Many folks turn away from opportunities to shoot photography at night. Low light, less footfall, and a perceived increase in danger means lots of photographers prefer to shoot when the sun is up. That’s a shame because the eeriness of the night is the perfect shooting ground for creative photography. Thankfully, there are plenty of photographers ready to brave the night, and we’ve featured many over the years. Join us as we take a look at some of the best.
1. Vlad Tretiak Reamins One of the Best Night Photographers
Because of the reduced light, shooting at night can be difficult. It’s especially challenging when you’re shooting with an analog camera. Yet, for Serbian photographer Vlad Tretiak, the process seems like a breeze. His dark, gloomy images are made compelling by the little pops of night light. He shoots all his images with an Olympus OM-10, a camera that’s remained popular since its release in 1979. Check out more images from Tretiak here.
2. Tarik Tosun Makes Night Photographers Proud
New York is a terrific spot for almost every type of photography. When the sun goes down and the cityscape lights come on, the Big Apple comes into its own. It’s at this point Tarik Tosun takes out his trusted Nikon FE2 (a camera that’s a joy to work with) and starts creating. “I’ve been told these photos have a serious Blade Runner vibe, and I can’t say I disagree,” he told us in an interview earlier this year. And we don’t disagree either. In fact, we’re totally in love with the vibe. Take a look at more here.
3. Kate Hook Is the Queen of All Night Photographers
Kate Hook comes up a lot here at The Phoblographer. Why is that? Well, her photography remains some the most innovative we’ve ever featured, especially in the analog section. In 2019, Hook balled us over again with her incredible double-exposure portraits. When asked what tool she used to pull off this series, she told us, “…[I] bought a lovely Nikon F3, which I’ve been using a lot.” A fun fact about the Nikon F3 is that it recently celebrated its 40th birthday and remains popular with new photographers today! Check out more of Hook’s work here.
4. Simon Åslund Gets All Atmospheric
Simon Åslund’s aptly named Night Series was created between 2017 and 2018, and still impresses three years later. To make the images, he blended both film and digital. For the former, he used a Canon A-1, a timeless system that creates dreamy night shots when combined with Kodak 400. His digital work is done with the highly popular Fujifilm X100F. It’s a camera that gives you the speed of digital and the feel of analog. To see more of Åslund’s work, go here.
5. Rainer Wengel Captures the Aurora Borealis
One of the best parts of shooting photography at night is the potential of the night sky. For any astrophotographer, the Aurora Borealis is a dream spot for this type of imagery. We came across the work of Rainer Wengel back in 2017. Aside from his beautiful images, we were intrigued by what camera he used. The Silvestri S4 is a unique large-format camera, which is disgracefully underused. Combined with Kodak ISO 400 film or Fuji Provia 400X, the results are breathtaking. Take a look for yourself here.
More Night Photography
If you were unsure about shooting photography at night, the above selection should get you out. Just because the light is limited, it doesn’t mean that captivating scenes don’t exist. So, if your sat at home, late at night, reading this article, go pick up your camera and shoot! And you can send us your results by using the submission form above.
To see more amazing night photographers, check out our Flipboard storyboard.
All images used with permission. Lead image by Kate Hook.