Five Questions: Dark Skies, Light Stands, PCs and More

If you send questions, we’ll send answers. Want proof? See Exhibits 1 through 5 below.

This installment of our “Five Questions” series features inquiries about websites for finding dark skies, light stands, PC computers for photo editing, filter vignetting and a lighting effect.

If you have any questions you would like to throw our way, please contact us anytime. Questions could be about gear, national parks and other photo locations, post-processing techniques, field etiquette, or anything else related to night photography. #SeizeTheNight!

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1. Tools for Seeking Dark Skies

Question:

A few of the presenters at the Night Photo Summit referenced the website ClearDarkSky for help in planning night sky photography. Assuming that I will probably have to drive at least two hours one way to reach a certified dark sky preserve from my home, just to photograph only stars and the Milky Way, is it sufficient to just look at the darkness and cloud cover on that website? I see that Dark Sky has similar information, but its forecast components appear to be more related to telescope viewing. — Ray B.

Answer:

You can always make a photograph in any condition. Obviously, the darker the sky, the more stars you will see, and the more of the Milky Way you will see in your images. Are you primarily interested in photographing the sky, or the landscape, or both? There are many dark-sky websites you can check (I like DarkSiteFinder), but don’t get too hung up on Bortle numbers—just go out and make some images.

If you’re just doing astro-landscape photography, then find a spot with an interesting landscape/foreground that doesn’t have any artificial light in the immediate area, and see what you get. I think it’s more important to make interesting pictures than to have the darkest sky possible.

On the other hand, if you are mainly interested in photographing the sky and celestial objects (i.e., astrophotography), then use any one of those websites to find the darkest spot within a comfortable driving distance, and go for it.

This screenshot above from DarkSiteFinder has a pin where I live. Even though I’m on the outskirts of an urban area, I can easily see the Milky Way with the naked eye, and it shows up even better in-camera because the light pollution is to the north and Milky Way to the south. — Lance

2. Night Light Stands

Question:

I have been playing with my Luxli Fiddle light but could use a stand to position it better. What type of stand do you use? — M. West

Manfrotto MS0490C Carbon Fiber Nanopole.

Answer:

A compact and travel light stand is a perfect complement for your Luxli Fiddle. You’ll be able to set it up, finesse the position and then leave it there for repeatability. It has been a game-changing way for many of us at National Parks at Night to level up our Low-level Light Painting. (Though if you’re shooting in national parks, note that many of them require a Special Use Permit for light stands.)

Below is a breakdown of our favorite compact light stands that are easy to pack for your night adventures (you can all their specs compared at this link):

• Impact LS-RL7 7.2' Reverse Legs Light Stand

• Manfrotto 5002BL Nano Plus Stand

• Manfrotto MS0490A Nanopole

• Manfrotto MS0490C Carbon Fiber Stand

The Impact Reverse is the least expensive and the most basic.

The Manfrotto options offer an adjustable leg, which is helpful on uneven terrain. The Nano Plus will also hold bigger lights if you have any strobes. The Nanopole will let you easily pull out the center column and to use as a boom arm. The Carbon Fiber is the lightest but also most expensive of those mentioned.

While your Luxli Fiddle will screw directly into the light stands with the included 1/4-inch adapter, you will want to add a mini-ball head adapter so you can adjust your light easily. — Gabe

3. PC Preferences

Question:

I’m wondering about your recommendation for a laptop of the non-Apple variety. Do you recommend using a desktop or laptop with external monitor? Space and money are at a premium. — I.B.

Answer:

My personal approach is that I have both a desktop and a laptop.

The desktop is my workhorse—that’s where all my power is (i.e., RAM, higher-grade processor, terabytes of storage space, etc.). My laptop has enough power to run Lightroom and Photoshop effectively when I’m traveling, but doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of my desktop. The reason is that an all-powerful desktop PC is notably less expensive than its performance equivalent in a laptop, and the aforementioned strategy gives me a combined system with “enough” power when I’m on the road and full power when I’m home.

However, that’s not necessarily the best “space and money” option overall. Instead of two computers, you could get just a somewhat-better-than-adequate laptop that you can connect to your larger display when home, as you suggested. For photo editing, I personally recommend a laptop that meets or exceeds these specifications:

• a calibratable 15-inch display (larger is better for photo editing, but is also heavier for travel)

• HD (1920 x 1080) resolution or greater (but not 4K, unless you’re also doing video work)

• 2 GHz processor with 64-bit support

• 16 GB RAM

• 2 GB video memory

• 1 TB internal SSD hard drive

I suggest checking B&H Photo to see what kind of system you can put together for your budget. Go to their Laptops page and enter your desired specs in the left margin, then browse your options, looking for what might fit your budget. Alternatively, just call B&H and speak with someone from the computer team. They’re excellent at guiding you toward a solution based on your needs, and they can even custom-build a desktop or laptop computer. In my experience with B&H for over 25 years, they will not guide you toward something more expensive that you don’t need.

For what it’s worth, since last fall I’ve been using an MSI Creator 15, and I recently obtained an MSI Creator Z16 (pictured above) that I’m eager to take out for a spin. — Chris

4. Perseid Vignettes

Question:

I’m hoping to shoot the Perseids in August and wondered about the Breakthrough Photography filter for light pollution. Do you know it and whether it vignettes? — Wendy K.

Answer:

I have not used that particular filter, but I can confidently say that it should not cause vignetting. Light pollution filters inhibit particular color wavelengths that are commonly associated with light pollution. The only way they would vignette is if they have a deep profile that can be seen through a too-wide-angle lens, which good design should prevent.

