There's something in the night
Some thoughts on my changing tastes and approach to photography…
Diners line up at a food truck in East Austin…
Historically, I was a chaser of good light. In terms of when I went out to take photos, it was the traditional approach: sunrise, sunset, and blue hour. Outside of that, I sort of didn’t care. I just wanted great light. I often got it - or “good enough” light - but that was the end of my shooting. When blue hour was over and darkness fell, I was done.
But no more.
Over the last year or so, I have really started to get into taking photos after dark in the city. There is just something about it. I love to wander the streets, looking for pockets of light and color, and just generally lurk about looking for a shot.
And I have discovered that there is just so much to enjoy after dark, photographically speaking. While I used to think that the good light was over once darkness fell, I now think of the interesting scenes you can photograph in the dark. Especially when in a downtown area, there are always little things happening here and there that catch my eye.
You see, I think that I used to only chase that “epic” shot or amazing light, and when those options were exhausted, I just hung it up. I always felt like it was too dark at night and the light was “boring”. I assumed that if the light wasn’t interesting then the photos would not be interesting either. Boy was I wrong.
I also used to carry a bag of lenses and a tripod around when I would photograph a city, which frankly gets a bit tiring after a while. You can call me lazy if you want to, and you may be right. But it gets tiring, lazy or not. Then you have all these options in your bag, and you feel like you should be using them all. So you switch lenses to try something new. Then you switch back. It sometimes felt like I was just carrying all this stuff because I owned it, and I would bring it along “just in case”.
These days, I most often just take a single prime lens and no tripod. I shoot handheld in cities at night, and it is amazingly freeing to do so. While I love my tripod and it certainly has its place, you just can’t do the same things when you are connected to it. Your movement is somewhat limited and you are basically less free. And it causes me to miss some moments that I do not miss when I am shooting handheld.
My favorite lens for this type of work is the Sony 24mm f/1.4 prime lens. It’s just a fantastic piece of glass and one that I am really thankful I was able to get. I have always loved sort of a wide view of things, and thus 24mm is spot on for me. But of course the main draw of the lens is that wide open aperture. Once it is dark, I drop into f/1.4, bump up my ISO and I am off and shooting. I feel like I come alive.
Like everyone who is pursuing creative endeavors, my style and interests have evolved over the years. I always felt disappointed if I returned from a trip or an outing and did not witness any amazing light. I almost felt like it was a waste.
But I am different now, and my shots are different. I feel I am on a journey towards becoming a bit of a street photographer. While I used to just want to shoot “epic” cityscapes (and these were nearly always done in HDR), now I am more interested in capturing the everyday scenes of a place. Boring light? No problem! I am more than content to wander the streets of a city and just capture life happening there.
Sure, I still like the big, beautiful grand things in a city as much as I ever did. But they are no longer the focus (no pun intended) of my photography. They may be some of the anchoring shots on a trip, but I am finding just as much joy (and maybe more) with the little in-between, filler shots that I capture. In some ways, I find these more interesting. I think they are more tangible and accessible for viewers. They are real. And, they often tell a story.
Now, I still love my big colors, so although I am edging towards street photography more and more, I am not traditional in the sense that I am still editing in color, vs monochrome. For many years, I never even considered monochromes, but just as I have changed in terms of subject matter, I have also loosened up in terms of color. I find myself experimenting more and more with various flavors of monochrome images in my editing, and I love it. I will continue to experiment and grow in that direction. But of course there is no giving up on color for me. :-)
These photos were all captured the other night here in Austin. I wandered on East 6th Street for a little while, enjoying the comings and goings of the people and training my prime lens on whatever I found interesting.
Are they epic shots? Not even close. But do I find them interesting? Absolutely. And that is my approach these days - find something interesting and capture it.
Thanks for listening.
Skulking about in London
Lovely long exposure work from lovely London…
I love to just wander the streets of London. It’s my favorite city and I always find beautiful things to aim the camera towards. This was one of those evenings. I was all over the place and whenever I see a busy street (at every turn in London LOL), I like to set up the tripod for a long exposure and capture some passing cars.
Chicago nights
A lovely night, post rain, in equally lovely Chicago…
After a long night of shooting - and getting rained on - I wandered over here for my last couple of shots. This is looking over the Chicago River and I just couldn’t help myself. There were so many lights and so much color, it just drew me in!
