The Long Exposures of Michael Wesely

Below is a collection of photographs taken by German photography artist Michael Wesely. What’s remarkable about these shots is the length of exposure used to produce them – many of the shots were set to expose for over 3 years – substantially longer than the second longest exposure done by Justin Quinnell for 6 months using a jury-rigged pin hole pop-can rig.

The shots below are of the re-construction of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The photos were taken using 8 cameras positioned at various places around the construction site. These shots were exposed for 34 months between 2001-2004. Whatever technique he’s using, I think it’s safe to assume he’s left a wake of envious photographers eager to learn his secrets. According to Michael, he could do exposures for up to 40 years.

The next two shots are of the Leipziger Platz in Berlin – they were taken over a 13 month period. At the time, the Leipziger Platz and the Potsdamer Platz formed one of the world’s largestconstruction sites.

This is a shot of an office space that was done using a year long exposure. The exposure was done between July 29th, 1996 and July 29th, 1997.

This last shot is the life and death of a bouquet of flowers.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Michael Wesley’s work, you can purchase his book Open Shutter.