This is a great year for photographing the Perseids, as they’ll peak on nights when the moon isn’t visible. For more information on how to shoot a meteor shower, be sure to check out our Great Balls of Fire e-book. — Matt

5. Cape Cod Lighting Effect

Question:

I recently saw a presentation you did, and I have a question about the image Chris showed of the dune shack at Cape Cod National Seashore. Was a special “effect” in editing applied to that picture, or was it just your lighting? — K. O’Donnell

Dune shack, Cape Cod National Seashore. © 2017 Chris Nicholson. Nikon D5 with a Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, light painted with a Coast HP7R flashlight. 20 seconds, f/4, ISO 1600.

Answer:

No special effects or trick editing—I only lit and shot it. There was some post-processing, of course, but just to tweak exposure and contrast.

That said, I’m not sure if you’re referring to the color of the background or the illumination of the shack, so I’ll address both:

• The warm tones of the background are caused by the lights of nearby Provincetown bouncing off the clouds. Some night photographers avoid light pollution at all costs; I try to embrace it creatively, and this photo is a good example of how and why.

• The foreground light coming from an unfiltered Coast HP7R LED flashlight. The light is soft and broad and a little warmer than usual because rather than hitting the shack with a direct beam, I bounced the beam off the top of the sand dune to camera-right, and it’s reflecting back to illuminate the front of the shack. That was a creative solution for working in a tight spot where I couldn’t side-light from outside the frame (because of the slope of the dune), and it came with the added benefit of creating that nice, soft effect. — Chris

Chris Nicholson is a partner and workshop leader with National Parks at Night, and author of Photographing National Parks (Sidelight Books, 2015). Learn more about national parks as photography destinations, subscribe to Chris' free e-newsletter, and more at www.PhotographingNationalParks.com.

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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS FROM NATIONAL PARKS AT NIGHT

Good Reads for 2021: 11 New Books for the Night Photographer

Interested in books about photography, night and national parks? See the National Parks at Night Bookshelf.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m a book hound. I always have my eyes open for new (or old) night photography books. Over the past year I’ve written two posts about “essential” books for night photographers (“10 Essential Books for the Night Photographer’s Library” and its sequel “10 More Books to Round Out your Night Photography Library”). Most of those are classic titles, more than a few of which are out of print and hard to find.

I hope I haven’t created an impression that all good night photography books are old. In truth, this genre of photography is not just alive and well, but is thriving. In fact, Matt Hill rightfully speaks about this being “the golden age of night photography.”

Proof of that is on the shelves, with plenty of new volumes of and about night photography being published. There have been a number of recent releases of note, with three forthcoming books due later this year that you’ll be sure to want to check out.

Below you’ll find my choice of 11 contemporary night photography books that are well worth your time and money.

Monographs

A monograph is a lifetime goal for many photographers, and a great showcase for one’s imagery. Monographs can also serve as inspiration for the rest of us. With advances in on-demand printing, small niche publishers are able to produce short runs of books with specialized interests with relatively low risk.

One such publisher is America Through Time, which caters to the urban exploration crowd, with monographs that depict the buzzing energy of vast metropolises to the places that humans have left behind. They’ve released several such books with a nocturnal theme lately, by Troy Paiva, Ken Lee and Mike Cooper.

TO:KY:OO

by Liam Wong

Liam Wong is a bit of an outsider to the night photography world, but is a young man with a powerful vision. His supersaturated cyberpunk-inspired night views of Tokyo have recently been published by Thames and Huson in TO:KY:OO.

Wong is a young Scottish video game designer and art director who brings his experience to a relatively newfound love of night photography. His highly stylized images of Tokyo at night are reminiscent of Blade Runner or other science fiction dystopian worlds.

His day job took him to Tokyo at a time when he was in the process of teaching himself photography, and he applied his design sensibilities and strong sense of color to his imagery. These are not long exposures—no star trails here! The images are all about the throbbing mass of humanity that makes up one of the world’s most interesting cities. The photos in TO:KY:OO are unlike anything else I’ve seen and are definitely worth exploring.

Junkyard Nights: Haunting NorCal’s Automotive Graveyards

by Troy Paiva

Troy Paiva is a modern legend. For more than 30 years he’s been photographing all sorts of abandoned places in California, employing a style of light painting that he developed in 1989 using Vivitar flashes and colored gels. An entire generation of night photographers have been inspired by his work, initially on Flickr, his website LostAmerica.com, and later through his books. The two recently published volumes here represent books numbers 4 and 5.

Junkyard Nights is a nocturnal love letter to the ghosts of our automotive past. The images in this book were made by the light of the full moon in two old-school junkyards in California’s agricultural heartland. The accompanying text not only conveys the essence of these desolate industrial landscapes, but it also examines the place these mid-20th century cars hold in the context of 20th century design.

Night Salvage: Haunting SoCal’s Automotive Graveyards

by Troy Paiva

Like Junkyard Nights, Night Salvage is a nocturnal love letter to automotive junkyards. The images in this volume represent three collections of junk cars lost in the deserts of Southern California. As usual, the images are accompanied by amusing anecdotes of Paiva’s nocturnal adventures, as well as by informed historical notes about the cars and the locations he photographs.

Let Paiva be your guide through these derelict graveyards filled with slowly decaying cars: a classic abandoned high desert junkyard, a TV and movie prop vehicle graveyard, and a little-known art project consisting of thousands of cars resting forgotten in a remote canyon.

Abandoned Louisiana: Under a Bayou Moon

by Mike Cooper

Abandoned Louisiana: Under a Bayou Moon is a nocturnal photographic journey through the ruins of the Bayou State. Cooper proudly acknowledges the influence of Paiva on his work, and it is clearly derivative. That’s OK, as Cooper is a quick learner and has applied his skills and passion to document ruins—both obscure gems and public eyesores throughout the state.

