A local photographer has captured some beautiful sunsets and nightscapes from around Tauranga.

The photos, showcasing the marina and the view from the Mount, were shared with SunLive by Luke Reid of Imaged Photography.

Luke, who's been doing photography for around four years, initially started out doing automotive shoots, but has now moved into landscapes and real estate.

His evening shots from the Mount are captured using a long exposure – around 10 seconds. The vivid, colourful lights in the photos aren't special effects added later in the editing process, either – Luke says they can be captured with any camera.

'The streak of light you can see on the track is friend of mine walking past with a torch,” he says.

'Anything that happens within the frame within the 10 second period is captured. The long exposure focuses primarily on light, so if someone walks past in dark clothing, they can't be seen.”

It's the same for the ships in the harbour – they're reduced to a blur, while their lights become solid strips of colour on the water.

Luke says while he enjoys landscape photography, his real passion is for automotive. He organises special shoots where anyone can bring their car, and he'll take professional photographs of them – sometimes up to 100 vehicles in a day.

'You might not think it, but there's a million things you can do with a camera and a car, with all the angles and lighting techniques.”