I had been away all day at a LARP I play in, down in Connecticut, last Saturday night. I got back into town at about 1:30 AM, and I decided to take my night photography, and see what looked pretty in the night.

A house for sale in my neighborhood:


The parking lot of one of the nursing care facilities nearby:


Oho! I have discovered the "night scene" mode on my camera:


I wonder which resident at this nursing center still has their light on at this hour, and why? I know it's said that the elderly either need less sleep, or just can't achieve it, but I hope that person is up doing crosswords or something, rather than just lying awake in pain for some reason.

That parking lot again, with its lone Mini, this time in night mode:


I like how I can easily take a picture from the middle of the street at this hour:


Then I went to the other cluster of apartment buildings, a block on the opposite side of my house:



Deepest, darkest night is hard to photograph. I like the deserted intersections with their blinkenlights at night:

And I like how the 7-11 is a beacon of, well, something in the night:

I would have taken more photos of the 7-11 but there were a lot of cars pulling in and out and it looked like a couple was fighting in the parking lot so I decided to keep walking:


Be glad I'm not showing you the 6 horrible shots it took to get this only slightly fuzzy one that showed that it was 41 degrees out. It did not FEEL like 41. It felt like 21. I was wearing running tights. I was chiiiiiiilly.

In my town, a lot of the old Congregational and Episcopal church buildings have been taken over by Pentacostal Spanish-speaking congregations, like this one:


This is the only other picture I got of their church that didn't come out black:


And now down to the big Catholic church in the neighborhood, and its nearby skatepark memorial.


That was conventional flash. Now in night mode:

Less acuity, but SO much more atmosphere. If I hadn't been concerned about being mugged, and very cold, I would have worked a little harder on focus.


This church didn't photograph so well in the night either:


It towers, even more at night than by day. It isn't just huuuuuge, it's also built on the top of a large mound.


The best part about the little memorial? Comfy benches nearby:

And finally, on the way home, I approached the garage and the old ball court of the local parish residence. It has fallen into disrepair (as has the priesthood, sadly), but can't you imagine dashing young Father What-A-Waste (at least that's what the eligible women called him) playing basketball with the kids? I can. It's a classic image of urban Catholicism. And Gene Wolfe novels.

"Enlightenment came to Patera Silk on the ball court; nothing could ever be the same after that." --Gene Wolfe, from Litany of the Long Sun (the very first line, in fact)

I think of that line every time I pass this place, and it still makes my eyes prick sometimes. It's a beautiful sentence, and one attached to happy memories, and I like how it comes to me every time I drive by this court on the way home from work.

And with that, it was the end of a very long night, and I was home.