More than 200 images reveal a side of Louisiana that is usually either overlooked or hidden from view. If you like images of light-painted abandoned sites, and have an interest in Bayou culture, then this book ought to be right up your alley.

Abandoned Southern California: The Slowing of Time

by Ken Lee

Ken Lee is a personal friend, and we’ve long admired each other’s work. It’s been a real pleasure to watch his photography evolve and to see his success over the last several years.

The quiet, empty places shown in Lee’s images tell stories of desert dreams fueled by gold, war, optimism and wealth, only to later be abandoned and left to slowly disintegrate. Abandoned Southern California: The Slowing of Time offers a different take on all kinds of lonely and abandoned places in the Southern California desert.

Ken’s second book, Abandoned Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: California Revealed, will be released later this year.

Night on Earth: Photographs by Art Wolfe

by Art Wolfe (coming October 5, 2021)

As our friend astronomer Tyler Nordgren says, “Half the park is after dark.” He’s right, but the greater truth of the matter is that half the world is after dark, and much of what goes on in the dark is mostly unseen to the human eye. There is so much that happens while most people are sleeping, and this collection of photographs is a testament to what most of us will never see. Photographer Art Wolfe traveled to every continent to explore and document the nighttime world of animals, humans and nature.

Including twilight and low light images along with true night photos, Night on Earth’s subjects are as diverse as the hustle and bustle in Morocco’s nighttime markets, Balinese fire dancers, volcanic eruptions in Iceland, penguin colonies in pre-dawn Antarctica, star trails over the Australian Outback, and street scenes in Tokyo. Wolfe is one of the preeminent photographers of his generation, and this first collection of night images from him is sure to be a worthy addition to any photographer’s library.

How-To & Reference

Collier’s Guide to Night Photography in the Great Outdoors (second edition)

by Grant Collier

Grant Collier’s how-to night photography book is a good one. It slipped largely under the radar when the first edition was published in 2015. This second edition of Collier’s Guide to Night Photography has been revised and updated and includes 50 new images. The gear section and all weblinks have been updated, and all information on post-processing is up-to-date for use with Photoshop and Lightroom. There is also new information on Photoshop plug-ins and other software that is useful for night photography, and he covers all the bases of natural light night photography.

Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results

by Adam Woodworth

Rather than just covering the bases, Adam Woodworth has scored a home run with his first book: Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results. Adam gave a great presentation on Milky Way panoramas at our Night Photo Summit in February, and I had just received my copy of his book the week before. I’m impressed, and will state unequivocally that this is one of the best and most up-to-date books on astro-landscape photography available.

In clear, concise language, Woodworth walks the reader through the steps to successful astro-landscape photography. Note that it’s not a complete guide to general night photography (it doesn’t cover urban night photography, and has limited information on light painting)—it’s strictly astro-landscape. He does cover stacking and tracking, with a great section on panoramas. Highly recommended.

2021 Night Sky Almanac: A Month-by-Month Guide to North America’s Skies

by Nicole Mortillaro

The 2021 Night Sky Almanac is the ideal resource for both novice and experienced sky watchers in the United States and Canada, with all of the advice, information and data that enthusiasts need to understand and enjoy the wonders of the night sky.

This in-depth guide first introduces readers to the objects in the sky—from stars to comets to globular clusters—and then takes you through the cosmic events to look out for each month in 2021, with sky maps, moon phase charts and info about the planets.

The almanac is both a comprehensive introduction to astronomy and a quick reference book for more experienced sky watchers who don’t want to miss a thing. Its compact size means it’s perfect for taking on any night photography adventure.

Inspirational

The World at Night: Spectacular Photographs of the Night Sky

by Babak Tafreshi

Bringing together the images of over 40 photographers across 25 countries, The World at Night: Spectacular Photographs of the Night Sky is a collection of images curated by The World at Night founder Babak Tafreshi.

What makes this book unique is how the images are organized. The sections include: “One People, One Sky,” which attests to the unified nature of earth and mankind; “World Heritages,” which not surprisingly features night photographs of World Heritage Sites; “Events That Shook the World,” which is about celestial events such as comets, eclipses and unusual atmospheric phenomena; “The Fragile Beauty of Darkness,” which uses gorgeous images to show the importance of preserving dark skies; and “Dark Sky Refuges,” which showcases dark-sky parks and other astro-tourism destinations.

To Know a Starry Night

by Paul Bogard (coming October 12, 2021)

Paul Bogard gave an impassioned presentation based on his earlier book, The End of Night, at our Night Photo Summit. His newest book, scheduled for publication in October, combines his lyrical writing with the night-sky photography of Beau Rogers. To Know a Starry Night explores the powerful experience of being outside under a natural starry sky––how important it is to human life, and how so many people don’t know this experience. As the night sky increasingly becomes flooded with artificial-light pollution, this poignant work intends to help us reconnect with the natural darkness of night, an experience that now, in our time, is fading from our lives.

In Conclusion

Now that the seemingly interminable pandemic is winding down in some places, and summer has arrived here in the Northern Hemisphere, everyone is looking forward to spending more time outdoors photographing and less time behind a computer, but that doesn’t mean there’s no time for books in our lives!

Whether chillaxing by the pool, or waiting at the airport for a flight to your next night photo destination, any or all of these books will make great summer reading to inform, educate and inspire you to get back out there and to seize the night.

Lance Keimig is a partner and workshop leader with National Parks at Night. He has been photographing at night for 30 years, and is the author of Night Photography and Light Painting: Finding Your Way in the Dark (Focal Press, 2015). Learn more about his images and workshops at www.thenightskye.com.

