Recently I joined a Camera club close to my house, something I suggest you do if you want to progress your photography skills and connections, and some of us went on a field trip to Hammersmith Broadway in London (March 2023) to make light trail photographs from various vantage points.
My camera for the evening was my Canon R6 with the RF 16mm lens.
The settings were kept very simple as ISO 100 (for the cleanest shots) F/8 to f22 and shutter speeds of 10 to 30 seconds, depending on the mood I was going for.
Below is a gallery for the evenings results, which needed very little “cleaning up” in Photoshop.
This one is the only one I used Photoshop to merge two images together.
From the vantage point I was set up at, traffic alternated from one side to the other so I took a few images of both side and these two were selected as the best match.
I assumed there would be quite a bit of traffic, as we started at home time for most office workers, but for some reason traffic was a lot lighter than anticipated. If the traffic was heavier the trails would by much more condensed and fuller, but I think these have worked well also.
This really is an enjoyable technique to add to your armoury and if you get the chance to pop out with your camera and tripod, need a tripod due to the long exposures you will need, and get creating your own light trails.
Wishing you well
DC x