I often think that the night is more alive and more richly coloured than the day
Vincent Van Gogh
The first colour many of us think of when we hear the word ‘night’ might well be black. But as Van Gogh has reminded us, there are many more colours to be seen then too. And he made his remark before the advent of our brightly lit cities, where many colours are more evident at night than black!
It may seem counter-intuitive, therefore, to create monochrome photos of the night. But that’s the case with so many colourful things, like flowers, and yet they can make excellent black and white images.
I take quite a lot of photos at night when we travel, but they aren’t always successful. I don’t carry a tripod so I’m reliant on convenient surfaces on which to rest the camera or even handholding for brighter shots. For that reason, I take more city shots than rural. I look for views from high up, reflections in a river (or wet street), moving traffic and illuminations of all kinds.
I think I found enough in my archives to experiment with black and white conversions for this week’s Monochrome Madness, hosted by Elke, on the theme of night-time. All my images were shot originally in colour and converted using Nik Silver Efex Pro. I’ll start with a photo from my recent trip to the Philippines and then take you on a whistle-stop tour of the world at night!

A view of Manila from City Garden Grand hotel’s rooftop bar, Firefly

Ho Chi Minh City at night from the roof terrace of the Liberty Central Hotel, Vietnam
[my feature photo was also taken here]

Lanterns in Hoi An, a very different side to Vietnam

The Thu Bon River in Hoi An at night, Vietnam

Siem Reap night market, Cambodia

Frying insects at a street food stall in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
[and yes, we sampled some!]

View of the Zócalo in Mexico City from the Balcon Zócalo restaurant

Djemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakesh, from a restaurant terrace

The Kyoto Tower, Japan
Bishopsgate (near Liverpool Street Station), London


A back street near the cathedral in Seville, Spain

Seville Cathedral and bell tower

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, Bulgaria

bul. Tsar Osvoboditel, Sofia

The Grossmünster, Zurich, Switzerland

The Pont Louis-Philippe from the Pont Marie, Paris

Moon setting, Lagarta Lodge, Costa Rica
16 Comments
EgÃdio
Fantastic views!
eklastic
Wow – so many stunning cityscapes! And I adore the street cook – something completely different. Thanks for sharing, Sarah.
Rose
Black and white really seems to accentuate the nighttime quietness. All of these are just lovely.
margaret21
These ALL work terrifically well. The light seems to allow the shots a focus which multi-coloured lights might detract from. On second thoughts, the insect frying scene is great in b/w. I’m sure it would have less impact in colour.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Margaret 😊 I have to say I’m quite fond of the Phnom Penh shot in colour too (actually you’ve already seen it here, as I see from the comments: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/exploring-the-street-food-of-phnom-penh/), but once I tried this conversion I preferred it I think!
Sue
Loved your whistle-stop tour of the world at night! Like Ritva, I would single out the lanterns because of the singularity of that image
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sue, so glad you enjoyed the tour 🙂
Monkey's Tale
The nighttime shot really brings out how isolated Sofia’s cathedral is. Great work on them all. We don’t travel with a tripod either so Richard is always searching for something stable.
Anne Sandler
Great conversions Sarah! All were wonderful black and whites. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the back street in Spain.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Anne 😊 Seville is so picturesque, by day or night!
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
I enjoy the whole cavalcade of imo, but the lanterns stood out due to being so different from the others
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Ritva 🙂 I wasn’t sure about that one as the lanterns are so colourful, so I’m pleased you thought it worked!
bushboy
Every one is wonderful Sarah. I cannot pick one or two as favourites. Excellent post 😀
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Brian, I really appreciate your kind comment 😊
Robert J Jr.
Marvelous! I love night photography.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Robert, glad you enjoyed this 🙂