If you’re in Sydney and keen on night photography, don’t miss the Smart Light walk as part of the Vivid Sydney Festival. From the vividsydney.com website…

“Smart Light Sydney will showcase beautiful and dynamic light art sculptures using innovative, smart technology on a free Light Walk around Sydney’s iconic harbour front precinct. The self-guided walk will start from Sydney Observatory and lead visitors through The Rocks, around Circular Quay to Sydney Opera House.”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many photographers spread out in the one area, but it’s a night photographer’s dream. From quirky little light displays to full scale illuminations of buildings, there’s plenty to see.

I don’t do a great deal of night cityscape photography so I don’t have a lot of tips to offer but for this sort of photography I like to stick to around f/8 aperture and shutter speeds of 10 to 30 seconds. Low ISOs will help keep down noise. Obviously a sturdy tripod is a must in these situations. If you’re around the light walk over the rest of the week there’s no shortage of photographers around who could offer a tip or two, or if you have any other handy tips yourself, feel free to add them in the comments here.

Here’s a sample of some of the major works. It’s a refreshing change to photograph the Sydney Opera House in something other than the standard white. See more examples in my Night gallery archives.

Sydney Opera House

Museum of Contemporary Art

Observatory Hill Rotunda