I was in Sakuragichou the other evening and saw a familiar site: landmark tower and the ferris wheel. I’ve been wanting a good shot of it at night to use as a background for a while as it is beautiful.

I was lucky enough to be there at night, but without a Tripod. My camera (Panasonic DMC-FX01) is a few years old, but it has some neat features, wide angle for point and shoots (28mm) but overall it is your average digital point and shoot of a few years old.

Normally when I’ve tried to take nighttime shots on a flat surface it always ends up a bit shaky from the button press. I realized a simple, easy, and most importantly free way around this that every camera could easily do: self-timer.

I put my camera on a ledge – lined the shot up as best I could, set it for “night time landscape” mode, set the timer and boom. Crystal clear no tripod.

So if you need a night time shot and without a tripod – just look for a flat surface and remember your self-timer. It works wonders.

Yokohama, Japan