EDITORS’ PICK
Dream Images
NIGHT LIFE
Night Life Editors’ Pick
Following Christophe Jacrot’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…
These are intended to be a conversation starter… so feel free to join the discussion on our social networks.
BANNER IMAGE COURTESY OF SIMONE PADELLI
www.simonepadelli.com / @simone.pad
“These images are part of an ongoing project about one of the smallest islands in Italy with just 13 residents living there all the year.”
Editor’s comment: This haunting and muted exposure simply illustrates the isolated island and its small community. A difficult, low-lit image to get right but perfectly executed by the photographer, eluding to elements of sadness, isolation and forgottenness. However, the boat itself indicates that life goes on, and access to the island for its residents and others is possible – all is not lost. Connection persists. A documentary series like this needs dedication, understanding, respect and patience which seems apparent throughout this scene. Additionally, this photograph works well on its own and would look beautiful in a printed format.
IMAGE COURTESY OF PAUL KUSSEROW
www.paulkusserow.com / @paulkusserowphoto
“A two-hour exposure at the sea in Brighton at night. On the horizon you can see the fisherman going out at night to work.”
Editor’s comment: Focusing on the horizon we watch the fisherman head out to work, this night-time departure from the shore being recorded in a beautiful abstract minimalist form. The long exposure is a common tool for low light and night photography, but here the photographer uses it as a creative and subtle way of documenting a solitary and difficult work commute, flipping documentary photography into a fine art space. I would love to see this style and approach used to document other similar occupations in a series of abstract visuals.
IMAGE COURTESY OF YEXENIA YOUNG
@yexeniayoung
From the series Moonlight & Flowers – “This series captures moments of missing and being able to find beauty and solace in those moments. The layer with the flowers represents the thoughts we have and carry with us and how they layer over our reality to create our subjective perceptions.”
Editor’s comment: Bright colours, greenery and florals aren’t the typical descriptive components when it comes to images of life at night, but this vibrant scene challenges the obvious. The layering of the image brings us beyond the aesthetics and into the symbolism of thoughts and experiences – highlighting how we carry these with us in our daily lives.
IMAGE COURTESY OF CLAUDE PESCHEL DUTOMBE
www.dutombe.com / @dutombe
From the series Dreams of a Distant Place – “An attempt to recreate childhood day-dreams of faraway unknown places to a young boy growing up behind the iron curtain in East-Berlin in the early 80s. An ongoing body of work in progress photographed in many different locations world-wide. All images here are in-camera double-exposures printed on instant film.”
Editor’s comment: A surreal and figurative recreation of distant memory – the mystery of night can give us space to let our imaginations push boundaries and create narratives around certain events. The photographer’s skill of in-camera double exposure enables them to create as much of the image as possible in the moment itself, the process alone being a representation of how we create our memories. The photographer seems to be creating a story book of single images to navigate and make sense of these distant events and memories, and their unique style and approach is engaging.
IMAGE COURTESY OF JASPER GOODALL
www.jaspergoodall.com / @jaspergoodall
From the series Beyond the Light – “Landscape studies of the world after nightfall. The night is characterised by the powerful sense of the unknown. In the dark information is scant, the blackness consumes and conceals that which we might otherwise know. I am as interested in the blackness beyond my subjects as I am the subjects themselves, for it seems an implicit question resides there: what lies concealed – beyond the light?”
Editor’s comment: “The night is characterised by the powerful sense of the unknown.” As humans we constantly need to explore, push boundaries and ‘shed light’ on areas which are otherwise in darkness. However, darkness has its relevance especially in the natural world, and this photographer seems to understand that crucial balance with this sensitively captured image that evokes mystery and wonder.
IMAGE COURTESY OF LOUIS COPT
www.louiscopt.com / @lcopt
From the series Why Burn the Prairie? – “Every year in late March and early April thousands of acres of grassland in the Kansas Flint Hills are burned. Plains Indians started fires to attract game to new grasses. They sometimes referred to fire as the “Red Buffalo”. Ranchers today start fires to improve forage for their cattle and plays an extremely important role in maintaining the prairie ecosystem.
The benefits of fire are enormous. The tied-up nutrients that take months or years to decay are within seconds turned to ash and in a form usable to plants. Sunlight warms the blackened ground and stimulates dormant plants to sprouts and grow. Fire is as natural as sunshine, rain, and wind and is nature’s way of starting over.
Growing up in Emporia, Kansas on the edge of the Flint Hills I was always aware of the annual burning. It wasn’t until 1984 that I began to seriously photograph and paint the fires, trying to capture their awesome and terrifying beauty. The embers that rise from the flames join the stars in the night sky completing the circle of change and renewal.”
Editor’s comment: This is an arresting image in both a visual and topical sense. The black mass taking up the majority of the viewer’s attention, as we try to comprehend scale, depth and reason for this seismic event. The photographer creates a balance in the image with a backdrop of muted tones against the bright energetic circles of flames. From the photographer’s statement we’re equipped with the knowledge on why and how such burning is used in the prairie farming eco-system, understanding that fire is necessary for new growth and natural regeneration. However as a man-made and not natural occurrence, such an impactful image brings into question the impact of these type of fires on the overall eco-system of our planet.
