationary long enough to register in a photograph.

Three Ways to Take Long Exposures

There are actually three common types of lengthy exposures: timed exposures, bulb exposures, and time exposures. The Nikon D500 offers all three. Because of the length of the exposure, all of the following techniques should be used with a tripod to hold the camera steady.

• Timed exposures. These are long exposures from 1 second to 30 seconds, measured by the camera itself. To take a picture in this range, simply use Manual or S modes and use the main command dial to set the shutter speed to the length of time you want, choosing from preset speeds of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, or 30.0 seconds (if you’ve specified 1/2-stop increments for exposure adjustments), or 1.0, 1.3, 1.6, 2.0, 2.5, 3.2, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0, 13.0, 15.0, 20.0, 25.0, and 30.0 seconds (if you’re using 1/3-stop increments). The advantage of timed exposures is that the camera does all the calculating for you. There’s no need for a stopwatch. If you review your image on the monitor and decide to try again with the exposure doubled or halved, you can dial in the correct exposure with precision. The disadvantage of timed exposures is that you can’t take a photo for longer than 30 seconds.
• Bulb exposures. This type of exposure is so-called because in the olden days the photographer squeezed and held an air bulb attached to a tube that provided the force necessary to keep the shutter open. Traditionally, a bulb exposure is one that lasts as long as the shutter release button is pressed; when you release the button, the exposure ends. To make a bulb exposure with the D500, set the camera on Manual mode and use the main command dial to select the first shutter speed immediately after 30 seconds—Bulb. Then, press the shutter or the button on a remote control (such as the MC-30-series) to start the exposure, hold it down, and then release it to close the shutter.
• Time exposures. On the D500, this type of exposure is similar to Bulb, except you don’t have to hold the shutter release down. Simply press the shutter release or your remote button to start the exposure, and press a second time to stop the exposure. The setting is located just beyond Bulb when rotating the main command dial in Manual exposure mode, and is labeled Time. I use this instead of Bulb most of the time, especially when using the MC-30/30A release cable or making long exposures (where it would be tedious to stand there pressing a button during a Bulb exposure). You can start the exposure, go off for a few minutes, and come back to close the shutter (assuming your camera is still there). If you are not using a cable release, the advantage of using Bulb is you don’t have to touch the camera twice; just press the button and release it when finished. With shorter exposures it’s possible for the vibration of manually opening and closing the shutter to register in the photo. For longer exposures, the period of vibration is relatively brief and not usually a problem. A typical time exposure I took in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is shown in Figure 6.6.

Figure 6.6 A locking release cord can give you long time exposures, such as this 60-second shot in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Working with Long Exposures

Because the D500 produces such good images at longer exposures, and there are so many creative things you can do with long exposure techniques, you’ll want to do some experimenting. Get yourself a tripod or another firm support and take some test shots with long exposure noise reduction both enabled and disabled (to see whether you prefer low noise or high detail) and get started. Here are some things to try:

• Make people invisible. One very cool thing about long exposures is that objects that move rapidly enough won’t register at all in a photograph, while the subjects that remain stationary are portrayed in the normal way. That makes it easy to produce people-free landscape photos and architectural photos at night or, even, in full daylight if you use a neutral-density filter (or two) (or three) to allow an exposure of at least a few seconds. At ISO 100, f/22, and a pair of 8X (three-stop) neutral-density filters, you can use exposures of nearly two seconds; overcast days and/or even more neutral-density filtration would work even better if daylight people-vanishing is your goal. They’ll have to be walking very briskly and across the field of view (rather than directly toward the camera) for this to work. At night, it’s much easier to achieve this effect with the 20- to 30-second exposures that are possible, as you can see in Figure 6.7. At left, with an exposure of several seconds, the crowded street is fully populated. At right, with a 20-second exposure, the folks moving slowly (at left) show up as blurs; those standing still (at right) are portrayed normally; and the fast-moving walkers in the foreground are barely perceptible blurs.
• Create streaks. If you aren’t shooting for total invisibility, long exposures with the camera on a tripod can produce some interesting streaky effects. Even a single 8X ND filter will let you shoot at f/22 and 1/6th second in daylight. Indoors, you shouldn’t have a problem using long shutter speeds to get shots like the one shown in Figure 6.8.

