Into
the Night
by Paul S. Ubl
Being a photographer often requires a certain
anonymity. Some have called photographers voyeurs. In point of fact we are observers of light, shape, pattern and behaviour. At
night our ability to stand in the shadows, to be outside the action, or simply be
unobserved can be an enhancement to our work as photographers. At night everything
takes on a different appearance. During the day everything is washed with the
bright light from the sky. The entire observable heaven is a light source. At
night the only light is the light we create. It shines as far as it will and no farther. Thus, at night we are surrounded by darkness, with random areas of light. To be a successful night photographer I would suggest two concepts.
First, there is always light. If you keep your camera on a tripod you can open the shutter for as long as you want. One time I left my camera open for 4 hours while photographing a night landscape in Alaska. It would be hard to do that in a city!
Second, most good night photography is done where there is light! I know this sounds contrary, but when photographing markets or street scenes the areas are usually well lit. This is why subjects look so interesting. The subjects are in the light while the area in general is dark.
For this photo shoot I was trying to record the
grand infrastructure of the city. Sometimes it appears ominous and imposing
while other times busy and bright and full of activity. We stumbled upon a
highway overpass in that was complete but not open to traffic. We parked in the car end wandered, with all our
equipment in tow, to the top of the
overpass above several busy roads. The view of the city was beautiful in
that area and was well lit with traffic lights and commercial activity. It was
strange to be in the middle of a forbidden space without the fear of being
there. We could stand in the middle of the road, sit along the median, wander
back and forth, and simply take all the time we needed to observe from any
angle without a single worry about traffic. It was a very fortunate moment.
About a week later the overpass was opened in the photographic experience we
had would have been impossible at that location. Still, up there, above the
traffic on this open expanse of road we talked about night photography, took
photos from a variety of angles and after a few hours felt we had done some
good work.
by Paul S. Ubl
