Night photography

Night Photography generally refers to photographs taken outdoors between twilight and dusk. Night photographers typically set the camera on a tripod and leave the shutter open for long periods of time, often for seconds or even minutes per exposure, in order to give the film or digital sensor enough time to capture enough light to record a proper exposure.

History

In the early 1900's a few notable photographs, Alfred Stieglitz and William Fraser, began working at night. But the first photographers known to have produced a large body of work at night were Brassai and Bill Brandt. In the 1930's, Brassai published a noteworthy book, Paris la Nuit, of black-and-white photographs of the streets of Paris. During World War II, the British photographer Bill Brandt took advantage of the black-out conditions to photograph the streets of London by moonlight.

In the late 1970's, Steve Harper taught the first college-level course on night photograph at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. The legacy of this program has lead to San Francisco becoming one of the core centers of night photography.

By the 1990's, British-born photographer Micheal Kenna had established himself as the most noteworthy night photographer.

Practitioners

• Brassai
• Bill Brandt
• O. Winston Link
• Alan Delaney
• Micheal Kenna
• Bill Schwab

Important works of NightPhotography

• Paris à Nuit (Brassai)
• The Rouge (Micheal Kenna)
• London After Dark (Alan Delaney)
• Frontier New York (Jan Staller)
• Night Work (Micheal Kenna)

Links

• The Nocturnes: Largest source of information on night photography
• General Information by Tim Baskerville
• The History of Night Photography by Lance Keimig