I recently visited Asheville for my travel podcast, Tourist in your Town. I did several walking tours, ate some great food, and drank some excellent beer while there. Oh and I took some photos. I enjoyed my visit and will definitely return to this town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
For me, photography is about catching a moment. That moment can be a backlit street scene or twin church towers silhouetted by a setting sun.
Everybody remembers going to the local fair. It’s warm outside and the day is long. You arrive, buy your handful of tickets for rides and games. I know, it’s wristbands now, but in my day, it was tickets. The music is blaring from the rides and the carnies are yelling out to passersby, “Win a prize!” The smell of corn dogs and polish sausage fill the air. Funnel cakes are obtained and eaten. And at the end of the day, the sun sets and the lights come on.
I did a year end review of my favorite and least favorite still life images. As promises here are my favorite and least favorite night images.
Night photography is my current obsession. As I mentioned in my America After Dark gallery. This image is from the Dragon Lights Festival. There is a color version of this and it’s nice. But I love the way the black and white makes it about the light and dark and highlights the shapes of the flowers and people.
A favorite of not just my night photography, but also my photos from Knoxville. The Tennessee Theatre marquee is lit up and people are walking through town. In the lower right corner is a young girl with a pink jacket, she makes this photo for me. I love subtle touches in photos.
The Chrysler Building takes center stage in this New York skyline photo. I took this from the observation deck on the Empire State Building. I had to squeeze myself in between people taking selfies and some lovers making out. But totally worth it!
The Daylight Building in downtown Knoxville, TN. I took this while wondering around downtown. I couldn’t find anything that caught my eye. So, I was headed back to the car. And there it was. The single person, the lone bicycle, and the shops all lit up for the night.
It’s not that I don’t like these images but I feel like they could be better.
I don’t like the stop sign or the car in this image. As we were leaving, I noticed a better angle and it’s been bugging me ever since. I think I will have to go back and get a better pic. Also, eat pizza!
I think I might like this better if shot a little closer to sunset, so the 1907 and the outline of the clock could be more pronounced. Yes, I could lighten it but that would produce an unnatural grainy look.
Thank you for visiting my most and least favorite list of night photography from this year. Feel free to share your own end of year blogs in the comments below!
Prints are available of all images in my Pixels store. Click here. You can also click on the image and it will take you directly to the store.
My current obsession is night photography. I love to see city lights after dark or small town lights. I never carry a tripod with me, so I shoot with a super high ISO or try to rest the camera on something. I use a Sony A7rII and it is great for shooting in low light with a minimum of grain. Although, I have night photos from around the world, this gallery is dedicated to America after dark.
Knoxville is my home town, so I have lots of images from here. Here are a few.
When I visited New York, I went alone. At first, I thought I might be too afraid to spend a lot of time out after dark, especially taking photos. But I got comfortable with it fairly quickly.
Want to see more photos from after dark, click here.
Feel free to comment and share your own images of America After Dark.
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