IMAGE COURTESY OF ISAIAH BEISER
www.themeadroad.com / @meadaisle
“Finishing a photo session right after sunset, Toreno pulls out his phone to catch up on the days happenings. What was originally a nonchalant choice became a picture perfect example of a younger generation, after the sun goes away.”
Editor’s comment: This candid evening shot captures a relatively new human relationship with the ‘blue light’ – present in fluorescent lights, LED lighting, flat-screen TVs, computer screens and smart devices. It disrupts our circadian rhythm, affects our quality of sleep and has been linked to a variety of mental health issues. So why does our need to keep going once the sun goes down and our urgency to access information and entertainment take priority when our minds and bodies should be resting? This impromptu portrait unveils a wider issue at play, especially amongst younger generations, the irony being that such blue light makes for a wonderful image.
IMAGE COURTESY OF MICHAEL KOCH
www.michael-koch.org / @michaelkoch.artist
From the series Post Mortem – “This series is related to the uncanny. Analysing images coming from recurring nightmares and phobia, I show the dualism of comfort and pain, life and death and past and present. Some of the pictures were taken in a small village in my hometown and other motives were arranged in my studio.”
Editor’s comment: Anyone who suffers from or has experienced recurring nightmares – or even night terrors – knows all too well the fear of going to sleep and what it can bring. The anticipation of the unknown can create an anxiety around what’s to come once a deep sleep sets in, the waiting state almost as terrifying as the nightmares themselves. The curtain in this image can be read as a closed window curtain insinuating a bedtime setting, or a stage curtain, ready to be pulled up as soon as the theatrics begin. A very effective and simple image, with a – dare I say it – Hitchcockian ‘film still’ element.
IMAGE COURTESY OF SKYLAR ST. SEBASTIAN
www.skylarstsebastian.com / @sleazure
Editor’s comment: This image entitled ‘Sleepwalk’ – whether it is a recreation of a real experience or just a casual caption – still manages to evoke musings on what a person sees, or thinks they see, when in a sleep walking state. The vivid clash of man-made structure and natural surroundings cascading into a poetic dreamlike scene, brings joy and intrigue to the viewer, whether they are sleeping or conscious. A serendipitous standalone shot.
IMAGE COURTESY OF BARUCH LASKIN
@baruchlaskin
“Moonset – overnight pinhole exposed on B&W photo paper. August 6, 2019 from 5:30 pm to 9:30 am of Mt Assiniboine B.C.”
Editor’s comment: Analogue photography has nestled itself perfectly between art and document, and this delicate record of time with the moving moon emphasises that entirely. The photographer had to lean into all their technical skills as well as exercise patience with an overnight exposure – and even then their work wasn’t done. This image is truly grounding and is an uncomplicated perception of night life.
IMAGE COURTESY OF EDMUND SUMNER
www.edmundsumner.co.uk / @edmundsumner
“This is a scene taken in a village approximately 70 miles away from Calcutta India in Late Feb 2020 The temple is very much part of life in India and I spent two days documenting this space for the Architect who grew up in this village. It’s a modest project and one that comes alive at night. It was a scene of modest simple beauty.”
Editor’s comment: There’s an enjoyable marriage of faith, architecture and ritual captured in this colourful image. It’s an interesting insight into how people mark the transition from day to night, highlighting that poignant moment at dusk when the shift happens – the simple act of lighting a candle or just moving indoors. The photographer describes this project as “one that comes alive at night”, and it would be lovely to see how this narrative unfolds across a full series.
IMAGE COURTESY OF FORREST SIMMONS
www.forrestsimmons.com / @forrest_simmons
From the series A Lush and Ferocious Wilderness – “A journey through multiple levels of human consciousness. It makes contact with the fundamental, yet evasive, human longings for spiritual fulfilment, for answers to the mysteries of time and space, and for a resolution to questions of meaning and purpose. The project seeks to make visible the innermost parts of ourselves: longings and desires; dreams and nightmares; ideas and thought fragments; idealized fantasies and cold realities. To mirror the multi-tiered and complex experience of the self, I use a genre-agnostic approach, allowing tableaux, documentary, and still life to co-exist, unbound by traditional taxonomy.”
Editor’s comment: The almost non-existent figure hidden in the deep blue light plays with the viewer’s eyes, making it hard to focus on particulars at first. The image’s intent is to show the inner most layers of our mental and conscious state, blurring the lines between reality and our own subconscious. That concept is finely portrayed in this dark scene, the colour tone setting the emotional tone.
IMAGE COURTESY OF DAVE OLINSKI
www.daveolinski.com / @daveolinski
Editor’s comment: The caption ‘Lockdown Nights’ accompanying this image reminds me to see the positive aspects of the global pandemic – the light in the darkness. For some of us creativity has come to the forefront, revisiting our core skills and enjoying the process. The use of light and long exposure is common for night shots and creating mysterious narratives, this image in particular bringing to mind crucial scenes from British procedurals or dark thrillers. I hope the photographer enjoyed creating this photograph.
