ABSTRACT
Most people are shooting with digital cameras these days, but there are still valid reasons to use film at night. Film provides high quality at a low cost, can produce very clean images (there is no noise), and with film it is possible to make multi-hour exposures. Although each new generation of digital camera produces less noise in long exposures, it is still impractical to extend exposures beyond about 20 or 30 minutes, except with expensive professional models. People who shoot film at night include those working with medium format and large format view cameras, alternative printing processes, toy cameras, or simply those who enjoy the process of working with film. The obvious disadvantage for film shooters is the lack of immediate feedback enjoyed by digital photographers, which makes having confidence in exposures a matter of experience or faith. Film also suffers from reciprocity failure, which makes it difficult to accurately determine exposure. Aside from personal preferences for one format over another, the greatest advantage of film-based night photography is the ability to do extremely long exposures. The only limitation to exposure length with film-based night photography is the duration of the night itself. In this chapter, we will explore working with film at night, with an emphasis on black and white.
