XVII
This is the photograph that really started my fascination with night-photography. I had gotten bored one night and took some test shots in my bathroom. The quality wasn’t very good because Nikon D-200 + Long Exposure = crappy photo. However, I kept at it and decided to make more photographs with 4x5 color negatives. This was my first one. I instantly fell in love with the sharpness surrounding the window that gradually fades as you move away from the center of the image. The glass was frosted to begin with but after a 13-minute exposure, white is all that would come out no matter what. I worked on this project for over a year, titling it “Insomnia” since it stemmed from my inability to sleep. By the end of the series, I really wasn’t sure if the project was keeping me from sleeping, or if my insomnia was fueling the project. They just kept feeding into each other.
Looking back, I think that I felt a kind of comfort in that darkness. I was alone with my thoughts and I had what felt like all of the time in the world. The photographs were also the only solid thing in my life at that time. They were there through all of my different relationships, personal events, and even though I had no clue what I was going to do after graduation, I still had this body of work. Sometimes, I stare at the high ceilings of my apartment and watch the lights move at night. Watch how they play out as cars pass by and the moon rises. I’m still making these photographs. Just not with my camera.