IMAGE COURTESY OF ANA GRGUREVIC
@ana_s_grgurevic
“Blue Night.”
Editor’s comment: This delightful composition of colour, texture and negative space conjures up so much to the imagination – why would we associate this scene with ‘Night Life’? Is it the flash-lit iconic black leather, the wrinkles in the soft fabric or a glimpse of skin? The clash of textures and cleverly configured use of content leaves little and everything to the viewers speculation. This makes for a striking single image.
IMAGE COURTESY OF DYLAN COLLARD
www.dylancollard.com / @dylantcollard
From the series All in This Together – “An ongoing series that considers the individual during the Covid crisis. At the beginning of the pandemic when we were clapping for nurses and being encouraged to “save the NHS”, feelings of community and nostalgic sentiments of rallying together seemed to be at the forefront of the collective conscience. In the early days of the pandemic I watched some friends’ businesses vanish overnight whilst others thrived or even boomed. I quickly became aware that while this was indeed affecting us all, those affects were varied, and peoples’ experiences were often vastly different. While lockdown for some can be time to reconnect, time to create, time to reinvent or just more ‘time’, for others it means isolation, absence, loneliness and growing financial pressure. Living on the edge of a city like London I look out at millions of illuminated windows and think of all those individuals facing their own battles, fears and struggles as we all confront the pandemic together but apart.”
Editor’s comment: A well exposed and composed cityscape with an autobiographical element. As we pass the first anniversary of the pandemic hitting the UK we still isolate, wait, hope, anticipate, stay away, keep calm, keep it together. The image portrays all these varying states of emotions with an added layer of the eerie silence with which Covid has enveloped our communities.
IMAGE COURTESY OF TOMASZ KOWALSKI
@tomas.doe
Editor’s comment: For a lot of us missing a night out at the moment, this snapshot could quite easily evoke nostalgia and longing in the viewer. The subjects wear a mixed expression of confidence and alertness – possibly initiated by the shot being taken – with contrasting choices of attire. We’re not even sure if these people know each other or both just happen to be occupying the same frame as they navigate their evenings. The subjects are caught in a moment of stillness as everything else moves around them, the classic black and white, street photographic style making the image timeless yet relatable.
IMAGE COURTESY OF ALEXIS DESTOOP
www.alexisdestoop.com
“I.R. [Sanctum] – 2018. This image presents the view upon the industrial mining town of Zapolyarny in North-Western Russia, at the onset of the Arctic winter. It’s taken from a disused quarry, in a restricted area somewhere along the Industrial Road – a private track – owned by Russia’s major resource company, Norilsk-Nikel. The light is the glow of the company town some 10 km away, radiating like a man-made sun through the freezing air. The hills are tailings, residual mounds of rubble, reminiscent of ancient ziggurats – hence the title Sanctum.”
Editor’s comment: “Radiating like a man-made sun through the freezing air” – this phrase struck me as it sums up the first glance of this image, a familiar but foreign focus in the centre of the landscape, a light where there shouldn’t be light. The photographer’s determination on documenting this area and uncovering the stories it holds comes through in this strong yet subtle image. The visual comparison between the abandoned quarry and ancient temples highlights the transition from a traditional to a modern society, the environment remaining constant as everything within it changes.
IMAGE COURTESY OF BOGUSZ JAN SZULC
@bogusz.s
“Among of the bitter flowers of industrial towns, 2019.”
Editor’s comment: There’s a very dystopian feel to this photograph, yet when inspected further nothing stands out as a surreal element, and eventually the realisation that this is a typical scene of our towns and cities at night becomes clear. The energy consumption and pollution in various forms is illuminated against the night sky – the figure in the foreground turned away, with little interest in or understanding of what is going on behind them – possibly a visual representation of the collective population. Images, and ideally series like this, whether they are conceptual or editorial, contribute to our understanding of the effects of air pollution and the environmental costs of industrialisation.
IMAGE COURTESY OF KLODET TOROSIAN
@thekaptaink
Editor’s comment: When life continues after sunset – especially in big cities – transport systems are key in supporting our many nocturnal activities. The subway especially can unexpectedly become a stage for many forms of human interactions – both positive and negative. Street photography is a longstanding method of capturing unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places and is rarely as simple at it seems. The photographer must step out of the busy surroundings and hunt for these moments that slip by unnoticed to most. This image, like others of the genre, appeals to the viewer’s sense of intrigue, humour, awe and voyeurism. Brilliantly done.
IMAGE COURTESY OF NATHALIE VISSERS
www.nathalievissers.com
“A sequence of dream images.”
Editor’s comment: The blurred white bird – possibly a dove – in many iconic or symbolic depictions can represent peace, angels, faith or forgiveness. However interpreting such things in dreams is far more complicated and personal, taking in other elements, emotions, the surroundings, recalling the day’s events and then looking again, but nothing is ever as it seems during certain stages of sleep. Much like this image, each viewer may interpret this differently based on their individual experiences and understanding. What could just be a well timed shot of nocturnal nature can very easily fill a viewer with fear or equally with joy. Such open-endedness makes for a compelling image.
