Night traffic photography at South Extension, New Delhi

South Extension or South Ex is a shopping hub for top brands. The road connecting AIIMS and Lajpath Nagar is full of traffic well into the night. The north locality of the road running east to west is South Ex 1 and the south side is South Ex 2. Two FOB or foot over bridges present a wonderful opportunity to click great traffic pictures. But be careful, there are some challenges.

Location of the bridge

Coming from AIIMS side, the FOB begins right next to the parking. Both bridges are same. Heavy traffic means that the bridge is always vibrating. There is a lot of dust and fumes. Road construction adds to the dim. So be prepared.

No stand was used. All Pictures in Manual Focus. ISO fixed at 100.

Specs for the above pic

Shutter Priority, f/8, Exposure 1 Sec, Under exposed by 0.7

In the above pic, the exposure time doubled to two seconds and f stop f/14 and we have a nice blur. Remember the bridge vibrations, now prominent.

Aperture priority for above picture. Star effect comes by high F stop, f/18. ISO 3200 and shutter speed 1/6 Sec (both auto set). Under Exposure of -1.3

Not a great shot, but will do. Traffic stopped at one side and moving fast on the opposite side where there is a clear road. Old story of Delhi roads. Vibrations, camera shake and out of focus.

Shutter Priority and shutter speeds set to 3.2 sec gives the perfect light trails and panning effect.

Headlights and a very high aperture value to give the star effect. Silence in picture is deafening. But it is not so.