Night Photography: Finding your way in the dark

I have been a night photographer for five years and have been a fan of the Nocturne website and Lance's website [...]. I was a bit apprehensive when I ordered his book "Night Photography: Finding Your Way in the Dark, as I have pretty much every book regarding night photography in my photo library and all of them have omissions in information or are either focused on a photographer's exposure times or exclusively digital. First, I was pleasantly surprised at the dimensions of the book, it is 9" x 7.5" with embossed lettering and a beautiful night image of a scene in Scotland. The size makes it very easy to read or put in your gear bag. Lance begins with the history of night photography and photographers which is appreciable as we all stand on the shoulders of those giants, and some of the more contemporary photographers I was compelled to look up their work. Lance then discusses in depth the night photographer's gear and the inherent challenges of nightwork (possible trespassing, police, dogs, etc.), in my case in the desert it is scorpions and rattlesnakes. The discussion then continues to different types of focusing including tips on blind focusing, dynamic range, light sources, flare, temperature, etc. There is a sizable chapter on film photography which I appreciate as I shoot film. He gives several suggestions on developers and recipes, as well as highlighting Tom Paiva's thoughts on large format color film night photography. Much of the book then progresses to digital capture, RAW workflow, HDR (excellent chapter on shooting the scene and about tone mapping, and Lightroom workflow), moonlight exposure, star trails, light painting, stacking, and interspersed throughout the book are exquisite night photos from a variety of night photographers as well as Lance's distinctive images. I particularly liked Scott Martin's explanation of his shoot of the Pearl Brewery Tanks with the subsequent photos regarding the different light painting setups. I agree with the reviewer that it would have been a wonderful addition to have a removable night exposure guide that one could keep in a backpack. However, I do not agree with a reviewer's contention that this book needed to discuss pre-visualization of a night photograph. I think so many night photographers are trying to emulate Michael Kenna but only Kenna can do Kenna. Many night photographers, myself included, scout out possible interesting venues during the daylight hours, dusk, or during a full moon. I bracket a lot and do a lot of darkroom work, and I think it is beyond the scope of any night photography book to theorize night pre-visualization as the effects of night photography are exclusive to the photographer. I think visualization occurs with lots of experimentation with one's camera and workflow, whether it is film or digital. I love the enigmatic nature of night photography and how different photographers express their vision or produce a photograph that makes one wonder how it happened. Case in point, Steve Harper's incredible photograph, "Self, Sutro Bath Ruins" , page 25. Wow. I think Lance Keimig has produced an excellent reference and resource about night photography, a book I have read cover to cover twice, and just perhaps I will try night time digital again because of his clear explanations and inspiring photos. I don't have a problem with any book discussing Photoshop or Lightroom as those two programs are pretty much de rigueur for any serious photographer, and the programs are always being updated and improved upon. I also like the fact he gives digital exposure times for Canon and other native ISO 100 cameras and Nikon and other native ISO 200 cameras so one can refer to the chart if they do not own one of those two brands. As a Canon owner I think it's a thoughtful touch. Some books focus on Nikon and leave Canon owners to their own devices and vice versa. If I could add a couple of things it might be the detachable exposure guide and perhaps a little more on hybrid routines (scanning film for digital workflow especially black and white as I'm never happy with the tones I get from my negatives in scanning) but in conclusion I think this is a well-written and very informative book. If one is a daytime photographer, this comprehensive book will encourage one to explore the nocturnal world and its beautiful mystery, as well as dedicating a gear bag for night time excursions. It's a wonderful thing to be in the dark with only the stars for company, it makes one slow down and think about what is truly meaningful. As Lance succinctly states "Night transforms our experience of the world from one of routine certainty to one of mysterious unknowing. This is the essence of what makes night photography special". That sums it up perfectly.

