Whilst most people are dreading the end of October each year when the clocks go back, for us street photographers it’s a time when we can go out and shoot in the dark without having to loiter around until 8 in the evening. That’s right, night street photography season is finally here and it feels like it’s been a long wait. For some, this is their favourite kind of street photography due to the neon lights, reflections in puddles and the night time has a completely different vibe than the daytime. People often behave differently due to alcohol consumption creating opportunities for some interesting shots. That being said I try to avoid large groups of drunk people as they could be unpredictable when faced with someone carrying a camera.

So at the earliest opportunity after the clocks changed, I headed out after work one Friday evening with my Fujifilm X-T3 and 56mm f1.2 and began my usual route. Starting by walking across Trafalgar Square I then made my way to Haymarket, annoyingly it was still quite light at 4pm so I carried on walking up towards Piccadilly CIrcus where I was presented by the usual large crowds of tourists and the bright lights of the famous advertising signs. Like most street photographers in London I’m always drawn to the Picturehouse Central Cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue, with it’s bright red neons in the windows. I could feel dusk arriving as the natural light started to fade, becoming more aware of my surroundings as the crowds became more dense. I began to feel a bit more vulnerable than daytime shooting as the lack of light was giving me a false sense of who was close by and felt I needed to be more alert. I didn’t manage to take any decent shots around the cinema so I headed up Great Windmill Street towards the bright neon lights of the Windmill Nightclub (a popular spot for street photographs). I spotted a bar on the left with the neon lights of the Windmill reflecting in the windows, with a lady in a hat stood outside. I took a few shots, but couldn’t quite get the angle with the 56mm, this was the best of a bad bunch:

I carried on my walk up Great Windmill Street and spotted the cocktail bar Be At One on the corner, I’ve actually been in here drinking before and it can get pretty raucous, so I was on high alert for any activity. By this time I’d made sure that my aperture was set at f1.2 to let the most amount of light into the camera, but I also knew I needed to expose for any highlights to avoid them being blown out. I also set the shutter speed manually to 1/125 and left the ISO at auto, but with a maximum of 3200. I saw a few characters through the windows and straight away I spotted a couple having a drink at a table so took the shot without thinking. I didn’t realise it when I took it, but the two characters weren’t interacting at the time of the shot and seemed quite distant, have they had an argument? or maybe a bad first date? Who knows, the chances are they may have been chatting just before I took the shot and it was only a matter of timing, but I still feel there’s a bit of a story here:

I also like the aesthetics of the shot with the warm lighting of the bar contrasted with the cyan tiles on the left of the image. I continued my walk by heading east across Archer Street, then onto Rupert Street. As I walked up towards Brewer Street I noticed the window below with fantastic bright neons. I focused on the neons to make sure they were sharp and not over exposed. At the time the barman was working behind the window and you can just see his arms out of focus on the first shot, the second image is from when I later returned to this spot. I really like taking street photos with people in, but not so they’re easily identified, which leaves something to the imagination for the viewer, these are an example of that:

By now I felt like I’d taken some good early shots which gave me confidence as I continued to walk towards Wardour Street. Sometimes you only need one good shot to give you a real boost, this will also make you care less what other people think when you’re taking photos. I just go out with the mindset that I’m out on the streets doing a job and that job is taking photographs, I’ve been doing this too long now to care what other people think. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t lose confidence sometimes and feel like everyone is looking at me when I have a camera, this is often when I haven’t managed to take any decent shots early on.

I don’t actually remember where I took this next shot, I just remember looking into a pub window and seeing the couple sat there with the nice colours behind them so I just went for it. Luckily I managed to nail the focus with just one attempt. I’m finding this is generally the case with the 56mm f1.2, whereas I feel that with the 35mm f1.4 it’s a bit more hit and miss, especially at night.

The previous shot must have been taken somewhere near Wardour Street as the next shot was definitely taken on the aforementioned street. It’s a cafe which I’ve walked past many times in the daytime and is also on the corner of Peter Street. I like the warm colours of inside the cafe with the neons lights on the window, which is what I focused on with the aperture still set at f1.2, hence the blurred subject in the background, I’m just disappointed that the image doesn’t show him more prominent as that would have made it into a better image and given more of a story:

By this time, my stomach began telling me that it’s nearly time to go home. I remember seeing shots on Instagram a while ago from street photographers taking images of a venue called Dean Street Express on Dean Street funnily enough. At first glance it looks like a trendy bar or restaurant from the outside, however looks can be very deceiving as it’s actually a clinic. Anyway, regardless of this I thought I'd attempt my own take on it. This was handy as there is a Crossrail Station on Dean Street which I can use to get home (it’s actually part of the Tottenham Court Road Station). This venue is great if you want some silhouetted figures with a bright background behind, however it’s difficult to avoid taking shots that have been done before and come off cliched. The first two shots below were my favourite ones, for these I tried to get the ‘Dean Street Express’ neon sign reflecting on the parked car. I was fairly happy with the results, but there was nothing new here. As a bonus I spotted a couple outside a pizza restaurant on the same street who were right in front of me with the neon sign behind them. Just as I took the shot, they turned around (purely coincidence, I don’t think they saw me), however I’m happy with the result with the lady’s arm on the shoulder of the male.

So that concludes my first night photography session of Autumn 2023 and first shoot with the Fujifilm 56mm f1.2 lens and have to say I’m very pleased with the results. I had high hopes for this lens in low light and it’s delivered, especially as it’s the Mk1 version. Generally these shots don’t go much over 1600 ISO either which still keeps them pretty clean. I was tempted to buy the Mk2 WR version of this lens, but I couldn’t justify the cost at over twice the price (I bought this second hand for less than £450 and it’s in near perfect condition). Additionally the Mk2 lens is much larger and heavier than the Mk1 so not ideal for street photography in my view, although others have made it work, producing excellent results. Until next time, hopefully this is the first of many night photo shoots this Winter.