Some Colors of the Night

I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars.
- Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, 2005

When I ventured back into photography some years ago, night and low-light photography has been my favorite field. I was taken by the majestic colors of dusk and dawn and the unseen colors of night. There was a time when I used to go out very early in the morning before the sun is up and around mid-afternoon to wait for the golden hours.

Night and low-light photography requires patience - you may not always get it in just one shot. A photographer has to contend with the difficulty of achieving focus, the presence of flares, and incorrect exposure settings. Add to that, the reciprocity failure that every film user like me has to put into consideration. This is the challenge that I like about this field of photography...

It has been quite a while since I ventured out into the night to take some photographs. The long artistic drought ended when fellow photographer Al Michael and I decided to visit the Marcelo Fernan Bridge to take some pictures in the night. We also hoped to capture the sunset but we were quite late...

The sun was already dipping when we arrived and add to that, the sun was covered by clouds.



 

When there was little light left in the sky, I set up my tripod underneath the bridge (there is a public park under the Marcelo Fernan Bridge in both Lapulapu and Mandaue sides) and took some shots. This shot turned out to be the most worthy...



 

When we were done in the park, we decided to go up. This is the end of the bridge connected to the main road going to the economic processing zone. The light trails will lead you there...



 

Before we called it a night, the old bridge on the other side of the island became envious, and decided to show off her beauty. She sent sparks towards us, twice!!!

The first one was quite weak...



 

Trying to outdo herself, she exerted all her efforts, and eventually, she succeeded.



I hope you now understand why I love this field of photography...