Creative Night: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques

Chapter 1. Becoming a creature of the night

Figure 1.1. .. Pages 10–11 : I photographedthis view of a winter sea about half an hour after sunset.: 34mm, 3.6 seconds at f/25 and 150 700, tripodmounted

Benefits of Night Photography

As a night photographer, it's not uncommon to hear photographers who haven't worked at night say that they just don't understand. More than once, I've heard, "You blunder around in the dark and face a completely black landscape with your camera? Why on earth would you do such a thing?"

It so happens that this isn't a bad description of what I like to do with my camera in the night.

Along with the incomprehension there's a great fascination with night photography among serious photographers. A number of camera clubs have told me that night photography is the most requested topic for speakers, and good night photography workshops tend to sell out quickly.

So what is the point of night photography, and why does it draw both scorn and enthusiasm?

When figuring out whether night photography is for you, consider the following benefits of night photography:

• When you take a camera into the night, you enter terra incognita. Night is very different from the day. To photograph the night is, in a very real sense, to become an explorer-with the added convenience that night is everywhere, and you don't have to go someplace exotic to begin your journey.

  Figure 1.2. Driving across ...