The Lost Amoco
The completion of a new highway overpass triggered the construction of this fuel station a few months back. Built just a few hundred yards away from the off ramp, I think Amoco was hoping to capture some new business from the burgeoning traffic coming off the highway. But they chose a rather awkward location for the new store, and things seem to be moving quite slow at this spot.
During daylight hours, this whole area seems rather bland and boring, but it does light up with some flair at night, so I waited until after dark to try for a photo.
I'm certainly no expert on nocturnal photography, but over the years, while out and about trying to capture night photos of gas stations and convenience stores, I've managed to compile a rather non-comprehensive list of semi-lame tips and tricks for obtaining a decent night capture. I proudly pass them along as they could be helpful to anyone just getting started in this type of photography, or perhaps helpful to someone who just likes bad advice in general. Here goes.
Tip one: Always pre-scout your area for images. Things will of course look completely different day to night, so you've got to get yourself out there after dark and explore the area like some sort of DSLR equipped vampire, looking about for things interesting, and scouting for any night time bright spots. To help achieve this goal, I recommend a small trick that has always worked for me... find yourself a job with horrible horrible hours. Truly horrible. The graveyard shifts are best. There really is nothing like having to commute home at midnight five days a week to get a person thoroughly acquainted with their areas night time surroundings. As a bonus, some nights when driving home in a semi-zombie state of mind, you may find yourself arriving in a brand new location with no idea how you got there. If this happens, check the area for any cool photogenic neon signs that you've never seen before.
Tip Two:
Arrive at your chosen location way earlier than you thought you would have to. If you are trying to capture an image at the "Blue Hour" you should get to the location around the - "I should be at home enjoying dinner right now" hour. Arriving early like this will give you time to get your gear out, set up your tripod, and then realize that you took the needed Swiss Arca plate off the bottom of your camera months ago, and now need to find it and re-install it in a crazed fumbling flurry before it's too late. You should get all this taken care of before the sun goes down or you may find yourself flailing about with a worn out flashlight, cursing up a storm, trying to find the ISO button on your camera, all the while becoming increasingly suspicious to passersby and drawing way too much attention to yourself... all this unnecessary excitement could end up getting you overly acquainted with local law enforcement.
If your chosen location is an open business, and you feel the need to introduce yourself to the stores clerks before wandering around in their parking lot, by all means do so. I suggest buying a few items to break the ice. There's nothing like plopping down six dollars for a small bag of outdated Fritos or eight dollars for a stale PayDay bar to get the stores employees on your side. I do warn however to always reframe from purchasing and eating one of those endlessly grilling hotdogs that come from one of those rotisserie machines that are found in every convenience store in the US, and perhaps the world. Consuming said hotdog will definitely get you overly acquainted with local healthcare services.
Tip Three:
Take lots and lots of frames, way more than you think you need. Start out in the Bue Hour, continue on as things turn black, and don't stop until you reach the: "Good grief I'm sick of this" hour. Out of this seemingly over abundance of exposures, you will hopefully find a dozen or so shots that can be used. A sort of bonus to having this many shots of the same thing, is that you will now be able to make use of the semi-silly star rating feature in Lightroom. I use it like this... four stars for every frame with four SUVs finding their way into the exposure, three stars for every frame with three pickup trucks getting in the way, etc, etc.
Tip Four:
If you are trying to patiently wait and capture your subject free from any unwanted vehicles driving by or passing through, try to use your time between frames to become pensive and metaphysically reflective. Somewhere around your tenth spoiled exposure you will begin to ask yourself, "What is with all these people? Are they just trying to ruin every picture I'm working hard to capture!?' The answer to this question is of course YES, yes that's exactly how things work for the poor photographer out there trying to capture a decent image after dark.
Nikon Z7II
Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
The Lost Amoco
The completion of a new highway overpass triggered the construction of this fuel station a few months back. Built just a few hundred yards away from the off ramp, I think Amoco was hoping to capture some new business from the burgeoning traffic coming off the highway. But they chose a rather awkward location for the new store, and things seem to be moving quite slow at this spot.
During daylight hours, this whole area seems rather bland and boring, but it does light up with some flair at night, so I waited until after dark to try for a photo.
I'm certainly no expert on nocturnal photography, but over the years, while out and about trying to capture night photos of gas stations and convenience stores, I've managed to compile a rather non-comprehensive list of semi-lame tips and tricks for obtaining a decent night capture. I proudly pass them along as they could be helpful to anyone just getting started in this type of photography, or perhaps helpful to someone who just likes bad advice in general. Here goes.
Tip one: Always pre-scout your area for images. Things will of course look completely different day to night, so you've got to get yourself out there after dark and explore the area like some sort of DSLR equipped vampire, looking about for things interesting, and scouting for any night time bright spots. To help achieve this goal, I recommend a small trick that has always worked for me... find yourself a job with horrible horrible hours. Truly horrible. The graveyard shifts are best. There really is nothing like having to commute home at midnight five days a week to get a person thoroughly acquainted with their areas night time surroundings. As a bonus, some nights when driving home in a semi-zombie state of mind, you may find yourself arriving in a brand new location with no idea how you got there. If this happens, check the area for any cool photogenic neon signs that you've never seen before.
Tip Two:
Arrive at your chosen location way earlier than you thought you would have to. If you are trying to capture an image at the "Blue Hour" you should get to the location around the - "I should be at home enjoying dinner right now" hour. Arriving early like this will give you time to get your gear out, set up your tripod, and then realize that you took the needed Swiss Arca plate off the bottom of your camera months ago, and now need to find it and re-install it in a crazed fumbling flurry before it's too late. You should get all this taken care of before the sun goes down or you may find yourself flailing about with a worn out flashlight, cursing up a storm, trying to find the ISO button on your camera, all the while becoming increasingly suspicious to passersby and drawing way too much attention to yourself... all this unnecessary excitement could end up getting you overly acquainted with local law enforcement.
If your chosen location is an open business, and you feel the need to introduce yourself to the stores clerks before wandering around in their parking lot, by all means do so. I suggest buying a few items to break the ice. There's nothing like plopping down six dollars for a small bag of outdated Fritos or eight dollars for a stale PayDay bar to get the stores employees on your side. I do warn however to always reframe from purchasing and eating one of those endlessly grilling hotdogs that come from one of those rotisserie machines that are found in every convenience store in the US, and perhaps the world. Consuming said hotdog will definitely get you overly acquainted with local healthcare services.
Tip Three:
Take lots and lots of frames, way more than you think you need. Start out in the Bue Hour, continue on as things turn black, and don't stop until you reach the: "Good grief I'm sick of this" hour. Out of this seemingly over abundance of exposures, you will hopefully find a dozen or so shots that can be used. A sort of bonus to having this many shots of the same thing, is that you will now be able to make use of the semi-silly star rating feature in Lightroom. I use it like this... four stars for every frame with four SUVs finding their way into the exposure, three stars for every frame with three pickup trucks getting in the way, etc, etc.
Tip Four:
If you are trying to patiently wait and capture your subject free from any unwanted vehicles driving by or passing through, try to use your time between frames to become pensive and metaphysically reflective. Somewhere around your tenth spoiled exposure you will begin to ask yourself, "What is with all these people? Are they just trying to ruin every picture I'm working hard to capture!?' The answer to this question is of course YES, yes that's exactly how things work for the poor photographer out there trying to capture a decent image after dark.
Nikon Z7II
Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S