I love to prowl the night in search of interesting things to photographs. In some respects, because the backgrounds are often black, colors are
much more vibrant at night--especially when you're working with
subjects like neon signs that glow from within. Cities like Las Vegas and New York offer a lot of night opportunities (you could easily spend the rest of your life in either place just photographing night scenes and nothing else), but I find interesting night subjects almost everywhere--diner signs, highways, mall parking lots, etc.
The most important tool you can own for night shooting is, of course, a good tripod but it also helps if, like me, you're something of a night person. Having a camera with a high ISO range really isn't necessary because with a tripod you'll usually get better results if you use long epsoures at a low ISO. I shoot most of my night shots at ISO, which is the default ISO on most of my Nikon bodies. I also do a lot of night shots with a Canon point-and-shoot simply because I usually have it with me when I'm out at night or traveling. If I'm just snapshotting while I'm out with friends and don't have a tripod, yes, I use a high ISO with the Canon and digital noise can be a problem sometimes. Still, I shoot regardless because I'd rather have a noisy shot than no shot. For more on night photo techniques, see my tutorial.
Also, using techniques like the night-portrait exposure mode, it's easy
to mix flash and ambient light (as I did in the Halloween lights shot
and the Statue of Liberty in Times Square shots below). It's worth experimenting with the different night scene modes on your camera because often the provide a quick solution to difficult night exposures.
Peace Sign with Sparklers, Sarah
Garden Park Motel, Norwalk, CT
Times Square, Midnight
Neon Sign, Casino Royale, Las Vegas, Nevada
Fireworks Display, New London, Connecticut (Sponsored by Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation)
