A couple of months ago friend of mine asked if I would be interested in hanging some photographs in his business. He owns a local legend of an establishment here in Harrisburg, Pa and it would be an honor to see some of my work on its walls. But until everything is official and photographs are hanging, we shall keep its name in obscurity’s selective shadow.
Upon hearing what types of photography he wanted/liked, I began to leaf through my past catalog in my head, being briefly interrupted by flashes of iconic Harrisburg landmarks in dark shadows and bright highlights. Originally I was seeing all of the images in monochrome, but after getting my images onto the computer my tastes were widened.
Last week I finally decided to head out and shoot some the shots that have been rattling around my head for the last month of so. The night was thick with fog and I had an hour or so to kill before I headed to a friend’s house for some coffee and conversation. I guess I can blame my procrastination on my inability to shoot handheld at night prior to purchasing my A7M2, or maybe I just wasn’t quite ready.
I had never really shot at night before, but I was quite confident in me and my camera’s ability to do so. I zipped across the Harvey Taylor bridge, weaved down Front Street and parked on State. The Capitol Building loomed eerily in the thick mist enveloping the city. So thick that fog left a sheen on everything. Every light was reflected which doubled their impact… Any Jean-Claude Van Damme fans out there?!
Aside from being breathtakingly gorgeous, the vibrant colors of the night would be a perfect opportunity to apply some of the color theory I’ve been studying. In regards to settings, I wanted to shoot at the lowest ISO possible and see how slow I could shoot my shutter. Most of the shots were below 640 ISO and with a .5 second shutter speed; occasionally going faster for the brighter areas and longer focal lengths.
Overall I am extremely happy with how things turned out, especially considering this is the most I have shot at night ever. I feel like I learned so much from the night, and from the subsequent post-production. I am really enjoying my journey with color, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t love black & white.