Figure 6.7 This European alleyway is thronged with people (left), but with the camera on a tripod, a 20-second exposure rendered most of the passersby almost invisible.

Figure 6.8 Long exposures can turn a dancer into a swirling image.

• Produce light trails. At night, car headlights and taillights and other moving sources of illumination can generate interesting light trails, as shown in Figure 6.9. Your camera doesn’t even need to be mounted on a tripod; hand-holding the D500 for longer exposures adds movement and patterns to your streaky trails. If you’re shooting fireworks with a tripod, a longer exposure may allow you to combine several bursts into one picture.
• Blur waterfalls, etc. You’ll find that waterfalls and other sources of moving liquid produce a special type of long-exposure blur, because the water merges into a fantasy-like veil that looks different at different exposure times, and with different waterfalls. Cascades with turbulent flow produce a rougher look at a given longer exposure than falls that flow smoothly. Although blurred waterfalls have become almost a cliché, there are still plenty of variations for a creative photographer to explore. (See Figure 6.10.)
• Show total darkness in new ways. Even on the darkest, moonless nights, there is enough starlight or glow from distant illumination sources to see by, and, if you use a long exposure, there is enough light to take a picture, too.

Figure 6.9 Zoom during a long exposure for an interesting effect.

Figure 6.10 A three-second exposure blurred this cascade of flowing water.

Delayed Exposures

Sometimes it’s desirable to have a delay of some sort before a picture is actually taken. Perhaps you’d like to get in the picture yourself, and would appreciate it if the camera waited 10 seconds after you press the shutter release to actually take the picture. Maybe you want to give a tripod-mounted camera time to settle down and damp any residual vibration after the release is pressed to improve sharpness for an exposure with a relatively slow shutter speed. It’s possible you want to explore the world of time-lapse photography. The next sections present your delayed exposure options.

Self-Timer

The D500 has a built-in self-timer with a user-selectable delay. Activate the timer by rotating the release mode dial to the self-timer icon. Press the shutter release button halfway to lock in focus on your subjects (if you’re taking a self-portrait, focus on an object at a similar distance and use focus lock). When you’re ready to take the photo, continue pressing the shutter release the rest of the way. The lamp on the front of the camera will blink slowly for eight seconds (when using the 10-second timer) and the beeper will chirp (if you haven’t disabled it in the Custom Settings menu, as described in Chapter 12). During the final two seconds, the beeper sounds more rapidly and the lamp remains on until the picture is taken. It’s a good idea to close the viewfinder eyepiece shutter if you’re not using live view or shooting in Manual exposure mode, to prevent light from the viewing window getting inside the camera and affecting the automatic exposure.

You can customize the settings of the self-timer. Your adjustments are “sticky” and remain in effect until you change them. Your options include:

• Self-timer delay. Choose 2, 5, 10, or 20 seconds, using Custom Setting c3. If I have the camera mounted on a tripod or other support and am too lazy to dig around for my wired remote, I can set a two-second delay that is sufficient to let the camera stop vibrating after I’ve pressed the shutter release. A longer delay time of 20 seconds is useful if you want to get into the picture and are not sure you can make it in 10 seconds.
• Number of shots. After the timer finishes counting down, the D500 can take from 1 to 9 different shots. This is a godsend when shooting photos of groups, especially if you want to appear in the photo itself. You’ll always want to shoot several pictures to ensure that everyone’s eyes are open and there are smiling expressions on each face. Instead of racing back and forth between the camera to trigger the self-timer multiple times, you can select the number of shots taken after a single countdown. For small groups, I always take at least as many shots as there are people in the group—plus one. That gives everybody a chance to close their eyes.
• Interval between shots. If you’ve selected 2 to 9 as your number of shots to be snapped off, you can use this option to space out the different exposures. Your choices are 0.5, 1, 2, or 3 seconds. Use a short interval when you want to capture everyone saying “Cheese!” The 3-second option is helpful if you’re using an external flash, as 3 seconds is generally long enough to allow the flash to recycle and have enough juice for the next photo.