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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS FROM NATIONAL PARKS AT NIGHT

Paradise at Night: All 5 Utah National Parks are Now Dark-Sky Certified

This week the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) announced that Zion National Park has been designated as their very newest international dark sky park. Kudos, booyah and way to go!

The bigger news surrounding that is this: With that designation, now all five national parks in Utah—Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion—have been recognized as international dark sky parks. (For more information, see the official press release.)

It’s quite an achievement, though not necessarily a surprise. National park lovers know how amazing all five of those places are, and anyone who has roamed or photographed them at night knows the beauty and wonder of those dark skies.

Of course, Utah’s grand landscapes and inspiring night skies aren’t limited to just those national parks. In fact, the state boasts the highest concentration of dark-sky areas in the world, with 24 such designations within its boundaries, including six national monuments and 11 state parks.

If you like night, Utah is a great place to be. Clearly. They even considered making a license plate saying as much:

To celebrate the news of all five of Utah’s national parks being recognized in this way, all five National Parks at Night instructors have pitched in one photo each as a small showcase of what you can expect from Utah’s “Mighty 5.”

Or, perhaps we should rename them the “Nighty Five”?

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Arches National Park

by Tim Cooper

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Given a name like Arches, you might expect the park to be a one-trick pony. Nothing could be further from the truth. Arches is a gorgeous location with an array of opportunities for the night photographer!

Nikon D4s with a Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens at 15mm. 16 stacked exposures shot at 3 minutes, f/5.6, ISO 100.

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Bryce Canyon National Park

by Matt Hill

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Bryce Canyon is a Top 10 destination for me because of the extremely accessible canyon rim and extraordinary geological features, such as the hoodoos and sedimentary strata. It’s also cooler in the summer with elevations reaching 9,100 feet, which makes for better night photography conditions.

Nikon Z 6 with a Zeiss Distagon 15mm f/2.8 lens and FTZ Adapter. 198 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 3200.

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Canyonlands National Park

by Chris Nicholson

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Canyonlands is a wonder of geography and a wonder for the eyes. Every section of the park is amazing in its own way, but especially inspiring is Island in the Sky, where all around you are canyons within canyons within canyons. Not to mention some beautiful rock formations, such as the famous Mesa Arch.

Nikon D3s with a Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, light painted with a Coast HP7R flashlight. 25 seconds, f/5.6, ISO 6400.

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Capitol Reef National Park

by Gabriel Biderman

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When Chris, Matt and I did an epic road trip through Utah’s parks, we all fell in love with Capitol Reef. It’s remote and has outstanding, surreal landscapes created by ancient rivers carving through the geology of time. You can explore the backcountry of Capitol Reef by 4x4, but plenty of amazing scenes, like the Twins pictured above, can be found just off the road.

Nikon D5 with an Irix 11mm f/4 lens. 152 stacked exposures shot at 30 seconds, f/4, ISO 6400.

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Zion National Park

by Lance Keimig

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Zion is one of the crown jewels of our park system with its steep red cliffs and at least six deep narrow canyons carved by the Virgin River, including the famous Subway and the Zion Narrows. It’s an outdoor paradise with easy to strenuous hiking, biking, canyoneering and climbing, and wildlife abounds. I love it because there are plenty of hard-to-miss, grandiose photo opportunities, but even more subtle photogenic scenes for the observant photographer. Oh, and some very dark skies.

Nikon D750 with a 20mm lens. 6 minutes, f/8, ISO 800.

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Your Turn

What do you think of all five of Utah’s national parks being designated as international dark-sky parks? We’d love to hear, and we’d love to see your night photos of these amazing places. Feel free to share in the comments, on our Facebook page or on Instagram (tag us @nationalparksatnight and/or hashtag us #nationalparksatnight).

Chris Nicholson is a partner and workshop leader with National Parks at Night, and author of Photographing National Parks (Sidelight Books, 2015). Learn more about national parks as photography destinations, subscribe to Chris' free e-newsletter, and more at www.PhotographingNationalParks.com.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS FROM NATIONAL PARKS AT NIGHT

Muses from the Past: Alfonso Garcia Sanchez and Post-War Madrid at Night

Analyzing classic photographs can be an effective way to progress in one’s own work. The key is not to simply mimic someone else’s great ideas, but to use the knowledge that comes with reproducing the work of masters and move on to create something new. With this in mind, National Parks at Night's Lance Keimig offers this ongoing Muses from the Past series highlighting some of the early masters of night photography. We'd love to see any photographs you create after learning more about the pioneers of this niche—please share in the comments section!

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I’ve been truly fortunate to be able to be both self-employed and to do work that I love for the last 30 years. Still, the goal that I set for myself to make a living exclusively as a night photographer eluded me until about ten years ago. With the exception of teaching night photography workshops, there have been relatively few times when I have been hired specifically for my night photography skill set.

I chose the specialty of architectural photography early in my career as I saw that as one of the best opportunities to shoot at night professionally. A few such assignments did come my way, but for the most part I was hired to shoot commercial interiors and institutional spaces. My fine art night work was carried by one of the better Boston art galleries until they closed, and as a result my work has been added to both corporate and institutional collections. For a number of years while living in Massachusetts, I worked with an art consultant who appreciated my vision, and she worked hard to convince clients that they needed night photographs hanging on their walls.

Very early in my career, way back in 1990, I almost sold a self-assigned project of images of the Port of Stockton in California. I had worked for a couple of months just to gain access to the property to photograph after hours, and eventually had a body of work that I was happy with. When I sent a selection of prints to my contact at the port, she was very enthusiastic and wanted to use them in their upcoming annual report.

