EDITORS’ PICK
Sundown Stories
NIGHT LIFE
NIGHT LIFE EDITORS’ PICK
Following Lauryn Hill’s selection of winning images for our recent Night Life competition, this compilation of 20 images represents some of the other talented photographers whose work struck us and left a mark. Each a stunning image worthy of exposure and attention…
When selecting for editor’s picks we’re always searching for those striking photographs that make for an unforgettable single image, whether from a broader series or not. We enjoy the accompanying text some photographers submit with their images, and while not always necessary it can be relevant when understanding the work in full context.
These are intended to be a conversation starter… so feel free to join the discussion on our social networks.
BANNER IMAGE: JAMES TEER
The thick mist moving through the highrise backdrop of this busy nightscape gives the image its real edge and grit, moving it beyond a polished long exposure. The viewer follows the vast road network that weaves in and out of the urban setting, overwhelming at best as it adds to the intensity of the city. An engaging and energetic scene, taken from a well though-out vantage point. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Merging the chiaroscuro technique with urban scenery, this image offers a stark contrast between the illuminated pathways and the shadowy outlines of the urban environment. It’s a demonstration of light manipulation, where the night’s darkness is pierced by the vibrant energies of city life.
AMAR CHUNDAVADRA
The accompanying text brings with it a potential autobiographical aspect to the scene as the photographer describes the city as ‘big’ and ‘lonely’ – do they seek out scenes of intimacy like this to reassure themselves that love can grow in such a place? Or is it just a common social narrative? The romantic street scene, devoid of color, allows the viewer to focus on the loving moment between the two subjects without distraction from the cityscape. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Love in the city’ – Human interaction of 2 individuals expressing love and connection in the big lonely city.
ASHLEY HUGHES
Like a gate to the city the shadowed fencing gives way to a glowing horizon where electrical light merges with a setting sun. Although darkening skies and shadowed ground dominate the scene, the bright strip that runs across the photograph is where the viewer focuses most of their attention, as if allowed to study the urban sprawl from the safety of the fringes. A well exposed scene. – LIFE FRAMER
AZIM KHAN RONNIE
A tapestry of color welcomes the viewer to this epic scene of pattern, a scene which only unfolds into its true form on closer observation. The interactions and conversations that take place beneath the cloth roofs toy with the viewers imagination, what lives are being lived here – a city market? camp for refugees? A festival? The photographer’s use of perspective gives the location anonymity while still drawing intrigue. A colorful piece of work. – LIFE FRAMER
CARL DE SOUZA
Although just an image, chanting, heat and scent seem to emanate from this scene along with the silhouetted figures. The photographer has timed the image well as each subject’s strong stance appears clear and purposeful, their individual accessories showcasing a spectrum of cultural significance. A photograph of a heated scene, in both a political and literal sense. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Indigenous protestors in Brasilia.
EDWARD MITCHELL
The photographer’s respect and awe for this unique, natural environment is apparent in every inch of this carefully crafted composite image. They illustrate action and detail from sky to land, background to foreground with stars, lightning, mountains and plants all playing a role in the story that unfolds before the lens. The scene is almost biblical, allowing the viewer an insight into why this place has earned the title ‘Superstition Mountains’. An exceptional image of the night rolling in over this ancient territory. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – There’s something about the superstition mountains, aka the supes, that keeps me coming back. I love the unique look of the rocks and the surrounding vegetation that Arizona had the good sense to protect as a state park. There’s also the legends of lost gold, stories of massacres and untimely passing of early residents of this rugged land. Storms like the range also. And I have proof. Sort of. This is a composite.
JAKOB VEGERFORS
An image of natural scenic beauty welcomes the viewer. The unique pink sky adds to the wondrous vista, as the creamy snows invites the viewer to speculate what it would be like to be isolated in this icey location. The photographer composes the image equally between ground, mountain and sky, adding to its aesthetically pleasing qualities. A beautiful record of day becoming night in this snowscape. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Pastel colors and a moon. Icelandic highlands in the winter, with lingering sunset color long into the early night.