Time-Lapse/Interval Photography

The D500 is capable of both interval photography (for still pictures, available from the Photo Shooting menu) and time-lapse video (summoned from the Movie Shooting menu). Both are described in Chapter 11. Who hasn’t marveled at a time-lapse photograph of a flower opening, a series of shots of the moon marching across the sky, or one of those extreme time-lapse picture sets showing something that takes a very, very long time, such as a building under construction.

You probably won’t be shooting such construction shots, unless you have a spare D500 you don’t need for a few months (or are willing to go through the rigmarole of figuring out how to set up your camera in precisely the same position using the same lens settings to shoot a series of pictures at intervals). However, other kinds of interval and time-lapse photography are entirely within reach. If you’re willing to tether the camera to a computer (a laptop will do) using the USB cable, you can take time-lapse photos using the optional extra-cost Nikon Camera Control Pro.

For Figure 6.11, I pointed my camera out my office window, hoping to use Interval Timing Shooting to catch some manatees. I left the camera running for hours, capturing the three images shown in the figure. I’ve also used interval shooting for HDR images of sunsets. Typically, I aim the camera at the horizon and set it to shoot a three-shot bracket with a 3.0-stop increment. Then, I set the interval time to take a bracket burst every 10 seconds. Over a 10-minute span, I’ll end up with 180 images I can assemble in a variety of ways to create an interesting HDR photograph.

Here are the essential tips for effective time-lapse and interval photography:

• Use AC power. If you’re shooting a long sequence of stills or a lengthy time-lapse movie, consider connecting your camera to an AC adapter, as leaving the D500 on for long periods of time will rapidly deplete the battery.
• Make sure you have enough storage space. Unless your memory card has enough capacity to hold all the images you’ll be taking, you might want to change to a higher compression rate or reduced resolution to maximize the image count.
• Make a movie. While stills shot at intervals are interesting, you can increase your fun factor by producing a time-lapse movie instead. You can also combine your interval shots into a motion picture using your favorite desktop movie-making software.
• Protect your camera. If your camera will be set up, make sure it’s protected from weather, earthquakes, animals, young children, innocent bystanders, and theft.
• Vary intervals. Experiment with different time intervals. You don’t want to take pictures too often or less often than necessary to capture the changes you hope to image.

Figure 6.11 One of my time-lapse photos captured a mother manatee and her calf swimming by (top); the other exposures produced interesting variations on a static scene.

Multiple Exposures

Some of my very first images captured when I was a budding photographer at age 11 were double exposures. Some were unintentional, as my box camera, using 620-size film, could take several pictures on one frame if you forgot to wind it between shots. But my initial foray into special effects as a pre-teen were shots of my brother throwing a baseball to himself, serving as both pitcher and batter thanks to a multiple exposure.

The D500’s multiple exposure feature is remarkably flexible. It allows you to combine two to ten exposures into one image without the need for an image editor like Photoshop, and it can be an entertaining way to return to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when complex photos were created in the camera itself. In truth, prior to the digital age, multiple exposures were a cool, groovy, far-out, hep/hip, phat, sick, fabulous way of producing composite images. Today, it’s more common to take the lazy way out, snap two or more pictures, and then assemble them in an image editor like Photoshop, or use the D500’s Image Overlay feature in the Retouch menu.

Figure 6.12 The D500’s Multiple Exposure capability allows combining images without an image editor.

However, if you’re willing to spend the time planning a multiple exposure (or are open to some happy accidents), there is a lot to recommend the multiple exposure capability that Nikon has bestowed on the D500. For one thing, the camera is able to combine two to ten images using the RAW data from the sensor, producing photos that are blended together more smoothly than is likely for anyone who’s not a Photoshop guru. To take your own multiple exposures, just follow these steps (although it’s probably a good idea to do a little planning and maybe even some sketching on paper first) if that’s possible:

