Why I LOVE TO Shoot at Night
Hong Kong. Headphones. One song on repeat.
There’s something different about photographing at night. It’s hard to describe, but once it grabs you, it doesn’t let go.
The city changes. People stop performing. The light gets strange, soft, and unpredictable.
It’s not just about capturing what you see. It’s about catching what you feel.
- Blade Runner Window -
A skyline like this doesn’t need words.
It doesn’t show off. It just glows.
From the mountainside, the buildings don’t look real —
they look like pixels from a game you once played too late at night.
A Different Kind of Photography
I really fell in love with night shooting while living in Hong Kong.
That city has a pulse. Even in the early hours, it never fully sleeps.
But if you listen closely, it starts to whisper.
The buzz of neon, the fog in the alleys, the reflections off wet pavement...
It slows you down. It pulls you in.
You stop rushing. You wait.
You start noticing things you’d miss during the day.
Photography at night isn’t about control.
It’s about letting go.
Letting the light guide you. Letting the city show you something real.
I shoot at night with a wide aperture, ISO around 1600 to 3200, shutter just fast enough to catch the moment, RAW always on.
Then I stop thinking about settings and start chasing the mood.
My Little Ritual
Before I head out, I always put on a headset. One song. On repeat.
Usually something from a film that stuck with me.
Blade Runner. Drive. In the Mood for Love. ( the classics )
It doesn’t matter what the track is, as long as it sets a mood.
The music becomes my guide. I walk with it, shoot with it, feel with it.
The rhythm of the song starts shaping the rhythm of my photos.
And just like that, I’m not documenting the night.
I’m inside it.
- Thomas
