PHOTOGRAPHER Nicolas Ruel usually takes eight seconds to make his long-exposure images. Why not less time—or more? “Eight is the number of infinity,” he says, referring to what he hopes is the endless wonder of looking and looking again at his double-take images of cityscapes around the world.
He starts with an urban place filled with people, energy, and motion. Train stations work well, as do churches, libraries, and stadiums—anywhere that people gather. He sets his tripod and takes a four-second exposure in one direction (most photo exposures are about 1/60 of a second or less). Then, with the shutter still open, he’ll swivel the camera to a different view for another four-second exposure—creating, ultimately, an eight-second one-frame documentary.
Long exposures typically show motion blur. Double exposures often mesh two…
