Wherever you live, there will be a time when it is dark and dreary. Dark evenings can be a bit depressing but also great for photography!

When it's dark it can be refreshing to take pictures of .... lights! No, it’s not a misprint. And, of course, light is needed for all photography otherwise we would never see an image. But seeking out artificial lights on dark days can be rewarding.

Where do you find these lights? That’s an easy question to answer - everywhere!

Street lights, house lights, lights for bars and restaurants. Monuments lit up. Boats on water (don't forget the reflections), piers, lagoons. Cities and towns, buildings, shops, institutions. Roads and thoroughfares - lights form street lighting, cars, bikes. Fireworks, fairgrounds .....

Everywhere!

The great thing is that you can capture some fantastic images by using long shutter speeds at night (you will HAVE to use a longer speed in any case due to the lower ambient light levels). Longer shutter speeds will result in trails of light across your image if the light source is moving. This is particularly so when photographing moving vehicles - the front and rear lights can produce exciting and interesting effects.

Shooting at night can give spectacular effects and can make a familiar subject appear totally different. Worth a go.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com.

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