1. Activate the feature. Choose Multiple Exposure from the Photo Shooting menu.
2. Choose Multiple Exposure mode. Select Multiple Exposure mode. A submenu appears with three choices:
   1. On (series). The Multiple Exposure feature remains active even after you’ve taken a complete set of exposures for the number of shots you specified. Use this if you want to shoot several multiple exposures in a row. Remember to turn it off when you’re done.
   2. On (single photo). Once you’ve taken a single set of multiple exposures, the feature turns itself off.
   3. Off. Use this option to cancel multiple exposures.
3. Choose exposures per frame. Select Number of Shots, choose a value from 2 to 10 with the multi selector up/down buttons, and press OK.
4. Specify ratio of exposure between frames. Choose Overlay Mode and select Add, Average, Lighten, or Darken.
   1. Add. Each new exposure is added to the previous shots, with each individual image fully exposed and overlaid on the others in the frame. Use when photographing a subject that is moving against a dark background, to track movement.
   2. Average. The overall exposure is divided by the number of shots in the series, and each image is allocated that fraction of the overall exposure. Use this when shooting subjects with a great deal of overlap.
   3. Lighten. The camera compares pixels in the same position in each exposure, and uses only the brightest. This effect is similar to the Lighten blending mode in Photoshop, Lightroom, and other image-editing software. Use this to allow the lightest tones of each shot in the series to show through, such as multiple bursts in a fireworks show. The sky will remain dark, but the pyrotechnics will be captured perfectly. You may have to experiment with this setting until you become familiar with what it does to your images.
   4. Darken. Similar to the Lighten blending mode, only just the darkest pixel is saved. You’d use this in situations that are the opposite of those typical of the Add selection. That is, if the background is light, and a darker subject is moving across that background, Darken would provide separate images.
5. Confirm gain setting. Press OK to set the gain.
6. Shoot your multiple exposure set. Take the photo by pressing the shutter release button multiple times until all the exposures in the series have been taken. (In continuous shooting mode, the entire series will be shot in a single burst.) The blinking multiple exposure icon vanishes when the series is finished. Reminder: you’ll need to deactivate the Multiple Exposure feature once you’ve finished taking a set in On (series) mode, as the setting remains even after the camera has been powered off.

Keep in mind if you wait longer than 30 seconds between any two photos in the series, the sequence will terminate and combine the images taken so far. If you want a longer elapsed time between exposures, go to the Playback menu and make sure On has been specified for Image Review, and then extend the monitor display time using Custom Setting c4 (Monitor Off Delay) to an appropriate maximum interval. The camera will grant you an additional 30 seconds beyond that. The Multiple Exposure feature will then use the monitor-off delay as its maximum interval between shots.

Geotagging with the Nikon GP-1a

A swarm of satellites in geosynchronous orbits above the Earth became a big part of my life even before I purchased the Nikon D500. I use the GPS features of my iPhone and iPad and the GPS device in my car to track and plan my movements. When family members travel without me—most recently to Europe—I can use the Find my iPhone feature to see where they are roaming and vicariously accompany them with Google Maps’ Street View features. And, since the introduction of the Nikon GP-1a accessory, GPS has become an integral part of my shooting regimen, too.

The GP-1a unit makes it easy to tag your images with the same kind of longitude, latitude, altitude, and time stamp information that is supplied by the GPS unit you use in your car. (Don’t have a GPS? Photographers who get lost in the boonies as easily as I do must have one of these!) The geotagging information is stored in the metadata space within your image files, and can be accessed by Nikon NX-i, or by online photo services such as mypicturetown.com and Flickr.

Geotagging can also be done by attaching geographic information to the photo after it’s already been taken. This is often done with online sharing services, such as Flickr, which allow you to associate your uploaded photographs with a map, city, street address, or postal code. When properly geotagged and uploaded to sites like Flickr, users can browse through your photos using a map, finding pictures you’ve taken in a given area, or even searching through photos taken at the same location by other users. Of course, in this day and age it’s probably wise not to include GPS information in photos of your home, especially if your photos can be viewed by an unrestricted audience.

Having this information available makes it easier to track where your pictures are taken. That can be essential, as I learned from a trip out west, where I found the red rocks, canyons, and arroyos of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado all pretty much look alike to my untrained eye. I find the capability especially useful when I want to return to a spot I’ve photographed in the past and am not sure how to get there. I can enter the coordinates shown into my hand-held or auto GPS (or an app in my iPad or iPhone) and receive instructions on how to get there. That’s handy if you’re returning to a spot later in the same day, or months later.

