I've always been more than a little curious about the minimum amount of light required to make an exposure. Even back in the pre-digital days, I would often go out and photograph after my shift at work, just to see if I could catch something interesting. I almost never did, but it is fun to discover the practical edges of your equipment's capabilities. With its modern image stabilization system, I've learned that hand held exposures of a second or more are possible with my current digital set up. It is liberating to leave the tripod at home and just wander freely. Even with no moon, there is usually a surprising amount of artificial light available courtesy of your home town. In this image, the illumination was from a single street lamp, but often, interesting mixed lighting situations can be found. The image, while low key, is a satisfying representation of my experience that evening. The yards around the neighborhood that I see every day come alive in different ways in the middle of the night. And, it is about ten degrees cooler to boot.
