Hawaii
Photo essay by Brandi Hamilton
LONE NIGHT GOOD “The night is good; because, my love, They never say good-night.” - Percy Bysshe Shelley PAGE 14 • WINTER 2020
I learned while stationed in Germany and hungry for travel, if I waited for friends to join me, I may never go— so, I went solo. In the solitude, rather than tourist-filled days and dinner reservations with companions, my attention meandered the spaces explored. I found much to appreciate at night, when streets were vacated, noise minimized. At night, long exposures are necessary to make images. I click the shutter and wait: one Mississippi, two Mississippi. Each shot becomes a 30-second meditation which compels contemplation of the quiet scene. Visual information is dulled in the dark, so my other senses
compensate. I hear gentle conversation through an open window or the buzz of electricity flowing through power lines and out through incandescent street lights. Nocturnal pedestrians are calmer, they stroll rather than clip. Other things become apparent in the camera — things our senses cannot perceive. Thirty seconds of low light in-camera make known details different from the same scene during daytime. Distant city lights glow on the horizon, satellites pass overhead. Even the darkest rural road reveals a pastoral, rarelywitnessed, especially when distracted by company. At night, alone, another world is unveiled.
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