Finding Beauty in the Urban Night Photography

My first post was about my black and white photography mindset. This one is about my favourite colour scenario. Perhaps counter intuitive but…

Cities, towns, or villages at night. The more messy, chaotic, and underdeveloped, the better.

Big cities like New York pull off a good third-world imitation. Almost anywhere in Asia works perfectly. Havana remains inspirational, the last time I was there at least..

But I first truly understood night’s potential years ago on the Greek island of Astypalaia. I was on holiday with a friend’s family. I often escaped the mayhem to wander the town. I did this several times during the day but one time I tried at night, and the penny dropped.

The mixed lighting there intrigued me. Fluorescent, tungsten, halogen, even some LED. It was a hot mess of conflicting hues. This chaos drove the camera sensor crazy and created bizarre colour palettes.

The atmosphere was everything. Like most Greek island towns, it’s a labyrinth. You can leave a lively nightlife behind with a couple of turns down an alley. Suddenly, you are completely alone. Only the cats remain.

Astypalaia’s famous wind added a spooky atmosphere. I remember seeing a cat in a tree determined to be there despite the wind whipping the branches around like dervish.

So, after my black and white success, I decided to drag myself up to Loulida (locally called Chora). It is definitely a labyrinth with a wonderful sunset. But it did not really offer the opportunities I hoped for. The lighting seemed quite uniform. It’s great for walking and exercise.

I think I would still prefer Astypalaia for photography. I probably just had to work harder for motivation this time. Still, I found a couple of images I really like.

Of course I might just be idealising the past.