Exploring Providence allows me to create my best night photography
As a landscape photographer I am always on the hunt for that next great scene that I will put my camera in front of. My photography is not limited to daytime, as I love to get out and explore the night sky from behind the lens as well. For night photography many photographers point their cameras at the moon, stars and meteor showers and create stunning images. I must admit that I have enjoyed it myself staying out way past my bedtime as my camera and I explored the night sky!
However, I find that I like to hit the city for my best night photography. A city is full of interesting architecture, and Providence is no exception. Along the city skyline you can find church steeples that date back into the 1700s along side modern skyscrapers, such as One Financial Plaza (the building with the row of orange lights at the top). In addition to the architecture, the lights and crazy colors of the cities neon signs turn an ordinary urban landscape into a real treat for the eyes!
The city lights reflect along the Providence River in this night time photo of the Providence skyline
The subject for my best night photography in Providence is the Bank of America Building at 111 Westminster Street. Built in 1927 in the Art Deco style, this building is commonly called “The Superman Building” by Rhode Islanders, due to its striking resemblance to the Daily Planet building from the Superman comic series. The unique design of this building makes it really stand out on the skyline, and I love to include it in my night compositions. Unfortunately, since being vacated by its latest tenants the Superman Building stays dark, with just the lone green light at the top to light the night sky.
What I love about photographing the city at night is how the lights explode with color. From my shooting location on the Point Street Bridge I love that I was able to include the bright red warning lights that are mounted on the remnants of the old I-195 bridge. My favorite part of this photograph is how the lights of the city are reflected in the Providence River.
This photograph was created with a 60 second exposure at f/16 and ISO 100. A graduated Neutral Density filter was placed in front of the cameras lens to allow the reflection in the water to become more prominent in the image without overexposing the city lights.
My night time photographs of the city scenes are some of my favorites, and they are starting to make up a good portion of my photo gallery. You can purchase a print of this photograph, as well as many others in my collection, in my fine art print gallery!