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Port of Stockton, California. This is about a 15-minute exposure on medium format Fuji color negative film, made by moonlight and mixed artificial lights in 1991. The combination of strange architecture and mixed lighting made for a surreal scene. The camera, lens and exposure are long forgotten, as there was no EXIF data in the nights of yore.

Had it come to pass, it would have been the brightest feather in my cap to date, but the CEO put the kibosh on the project. He rightly understood that the dark and mysterious images I made of his property did not reflect a vibrant and busy facility that moved tons of freight and cargo every day. My photographs did not convey the message that needed to be communicated by the report. I was disappointed, but he made the right decision––even if I didn’t appreciate it at the time.

But this post is not about me or my work. It’s about one of the more interesting night photography projects ever undertaken. Unlike my unpublished Port of Stockton photos, Rincones Del Viejo Madrid: Nocturnos was published as a book of night photographs. The images were made by Alfonso Garcia Sanchez and his two sons in 1950 and 1951.

A little background history is required to place this work in context, and to show why it was so ill-conceived.

Madrid in a Good Light, at Night

Spain was essentially a fascist dictatorship after Francisco Franco took power during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Although the country officially claimed neutrality during World War II, it really supported the axis powers, and as a result it was politically and economically isolated at the end of the war.

The autarkic Falangist movement that dominated Spanish politics in the 1940s eventually yielded to a less isolationist faction within Franco’s inner circle as Spain looked to join the young United Nations and to be welcomed back to the world stage.

One effort toward that goal was a multipronged publicity campaign to polish Spain’s tarnished image, and the extravagantly printed book of photographs titled Rincones Del Viejo Madrid: Nocturnos was one of many such projects offered to dispel the notion that Spain was a dangerous place (a perception that came about largely as a result of the historical memory of Spain’s swashbuckling past, the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s cozy relationship with Germany and Italy during the war) and to instead show what a warm and welcoming place it truly was.

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“Plazuela De La Morería—In the heart of old Madrid. It owes its name to the fact of having been the dwelling place of the Moors at the time of the conquest by the Christians. It was generally believed that the Spaniards expelled all of the Moorish inhabitants as they conquered one town after another. This is not so. After the conquest, Arabs and Christians lived together. The historical truth is that when the latter took Madrid, they fixed, in their generosity definite spaces for the former to live in.” (Rincones Del Viejo Madrid: Nocturnos)

The book shows romanticized scenes of quiet plazas and passageways of the Moorish Quarter, the oldest part of the city, lit by gaslights at night. The streets are mostly deserted, and the few human figures that populate the scenes are shadowy and mysterious. The photos are likewise moody, dark and ominous, and they are full of atmosphere. One thing they are not is welcoming. The scenes presented on the pages of this handsome and expensively produced volume would be more fitting illustrations to a murder mystery novel than to a tourist board promotion.

Each of the 41 images has a description of the location where the photo was taken in both Spanish and English. It’s doubtful that the book made much of an impact on international relations, and although Alfonso, as he was known, is one of the more important Spanish photographers of the time, he is not widely known for this work.

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“Calle Del Cordon—This is one of the most felicitous hits of portraying the night in the venerable nooks, in old Madrid. The narrowness of the streets causes the buildings to look higher and weighed deeper down with mystery. It seems as if a curtain were raised behind which we perceive the decoration of fairy tales, of legend, and adventure.” (Rincones Del Viejo Madrid: Nocturnos)

In 2009 I had a conversation with photo historian Gerardo F. Kurtz, who introduced me to both Alfonso and the book. Unfortunately I’ve not been able to discover much else about this obscure publication since then, and only recently did I find an excellent copy online through AbeBooks.

Gerardo is one of the preeminent historians of photography history on the Iberian peninsula, and my email conversation with him was fascinating and revelatory in multiple ways on multiple topics. I’m excerpting a few of his thoughts on Rincones here in an attempt to convey both the motivation of the photographers and how the publication came to be.

Gerardo wrote to me:

“This production must have been conceived (and produced) in context of the then-just-developing forces that were behind the promotion of the city of Madrid as a tourist place, as a modern city and as a safe one. What this book states in that context of dangerous Madrid is obviously lost in our understanding, but the myths of nocturnal danger of Madrid—romantic views of the sword fights and of criminal violence—were certainly strong and had a good grip on collective understanding (misunderstanding one might better say).

“The general visual aesthetics of the whole book, not just of the images themselves, is clearly in tune with the rest of all the ‘official’ material produced in that period. In any case, this production is clearly not an outsider to its time and environment—it is far from something coming from the atelier of an artist trying to put forward his own vision. His vision is there, of course, but here one could hardly suspect it being the key issue put forward with the book.

“There has been, to my understanding, very little effort to understand the factors and prevailing views of the artists—like Alfonso—who worked during this peculiar period of time called the ‘el franquismo.’ My untrained view is that there was lots of talent involved in the propaganda efforts and that the regime was in fact very aware of the need to use and promote good talent, but alas, tuning it and putting it to the service of a social reality, at least more to a social reality than to a political one.

“Most now want to see only the political and perverse side of it all, and this has deeply distorted the understanding of the historical reality of that time. In any case, I have always understood Alfonso as one of those talented artists, phased into the scene, if not a direct part of it.

“His Nocturnos would be the typical material put at the service of an editorial idea, and his technical skills (here he is certainly bragging and telling us that photographically ‘it can be done’) were brought out to everyone’s view, but his images could still be understood as something produced by him as a free and talented artist. A complicated combination and a complicated issue.”

