Most people know that cities create a huge amount of light at night. 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.
Night photography differs from the popular counterpart in a few major ways. The lack of a single prime light source means photos will 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 a good way to convert some of that extra city light into
photos that are, more often than not, a pleasant surprise.
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.
