Into the Night — Ian Proctor Photography

Every professional photographer knows how difficult it can be to not let the business of photography steal your creativity. We all preach to each other that you have to make time for personal work…something that keeps your creative juices flowing and recaptures the reasons why you are a photographer in the first place.

For me I have two outlets but one has been more or less an accident. I am portrait photographer to be clear and I always try and do one or two personal shoots a month. These are non-paying sessions that I set up purely for my own benefit. Covid quickly brought that aspect to an end and it left me challenged to stay creative.

I stumbled across another local photographer’s work by accident one day and reached out to him to discuss his work. What happened next was a very swift learning curve and off I ventured into the night.

Check out Mike’s work here: https://www.instagram.com/bluegreenorange/

When you think about it, night photography is a near perfect thing to do in a pandemic. Fewer people are out at night during the winter months so social distancing is easily achieved.

The old Moirs Power Building just off the Bedford Highway

But what to photograph? Can I create a viable body of work? I spent over a week driving around my new city to get a feel for how different it looks at night. One part of the city called to me and I started to formulate a plan. The Bedford Highway runs along the basin that comprises the Halifax and Dartmouth harbour and there are many interesting old buildings that currently house old and new businesses.

Shooting at night involves longer exposures and practice will be required to achieve optimum results. There are drawbacks…30 second or longer exposures means you will shoot less and patience is a necessity as the nights get colder. A good thermos of coffee goes a long way on nights where you get in a groove and time slips by quickly.

The Canadian winter in this part of the east coast means November through March allows for early excursions as you don’ have to wait until 10pm for it to get dark. It is usually dark by 5:30 and with plenty of traffic for light trails…all is good. The bad news of course…it is winter and the temperatures can make for some chilly nights. All in all, the pro’s out weighed the cons and I quickly got used to working in the dark and the cold.

Over the past 3 months I have been able to get 2-3 nights a week which has allowed me to gain a good start on a body of work I am becoming quite proud of. I am working on two different projects…the Bedford Highway building project and the other a simple collection of some familiar landmarks, intersections and underpasses that most people would just drive by without notice.

So for anyone striving to sneak into the night with a camera, here are some helpful tips that might help make your efforts more rewarding.

Be safe! If you don’t feel comfortable you won’t be able to concentrate on what you are doing. Choose you locations wisely and check them out both in the daylight and in the dark so you are familiar with what you are doing.
Dress for the temperature…nothing worse than being under dressed and having to cut a session short because you are cold.
Make sure you have a good tripod. Long exposures can’t happen if you are trying to do this hand held.
Bring extra batteries and keep them close to your body to keep them warm.
Shoot in manual. Then experiment with different settings…shutter speed and apertures.
Try and expose for your brightest part of the composition. If you shoot with a lower ISO then you can always bring back some of the shadows in post. Over exposure leaves you with little options later.
Shooting in the night has condensation and humidity issues…at least here on the coast. Keep and eye on your lens face to ensure it hasn’t started to fog up.
Bring a small towel or cloth that you can place over the lens and camera body…this will help to keep any unwanted moisture away.
Be aware of where you are in relation to sidewalks, road ways and bridge decks…keep the head on a swivel for safety’s sake.
And last….have fun! Working in the dark as peaked my curiosity of just what you can do with your gear!

The water front is a smorgasbord of opportunity with a variety of lights, reflections and moving objects that allow long exposure to highlight in ways not normally seen. I think as well that since the city and harbour are new to me the subjects to shoot seem endless.

The Bicycle Thief Restaurant, Harbour walk

One aspect of night photography that intrigues me is shooting light trails of traffic to accent what would be a very mundane composition. The underpass without colour or dramatic lighting would just be a drab concrete tunnel. Halifax takes pride in the lack of graffiti on public spaces which further challenges the photographer to make the shot more interesting.

Even though COVID has dictated distancing restrictions…I do enjoy the alone time. It’s a great opportunity to be creative and just enjoy life as it comes at you. I have only had a handful of people walk by and strike up a conversation. One particular night a local police office pulled up behind me and rolled down his window. After a short conversation where he was challenging my sanity for being out on a rather chilly night, he smiled and told me to carry on safely.

Another evening out I was shooting some bus light trails at one of the many terminals in the HRM and two young High School boys approached me…masked up and keeping their distance they asked me what I was doing. After showing them the results of some longer exposures they were amazed and intrigued. Many questions later they boarded their bus and left me to my alone time again.

Only once have I become a little nervous and felt uncomfortable to leave an area. A man started watching me from across the boulevard and continually moved closer and less concerned about being in my shot. I quickly packed up and headed to my car and he followed. I made it to the car and when I turned around to see if he was still following me…he stopped and turned around and disappeared in the dark.

I have been out many times since that night and it won’t stop me from getting out again.

Night photography has gotten under my skin and will be a great outlet for personal work when the day to day portrait work seems daunting. Just to be very clear however…my true passion is portraiture…it’s just that it’s healthy to take a break every now and then and seek to be more creative.

Now…into the night I go…

The tracks exiting the shipping container storage yard in the South End