Alfonso’s Photos

Alfonso was an accomplished commercial photographer who as far as we know was not politically motivated, but who eagerly accepted this assignment as both a well-paying job and as a way to show off his photographic prowess in a technically challenging assignment. Photographic technology had advanced considerably in the 1940s, with new emulsions and new optics making night photography more accessible and good results more attainable than in the past.

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“Calle Del Codo—In the background, The Plaza de la Villa. In the foreground, the house with the historical tower of Lujanes. The ground where the narrow lane is situated, belonged to the Vargas, who were knights in the town. The shape of the street is exactly like an elbow. The name was given by the Marquis of Grafal, Magistrate of Madrid.” (Rincones Del Viejo Madrid: Nocturnos)

Sancehz is not known to have made other significant night images, nor to be someone who was passionate about the aesthetic possibilities of night photography. The images are somewhat repetitive and not highly creative, but they are extremely well-executed and show remarkable control of the high-contrast scenes of his subjects. He often included streetlights in the images, and the level of detail in both the highlights and shadows reveals that he must have worked hard to create a strategy of exposing and developing his film for maximum detail.

To someone without firsthand knowledge of film-based photography, the images are probably not very exciting, but for the time when they were made, these photographs were quite the technical achievement.

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“San Pedro El Viejo, Bajo La Escarcha De Enero—Behind the railing of Santisteban at the end of the Nuncio Street, there stands the church of san Pedro the Old with its proud tower. It is the oldest of the temples in Madrid among those of which have held through the course of times the devotion of the Madrid people. On the side of the Evangel in a chapel by itself lie the remains of the noble family of the Lujanes.” (Rincones Del Viejo Madrid: Nocturnos)

When placed into context of other thematic bodies of night photography from the 1930s through the 1950s––the work of Brassai, Harold Burdekin and John Morrison, Bill Brandt, Volkmar Kurt Wentzell and O. Winston Link—Alfonso’s Rincones Del Viejo Madrid stands out as an important project, as an early example of commissioned night photography as opposed to a personal project, as a historical record of an interesting chapter of Madrid’s history, and as a superb technical accomplishment in night photography.

Connecting with the Past

As I look back on my own career and at varied attempts to find paid night photography assignments alongside simultaneous self-assigned passion projects, I can’t help but think of the mixed emotions Alfonso may have felt at being hired for the Rincones project. It was clearly a posh assignment, and one that allowed him some creative expression and to showcase his technical expertise. On the other hand, it was work for hire to promote a political agenda, and we’ll never know if that bothered him or if it never even crossed his mind.

We are lucky that the work survives in an extravagantly produced goat-leather bound book with marbled endpapers and with high-quality photogravure printing. I’m quite fortunate to have been able to acquire my own copy of this rare book and to have had the privilege to learn about its history from Gerardo. I hope that you as well enjoy both the images and the history.

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“Calle del Rollo—The lower part of this street, at the back of that of the Conde de Revillagigedo, was named Calle de la Parra (Vine Street). It was famous in the time of the Master Juan Lopez, professor of studies, in the town. He was fined for not hindering or punishing his pupils who stole the grapes from a vine. Vexed because of the fines and warnings, he kept in prison for three days, Miguel de Cevantes, who was the perpetrator of the scaling of the walls and the stealing of the grapes.” (Rincones Del Viejo Madrid: Nocturnos)

I’m always on the lookout for historical examples of night photography, especially by lesser or unknown photographers. The images of Brassai, Brandt and Link are well-known and widely published, but the discovery of the fascinating work of artists such as the Vargas Brothers, Burdekin and Morrison, and Alfonso broaden and expand our understanding of night photography as an oeuvre.

How many more glass plate masterpieces lay waiting to be discovered in dusty wooden crates hidden away in long-forgotten attics? Surely there were early photographers outside of Europe and America who found a passion for photographing by moonlight or streetlight, but whose work has never been seen. I’m still searching, and will report back to you with more Muses from the Past.  

Lance Keimig is a partner and workshop leader with National Parks at Night. He has been photographing at night for 30 years, and is the author of Night Photography and Light Painting: Finding Your Way in the Dark (Focal Press, 2015). Learn more about his images and workshops at www.thenightskye.com.

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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS FROM NATIONAL PARKS AT NIGHT

Buzz Off! … Or, Mitigating Mosquitos While Photographing on Spring and Summer Nights

Photographing in the wilderness at night is always a wonderful experience. You’re standing under a dark sky pinpricked with starlight, breathing clean air, enjoying the soul of nature flowing through your … Ouch! … Freakin’ mosquito!

OK, I admit: Photographing in the wilderness at night is mostly a wonderful experience. One of the few downers can be those darn mosquitos, particularly in spring and summer. They buzz, they bite, they bother.

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The mosquitoes in Congaree National Park can get so overwhelming that the park maintains a “Mosquito Meter” outside the visitor center.

Mosquitoes also populate some of the most amazing places to photograph at night. We surely don’t want to miss the experience of making night art in spaces such as Acadia, Yellowstone and Yosemite, right? So how can we mitigate the mosquito dilemma?

Recently I had a great opportunity to find out. In April we ran a workshop in Everglades National Park, which is home to about a bajillion of these little buggers. Fortunately we were there during mosquito low season, but in Everglades that just means their numbers are fewer, not zero. Plenty of these pesky critters buzz around at any time of year—enough to drive a night photographer to bed early, if you’re not prepared.

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The Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park is a beautiful place to photograph, night or day. But gosh yes, it has mosquitoes. Nikon D5 with a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, boardwalk light painted with a Luxli Viola. 30 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 2000.

In the weeks ahead of the Everglades trip, I gathered what research told me were the best ways to keep mosquitos from ruining an outdoor experience. I brought them all with me, intending to test each in the marshy wilds of deep-south Florida.