JULIEN GIRARDOT
The photographer carefully and considerately captures this performance to allow movement and light dominate over sharpness and exactness. The emotion and dedication enhanced by the low lighting and night sky. Only a perfectly formed photograph like this could do justice to such a culturally significant ritual. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – On the island of Tahuata, reigns the wild world of tattooed warriors who imitate the wild pigs and women dancing like graceful birds. For this 11th edition of the Art Festival of Marquesas, The Matavaa festival, dancers have been training for two years to honor a culture that is their identity. More than just a festival it’s a return to the roots that takes place on the “land of men” during the festival. Nearly five hundred dancers from the five neighboring inhabited islands come to perform Haka (dance) that gives everyone shivers. They dance and hit their ground following the rhythm of powerful « pahu » (drums). Barefoot, dressed in organic costumes, wearing feathered ornaments and proudly showing off their traditional tattoos, they transport the watchers into an other age. Each island is proud to represent their people who was banned from its language and its customs after the arrival of the Catholic missionaries in the 19th century. Tattoo makers, artists, sculptors, chefs and dancers re-connect to the basic gestures of their ancestors. The festival is dedicated to the Marquesan culture with only a few tourists visiting, mostly cruisers with sailboats who are on a round Pacific trip. The younger generation is seized, transported by the history told to them and which is their. Older people are then appeased to see the next generation on the move. For four days, the small valley of Vaitahu made transcend the « Mana », the spiritual energy of the Marquesas Islands.
JUSTIN PUMFREY
A quietly arresting scene welcomes the viewers gaze, the muted blurred background melting into the minimally textured foreground. This visual medley of elements is enhanced by the tactile feel to the scene, as if the viewer could reach out and run their hand across the plants. The photograph is as poetic as the accompanying text, full of atmosphere and apprehension. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd:
Petals on a wet, black bough.
– Ezra Pound
KARS TUINDER
The child wears an expression of slight concern, their nightlight burning above them to keep the darkness from completely taking over. Night time for children can almost be like another world, where once familiar objects and corners become strange and uninviting. The viewer’s imagination becomes part of the scene as they try to empathize with the little subject and recall their own encounters with the dark as a child. A thoughtful image. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Childhood.
MICHELLE GEORGE
In public or private we all experience loneliness in our own personal way – here we see it played out in the social setting of a restaurant, the subject appearing lost in thought and somewhat downcast. Is the photographer projecting their own emotions or the subject acting out an imagined scenario? The low angle and soft warm lighting emphasize the atmosphere of the moment. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Lonely Nights.
MAX STURGEON
An otherworldly scene appears before the viewer, the faceless figures – as if composed of liquid and light – stand in unison, energy flowing around them. The photographer seems to joyfully experiment with skillset and light, allowing the exposure time to become part of the double portrait. A wonderfully unique and stimulating scene. – LIFE FRAMER
LAYLA KERLEY
A breathtaking view not typically seen in through the frame of the falling darkness, the viewer questions the expedition the subject and photographer have embarked on. The use of dark blue tones and soft shadows enhances the cold and quietness of the scene. The single spotlight allows the icy snow to shimmer like a diamond shard beneath the hiker’s feet. An exquisite portrayal of a unique journey. – LIFE FRAMER
MINAMI IVORY
The photographer has created a simple yet thoughtful portrait that borders reality and the dream world, as if moving between the trauma and the escape. The artificial light effortlessly allows the viewer to explore the conscious and subconscious elements of the scene, the red element giving the portrait that subtle, unsettling and threatening sensation. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Weapon of Choice is a recollection of one haunting summer and its brutal effects. Loneliness, roaming youths, gang rape and predators. We were wild nocturnals in the dark, warm nights. Summer left quickly and before my 15th birthday, I got my hair cut short. Strangely, that was something that hurt me the most. In one of my dreams, I was in a Fatboy Slim’s video clip. Christopher Walken and I danced along. All summer long I felt like I had no control of my life. But at that moment, I felt invincible. So I packed my suitcase and left for overseas because I had Weapon of Choice: luck and strength to run away and make my life my own. For a long time, I believed this memory would disappear, but I’ve learnt that they’d become part of me. Since then, slowly, and silently, I’m learning to live with myself.
OLIVIER CAUNE
The image would not be lost as the cover of a popular thriller novel – the mysterious subject moves silently through the rain, their character as victim or perpetrator remaining unknown. However, it’s the photographer that is quietly looking on, waiting for the perfect moment to act and capture the scene – subtlety including the ‘9-1-1 sign’ which adds another layer to the uncertainty of it all. An evocative, entertaining photograph. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – The Passenger.
