1. Three legs are better than two. A tripod is absolutely essential, but rather than running out and purchasing any old tripod I strongly suggest saving up for a well built model from a reputable tripod manufacturer, Gitzo and Manfrotto are two that spring to mind. A tripod that is poorly built or overly light weight for your camera will be next to useless as it will shake with any light breeze or even under the vibration of your cameras shutter.
2. Use a low ISO. You may first think ok, low light, lets increase the ISO. The unfortunate side effect of increased ISO is increased noise, this become a real issue when photographing with long exposure times so keeping the ISO down is of great importance. Simply use a longer shutter speed instead, knowing that the camera is supported well on your solid tripod.
3. Ever heard of a neutral density filter? Available in a myriad of strengths and rated by how much light they cut. Essentially ND filters decrease the amount of light hitting your sensor whilst imparting no other changes in color temperature or visual quality. In practice they often change the color temperature slightly however it is nothing that can't be fixed with white balance. Now lets assume we are photographing a waterfall and we wish to render the water as a soft mist. First you would select a low ISO and a small aperture in order to obtain the slowest shutter speed possible, yet the shutter speed may still be faster than you wish. Just pop on an ND filter to slow things down even more and do a little dance.
4. Film is not dead! Well or long exposure photography it's not. Unlike digital sensors which develop unpleasant noise during long exposures film handles it nicely and can render some really great long exposure images. One issue of note when using film for long exposure work is a bugger known as reciprocity failure. Basically film loses sensitivity to light over the length of the exposure and this must be compensated for. Find a reciprocity chart for the specific brand and type of film you are using, make your exposure corrections and bob is your uncle, assuming you have an uncle named bob, that is.
5. Guiding light. No I'm not referring to a golden light emanating from the sky and leading you towards the path of forgiveness, that's called acid and was big in the 70's. What I am referring to is a cheap, battery operated torch. Trust me when I say it is an essential piece of kit. As you start shooting long exposure photos you will start finding yourself in situations of fading light, a torch is a great asset to help you change camera settings and find your way out of locations in the dark.
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