I am a dedicated night photographer and photography workshop instructor who has written extensively on the topic of night photography. I own or have read most books published on night shooting, and at long last there is a book I can recommend wholeheartedly -- Night Photography: Finding your way in the dark by Lance Keimig. This book covers the technical aspects of night photography with great clarity and understanding, and includes many beautiful example images. Lance also touches on the more elusive why of night photography and mentions two key points: night photography is an experience that can lead to a heightened sense of awareness, and is a pursuit that often contends with a great deal of mystery. Chapter one contains a very informative and well written history of night photography that includes some superb images. Even those of you who know your photo history quite well will likely learn something new and find photographers you'd like to further investigate. The second chapter proceeds to a discussion of gear, including a list of key digital camera features for night photography. There is an excellent discussion on using manual focus lenses for easier focusing and perspective control. The night photography equipment checklist is a great resource for packing your gear. The tripod section is short, and I recommend Thom Hogan's guide to tripods as a supplement. The chapter concludes with a well-written essay on the important topic of location access issues by my friend and legendary night photographer Troy Paiva. Chapter three is an overview of the basics of night photography technique, including the most in-depth discussion anywhere on how to focus at night. Focusing is one of the most frequently asked questions at my night photography workshops, and the information in this chapter is superb. Other important topics include controlling dynamic range, lighting types, color temperature, and how to minimize flare. The next chapter covers film-based night photography, and will be of particular interest to those who shoot black and white. Lance's many years of experience with film are apparent in his excellent advice on film choice, reciprocity failure, and contrast control techniques. The chapter concludes with an essay by Tom Paiva on the merits of shooting color film in a large format camera at night. The zone system technique of exposing for the shadows and developing for the highlights has strong parallels with digital night photography, which is the topic of chapter five. The explanation of histograms and optimizing night exposures to achieve the maximum tonal range is particularly lucid. This discussion also includes important information on white balance and camera settings for minimizing noise. The chapter finishes with an essay by Christian Waeber on shooting night scenes with people at high ISO settings. Chapter six covers post-processing, and is primarily focused on Adobe Lightroom. If you use a Photoshop/Bridge workflow instead, most of the Lightroom information can be easily adapted to working in Adobe Camera Raw. The Lightroom workflow contains a nice balance of information that's geared towards adjusting night images. Chapter seven includes three High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging techniques: manual Photoshop layer blending by Christian Waeber, a overview of Photomatix with HDR expert Dan Burkholder, and a brief look at the Enfuse plugin for Lightroom. Enfuse allows you to create natural looking HDR images right inside Lightroom. The following chapter covers moonlight and star trails, and is an extremely valuable resource for photographers interested in creating long exposures away from the lights of the city. The discussion of exposure determination through high ISO testing is particularly useful. There is also excellent advice on capturing star trails and strategies to keep noise at bay by stacking multiple star trail images. The final chapter covers light painting and includes some wonderful example images, along with information on light sources, color temperature, and gels. The night photography book that I always wished I could recommend to workshop students is finally a reality. Night photography: Finding your way in the dark is highly recommended. Congratulations to Lance Keimig, Scott Martin, and the other expert contributors for a job well done. Note: This review originally appeared on my night photography blog, where additional links to the photographers are included: [...] Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher. I also purchased an additional copy for students to refer to at my night photography workshops. I hope you enjoy the book!

I am an advanced amateur and found Night Photography by Lance Keimig to be well written and informative. On the negative side, it needs an editorial update as it contains quite a bit of film photography related content that for most of us is unnecessary. The Lightroom workflow section is several LR versions behind, but still quite useful. More technical info about some of the photos could be more complete. With some experience in night photography, I found the book to be well worth the price and provided techniques that raised my skill level in both night and low daylight situations.

