The Colors of the Night

At the beginning of April, I started taking a photography class. Over the past few weeks, I have learned so many photography techniques and tricks, and I couldn't be any happier about it! The bulk of what I've learned revolves around night photography, which used to be a huge challenge for me before I took this class. How do you capture the colors on the sky? How do I capture light without washing out my photograph? In my class, I got answers to those questions and many more!

One thing that truly fascinated me about night photography was learning about the different "stages" of night. The different stages (and accompanying sky colors) that happen after the sun sets. I learned about twilight and I learned that there are 3 different twilights as well: civil, nautical and astronomical. I also learned that night photography allows you to capture movement (and lights!) around you while you wait for your camera to be done with a long exposure!

In these photographs, I walk you through the different twilights, from right after the sun has set (civil), to the time right before night falls (nautical), and into the darkness of night (astronomical). I hope you enjoy these photos. For more fun photos, go to my Etsy store, or visit my website.

The sun sets and the sky turns blue in Santo Domingo

Capturing movement during civil twilight at a plaza in Santo Domingo

Entering nautical twilight by Grace Cathedral in San Francisco

Nautical twilight at Union Square in San Francisco. 

Nautical twilight as seen from Nob Hill, San Francisco

 

Busy night during late nautical twilight in San Francisco

The lights turn on as the night falls down during nautical twilight 

The night has fallen on San Francisco during astronomical twilight

The city lights are on at night