Chicago nights
A rainy night in Chicago, and I was downtown grabbing some shots of their iconic theater…
I was in Chicago recently, and one evening after a little rain, I wandered over to the Chicago Theater to capture a shot of that iconic spot. I have seen plenty of pics of this over the years, and always wanted to get some. I was traveling light, with just a prime lens, but what I lacked in versatility I gained in mobility. I took quite a few shots while I was standing there, and loved every minute of it!
Covent Garden at night
A night shot of a musician at work in Covent Garden, London…
From my last visit to lovely London…I captured this gentleman playing music in Covent Garden while wandering over there one evening. It’s a beautiful part of London and one well worth visiting. I will be returning to London soon and hope to pop over here for a little while to check it out again!
The Moulin Rouge
A long exposure taken at the Moulin Rouge in Paris…
Such a great spot for night photography! We were in Paris and sorta near this part of town one evening, and I just had to pop over here and get some long exposures of the spinning wheel at the Moulin Rouge. It’s a colorful part of the city and one worth exploring. Then again, the whole city is just amazing. In other words, if you are planning a trip here, be sure you make it a long one! ;-)
Nights in Amsterdam
A night shot from the archives…Amsterdam looking all lovely.
I love wandering in cities, day or night, but of course at night when the lights come on things really look interesting. This was from a trip a number of years ago to Amsterdam, and was one of my last shots before calling it a night.
New York nights
A street scene from NYC taken while strolling around there one evening…
Just a quick snap one evening in NYC as I was wandering along. I used to not like NYC that much, but now I just adore it. So much to see and shoot, you can never tire of it!
Delirium
Evening in Brussels and I am out wandering the streets with my camera…
Here’s a night scene I shot in Brussels, Belgium a number of years ago. I love the historic center of Brussels, right around Grand Place. It’s just so photogenic and beautiful. I love to wander those streets and fire away. Back then, I wasn’t as much into night photography as I am now, but still got out a bit and took some shots. Always a good time!
Temple Bar nights
Night at the Temple Bar, in lovely Dublin, Ireland!
Ah, lovely Dublin - one of my favorite places! I have been 5 or 6 times over to Dublin, and enjoy it so much each time. It’s not a large city, which is part of what I like about it, and the core city center is fairly compact. So I can wander with my camera and cover it all pretty well without too much effort. This was shot outside the famous Temple Bar one evening. You can see the crowds are pretty thick, which is one reason I often will also get up at sunrise to shoot it. It’s completely empty then!
Darkness in London
It’s late in London, and I am out with the camera. Surprise! :-)
This shot was captured well after dark one evening in London. We had been out shooting and having fun all day, and were wandering around in this section of town, sort of the Financial District if I recall correctly. Anyway this beautiful building caught my eye so I climbed up onto the pedestal base of a statue, set up the tripod, and fired away. I have really grown to love shooting at night, something I rarely did in years past. But now it’s one of my favorite things to do, just wander in a city at night with a camera. So fun!
Nights on the bridge
A long exposure in London wherein I captured the light trails of a passing boat…
This was a fun little shot. I was taking a long exposure of the Millennium Bridge in London with St Paul’s Cathedral in the background. During the shot a boat passed by, and I was able to capture it’s light trails, which you can see at the bottom of the frame. Kind of a fun accident!
A night out in London
A night time HDR shot handheld on evening in London…
I have really grown to love shooting at night. It’s taken me a while to really embrace it, but now I love it. I used to always want to quite after sunset and blue hour ended, thinking the good light was all gone. Well, it may be gone by then but in a city there is always something interesting to photograph. While wandering one evening in London, I stopped in my tracks as I approached this scene. It’s not incredible or amazing or anything, but it caught my eye and thought it was well worth a quick stop for!
London nights
A double-decker bus speeds past me in London…
I absolutely adore London. It’s probably my favorite city that I’ve ever been to. Something about it just gets to me. I spent about 10 days back in January of this year, and had so much fun wandering all over town and taking photos. I find the city to be incredibly photogenic, and of course there is a lot to see there.
One evening early in the trip I have been out shooting for a while, and stopped in for a bite at a pizza place. After warming up (and filling up), it was time to get back out on the streets. I decided to set up and do some long exposures, hoping for a double-decker bus to pass by. Luckily it wasn’t too long of a wait!
Across the River Thames
Lovely London lights at night…
Wandering along the River Thames in London one evening, I was taken by the lovely lights and reflections of said lights in the river. So I wandered and shot, picking out different buildings to try and capture the best views that I could. This one is one of my faves from that evening, with that awesome Walkie Talkie building all light up and reflecting.