The Night Lights is a collection of long exposure photographs spanning 12 years. Featured are night scenes from bustling cities to desolate villages. Come explore 25 unique darkroom prints.

Statement

There is something comforting about the buzzing sounds of fluorescent and neon lights when all else is quiet. They remind me of the sleepy desert towns I grew up in. That feeling is what initially drew me into long-exposure landscapes. Seeing familiar or ordinary places transformed into dramatic flood-lit scenes is what has kept me coming back to making these photos over and over again.

I started creating this collection of photographs around 2012. It became a part of everything I did. If I worked late, that was an opportunity to take some photos on my way home. On vacation, my wife and I would venture around at night to observe the sights under artificial light. It’s a great way to see familiar places close to home in a new way, too.

I discovered that I have less photographic anxiety at night. I’m not chasing perfect light or stressing about being set up at a location at a specific time. Honestly, the most appealing thing to me is that I don’t need to wake up early. Another nice thing is that no fast lenses, high-tech cameras, or other expensive equipment are required to pull it off. You only need a sturdy tripod, a decent light meter, and some patience.

I find that the slow and quiet experience of making long exposures at night is mirrored by the solitude spent in the darkroom printing under a similar comforting buzzing light.

Artist bio

Brian Seek loved to collect old junk as a kid growing up in southeastern Arizona. Much of that junk was old cameras. He started young with 110 micro-format cameras, and his first exposure to photographic printing was at age 4, accompanying his mom in the darkroom during her community college class.

After piling up stacks of negatives and Polaroids through his teens and 20s, he turned his focus to practicing and refining darkroom printing techniques, which he has been doing for the past 13 years. Along the way, he has participated in group shows and had his work featured in several juried exhibitions including the Crocker Art Museum’s annual auction. “The Night Lights” is the first solo exhibit of his work.

A longtime resident of Arizona, Brian relocated to Sacramento in 2019, where he continues to work in a home darkroom.