Facets of Light, Cabrillo Beach
Night photography is different. Night is when the world sleeps. When the body's cycles shift gears. And that darkness brings us close to the dream world , even our subconscious.Â
Darkness is a major challenge for a camera. Suddenly you're playing with f-stop, shutter speed, tripods all the technical stuff. On top of that the camera "sees" light in a different way without the sun hogging the spotlight.
I got my head around using the night light in that different way on a trip to Venice. We were just settled in at a little B&B, jet lagged after 13 hours of flights. And I couldn't sleep. So at midnight, I grabbed the camera and a little Gorilla tripod and wandered the canals.
What a difference a night makes. Empty streets, a city in shadow, canals smooth as a dark mirror. On that trip, the night became a playground for shooting.
Midnight, Venice Canal
By midnight, the touristy, daytime Venice was transformed into the Venice of dreams. The glow of the doorway drew the eye in. The canal became the leading line. And without the sun, that little streetlight became a powerful beacon.
My  nighttime exploration started in Venice. Ten years later, I shift into that creative space, easily, and often here on the coast.
My image, Facets of Light, Cabrillo Beach (see top image) is a recent example of the uses of night for the photog. It started with the 2024 Blue Moon and my thought, "Hey, Tim, it's gonna be a big moon tonight, how do I take advantage?" The moon was gonna be rising in the southeast, right over Cabrillo, so .... And there it was, still low enough to spread its soft radiance over the beach and the Pacific. And from the hill, I could see folks using the fire pits -- plus a multitude of other light source, artificial lights flooding Cabrillo from the building there, street lights, and LA Harbor glowing in the distance. I wanted a composition framed from above to capture all those light sources at once. And there's something distinctive about this shot. It's like the scene is a gem with facets for each light source.Â
Folks seem to get it as well. In the last four months, this image was picked for group shows at Crafted in San Pedro, December's Winter Show at the PV Art Center. And "Facets of Light" was just chosen for the New Year Show at Gallery of Hermosa. It's up now through Feb 16 at 138 Pier Ave. in Hermosa.
Big Tree and the Lighthouse, Pt Fermin
Pt Fermin, few blocks east from Cabrillo is another distinctive South Bay landmark. The Fermin lighthouse is generally photographed at sunset. But given the light, it was a secondary player, framed by the big tree. That's a key rule of photography, to "listen to the light." And from this particular angle, the tree and lighthouse both display two light sources, each with its own color temperature. The front side of the tree has a warm, earthy glow. The backside lighting has a cooler temperature, harsh and a bit foreboding.Â
Early Morning, Abalone Cove
With the full moon, Abalone Cove lights up the pre-dawn morning. In the distance, you'll notice lights at Terranea. I went with a 3 second exposure, which smoothes the waves out. And I also managed to time things for low tide. Which is the only time those distinctive stepping stone rocks are revealed, leading the eyes deeper into the dark waters. It's a view of the cove that's rarely seen.
Blue Hour, Bluff Cove
The quiet darkness of Bluff Cove is a nice juxtaposition with the lights of Redond's Riviera Village and further left, Hermosa Beach. I chose a long exposure (77 sec.) here. That smoothes out the details in the water and adds a more abstract feeling to the image.
Neptune Fountain, Malaga Cove
I drive by the fountain at Malaga Cove often when heading up coast. But at night, when the lights go on, you really start to notice a ten foot high Greek god with a trident -- mostly because of the spotlighting. The god gesturing in the harsh light, the teal-green pool, the lit path on the right side. And the water play of the mermaids. A piece originally from a famous Italian sculptor of the Renaissance.
Through a Restaurant Window
After popping into the Gallery of Hermosa Opening last Friday (yes it was nicely busy), I wandered down Pier Ave, camera in hand. I'm starting to use more prime lenses. They're better at low light than zooms. And at f1.7, I get nice bokeh.Â
Each particular lens encourages the photographer to think about what that tool will do. And an f1.7 lens creates a super-narrow depth of field -- meaning that when I focus on the seasonal lighting in the window, the restaurant lights and the folks take on this dreamy blur.Â
The surfer dude statue down by the Hermosa Beach Pier is a local landmark. But when there's a very large soap bubble floating just behind the statue, the moment needs to be shared. The bubble's Geppetto-like creator, is just out of frame.
Nighttime, Antique Shop
Another image where the different color temperatures tell a story. The front room , lit by normal bulbs, the back room with a blue-based Fluorescent.
Point Fermin Cove
Here' I used some light painting of the bush as foreground and the streetlights at the park to tell the story. The intense lights on the left side are cars going in both directions.
Vincent Thomas Bridge as seen from San Pedro
Another popular sight. The Vincent Thomas connects Pedro with LA Harbor. The Harbor lights never turn off and can allegedly been seen from space -- not that I know that for sure. I do know that the arch of the bridge seems like it's etched agains the night sky. And the huge cranes look like menacing creatures.
Night, Santa Monica Pier
Night was just coming on with the yellows give way to orange on their way to Blue Hour. I was there on the beach with a Paul's Photo group. And after sunset, the Ferris Wheel lights flipped on. Providing spinning wheel reflections in the water. This spot was a perfect vantage point for the interplay of carnival light and nature's light show — if you don’t mind the tide brushing up to your ankles.Â