In Night & Low Light Photography, author Jill Waterman looks at the work of 30 top professionals, examining their real-life projects as well as their tips, techniques, and unique approaches.

The result is a beautiful yet practical compendium covering every aspect of night and low-light photography–digital and film capture in all formats, color and black & white, commercial and fine art. The moon and stars, weather conditions, atmospheric effects, cityscapes, industrial light, night events, night landscapes.

All this and more is presented in a lavishly illustrated, one-volume resource–an indispensable guide for those seeking insight, inspiration and provocation in making pictures at night.

Photographers have long enjoyed a special bond with working at night and in low-light. While these conditions often present challenges to basic vision and limits to tools and techniques, they can also be extraordinarily liberating and stimulate unique points of view. In the best of cases, night photography marries the exploration of uncharted territories with a deliberate and studied approach.

The book Night and Low Light Photography is the result of interviews, portfolio viewings, phone conversations and endless e-mail correspondence with 29 other night photography specialists whose images grace the pages, in addition to many other photographers and friends who have offered their insights, opinions and advice. Besides the photographers featured, there are numerous others whose work I wish I could have included, yet this was not possible for reasons of time and space.

The amount of work currently being done in low, changing light and at night is truly inspirational. During the course of my research and interviews, it seemed that I was met with amazing new images to consider and photographers to contact everywhere I looked. I encourage anyone with a deep-seated interest in this subject to go online to visit the each contributor’s Web site and to browse the rich communities of night-owl photography buffs, both professional and amateur alike.

This book is intended as somewhat of a departure from a standard how-to book. As I think most adventurous night photographers will attest, there is little about this genre that can be neatly summarized with a one-size-fits-all formula or response. Photography created at night and in low light conditions is always subject to the numerous variables, quirks and demands of a specific time and place. In the journey from set up, to capture, to development, to output, there are many decisions to be made and multiple approaches to achieving an acceptable–or ideally–an outright intriguing image that enchants both the photographer and the viewer. The book Night and Low Light Photography offers a starting point for those seeking insight, inspiration and provocation for making pictures at night. Explore. Interpret. Take notes and analyze the results. Try something different. And, when shooting at night, by all means forge a unique path.

Jill Waterman