"What is the color of things in the dark?"

[111db]

(Thread title compliments of C.S. Lewis in The Pilgrim's Regress) Human vision transitions from color to monochrome (cones to rods) as light levels fall. But in low light the colors are still there, we just can't see them---but film and electronic sensors can! (Though film exhibits "reciprocity failure" that must be compensated-for.) And the diffuse lighting conditions after sunset or in deep shadow can be particularly complimentary of a subject. This thread will explore color photography that, through long exposure time, reveals color during sun-down times or in deep shadow, color that was not perceivable to the naked eye. As an "appetizer", I give you a shot from the depth of the Mee Canyon "alcave" in extreme western Colorado, deep within the canyon wall where all available light is bounced off the opposite canyon wall or off the floor near its mouth---i.e. multigenerational bounce light.

 

[111db]

Another example. Captured at about 8pm on May 3, 2015 right at sunset but with dense clouds in the west, thus illuminated by skylight only. ISO400, 1/2 sec @F11 Sunset does not mark the end of available-light color photo opportunities! (if you have a tripod)

 

[111db]

This example was taken 9 minutes after the previous one, and shaded from the skylight by a foliage canopy. In these conditions, the electronic viewfinder of a mirrorless DSLR was a godsend for composition and focusing, as the scene was pretty dim to the naked eye.


The "undeveloped" JPEG gives a better idea of how the scene looked to the naked eye.

 

[Rudy]

Sorry it's a bit blurry, but we were fighting the wind that evening and weighting the tripod wasn't helping all that much.

Arches National Park, 11:05pm, 8/8/2019. Illuminated by only a partial moon and the stars poking through the clouds. 50mm/1.7, 3.2 sec. (manual exp.), ISO-10000.

 

[111db]

Cool, Rudy, keep 'em coming! One thing I love about that area is the absence of artificial light sources at night; not a car, not a street or yard light to be seen... just delicious emptiness!

 

[Rudy]

Most of the others were a bit blurry. But this one...



...was a bit unusual since someone else in the parking lot was leaving--the red trees were illuminated by the brake lights as the car pulled out. And despite it looking daylight, you still see the stars (easier to spot in the full-sized version).

We've been to Arches a few times, but this was the first time we visited at night. I was hoping for more of the Milky Way (as we were in a Dark Sky area), but it was too cloudy, the moon was up, and there were storms off in the distance. We my try Capitol Reef National Park next time. There are a handful of International Dark Sky Parks out there, and if we can catch a clear night, we'll give it a try.

 

[111db]

Funny you should mention Capitol Reef... this four-frame stitched panorama was shot in fading afterglow; most of the tripod-toting photographers at this iconic locale (Sunset Point) had already packed up and left. Processed as a dusk shot, it's (realistically) dull and flat, but processed "dusk for day" it's quite pleasing, and revealing of contours and textures that harsh sunlight obscures. ISO 400, 0.4sec @ f11

 

[111db]

And one more from Capitol Reef. Taken 9 minutes after the pano above. Yes, that's the rising moon surrounded by lens flare. Noise is pretty bad. My newer Oly (OM-D E-M10) is much better in low light. ISO 400, 5sec @ f11

 

[mhardy6647]

FWIW -- I've tried this sort of thing numerous times, with 'success' limited by the low-light capability of my DSLR. The one I have now is considerably better than the two that preceded it, but it's still entry level and not capable of high performance. I also don't have (more accurately, haven't learned how to use) post-processing s/w of appropriate capability.

My best attempts, IMO, have been long exposures of ISS flyovers in the deep dusk (when the sun's still shining 120 miles up).

069 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr


003 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
(no ISS in the image above, but I still kind of like it)

DSC_5367 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

DSC_5376 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

 

[mhardy6647]

I also like taking photos of fireflies (or, as I knew 'em, growing up in B-more, lightning bugs).

DSC_0529 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

DSC_0515 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

 

[mhardy6647]

DSC_0516 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I'll stop now.

 

[Rudy]

FWIW -- I've tried this sort of thing numerous times, with 'success' limited by the low-light capability of my DSLR.

I have played with long exposure times on a tripod and had decent luck. I made a series of photos several years ago but I can't find them at the moment. The Arches photos are with my newer DSLR. Which has had almost no usage since we've been shut in.

 

[111db]

Re post-processing, I have been very happy with DxO Optics Pro for RAW processing. The key to this kind of image is RAW, IME. The ability of modern processors to extract data from shadows is borderline miraculous.
Example: JPEG original file (size reduced)

And here's the RAW file post-processed in DxO (exposure compensation, HDR processing, noise reduction)

 

[mhardy6647]

Our son went through a "low light" phase when he was in college (early 21st century!).
He took some interesting & evocative photos in and around his school in Westminster, MD.
I'll take the liberty of sharing one of his images (from 2009) here, in the context of this thread.

