Night Photography is a task that has always intrigued me and is one of the reasons I decided to join SF0. However, it being a level 2 task, I have been ineligible to complete or sign up for it. However, this has now changed.


On March 17, Northern Colorado received a large amount of snow. Having driven through this snow on the way back to Fort Collins, I noticed just how beautiful the trees were with bare branches covered in snow, highlighting a kind of skeletal aesthetic that I really enjoyed.

At 3:00am, I set out with my camera, a thick coat, and a tripod to document this beauty. I set off without a particular direction aside from East, eventually finding myself in the local cemetery and later near the old trolley tracks.

This was all well and good, except that I couldn't use the photographs for the Night Photography task as it may be seen as "retro-tasking," which is generally seen as a very bad thing.

So, upon reaching level 2, I immediately signed up for the task with the intention of recreating these photographs in the middle of summer as a way of showing the two extremes of seasons in Colorado. After patiently waiting for a full moon (I would need the extra light, without all of the bounce light from the snow, the photographs would tend to be a bit dark), which came on July 19th, I set out to recreate the photos.

I loaded all of the original shots onto my Sony PSP as a method doing side by side comparisons with my camera to get as close to the originals as possible. Cara Bear decided to join me on my quest and agreed to take the two shots of me so that I wouldn't have to bring the tripod along.

As we got further away from our apartment, it became more and more difficult to find where I had originally taken the shots, as there had been no intention of ever trying to recreate them when they were shot. This proved fairly difficult, and became a fun game akin to "I Spy" as we used streetlight location, tree branch shape, and other landmarks to figure out the angle and direction of the original shots.

It is for this that Cara Bear is listed as a collaborator, as her keen sense of detail found several of the shots that I would definitely have missed and become frustrated with. It also helped to have a traveling companion to make things more interesting.

Cara Bear with the PSP:


The winter shots tend to be better in terms of detail due the greater amount of light. Even with the sensitivity turned all of the way up, the summer shots tend to be quite dark, even after being digitally adjusted with Photoshop.

I then took the photos and put them in Microsoft Movie Maker in order to have them fade in and out of each other. There are two versions available, though only the music is changed. The second should be available after the first in the similar videos sections, with the title "SF0 - Night Photography - Frail" for those who care to watch it. Enjoy.

Cara Bear also decided to have a little fun of her own, so here is a random video of us having a bit of fun:


Here are large versions of some of my favorites, the rest are available at the bottom.

Hillcrest Dr. - Winter


Hillcrest Dr. - Summer

Corner of Hillcrest Dr. and Briarwood Rd. - Winter


Corner of Hillcrest Dr. and Briarwood Rd. - Summer


Grandview Cemetery - Winter


Grandview Cemetery - Summer


Grandview Cemetery - Winter


Grandview Cemetery - Summer


Corner of Mountain Ave. and N Roosevelt Ave. - Winter


Corner of Mountain Ave. and N Roosevelt Ave. - Summer


Corner of Laporte Ave. and Roosevelt Ave. - Winter


Corner of Laporte Ave. and Roosevelt Ave. - Summer


I also used this opportunity to take some new photographs. Here are my favorites, the rest are also available at the bottom.

The Moon


Mountain Ave.


Shadows of John and Cara


Non-shadows of John and Cara


Silhouette of Cara Bear


The Beasts Sleep


Sincerely,
John Galt