This book has both the technical detail required to make good night photos and reveals the deep love that the author has for the process. So many technical books offer good instruction but lack heart and soul, not Night Photography. The author's passion for the subject is evident on every page. The writing is top notch and most of the technical aspects of the subject are well detailed. There are two basic approaches to night photography, considering the low light to be a technical problem to work around or finding the light an opportunity to do something different and special. Lance Keimig's book is strongly in the second camp. The subtitle is "Finding your way in the dark." It could just as easily be "Embrace the night." For addressing the first approach, look to Michael Freeman's book, "The Complete Guide to Night & Lowlight Digital Photography." Specialty subjects like light painting, star trails and night HDR photography are covered. What you won't find is a thorough discussion of the use of flash. Many night photographers consider the addition of flash to be somehow impure, though the use of continuous lighting in light painting to be fine. Keimig never preaches against flash. He simply gives is very little coverage. That's fine. It's still a great book, though the use of flash can be a nice addition to night photos. However, that subject could easily be a book in itself. There is some discussion of film based night photography, though the main thrust of the writing is directed towards digital capture. The focus of the book is on image capture and the special problems that photographing at night brings. There is basically no little on post processing of images. That's not a complaint, just an observation. All in all a nice addition to my library.

I'm a complete newb when it comes to night photography. I picked up this book because Mr. Keimig is going to be in my area next spring, offering a night photography workshop at one of my favorite spots for photography (Sleepy Hollow Cemetery). It sounded interesting, but it was a lot of money and a lot of time (for me, anyway) so I thought I'd check out the book to get a better idea of whether it would be worth it. I love this book. A lot of the information in it applies to regular photography (but is not the usual basic stuff you get in the average photography book). A lot of it is about how night photography is different. For example: autofocus doesn't work in the dark, and autofocus lenses can be difficult to focus manually. (I've got only one lens without autofocus; guess that will be the one I try first.) I think I'm a better photographer after reading this book, day or night. The examples in the book are beautiful and inspiring. It's true they don't have the usual camera settings listed under them, but if you read the book, it's pretty obvious why. Night photography, with its super-long exposures, is different. Things like shutter speed and aperture just aren't as important. This book may be too technical for someone with no photography experience at all, but if you're familiar with the basics of SLR photography, you'll get something out of this book. (And yes, I signed up for the workshop!)

I have been experimenting with night photography for a while, so I can appreciate the challenges and the rewards of shooting at night. Lance has written a book that actually teaches photographers how to get the best results at night. The book covers all the technical aspects involved. The book includes a very large number of beautiful images that accompany the text. Those images demonstrate the various categories or styles of night photography, and show the reader what could be produced, with knowledge, experience and dedication... As the book demonstrates so well, shooting at night could yield a very special art. The best way to start in this area with Lance Keimig's book

The author was aware that the technology of photography was moving very quickly when he published this book in 2010 or four years prior to my purchase. He even says that some of the things he's saying may be invalid by the time the reader sees them. He gets props for his honesty and foresight but that doesn't update the text either. So a good deal of what the author says once he strays from the art to the technical side of things isn't correct as of now and won't be improving either. Sadly for the author, he published this book at a time when great advances in equipment were right around the corner. He does include a good deal of material about film which, I'd think, was passe as of 2010, but to be fair, he doesn't say the book is digital only. I supposed it was which was my error. I have no interest in messing about with film but I can see how one may produce wonderful images using equipment such as the Maimya RB67 which once was brutally expensive but now quite affordable on the used market. Add some Rodinal and you're off but not me. I am digital all the way. So for me, the film sections were pointless. Maybe not for you, though. The other beef I have with the book you can see on the author's Web site where he offers classes on night snapping. A search on 'Keimig photography' will reveal the site. To me, the images there and for the most part in the book look as if they were shot using false color but in day. There are some real night images including one utterly stunning one by George Tice which were what I was expecting rather than what I got for the most part. Overall I got little from the book due partly to the age of the publication but mostly due to the author's idea of night imagery being vastly different from mine. I'll take Tice instead.

For anyone that is interested in photographing stars this is the de facto bible of Night photography. It has all the formulas and information that will last a lifetime.You will never need any other book. Even after reading this book I found there is no replacement for getting out at night to photograph. You will learn more in one night of shooting than any book can teach. It's amazing what will come to mind standing by yourself 6 hours into the darkest. :O) This book will get you up and started and your own creativity will bring you to a new level.