Josep Reverendo (@josepreverendo) says he’s “always been attracted to the plastic arts.” So it was only a matter of time before he picked up one of the best film cameras, and eventually progressed onto one of the best DSLRs. Today, he shoots with a Nikon Z5, but is still fond of his trusty old Nikon D90.
Inspired by legendary creatives from a wealth of disciplines, including Caravaggio, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and even the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock, Josep regularly photographs the streets of Barcelona. But on this shoot, he decided to embark on a bit of a challenge: photograph the city streets at night and without a tripod.
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Josep tells me, “In night photography, it is normal to use a tripod. However, if you want to capture a dynamic scene, you have to make do without a tripod.” His workaround was to shoot with a wide-open aperture, set the shutter speed as low as he dared, and control the ISO to avoid camera shake while minimizing noise.
The Nikon D90 doesn't feature in-body image stabilization like many modern cameras, so selecting the Nikon AF-S DX 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR with image stabilization was essential. But even without camera shake, moving subjects will always introduce motion blur at slow shutter speeds. To that end, the photographer says; "No matter, this adds a strong sense of dynamism."
"if you want to capture a dynamic scene, you have to make do without a tripod.”
Josep also notes that his Nikon AF-S DX 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR has a Silent Wave Motor. And while this won't be as fast as the stepping motors in some of the best Nikon Z lenses, it still provides snappy autofocus for Nikon DSLRs. As he puts it: "In street photography, it is very important to frame an image quickly, for this a fast and precise focusing motor is essential."
A black-and-white conversion is an effective way of avoiding color casts when shooting ambient lighting at night. I like how Josep's black-and-white images display a broad range of tones from bright white to rich blacks. He says he looks for "contrasts and defined shapes" when shooting in black-and-white at night.
Josep's top tips for low-light street shots
According to Josep: "Capturing night photography without a tripod is an inconvenience, but in return it gives you a lot of freedom of movement." He also prefers to shoot in black and white at night, "because in low light the shapes stand out more than in color." And finally, he recommends some kind of stabilization, be it optical or in body.
To see more of Josep's work, visit his Flickr.
Check out previous Photo of the Day images, and the stories behind them. If you have an image you'd like us to consider for Photo of the Day, email it to us at digitalcameraworld@futurenet.com
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If you're interested in night photography, check out the best low-light cameras and refer to our cheat sheet on low-light photography. And if you're a Nikon fan, take a look at the best Nikon cameras.
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