DSC_6541s by icouldbeahero, on Flickr

you can see more (mixed in with other things from those days), if you're curious, at:

This Old Camera

A picture a day keeps the demons at bay.

icouldbeahero.blogspot.com

 

[111db]

Awesome! Your son's shot jogged my memory of an after-dark stroll I took in Cambridge, UK, in January of 2013. You can easily see why. ISO800, 4sec @f11

And nearby on the same stroll, this is the historic Round Church. I recall it being totally devoid of intentional exterior illumination---I'm guessing to discourage the growth of destructive moss---so what you see is spill from storefronts and rather dim and strongly orange downfiring streetlamps across the street. It required a multiple-shot composite to capture it with my widest available focal length. Due to its dim illumination, focusing was a huge challenge! ISO800, 8sec @ f11.

 

[dfoulk]

A couple years back, I had to make trips to Atlanta to clear stuff out of my parent's home after their passing. This was early one morning before heading back home, a shot of the old neighborhood from the driveway.

 

[Fran604g]

When I bought my 1st (and only, still) DSLR in 2010, a SONY a230, I played extensively for a couple years trying to get up to speed after all those years of film photography. Dusk/dawn was probably the very first thing I noticed I could reliably play around with thanks to the camera's enhanced (LCD display) abilities. However, the tiny screen, as useful as I found it to be, didn't help with aging eyes, with or without my glasses and the diopter adjustable viewfinder never seemed to be just right, either. Hence, reliable manual focusing problems. Here's one I've always liked. The cherry tree in front of our house is lit by a passing car's halogen headlights in frame front, while the side is lit by the street light across the road. IIRC, I had a lot of horrible "orange" tinted photos from that damned street light...



Have you guys done "light painting", I've always been intrigued with the technique in a very limited way. Here's one of our front walk, that I used 3 hand-held remote flashes from a single used, cheap Vivitar 2600D I picked up to play with. Shot at ISO 100, f8, 30s, but damned if I remember which lens...probably the stock DT SAM 3.5/5.6 18-55mm that came with the camera. This was taken in near-full darkness. The bright light upper-right frame is a streetlight, and notice the white streak of light delineating sky from ground; it was a passing car. I really liked the way colors could be brought out after dusk. No post-editing, I wasn't really aware that one could do that at the time.

 

[111db]

When I bought my 1st (and only, still) DSLR in 2010, a SONY a230, I played extensively for a couple years trying to get up to speed after all those years of film photography. Dusk/dawn was probably the very first thing I noticed I could reliably play around with thanks to the camera's enhanced (LCD display) abilities. However, the tiny screen, as useful as I found it to be, didn't help with aging eyes, with or without my glasses and the diopter adjustable viewfinder never seemed to be just right, either. Hence, reliable manual focusing problems. Here's one I've always liked. The cherry tree in front of our house is lit by a passing car's halogen headlights in frame front, while the side is lit by the street light across the road. IIRC, I had a lot of horrible "orange" tinted photos from that damned street light...

View attachment 42466

Have you guys done "light painting", I've always been intrigued with the technique in a very limited way. Here's one of our front walk, that I used 3 hand-held remote flashes from a single used, cheap Vivitar 2600D I picked up to play with. Shot at ISO 100, f8, 30s, but damned if I remember which lens...probably the stock DT SAM 3.5/5.6 18-55mm that came with the camera. This was taken in near-full darkness. The bright light upper-right frame is a streetlight, and notice the white streak of light delineating sky from ground; it was a passing car. I really liked the way colors could be brought out after dusk. No post-editing, I wasn't really aware that one could do that at the time.

View attachment 42468

I find the latter particularly interesting as the darker areas appear blocked up unless viewed in dim ambient light and preferably with a dark background. I once attended an exhibit of Albert Bierstadt paintings of low light scenes presented in very dimly lit rooms with only spot illumination on the paintings. Stunning!

 

[Fran604g]

I find the latter particularly interesting as the darker areas appear blocked up unless viewed in dim ambient light and preferably with a dark background. I once attended an exhibit of Albert Bierstadt paintings of low light scenes presented in very dimly lit rooms with only spot illumination on the paintings. Stunning!

Thank you, that's high praise!

 

[dfoulk]

When I bought my 1st (and only, still) DSLR in 2010, a SONY a230, I played extensively for a couple years trying to get up to speed after all those years of film photography. Dusk/dawn was probably the very first thing I noticed I could reliably play around with thanks to the camera's enhanced (LCD display) abilities. However, the tiny screen, as useful as I found it to be, didn't help with aging eyes, with or without my glasses and the diopter adjustable viewfinder never seemed to be just right, either. Hence, reliable manual focusing problems. Here's one I've always liked. The cherry tree in front of our house is lit by a passing car's halogen headlights in frame front, while the side is lit by the street light across the road. IIRC, I had a lot of horrible "orange" tinted photos from that damned street light...

View attachment 42466

Have you guys done "light painting", I've always been intrigued with the technique in a very limited way. Here's one of our front walk, that I used 3 hand-held remote flashes from a single used, cheap Vivitar 2600D I picked up to play with. Shot at ISO 100, f8, 30s, but damned if I remember which lens...probably the stock DT SAM 3.5/5.6 18-55mm that came with the camera. This was taken in near-full darkness. The bright light upper-right frame is a streetlight, and notice the white streak of light delineating sky from ground; it was a passing car. I really liked the way colors could be brought out after dusk. No post-editing, I wasn't really aware that one could do that at the time.

View attachment 42468

The shadows can be mysterious, but when your eyes adjust to the dimness, they can become another world to explore!