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.
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!
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!
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!
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
Night time in London and I am wandering around with my camera…
I find London to be an exceptionally photogenic city. It seems at every turn I come across something that I want to photograph, even if I have photographed it before. Especially when it gets late in the day and the lights are coming on, it just takes on a kind of beauty that I just adore. I was just wandering in Westminster one evening and came across this intersection, and just had to shoot it!
Carnaby Nights
Night in London along Carnaby Street…
Evening in London, and I found myself along Carnaby Street. It’s a gorgeous and lively part of London, and it was my first visit there. so glad I made it!
The Scoop
A night time shot of the Shard and the Scoop, in lovely London. My kinda town!
Oh man, I have so many London photos. Just. So. Many.
I love London and when I was there earlier this year, I literally fired like a maniac. I came home with 9,000+ photos from a 10 day trip. And honestly, I could have done more but I got tired, and sometimes I get lazy. Yeah, I love to travel and take photos but we all get tired at times. Regardless, I came home with a LOT of shots that I like and that I will be sharing here over the coming days/weeks/months/years. There’s just a lot. It won’t all fit in 2018, or even 2019. So, how about you keep coming back? :-)
Modeling in London
A young lady was modeling for her boyfriend in front of these phone booths, so I let her model for me as well…
I rarely take photos of people, generally preferring to capture a scene when it is empty, or at least where a person is not a big part of the shot. But sometimes you have to make exceptions. In London one evening I was lining up to take some shots of these lovely phone booths, which are over by Covent Garden. As I got set up and ready, this girl and her boyfriend starting taking photos as well, with her modeling for him in front of them. No worries, I usually just wait these things out. But instead I just started firing, thinking that having a person in the shot actually gave it a little more interest. I find myself doing that a bit more than I used to, and am liking the results. Maybe people aren’t so bad after all. ;-)
Night in Strasbourg
A dark night in a little town in France…
Oh boy do I love to wander in European cities at night!
When we visited Strasbourg, France a while back, I made a point of wandering as much as possible. It’s a gorgeous town and even the newer, more modern parts looks great to me. I captured this towards the end of my wandering, as this tram was pulling up for a stop.
Night at Moulin Rouge
A long exposure from the Moulin Rouge in Paris, France…..such a gorgeous city and a gorgeous location for photography!
Ah, lovely Paris at night! So gorgeous there!
I love Paris as much as the next person does - maybe more. I have so many photos from there and even the bad ones are beautiful in some way...that's just Paris. It's all gorgeous. One night while there on my last visit I headed over to the Moulin Rouge. I was hoping to get a long exposure of it because I know the windmill blades turn, so I thought if I could get it right it would be a nice big blur...and it worked great!
Passing lights in London
Light trails in London, such fun especially when you have a gorgeous background!
Just a simple shot, really - a few seconds when the traffic is whizzing by!
I have grown to love long exposures and especially light trail photos. They are easy to do and often come out great, or at least interesting. I just set up in a spot where I know there will be passing traffic, and wait. Once I see traffic coming, I start a long exposure and hope for the best! Sometimes it takes a few tries, but usually I get something useful.
This photo was a combination of a double-decker bus, some cars and a taxi or two. That's what is so great about doing these in London - the busses! Their lights are higher than on cars, obviously, so it helps fill the frame with more light trails. Fun, right?!
It also helps that St Paul's Cathedral is in the background. If I can find a great background, it's just a matter of time before the traffic streaks by, and I can capture it.
Luminar Workflow: London Bus Blur
A night shot from London gets the Luminar treatment in this video, and ends up being something that I really like...
Ah, the joy of nighttime photography in a city like London!
I have really taken a liking to shooting in cities at night. I used to pretty much pack it in just after blue hour, but more and more I find myself enjoying the dark just as well. When I visited London back in January, I was out shooting nearly every night so I came home with quite a few images taken after dark.
In this video, I share my workflow for taking a photo that was essentially a throwaway, and I turn it into something that I am really happy with. It's easy in Luminar and the results speak for themselves!
An evening in Paris
A lovely night scene in Paris...
The last time we were in Paris was a while ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. The city just embeds itself in my psyche and doesn't let go. I love it there. While there are so many landmarks to visit and photograph, I get an equal amount of enjoyment from wandering the streets and shooting the little, overlooked scenes.
Today's photo is a perfect example of that. I had been shooting Les Deux Magots, which is a famous cafe where Hemingway and others hung out back in the day. Afterwards I just strolled around that area for a few minutes and saw this scene, which just begged me to stop and shoot. There's just something romantic and ethereal about nights in Paris. The architecture, the little plazas, and even the lamp posts just all draw me in.
Night at Covent Garden
Nighttime at Covent Garden in London, and I'm using a tripod despite their ban on such things. But what happens when a security guard approaches? Here's my little story about that.
Yep, I'm still working through London photos, and will be for some time!
I took thousands of photos on my trip to London, and really have only scratched the surface with editing them. That's part of the fun of a big trip - so many photos to edit when you get home. But the other great thing is reliving the memories of a place when you look at the shots again.
This photo is a great example of that. I was out shooting with my good friend Michael Murphy, and we were at Covent Garden. This place has a strict "no tripod" rule, which interestingly I learned there one evening several years ago, while also out with Murphy that time. But regardless I set up my tripod and started firing away, know it may not last.
As I suspected, a security guard approached and told me that it was dangerous to have my tripod there as someone could trip over it, etc. I noticed his accent wasn't English but rather Irish, so I started asking him about Ireland. We ended up having a nice chat and he was super friendly. Eventually he told me it was fine if I used my tripod, as long as I was careful and made sure to avoid people if possible. Win!
Often these sorts of confrontations end with me being frustrated and not getting my shots, but in this case just changing the subject and having a nice chat ended up with things going my way. As they say, you catch more bees with honey, right?