Nightscapes

Nightscapes are landscapes photographed or depicted at night, emphasizing the interaction of terrain, artificial illumination, and the night sky. They encompass both natural settings such as mountains, deserts, and coastlines under starlight, and urban or suburban scenes where city lights define the horizon. The aesthetic often highlights features such as star trails, the Milky Way, auroras, or light-polluted skies, as well as the silhouettes formed by backlighting.

Photographers typically use long exposure techniques to collect light that is invisible to the unaided eye. Equipment commonly includes a sturdy tripod, a wide-angle or standard lens, and a camera with manual exposure control. Exposures can range from several seconds to many minutes, with ISO and aperture adjusted to balance brightness and noise. Techniques such as image stacking, where multiple frames are averaged, and post-processing for color correction and noise reduction are frequently employed.

Common subjects include clear night skies with starfields, the Milky Way, meteor trails, auroras, and city skylines sparkling with car lights. Nightscapes often feature foreground elements, such as trees or buildings, posed as silhouettes against the illuminated sky or horizon. Planning considerations include moon phase, weather, sky transparency, light pollution, and safe access to remote viewing locations.

Historically, night photography predates digital sensors, but advances in digital cameras and software have expanded the scope and accessibility of nightscapes, enabling higher resolution imagery, extended tonal range, and complex compositing.