The risks were great. Any product failure meant certain misery.

Here’s what I learned:

DEET

Ah, DEET. (Better known as diethyltoluamide.) This stuff has a dichotomous reputation. Many people use it as their go-to defense, but many others worry and wonder, “What does DEET kill first, the mosquito or me?” (To be fair, the EPA says not to worry about it.) Those in the middle make the compromise of using products with only a mild percentage of DEET, but the problem therein is that only more robust concentrations are effective for extended periods.

A few of our Everglades workshop attendees used DEET and they didn’t have much trouble with mosquitos. Good for them. Great for them! But I’m in that group that prefers not to put this stuff on. I don’t like using bug spray anyway—don’t like the smell, don’t like having it on my hands, don’t like applying chemicals to my skin. So DEET wasn’t even an option for me. Ideally I don’t want a mosquito barrier on my skin, I want a barrier that keeps mosquitos from getting to my skin.

If you’re in the camp of people who don’t mind using DEET, that’s fine, no judgement here. But let me leave you with this warning: After applying it to your body, wash your hands well. You don’t want that stuff getting on your camera gear. It can eat it.

Picaridin

Lance Keimig was running the Everglades workshop with me, and before traveling to Florida he read about picaridin. He liked the idea of the product because while it is a synthetic, it’s a synthetic version of a natural substance. It’s also purportedly effective in lower concentrations than DEET, repels a wider range of pests, is neither greasy nor odorous, and won’t damage plastics (i.e., pieces of photo gear). He liked the idea of picaridin so much that we went to four or five stores to try to find it, finally scoring a bottle at a Bass Pro Shops an hour from the park.

Lance used picaridin throughout the week, and he found it mostly effective—not amazing, but effective enough to keep using it. He was a little leery of the list of warnings accompanying the directions: Don’t get it near your eyes, nor on your lips, nor much on your ears, nor on cuts or skin irritations. Not exactly the worry-free product we’d hoped for, and not viable as whole-body protection, but Lance remained relatively uneaten.

Off Botanicals

I first bought Off Botanicals plant-based wipes while in Badlands National Park with Matt in 2019. We were night-shooting there during a particularly bad mosquito year, and these wipes were the most skin-friendly option I was willing to try. They worked just OK in Badlands, and for only an hour or so. In Everglades they performed the same. Mosquitos stayed away awhile, but Off Botanicals lost its effectiveness way closer to the beginning of a night shoot than to the end.

Badlands National Park can get a good number of summer storms, and with that rain can come massive mosquito problems, as Matt and I experienced in 2019. Nikon D5 with a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. 1.5 minutes, f/8, ISO 800.

Thermacell

After a recommendation from a workshop alum and further information from credible sources, I had high hopes for Thermacell. This technology, available in devices of different sizes and shapes, forms a non-odorous cloud shield of about 15 feet in diameter, in which mosquitos can’t fly. If they try, they fall to the ground.

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Thermacell’s reputation is that it’s the most effective method available for keeping mosquitos away. (The reputation is solid. I read one article about the top four mosquito repellents, and Thermacell was three of them.) Moreover, you don’t put it on your body—you put it near your body and just stay relatively close by.

But I proactively encountered a few problems that made Thermacell a nonstarter for night photography trips, at least for me:

1. You have to fuel up locally.

You can’t fly with the butane cartridges that fuel almost all of the Thermacell models. The company recommends packing everything but the butane, then buying that when you get on location. That’s more than I want to deal with on a trip. My midlife goal is for fewer logistics, not more.

(The Radius Zone and E55 models run on a battery, but they’re also a little larger than what most people would want to travel with, and they’re best used on flat surfaces. Also, if your shoot is in driving distance, this caveat won’t apply anyway.)

2. Stay away from water.

The active ingredient, allethrin, is harmless to every living thing besides mosquitos. Except that it’s also toxic to aquatic life. Do you know what you find a lot of in the Everglades, and in many, many of the natural settings I work in? Aquatic life. Do you know what I am personally evolved from? Aquatic life. Do you know where to find mosquitos most often? Near water.

Of course, I could still use Thermacell if I’m set up more than 15 feet from shore, but when I’m working around a big body of liquid, I often want to be right next to it, whether for photographing reflections, composing an angle up the coastline, getting as close as possible to an alligator, etc.

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A good example of a bad place to use Thermacell—right next to Nine Mile Pond in Everglades National Park, which is full of aquatic life, including the alligator you can see if you look closely. Nikon D5 with a Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens. 22 stitched frames shot at 6 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 5000 and 20 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 5000.

3. Stay still!

Here’s the big one: The 15-foot mosquito-free bubble takes 15 minutes to create, and is stationary. If I move to a different spot, then I need to move the Thermacell unit and then wait another 15 minutes to create another bubble.

That’s not a deal breaker alone, but the above also means that if I start wandering during long exposures (as I’m wont to do), or if I traipse about while light painting, or if I meander to talk to whomever I’m photographing with, then I’ll lose my protection. (On the other hand, I could maybe charge admission for others to meander to me?)

All of that together summed to this: I never took my Thermacell paraphernalia out of its package. (And because Amazon won’t accept return shipments of butane products, I lost the $80 I spent on it. I’m thinking this Thermacell kit will become a gift for someone who has a patio, where I’m sure it will live a long, happy, mosquito-free life.)

RynoSkin

RynoSkin is a clothing base layer that mosquitos (as well as ticks, no-see-ums and other biters) purportedly can’t bite through. I bought a full outfit: shirt, pants, socks and gloves. I was lookin’ snazzy.

I was skeptical, mostly because I had read several Amazon reviews that reported mosquitos bit right through the RynoSkin layer with no problem. But I tried it anyway, and was mostly happy—just not happy enough for this to be my favorite solution.