Like all GPS units, the Nikon GP-1a obtains its data by triangulating signals from satellites orbiting the Earth. It works with the Nikon D500, as well as many other Nikon cameras. At about $312, it’s not cheap, but those who need geotagging—especially for professional mapping or location applications—will find it to be a bargain.

The GP-1a (see Figure 6.13) slips onto the accessory shoe on top of the Nikon D500. It connects to the GPS port on the camera using the Nikon GP1-CA10 cable, which plugs into the connector marked CAMERA on the GP-1a.

Figure 6.13 Nikon GP-1a geotagging unit.

A third connector connects the GP-1a to your computer using a USB cable. Nikon has released a utility for Windows and Mac operating systems that allows you to read GPS data from the GP-1a directly in your computer—no camera required. I tried the driver, and discovered that the GP-1a couldn’t “see” any satellites from inside my office (big surprise). I plan on trying it with my netbook outdoors, in a car, or in some other more satellite-accessible location. Once attached, the device is very easy to use. You need to activate the Nikon D500’s GPS capabilities in the GPS choice within the Setup menu, as described in Chapter 13.

The first step is to allow the GP-1a to acquire signals from at least three satellites. If you’ve used a GPS in your car, you’ll know that satellite acquisition works best outdoors under a clear sky and out of the “shadow” of tall buildings, and the Nikon unit is no exception. It takes about 40 to 60 seconds for the GP-1a to “connect.” A red blinking LED means that GPS data is not being recorded; a green blinking LED signifies that the unit has acquired three satellites and is recording data. When the LED is solid green, the unit has connected to four or more satellites, and is recording data with optimum accuracy.

Next, set up the camera by selecting the GPS option found under Location Data in the Setup menu on the Nikon D500. There are four choices:

• Download From Smart Device. This setting allows you to download GPS/location data collected by your smart device, and then embed that information in the EXIF metadata within the image file. Choose Yes, and the data will be included when you are not using a GPS device while the two are connected for a period of up to two hours while the camera is powered up and standby timer has not expired. If the GPS unit is connected, its location data will be used instead when both the GPS and smart device are in play.
• Standby Timer. Setting to Enable reduces battery drain by enabling turning off exposure meters while using the GP-1/1a after the time specified in Custom Setting c2 (Standby Timer, discussed in Chapter 12) has elapsed. When the meters turn off, the GP-1/1a becomes inactive and must reacquire at least three satellite signals before it can begin recording GPS data once more. Setting to Disable causes exposure meters to remain on while using the GP-1/1a, so that GPS data can be recorded at any time, despite increased battery drain.
• Position. This is an information display, rather than a selectable option. It appears when the GP-1/1a is connected and receiving satellite positioning data. It shows the latitude, longitude, altitude, and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) values.
• Set Clock From Satellite. Choose Yes to allow the camera to update its internal clock from information provided by the GPS device when attached. Choosing No disables this updating feature. You might want to avoid updating the clock if you’re traveling and want all the basic date/time information embedded in your image files to reflect the settings back home, rather than the date and time where your pictures are taken. Note that if the GPS device is active when shooting, the local date and time will be embedded in the GPS portion of the EXIF data.

Once the unit is up and running, you can view GPS information using photo information screens available on the color monitor (and described in Chapter 2). The GPS screen, which appears only when a photo has been taken using the GPS unit, looks something like Figure 6.14.

Figure 6.14 Captured GPS information can be displayed when you review the image.

