The Mackinac Bridge At Night

So it was dark by the time we got back to the Bridge. I wanted some night shots of the Bridge because I like it when it is lit up. So here is my shot.....
I'm just kidding. Every time I take night pictures of the Bridge, I see people using their flashes. I am guessing that they have their camera on auto mode and don't really know better. One of the purposes of this blog is education. Most of the time, it is about the history of this state but occasionally I will take the opportunity to educate people on photography.

A camera is really a simple device. In it's base form, there is a medium that is sensitive to light. In old cameras this is film. In modern cameras, it is a CCD array. There is a way a for light to reach this medium and something to keep the light from reaching this medium.

A flash is way of getting more light on a subject so that you can photograph it. However, a flash can only send light so far because it is the reflection of this flash that you are capturing with the camera. If your flash isn't intense enough, there isn't enough light to expose the film. Which is what happened in the above picture.

So when you use your flash for something like the Bridge or a Building, you're not really doing anything useful. Fortunately, some of the lights were bright enough for an exposure. I suppose if you had a floodlight, there might be enough light.