I’ve always been intimidated about taking pictures at night.  Until now I’ve not had a clue what it takes to get even the proper exposure.  Well, after crossing the “auto to manual divide”, I decided it was time for me to get some night time pictures.  So last night around 9:00 I set out for downtown Lexington with camera and tripod in tow.

In addition to my normal “borrowed” gear, I brought Mary Gwen’s mega-lens, the Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 L USM beast that I blogged about yesterday.  While I loved the lens, its focal length was simply to big for “downtown” shots.  While that lens allowed me to shot with higher shutter speeds in the dim light, I wasn’t able to get the “full view” of my subject.  I know it’ll be great for landscape shots and when I need a huge zoom.  I’m just glad that Mary G is willing to let me use it.

So after trying the big lens on the Church of the Good Shepherd, which looks great in both daytime and night time, I switched back to the kit lens and moved on.

I was hoping to get shots of Thoroughbred and Triangle Parks, but neither were illuminated last night.  In fact Triangle Park seemed to be undergoing some kind of maintenance - like Main Street.  So I went to Transylvania.

As soon as I stepped out of my car in front of Old Morrison, it began to lightning, so I knew I had precious little time.  I setup in the grassy courtyard directly in front of Old Morrison and began to take shots.

I’ve got to tell you.  This building may be “plain”, but at night with the spotlights, it’s a beautiful building.  The only thing that could make that building any better looking is the removal of the hand rails on either side of its entrance.

Here’s a shot of Old Morrison.

Old Morrison at Night

I’m hoping to post a few more shots from last night later today.  I especially want to post a shot of Good Shepherd’s stained-glass window.  Anyway I hope you enjoy Old Morrison!