Initially I chose to photograph at night since that was when the demands of work and family allowed me to get away to photograph. I quickly learned that nighttime brings quiet, solitude, mystery, and sometimes even a little fear, all of which fuel my desire to photograph in the hours of darkness. In the dark, the world can be seen in ways I never see during the daylight. Colors may be dramatically different than during the daylight, long exposures may bring out colors and details which the eye cannot discern, and light-painting can create unreal but striking scenes. It is often not until I view my images on a computer screen or a film negative that I realize what I have captured, all part of the joy and mystery of night photography.
Very recently, with the on-going pandemic, the night is also a time when it’s possible to photograph with minimal risk of social contact.
Most of these photographs are taken using available light, ranging from moonlight to man-made lighting such as streetlights in urban scenes. There are a few which have used light-painting, such as the scenes from the ghost town of Bodie in California and from Sloss Furnace in Alabama. My preference is photographing with available light, though I’m still trying to assess for myself whether that is a true preference or based upon the fact that I am not very good at light painting!
