Nighty Night....

If you have had the pleasure of looking at some of my work you may have noticed that I almost always include sky in my images. In most cases, especially the night work, 'If the sky ain't right' then I don't proceed with the shot. This is the way it has always been for me and I believe the right sky can make all the difference, after all it can make up a large area of the final image. Its the ultimate backdrop....
I have spoken a little regarding the night sky in a couple of interviews, including the one in my future book, (my apologises they are not on you tube) but its worth going over again.
My earlier work was always shot between dusk and twilight, the problem here is you have to work quick as you only have a small window of 'key light,' an Image like the Bus Shelter on my website is a good examples of this. This 'key light' can last anything from a few magical minutes (especially in the West with places like California etc) to a few crazy seconds. I have missed so many shots shooting this way, usually whilst faffing with my camera...There are of course exceptions to this depending on time of year and location. In Iceland in July/ August it lasts all night.....
When I acquired my 10/8 view camera I knew working fast was not really an option and wasn't sure if I could pull of night work with the metal monster.
After Twilight when there is no moon the sky goes very black. I would never choose to shoot at this time but soon discovered that if you wait a few hours the sky begins to fill with light. If the sky is overcast the clouds fill with mercury vapour from street lamps and pick up all kinds of other ambient light that's quietly bouncing around...With a long enough exposure this light can be captured on film with marvelous effect. I also discovered that the brightest night sky's tend to be just before it rains, especially within the city limits....
So theres a little bit of technical knowledge which I feel is well worth a mention as it plays such a big part in my images. One thing I didn't mention is that this kind of working after twilight and deep into the night takes a lot of time and with it patience. I always want to tell people the amount of effort involved when creating night images, but tend to be a bit more modest and tell them its easy.....