by Ross Hillier
I see night photography to be a whole different experience compared to that of normal, everyday photography. There are so many more elements that make such a difference. One thing that is 
always fairly important is light; with daylight photography as well as night photography. The moon, which is the main source of light at night, is considerably less powerful than the sun; obviously, because it is only the sun's reflected light that we see. This makes exposure possible, but remarkably lengthened. There are many different sources for light, too. Ambient light, car lights, street lamps, tungsten. You can be very creative.
Other elements, like wind, make night photography very difficult. If you are working with movable subjects such as trees (which I often do), it can make life really hard. Sometimes it can create a really nice effect of movement under the moonlight. Other times it can ruin the whole night's shoot. Working with long 
exposures you can’t really notice if your tripod moves, even a little gust can disturb the image. On the other hand, wind can be the most creative tool you have. To get outside and see the clouds shifting slowly across the sky is all you could ask for.
Clouds have their own effect on night photography all together. If there is wind you can still photograph, but if the sky is filled with clouds there is no light. No light means no reaction with your film. No reaction with your film means you are going to have to go back inside and watch a movie or read a book.
I’ve often had to go back home because of clouds taking over the sky...such an unpredictable thing. I could actually say that night photography as a whole is extremely unpredictable. It’s always 
a surprise when I go and collect my prints. Sometimes a great day or sometimes not. That is night photography as it should be.
To understand properly how to master night photography, it would be a good to have an idea of how the moon actually works. The moon works in phases. These phases of the moon are caused by the relative positions of the earth, sun, and moon. The moon goes around the earth, on average in 27 days, 7 hours 43 minutes. The sun always illuminates the half of the moon facing the sun (except during lunar eclipses, when the moon passes thru the earth's shadow). When the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the earth, the moon appears "full" to us; a bright, round ball of cheese. When the moon is between the earth and the sun, it appears dark, a "new" moon. In between, the moon's illuminated surface appears to grow (wax) to full, then decreases (wanes) to the next new moon.
 New Moon |
 Waxing Crescent |
 First Quarter |
 Waxing Gibbous |
 Full Moon |
 Waning Gibbous |
|---|
Technical info:
Film speed is a very important detail when shooting very long exposures. I only use 200 ISO, usually Fuji. (Hint: don’t use Agfa and Kodak, as they are very temperamental.) You could even use 100, although you don’t want to sit in one spot the whole night because of each shot taking more than 10 minutes. Don’t even bother to try more than a minute exposure with digital. Tried it and there was just too much noise.
Aperture is very important. If you set your camera at its biggest aperture (eg: 2.8) you are going to end up with probably an overexposed shot with the shadows not defined at all. It’s best to shoot at a bigger f-stop. I will always use f.8, but sometimes if I don’t want to wait or I’m in a rush, f.5.6 will do the trick. It’s also not a good idea to shoot at a small aperture (eg: f.22). This will make exposure times considerably longer. Using a medium aperture size also gives sufficient time (average of 5 – 8 minutes under moonlight) for star trails and cloud movement; very impressive elements for night photography.
It’s really all about experience. I cannot tell what the exact exposure time for a specific spot because the light is always different; film has different properties, cameras are different, etc. These are just the few things that will get you started.
Exposure time very much depends on the scene. I can just about get the right exposure time for most shots because of what I’ve learned over time. I will bracket maybe 2 or 3 per shot, but sometimes I do only one. (Bracketing is where you expose the same shot a few times just with different apertures in order to get the correct exposure.) The shutter speed must obviously be on bulb and you should try and have a cable release, or even some masking tape can get you started – that’s how I started. Your camera's light meter can’t help you this time.
After hearing that shutter open all you need to do is sit back and listen to the silence of frozen time. It sometimes almost feels as time stops and the world becomes frozen. It really is pure silence. This is what you’ll need for a lovely trip:
• A tripod – don’t really like them but you have to use it
• Camera – this would be your own camera
• A lens or 2 – I rarely change lenses, stick to 28mm
• Cable release – one of my favorite things
• Fuji 200 x 3, maybe more if you have the whole night
• A watch – doesn’t have to be yours
• A small torch – very handy, can be used for seeing things and focusing
• A handheld flash – in case you want to experiment or need to light a shadow
• Walkman – usually Dave Matthews Band, incubus, dispatch
If you have those few things you will more than likely have a very good night.
This photograph ("Open Shutter") was in fact the first night shot I took. I remember being interested for some reason, and 
asked my photography teacher (Adam Letch) for some advice. He said, "f.8." He could have said some more… It’s been like that ever since. For that specific shot I shot @ f.8 for about 45 seconds. I wasn’t using a release and held the button with my finger. Still amazed how it wasn’t blurred. The light came out perfect and the colors were emphasized and saturated. Reciprocity failure didn’t alter the colors, it enhanced them.
What’s so incredible about night photography are the colors. I only like to shoot color film for night photography. The colors usually turn out so awesome, so dramatic.
This photo ("Shooting Stars") is one of my favorites. The star trails intrigue me the most. They almost lead me out of the image, up into space. You can never really tell which way the stars will move across the sky, a surprise each time. This shot was done @ f.5.6 for 8 minutes with Kodak 200. The moon was very small and was only visible from about 10 o’clock. This meant the light was not very strong and the exposure needed to be longer. The blues came out so clear and varied. I try to create simple interesting photographs; images that beg for and attract attention.
This photo of mine ("Blue Buildings") was what really inspired me to pursue night photography. I came across a man named Larry Thompson, an excellent night photographer who works a lot with lighting techniques. I don’t really like using colored gels. I prefer more naturalistic photographs. Even so, that got me out into the night. I can remember shooting this with two friends by my side. We found this half built house which deserved to be photographed. It was amazing under the full moon. Shot @ f.8 for 6 minutes with a 28mm fixed lens, I tried using red and blue flashes but this didn’t work. All you need to try this is to get some colored gels; red and blue are the best. Have a small separate flash, and that’s it.
The last photo ("Turquoise Midnight") is a good example of reciprocity failure. The sky was obviously blue on this night, no post editing at all; none of my night shots are. The 7 or so minute exposure altered the blue to turquoise. Shot @ f.8 for 7 
minutes with Kodak 200 film. Again, something that I by no chance expected. The beauty of night photography.
I love to create images that people look at and think, "Is that real?" There is so much creativity in night photography. Something you see in the day and think, how boring - can be something incredible at night. Open your mind, just a little.
