​Larrie Thomson: Night Painting: Discover the Creative Potential of Night Photography and Light Painting
​Article written by Nora Hartfelder, IACC Member
Larrie Thomson, a nocturnal photographer and dive master, started his website nightphotographer.com in 2000, and he is known for his photographs of nocturnal landscapes and abandoned places. 
 
There are many things to be aware of when photographing at night, such as other people, animals, safety, and clothing based on the weather conditions (e.g., wear insulated coveralls). When working at night in rural areas, Larrie advised that you should scout out locations in daylight to spot hazards and see possible compositions. Also, landowners are easier to connect with during the day, so you can get permission to be on their properties. You also can always return to the best location at dusk. When working at night in urban areas, get to know the area you are working in, the exits and the people around you. Regrettably, he has been shot at and attacked and, therefore, prefers the abandoned outdoors rather than urban shoots. Larrie prefers to work alone. He said that although shooting in groups can be great for safety and interaction, it can be very distracting when too there are too many lights. 
 
For Larrie, the night gives him the ultimate ability to control light. He believes in working the shadows and understanding where and what the light will do for an image. He advised us to watch our histogram as a good indicator of whether the photograph is properly exposed. Shooting by moonlight allows him to be creative and dramatic resulting in 'funkier' photos. Every full moon you can be assured he is in search of his next great photograph. Often, under the light of a full moon he will shoot for 5 to 8 minutes in bulb mode with a timer around his neck while he runs around to light paint. By adding additional light, he can create mood and atmosphere and hide and reveal aspects of his composition. Colour to the light is easily added with gels. He often will use a flash in test mode to get light in a scene. Because he shoots with such long exposure and he wears dark clothes, he can walk through his scene and not be caught in his photos. Night photography allows him to tell the passage of time in a single still image; e.g., moving clouds, pinwheel star trails around the North Star.

At the end of his presentation, there were many excellent questions, including about a good flashlight. He said that beam pattern is more important than the brightness of flashlights. He mentioned that he often uses underwater LED lights from www.underwaterkineticscanada.com.
 
Thank you so much to Larrie for sharing his expertise and photographs, and for challenging us to push the limits and to experiment. ​
Larrie Thomson is teaching a Fall Metro Continuing Education Course in Edmonton from Oct 12 to Nov 9, 2017 (Thursday nights). Registration for the course opens in July. E-mail Larrie at lthomson@nightphotographer.com and he will let you know as soon as registration opens.
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Photographs below © Larrie Thomson
Larrie believes there are five challenges to night photography. 
  1. Noise: Noise is the small white or colour flecks that accumulate on your sensor over the length of the exposure. It is best to test your sensor to find out what length of time it takes before you get sensor noise. He believes using multiple shorter exposures and stacking them in post is a much better way to work. If all else fails, he suggested you might want to buy a newer camera with a low power CMOS to get the best results.
  2. Range: Cameras have a set amount of dynamic range which is a lot less than our eyesight and often in night photography we exceed this range. When doing night photography one must make a choice either to expose for shadows and blow out highlights or expose for highlights and have some very dark areas. Often you can balance the light by light painting with added light sources.
  3. Stabilization: This challenge can be easily overcome by using a tripod or improvising and finding a steady place to set your camera. The tripod will slow you down and make you think about composition.
  4. Composing and Focusing: Often even manual focus won't work when it is really dark out. Larrie mentioned that the most common mistake is not levelling your camera to the horizon because you can't see it; he advised using a bubble level or the built-in camera software. He shared some great tips like marking out the edges of your frame with a small flashlight and setting the hyper focal length by the lens. Another great tip is to set your camera to f8 and infinity. He reminded us to test everything in daylight first so we know where everything is, making it easier to use the settings in the dark.
  5. Colour Cast. A photograph at night looks more saturated than it does to the naked eye. However, by adding light or adjusting the light in post processing you can create mood and character in your photo.
Photographs below © Larrie Thomson