The solitary passenger braves the darkness of the wintry night, venturing towards the train station. Each individual they encounter along the way may become a fleeting presence in their journey, destined to cross paths only once. The ethereal ambiance of the snowy landscape casts a mesmerizing spell, as if time itself stands still in this frozen moment. In the depths of the cold, a tapestry of possibilities unfolds, where connections are made and lost amidst the veil of falling snowflakes. It is a night of profound mystery and enchantment, where the train station becomes a portal to unknown destinations and the promise of fleeting encounters.
PANFIL PIRVULESCU
Smart phones have become a vacuum of a generation’s attention. This image simplifies the choices children are making, sacrificing time in the natural landscape for easily accessible entertainment, traditional and long loved methods of play ignored in favour of illuminated screens. A beautifully composed image with a clear and perhaps worrying message. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – This photo was taken in August 2023 in the village of Crivina de Sus, Timis County, Romania. It represents the nightlife of the current generation when virtual reality occupies more and more of our time.
ROB CADMAN
The photographer’s attention to detail and appreciation for a slower process is clear through the exactness and patterns that run throughout the scene. The large industrial structure looms large above the street, luminous and intimidating it gives a futuristic or supernatural feeling to the scene. A very aesthetically pleasing image. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – This shot was taken on 5 x 4 large format negative in Shanghai, China. I used the 5×4 camera not only for its exceptional detail and image quality but also for its ability to have camera movement. Using a large format camera slows down the image-making process due to being on a tripod and the nature of viewing and composing the photograph. I found that it gives a certain sense of stillness and calm.
VLADIMIR KARAMAZOV
With the series, the photographer appears to want to replicate this location as an element of human consciousness – a place where we choose dark over light, and leave morals behind. In reality, people who end up in places like Kazmer may not have had a lot of choices in life so navigating these nuances of human nature through imagery can be difficult. The image however appears well balanced in both a technical and conceptual sense. The use of dark, blue tones allows the scene to embody a more sombre mood, where unease and vulnerability are common feelings for the subject. An intriguing image, more from the wider series would be interesting to observe. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – From the series KAZMER – The Territory of the Lawless. Kazmer is the name of the small neighborhoods in my country where the people who do not respect human values and have accepted crime as normal are separated. These are former criminals, murderers, thieves, prostitutes, rapists and people in general who accepted this black life as normal. In these neighborhoods they are isolated as a minority. But this does not prevent them from constantly crossing the border of morality and law. In this project I will try to capture the dark side of us that we all have and struggle with. I will show the elements of such a life, I will try to capture the atmosphere of living in Kazmer. The dark territories in our consciousness. I will leave it to my keen curiosity for such a self-destructive nature. What is it like to live in the dark and why do you choose this path. Is it innate or do you acquire it from external factors? Nowadays, we all live on edge, everyone is on edge, and it’s very easy for a small problem to turn into an irreversible disaster. A project that will follow in the footsteps of darkness.
YANGSUB JUNG
The light-bearing hikers move through the mountainous scene like a magical stream, flowing and meandering along to their anticipated destination. The viewer’s eye follows along the scene, focusing on the many perspectives from people to nature and back again. No doubt a phenomenal experience for the photographers and the subjects making their way to the top. A fascinating image, well balanced between night and day. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – People climbing Bali Ijen Volcano under the full moon. Everyone goes up at dawn, turns on the lights, and walks individually. But the sight of people gathering together makes it feel like a festival. We are preparing for a festival where everyone goes up to enjoy nature. Soon the party will begin, surrounded by moonlight and sunlight. The lights that people have these days are the signal for a party.
ROBERT WENGRITZKY
The scene captures both our world and the next – or at least this galaxy and the next, in an equally stunning and celebratory way, allowing both perspectives of the image to enthral and delight the viewer. The photographer took their time, patiently capturing the frames to create the final photograph, one that is both awe-inspiring and insightful. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Cannola fields and the GMC.
The Great Magellanic Cloud is a close neighbour to our galaxy and is a prominent feature of the night sky in the Southern Hemisphere. Tracked with a series of 20s shots using a star tracker, I captured the GMC over this beautiful canola field in the west of Victoria, Australia.
