Lance Keimig was the featured speaker at our May 9 meeting. Lance is a highly regarded photographer and educator specializing in Night Photography. Several of our members had taken with workshops with him and recommended him as a speaker, and we're glad they did! There was a great turnout for the meeting - we kept having to bring out more chairs.
Lance first talked about the history of night photography, showing a series of images from the earliest practitioners of the art and describing how it has evolved along with the development of new equipment. Next up were images to illustrate the aesthetics of the genre, the special contrasts and colors you can only get at night. Then on to the equipment needed for night photography - recommendations in regard to tripods, lenses, flashlights (for seeing your camera controls and for light painting) and more. Lance then covered the procedures, including preparation, exposure and other camera settings, key details like when to use long exposure noise reduction, and high ISO exposure testing. He talked about the characteristics of the kinds of light sources you are likely to encounter in the field at night, both natural and artificial and their effects on images and implications for white balance.
All in all it was an extremely stimulating and informative evening and was well received by the attendees. For more information about night photography, Lance Keimig, and his workshops, visit www.thenightskye.com. Go the Downloads link where you can access a pdf on the history of night photography along with other useful information.
Lance is also one of five photographers who comprise National Parks at Night. The web site is well worth a visit, and they offer an interesting blog on various aspects of night photography.