Sunday Stills Night
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Lighting Up the #Night

This week, as the northern hemisphere languishes in gloomy, shortened Winter days, let’s explore night photography. For those enjoying sunny summers or climates, it gets dark somewhere, right?

I admit right off that I am no expert when it comes to night photography. I know there are all kinds of aperture settings to capture images at night. Here is a useful article that explains the different types of night photography.

For now, lets explore what we have.

On Christmas night we got a record 8 inches of snow, adding to the three inches that previously fell. Now for all you snow experts out there, please indulge me a moment. I stepped outside to let my dog out into the backyard and the night sky at 9:00 pm was lit up!

Night Light

Where we are staying in suburbia, the area is surrounded by nearby businesses a few blocks away. Between the white snow on the ground and the clouds, punctuated by street lights, it looked more like twilight than night. I took these with my Galaxy Note phone and did very little editing. I walked outside and needed no extra light.

Bright Snowy Night

I know, I’m easily amused. Believe me, I have been in plenty of snowy, night conditions at Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevadas, and with several feet of snow on the ground near the casinos at Stateline, it was still very dark.

Has that been your experience if you have been outside on a dark, snowy night?

Outdoor lights can also illuminate objects like the leaves below.

Backyard porch light illuminates delicate Fall leaves

Ambient light from buildings and other outdoor venues also lends enough light to an image.

Cal State Capitol
California State Capitol

Two years ago I took a photography class to learn more about my Lumix camera and all its settings. The instructor worked with me to get my first moon shot. This was taken on Manual mode and I braced the camera on top of the fence, looked up, and put it on full zoom.

Moon shot

Don’t worry if night photography is not your thing. You can interpret the theme in any way that works for you and your creative energy.

Thank you to so many who shared their 2020 retrospective last week! I always enjoy blogging in the new year as it seems motivation abounds! Please welcome bloggers who joined Sunday Stills for the first time this week.

I’m linking “up” with Becky B’s SquareUp challenge.

Next week we are back to my new-ish monthly feature, with the theme and color “glacier blue.” Hope to see you then!

Have a great week!

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92 comments

  1. Hi, Terri – Thank you for the warm welcome, and the challenge to experiment with night photography. When I reviewed my photo gallery for this link-up, I realized that I had very few night shots. I will now work hard to change this (if I can ever get myself to be awake, dressed and outdoors in the evening). 😀
    I love your experience with bright snowy nights and the photos that you have shared here. That moon shot remains one of my favourites. Thank you once again for your leadership on #SundayStills.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Thank you, Donna! I didn’t have many night shots either. I had some Christmas lights but I didn’t want to use those this time. You are right about being motivated to go outside at night to take pics. I’m so glad for your participation in Sunday Stills!

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  8. Nice photos, Terri. That effect of lights and snow is quite wonderful. In Washington State, I used to work until after midnight a couple of days a week. On those (few) occasions when there was snow on the ground. I’d head home and it would be like that. I remember how quiet it was with no traffic and everything muffled. It looked so clean too, though not when the snow started melting!
    Here’s mine today: https://grahamsisland.com/2021/01/10/up-all-night/

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. Terri,
    I love the pictures. We don’t get much snow anymore, and I had forgotten that the best thing about snow was the quiet. Your pictures brought that back, so thanks. I am sharing my favorite night shot captured in Jackson Hole this past Fourth of July–also taken with a Lumix. Have a great week! Joe

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  11. Wow Terri! All your images are so beautiful! I love the way snow lights up everything including the night! We haven’t had any here to speak of, in fact it’s starting to feel like spring. But it’s not over yet, it was two years ago in February that we had record breaking snow on the west side. And your moon shot is incredible. I’ll see what I can find to share for ‘Night.’

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  15. Loved your street scene Terri, amazing how much light there was! And I’m amazed you got such clarity in your moonshot without a tripod, even with a balancing act. Well done, and a really fun challenge subject!

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    • Thank you, Tina. When we saw that it was snowing on Christmas night, of course this newbie couldn’t wait to just go outside and be in it. Totally in awe of how much light there was. That was my first ever moon shot, I was so grateful for the expert instruction!

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  19. Splendid, glorious photos, Terri. You didn’t ask, but my favorite is the golden leaves – what a lovely image.

    I can barely hold my phone still to take a simple pic, so if you like your pics out of focus and images of feet and other unidentifiable things, I’m your best bet. (But I do paint.)

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  21. Wow, Terri, your street view is post-card beautiful. Your moon is amazing. I have never gotten a good picture of the moon. Night time is definitely my photographic nemesis. 🙂 Loved the post, though. 🙂

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  22. Great shots…and I love your moon shot too.

    Thank you for the warm and kind welcome.

    I have my night post ready for publication towards the end of this week.

    Snow shots…so good to see from a non-snow bound country.

    Cheers
    Denyse

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  26. No, I’ve never experienced a snowy night like the one you had at Christmas, Terri. Did you find it eerie, or was it more towards beautiful? In any case, the photos you took are dramatic when you know that they were taken at night.

    Did I ever tell you about the two-time travellers I met a few years ago? They enjoyed the early 21st-century amusement of window shopping which, according to them, is outlawed by the mid-21st century.

    Have a great week.

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  32. I’m amazed at how much light there was in the neighborhood at 9 pm! I’d love to get a one-on-one with my Lumix. I’ve only found group classes with different types of cameras. After Covid (fingers crossed) that is something I’ll search for again. Night time can be magical and, despite the challenges, photographs can help reveal it. Great theme, Terri!

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  36. How can a photo of snow give off a warm glow? I guess it is that lighting. My mom used to live on the 3rd floor of her apartment building where she had a big window that looked out onto the street and parking lot below. One visit we had the most incredible snow and I was up all night trying to perfectly capture it with my phone. The lighting of the street lights added that same glow to my frosty photos. Magical.

    Hey…I know 3 of the 4 gals new to Sunday Stills this week. Welcome to Donna, Kirstin and Denyse.

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  39. It’s amazing how ambient light can turn a dark day or night into a bright one! I find night photography very difficult. My photos of full moons and night skies never come out well. But, I’ve never done any effort learning how to master that art, so I shouldn’t be too bummed.

    Tonight, the sky had an orange glow right at the horizon and a tiny sliver of moon set as it turned orange as well. It was pretty cool. And so is the night sky in the desert. I’m enjoying it without my lens. 🙂

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  43. Brilliant images this week, Terri. Love that Capitol building shot! So nice to see snow. I finally got my blog done and hope you like it and don’t mind I put December and January together. Slowly catching my breath and catching up again. 🙂

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