Using SnapBridge

Nikon has elected to blaze a trail of its own in implementing wireless connectivity on the D500, using a new system it calls SnapBridge. Initially, SnapBridge was only compatible with Android devices using Android 6.01 version or later for a limited number of Android phones. The iOS version became available just days before this book went to press, and I found the initial release to be a little buggy. A new firmware upgrade, Ver. 1.10, appeared at the same time, and must be installed before you try to access SnapBridge on an iOS device. As SnapBridge is refined, I will provide updated information for both iOS and Android and making Wi-Fi connections on my website at www.nikonguides.com/?page_id=136 as additional details become available. SnapBridge provides several useful features:

• NFC or Wi-Fi connections. You can connect your camera and device using the Near Field Communications protocol anywhere you happen to be (if your device supports NFC), or, at your option, using Wi-Fi (if a local area network is available), which is the required choice for movies and a good idea for transferring large numbers of images in one session.
• Auto uploads. You can use SnapBridge to automatically upload JPEG images (but not RAW or TIFF files) from your camera to your smart device.
• Upload selected photos. During image review, you can press the i button and choose Select to Send to Smart Device/Deselect to choose specific images to transfer to your smart device. You can also use the Select to Send to Smart Device entry in the Playback menu. Up to 1,000 photos can be marked for upload in one session.
• Resize images. Obviously uploading full-resolution images to your smart device would be slow and use a lot of storage space on your device. SnapBridge defaults to low-resolution 2-megapixel images (which should be fine for smart device display or sharing on social media), and the app lets you specify a different upload size.
• Photo info. The app also lets you choose to embed comments and copyright information entered in the Setup menu (as described in Chapter 13) or entered using the SnapBridge app itself.
• Multiple devices. If you own multiple phones and tablets, you can pair the camera with as many as five different devices. However, the D500 can connect to only one at a time. You can manually switch between devices using the connection options described shortly.
• Remote control. You can trigger the shutter using your smart device (as long as the camera is on), giving you wireless remote control without the need of purchasing an accessory.

The D500’s SnapBridge app supports only camera-to-smart-device communications. Your first step in using SnapBridge is to download and install the SnapBridge app onto your smart device from the Google Play store or the Apple iTunes store.

There are several ways to connect your D500 to your device:

• NFC (Near Field Communications) (Android only). If your Android device supports NFC (not all of them do), when you access the SmartBridge app, you can use the dialog box offering to make an NFC connection appear. (To use the Setup menu instead, choose Menu and proceed as described in the numbered list below.) Then touch the NFC antenna of the smart device (labeled with the NFC symbol) to the memory card door on the side of the D500. An authentication code appears on both the device and your camera. Press the OK button on the camera, and tap Pairing/Pair on the smart device. A message “Your camera and smart device are connected!” appears, (or “Unable to Connect” if the process was unsuccessful). When finished, check out steps 5 through 9 in the list that follows to make sure your camera’s settings are correct.
• Setup menu. If your Android device does not support NFC, or if you prefer to use menu choices to make the connection, or if you own an iOS device, use the Setup menu method described next.

While not as speedy as using NFC, to connect your D500 and smart device using Setup menu options, follow these steps.

1. Access Connect To Smart Device. You’ll find this entry in the Setup menu. As with all menu entries, and those that follow in this list, proceed by pressing the right directional arrow or pressing OK. Choose Start to start the connection (see Figure 6.15, upper left).
2. Begin connection. A splash screen appears. Press OK. A screen like the one in Figure 6.15, upper right, appears with instructions on connecting with NFC. To connect without NFC, press OK again.
3. Open the SnapBridge app. Access the app on your device and choose Connect. The D500 should appear on the list of available connections. (See Figure 6.15, lower left.)
4. Authorize. An authorization screen appears on the D500 (Figure 6.15, lower right) and on your smart device. The same authorization number should be displayed on each. Press the OK button on the D500 and Pair on the smart device.
5. Press OK again. You’ll be asked for permission for the smart device to share location data with the camera. Select Yes and press the right direction button or the OK button to confirm.
6. Allow time information. The next screen lets you give permission to allow the smart device to provide the D500 with time information to synchronize the camera and device. Choose Yes and confirm to finish pairing your device with the camera.
7. Return to the Setup menu. Choose Send to Smart Device (Auto), and in the screen that appears, select and confirm On.
8. Make sure Airplane Mode is turned off. Use the entry located just above the two Smart Device entries in the Setup menu. Choose Disable to allow the Wi-Fi features of the D500 to operate. It’s a good idea to Enable Airplane Mode when you don’t plan to use Wi-Fi in order to save power.
9. Activate Bluetooth. Next, find the Bluetooth entry in the Setup menu and select Send While Off, and confirm it. This allows the camera to maintain a Bluetooth connection with your device and continue to upload images even when the D500 is powered down. Note: this setting will consume even more power if you have many images to upload. Your images will be stored in the Snapshot Gallery in the app.
10. Use both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. You can connect using both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Pair your D500 with the camera using the Settings menu of your smart device. The iOS version is shown in Figure 6.16. Bluetooth is the low-energy connection choice, but Wi-Fi is faster and used for transferring movies or large numbers of files. You can connect your smart device to the camera using Wi-Fi through your device’s Settings menu, too.

