by Al Perry
As sundown approaches, we are accustomed to thinking photography is about to end for the day. We scramble the last few minutes to capture the remaining daylight inside our cameras. If we are in an interesting area, we make the most of our limited time by clicking away.
However, today’s sensors can gather light better than our eyes and low light results can be surprising. For example, with fast lenses, high ISO’s and long exposures, many colors of the northern lights can be photographed at night even though they can’t be seen with our eyes. Today’s digital cameras can capture images of landscapes by starlight only. Technically, digital photography could become a 24/7 activity, except our bodies and batteries need to be recharged from time to time.
After walking through deep snow for 12 hours to capture images of horses and cowboys, I was ready for the day to end. The image shown below of the cowboy walking his horse the final 1/4 mile was the final image of the day. It was now time to warm up, eat some chow, download images and recharge my batteries for the next day.