Car Trails at Night
Christoph Schaarschmidt

Car Trails at Night

March 2025

Crowd
winner
Entry 21958349
497th
45
Entry 21975137
27th
72

Great work to get the entire road illuminated. The curves and hairpins provide a chaotic, yet structured, shape cutting through the dimly lit landscape. There is a good amount of exposure, detail and depth throughout the rest of the image. I really like the small details of the trees by the side of the road that have been lit up by the car headlights.

Entry 21995791
52nd
52
Entry 22093678
771st
26

The colour grading of tan and cyan looks great in this micro urban scene. An element of Tron is almost inevitable with light trails, and works well here with the colours. The inclusion of the stationary bus poking its head out strangely adds a sense of motion to everything else. As if everything else is moving while it waits. I keep coming back to the play between warm and cool tones across the image. Great work.

Entry 22469327
3rd
41
Expert
winner

Fantastic attention to detail. The exposure for the car trails is spot on, retaining all the details of even the smallest of lights. This is continued through the rest of the image with the lights of the buildings. A subtle glow of the highlights adds a wonderful atmosphere to the scene. The car trails are the standout feature of the photo, holding up the strong triangular composition of the buildings. Well composed and well taken.

Entry 22909102
83rd
30
Entry 22930258
101st
2

You have a great eye here to see the potential of this reflection, combining the interesting building with the shape of the car trails produced by a shorter shutter speed. The exposure is good for this time of night and the cooler tones match the weather. I'm assuming that is snow I can see. A well taken and considered photo.

Entry 22932753
612th
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Entry 22945953
299th
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Entry 23063632
1395th
12

This is how to use shorter exposures for car trails. Just enough to show direction and movement while retaining details as well. The way the lights in the foreground each have their separate space, then meld together in abstract chaos in the middle creates an interesting and unique scene, One that would be different with every shot taken. The other elements of the shot are well exposed too, giving the viewer more to explore. Great work!

1,571 Images entered

Meet the expert judge

Having a long stretch of road like this completely filled with car trails takes patience and planning. Having a good balance of exposure to show headlights and tail lights, as well as detail throughout the rest of the scene is an even greater effort. The thin abstract curve displays a vibrant sign of life through a dark and sleepy landscape.

Entry 22731007
6th
138
Entry 23195430
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Entry 23200653
960th
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Entry 23223784
210th
4

Fantastic detail and exposure. The light on the rocks adding depth and detail, contrasts wonderfully with the vast emptiness of the ocean and horizon. The overall cool blue tones accentuates beautifully the car trails winding their way up to the lighthouse. A great example of a strong image made stronger with the addition of car light trails.

Entry 23286886
209th
7
Entry 23391336
419th
71

Single car light trails can be tricky to get right in an interesting way. You've achieved that here with the sleepy small village scene, cut through with the red glow of a car breaking the silence. You've done well to see the potential of the scene and capture this moment. The viewer can easily put themselves on the side of the road and feel the brisk night air and see this car winding through the small streets.

Entry 23449627
522nd
180
Entry 23460019
39th
44
Entry 23467016
49th
1
195

I love the angel hair pasta look of these car trails! So much detail with every path taken shows a great control of exposure. The balance of composition is good too. Incorporating stationary vehicles that then move on adds a dimension of time to the shot, as with the bus and green lights on the right. A great display of what is possible when shooting car trails!

864 Photographers

36,143 Ratings

Entry 23319604
9th
215

Brief

See more contest details

Heading out into the night to shoot photography has a particular thrill to it. It takes effort, but feels adventurous, and you're creating a night to remember. Shooting the moving headlights and taillights of cars, using longer shutter speeds to create trails, is a brilliant way to sculpt imagery using available light sources. And you don't need to live next to a busy road. A solitary pair of red lights snaking their way across a rolling moonlit countryside can be incredibly evocative.

A classic shot with a great composition and unique treatment. The strong triangle composition is the stand out feature of this shot. Three iconic London elements creating a way for the eye to wander and explore the image. The overall cool tones to match the dreary weather are offset nicely with the warmer lights on the façade and the vivid red bus light trails. Well thought out and considered photography.

Entry 21951639
158th
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Entry 21951671
971st
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Entry 21958347
371st
56
Entry 21975138
496th
188

A great example of how an already great scene can be elevated to the next level by incorporating car light trails. Although I'd like to see a bit more exposure in Mont Saint-Michel, and less sharpening, the light trails, composition and crop make this a stand out image. Great work!

Entry 22002302
30th
27
Entry 22004923
511th
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Entry 22009247
471st
170
Entry 22009248
17th
289

An already interesting location and shot made exceptional with the car trails. Having the patience, planning and timing to fill the entire road, while balancing exposure across the scene, demonstrates and great understanding of photography. The monochrome approach really brings out the glowing red of the tail/brake lights.

Entry 22018980
1457th
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Entry 22055855
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Entry 22060650
137th
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Entry 22062560
717th
1
30

My immediate thoughts of this image are of a turbulent flowing river. A chaotic river of lights that would take careful consideration to traverse. Even the trees on the side seem like a riverbank guiding the flow, with stationary cars, like rocks, forcing the path of lights around it. A beautiful mess!

Entry 22062561
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Entry 22072246
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Entry 22081376
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Entry 22888832
214th
13

A great shot with or without the car trails. The addition of the car trails however, elevates the image further by adding motion and life to an otherwise beautiful static vista. Getting this much trails with so much light still in the sky shows an good understanding of photography. Fantastic work!

Entry 22967943
553rd
169

A simple well composed shot with an eerie yet cinematic feel. A quiet moment in time captured on a foggy night showing the seemingly mundane can provide us with extraordinary opportunity. There is a quietness to the scene but also an intrigue that captivates the viewer. Even the balance of colour tones between the vibrant red and subtle blue/green light is spot on.

Entry 23177160
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Entry 23319609
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Entry 23348600
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Entry 23458600
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Entry 23467017
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Entry 23467294
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Entry 23491494
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Entry 23493250
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Entry 23495715
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Entry 23498234
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Entry 23499033
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