Figure 6.15 The D500’s connection screens lead you through linking your camera and smart device.

Figure 6.16 Connect to the camera’s Bluetooth signal through your smart device’s Settings screen.

To connect your D500 to a Wi-Fi network, you’ll need to set up a network connection. You can use this option if you have some understanding of how your network and router are set up, and know what authentication/encryption scheme you want to use. If your router has a WPS button, connecting is usually faster and easier.

Networking fundamentals and most computer functions are beyond the scope of this book, but here is a quick overview:

• Access the Wi-Fi entry in the Setup menu. It allows you to create, modify, and reset wireless local area network (LAN) settings.
• Use Network settings to make a wireless network connection. Follow the instructions on the screen to create the connection and set a password in order to thwart access to your camera/images over the network. The default method is WPA-2-PSK-AES. You can usually use the WPS button on your router to initiate the connection.
• View the settings with the Current Settings entry.
• Use Reset Connection Settings to return Wi-Fi settings to their defaults.

Using the SnapBridge App

When you first access the SnapBridge App, you’ll be invited to register for Nikon Image Space and receive a Nikon ID (Figure 6.17, left and center). You can also make various configuration settings within the app, such as whether to allow Wi-Fi access (Figure 6.17, right). If you want to protect your connection, that must be done from the D500, using the Password option in the Send to Smart Device entry of the Setup menu.

Figure 6.17 Register for Nikon Image Space (left and center) and allow Wi-Fi access (right).

The app itself has a fairly simple interface, shown in Figure 6.18. Along the bottom are choices:

• Connect. Allows connecting to your camera and choosing several options.
  • Auto download. You can select to automatically download compact, 2MP images, or original size images, or disable auto download from your camera to your device entirely. Images can be auto uploaded from the device to Nikon Image Space so they will be immediately available over the Internet. I generally leave auto download turned off most of the time so I can select images for transfer at a later time, but activate it when I am shooting “tethered” and want to have, say, 2MP images quickly transferred to the smart device for review.
  • Upload Location. You can elect to include the location from which your uploads are made (using your device’s GPS features), or disable sharing that information for privacy reasons.
  • Synchronize Clock. You can synchronize your camera’s internal clock from the information supplied by your smart device (which generally will have access to GPS and precise time information).
• Gallery. You can view the last picture downloaded, or see all the photos transferred to your device from the D500.
• Camera. Two options are available:
  • Remote Photography. This switches the D500 into Live View mode and allows you to control your camera and take photos using your device.
  • Download Selected Pictures. You can mark images using the Select to Send to Smart Device entry in the Playback menu, and then download them from here. You’d want to do this whenever you’ve disabled automatic downloads.
• Other. There are six entries in this section.
  • Add credits. You can enable adding credit information to each photo when it’s downloaded.
  • Notices from Nikon. A message center with notifications from Nikon.
  • Nikon app. This accesses the free Nikon Image Space app for your smart device, which provides multiple options for sharing photos and videos. There is also a Manual viewer app that can be used to download and read Nikon manuals on your smart device.
  • Tutorial. Conducts you to a five-screen tutorial that, in general, tells you things you already know if you’ve gotten this far.
  • Info/Settings. Displays connected cameras, allows making some of the settings already mentioned, such as auto download, upload location, or synchronize clock, and offers a modicum of SnapBridge Help that goes through each of the functions in quite a bit more detail than the “tutorial.”

Figure 6.18 The SnapBridge App has a simple interface.