While wearing RynoSkin, I did not have a problem with mosquito bites, despite being surrounded by them on the Anhinga Trail, a real mosquito haven of the Everglades. Not one bite in 6 hours.

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However, while wearing RynoSkin, I was warm. After all, it’s a base layer, in warm weather. RynoSkin did a decent job of not being as warm as it could be, but it was still a little too warm for comfort. I was constantly aware that I was wearing it.

There’s one positive caveat, however: The gloves worked great, and I can’t think of a better solution for keeping my hands bite-free. Hands are important in photography—we use them a lot—for changing lenses, for adjusting camera settings, for picking up Nikon lens caps off the ground. With the RynoSkin gloves on, I could meddle with my gear as much as I wanted without mosquitos being able to bite the hands that would otherwise swat them. The RynoSkin gloves get a permanent home in my bag.

Netwear

A screen keeps bugs out while letting air in. It does it well for a house, and it does it well as clothing. Yes, you can buy a net to cover your whole person. You can go from snazzy to dapper in one quick-change.

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I didn’t test this option, because I didn’t want to. I figured it would be effective, but I prefer couture with a tighter weave, I like quick access to pockets (where I keep my flashlights and stuff), and I’d be concerned about the net catching on plants, tripod parts, python teeth, etc. So I made neither the financial nor time investment in a net suit. One of our Everglades attendees did, and she remained comfortable, mosquito-free and happy for the whole workshop.

However, I do own, and did use, a mosquito-net head covering. There’s just no viable alternative, in my opinion. RynoSkin does make a face mask, but that doesn’t seem like a comfortable option to me, and it also leaves the skin around the eyes exposed.

The head net, on the other hand, does not uncomfortably hug my skin, allows plenty of room for breathing and keeps mosquitos from reaching my face. Two potential irritations:

1. It tends to hang right on your nose and cheeks, which I find uncomfortable—so I wear a ball cap under it, and the brim keeps the net a few inches away from my face. (You can also buy a head net attached to a hat, but I didn’t.)

2. A head net reduces visibility a bit. Not the best thing when you’re working at night, particularly in places where you could potentially trip over a prehistoric creature. But if there’s anything Everglades has more of than gators, it’s skeeters, so I wore the thing.

Permethrin

Ah! I found my sweet spot, and I knew it almost immediately—after I hawed and hemmed about it for a few days.

Permethrin was recommended by another workshop alum who insisted I try it—as in, she sent a bottle to me even after I said no thank you. But now? Thank you!

You spray permethrin on your clothes, allow it to dry for four hours, and then go about wearing those clothes as you normally would. You don’t need to re-treat the clothes terribly often, as the application lasts for about six washes, or about 6 weeks.

I was skeptical. I didn’t want to be spraying bug repellent on my clothes—especially bug repellent that sticks enough to survive modern laundry detergent and a super-speed spin cycle.

But the alum and my research assured me that once permethrin dries, it’s completely nontoxic to everything, including mosquitos. So … wait, what? If it’s nontoxic to mosquitoes, then how does it prevent them from biting me? Because mosquitoes won’t land on permethrin-treated fabric. And if mosquitoes won’t land, then they can’t bite. It’s the mosquito barrier to the skin that I mentioned earlier.

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Permethrin is available as a spray that you use to treat everything from shirts to pants to socks to shoes. (And I suppose gloves, now that I think about it.) You probably don’t want to apply permethrin to everything you own, but you could select one or two outfits of outdoorswear, treat them, then set them aside to change into when working in mosquito territory. After half a dozen washes or weeks, repeat.

I liked the permethrin solution for these four reasons:

1. My treated clothes didn’t smell.

2. I didn’t need a base layer.

3. I didn’t need to carry any extra paraphernalia.

4. Mosquitos never landed on me.

Permethrin in its liquid form does happen to be toxic, so you’ll want to wear rubber gloves and safety glasses when applying it, and you’ll want to work in a well-ventilated space, such as outside. If you prefer not to apply it yourself, you can buy pre-treated clothing at specialized outdoors stores such as REI and Amazon. This option comes with an additional advantage: the professional application lasts about 10 times as long.

My Final Strategy

Going forward, at least for now, I’ll be employing a mix of the above solutions in my effort to photograph at night without mosquitos bites. Namely:

• I bought a pre-treated permethrin shirt from REI. I like how it fits, so it has become part of my travel kit when photographing in places where I might encounter mosquitoes.

• I self-applied permethrin to my favorite hiking pants. I may treat other clothing in the future, but for now I’m happy with one mosquito-proof outfit (i.e., these pants plus the aforementioned shirt). I don’t wear it all day; I keep it in my accessories bag (with my rain gear, first aid kit, etc.) to change into when needed.

• I wear a head net on top of a baseball cap.

• I keep RynoSkin gloves in my bag for when the mosquitos are active enough to go after my hands.

I haven’t worried about mosquito-proofing my trail shoes because, though I know it’s possible, I’ve never been bitten through them. However, permethrin also wards off ticks, so I’ll consider treating a pair of shoes the next time I’m heading into tick country.

And that, my fellow photographers, is how I’ve been staying free of mosquito bites while out on night shoots. I hope something in here helps you do the same. If you have any further tips or strategies that work for you, feel free to share them in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

Chris Nicholson is a partner and workshop leader with National Parks at Night, and author of Photographing National Parks (Sidelight Books, 2015). Learn more about national parks as photography destinations, subscribe to Chris' free e-newsletter, and more at www.PhotographingNationalParks.com.

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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS FROM NATIONAL PARKS AT NIGHT