In May, 2020, Dawn D. Hester started a podcast called Photography Adventures. Shortly after she began the podcast, she added me as a co-host. As of today, we have recorded 20 episodes. Some days instead of recording we plan out our adventures or just randomly talk. Our plan for this adventure was to do night photography. So, we headed to downtown, Shepherdstown, West Virginia for a night stroll to capture images of the town.
There was a slight chill in the air that night. However, we had properly prepared for it. Hat, gloves, base layer, and good old heat warmers for our hands and toes. We had parked at my cousin's house and walked to our location. When we arrived, it was just starting to get dark. We set up our tripods, attached our cameras and got to work.
For this shoot, I took minimal gear. I used a Nikon D750 with a Nikkor 28mm 1.8G lens attached to a Mefoto RoadTrip tripod. Instead of using my quick release, I utilized the self-timer. I started out using a higher ISO only to reduce to a substantially lower one after speaking with Dawn regarding what she was using. She regularly photographs landscapes and towns, and since I hadn't done it as much as she has, I took her advice.
As the sky darkened, we jointly photographed the street. From where we stood at the top of the hill, we could see some of the fully lit buildings. We played around with long exposures to capture the light streaks of the cars as they went by. I even stood in the road for a few shots. Of course, Dawn teased me about being out there. Then, I noticed she did the same! LOL.
One of our main interests was to photograph a beautiful old stone church the sits at the top of the hill. As I took a series of photos, I noticed that the sky was turning to a very intense blue. I had never captured the sky at the blue hour. At the time I had forgotten what the blue hour was until I had spoken about it in my mentor's FB group. A few of the members quickly jogged my memory. "The blue hour is the period of twilight in the late dusk each evening, or the very dawn of the morning, when the sun is at a significant distance below the horizon and the residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue hue." (jenbilodeauphotography) It was fascinating to see the sky turn blue like that. Unfortunately, it doesn't last very long.
We moved slowly, but steadily down the street capturing what ever caught our eye. From the bookstore, to the bicycle shop, the library and McMurran Hall of Shepherd University.
If you were in the area, every now and then you would have heard the sound of laughter floating through the air. Yes, that would have been Dawn and I laughing and enjoying the evening.
The photos I have posted are of the Trinity Episcopal Church, the Library and Shepherd University's McMurran Hall.
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