by Mathew Farris
It's no secret that cities create a huge amount of light at night.
Urban dwellers make more use of their window shades to get to sleep than
anything else, and from the country the road to the nearest metropolis
is often identified by the distant glow of streetlights diffusing high
into the atmosphere. I don't approve of light pollution, as a starry sky
on a clear night is one of the most amazing things you'll ever see, but
all of this excess light can definitely be put to good use. Whether
it's "burning" landscape pictures or satellite imagery of bright city
outlines, photography is perhaps the only positive outcome of poor light
management.
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Night photography differs from the popular counterpart in a few major
ways. The lack of a single prime light source means photos will often
have less contrast and shadow quality, but this is made up for in light
diversity. One photo taken in a city may draw light from incandescent
street lamps, fluorescent office lights, and sunlight reflected off a
full moon. This creates a situation that's near impossible to white
balance for, and one shouldn't try to, as the glory of night photography
is in the uncontrollable variables. With longer exposures, camera
sensors extract and amplify light from wherever available, often with
fantastic and unexpected results. A changing stoplight or passing car
can drastically alter an image, fog or overcast clouds can diffuse and
reflect wayward city lights with incredible beauty, and a lack of
consistent shadow often gives structures and objects a surreal
existence. Tally in the array of colors from non white-balanced light
sources and the camera becomes a kaleidoscope. All in all, night
photography is an incredible way to convert some of that extra city
light into photos that are, more often than not, a pleasant surprise.
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Anyone interested can see some of my night and
panoramic photography
on my website linked. I've been shooting in and around Richmond, VA for
a number of years now without even denting its generous supply of photo
ops.
About the Author
Photography student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA
