The time had come for me to get out of my bed and head out to shoot the August Madison Night Market but I was feeling super lazy. I had to force myself out of bed so I wouldn't miss the event. Upon getting there, I observed a concert band playing some cheerful tunes and I couldn't help but grab a shot of them, even though I had been shooting concerts quite frequently at the time.

The things that caught my eyes most about the band were their enthusiasm and their outfits. It had been a while since I saw any performers wear colorful attires.

As I continued taking photos of the concert performers, the light started to go down drastically and I immediately knew what that meant; time for some low light shooting!

The light had now gone significantly low and I was challenged to use harsh settings to achieve my photos. A very important tip for shooting in low light is to give your sensor as much light as possible because it really needs the light signal, especially in the shadow areas. That can be achieved by slowing your shutter speed down by about two-thirds of a stop, or widening your aperture. Always remember that your ISO does not increase the amount of light signal hitting the sensor.

By now a lot of people were already on Gilman street looking for a bite to eat. There were so many international delicacies available to try including Ice Cream, Mexican food, and Italian food. Some food stalls were more crowded than others, which was quite interesting to notice.

One of the more popular options available that night was all the way down Gilman street at Pizza Brutta. As the name implies, Pizza Brutta was selling tasty (and seemingly irresistible) stone-fired pizzas that were getting a lot of attention. I would have loved to eat some but I couldn't eat and take photos at the same time.

I decided to stroll down to Pizza Brutta to see how the pizzas were being made and it was a very interesting process. The dough (with the toppings) was placed on a metal tray and was carefully inserted into the furnace and left there for a couple of minutes before it was deemed ready by the chef. One customer was particularly interested in the process and decided to take a photo of the furnace.

Before I left Pizza Brutta, a bunch of people started lining up to get their custom stone-fired pizzas and it was a delight to see, but even more of a delight to capture!

It wasn't only Pizza Brutta that was getting customers, as some other food stalls were getting a fair amount of customers. One of those was a Mexican food stall that sold tasty treats at low prices.

After checking out the food stalls, I decided to check out what else was being sold at the Night Market. I noticed that there were a couple of stalls selling clothing and decorations, and they seemed very welcoming.

One of the stalls was selling perfumes that were apparently linked to certain zodiac signs. The perfumes smelled amazing, and the lady was very happy to share her fragrances with customers.

Another stall was selling decorations and plants that had a very unique fragrance. I really liked how the stall was set up and how kind the vendors were to their customers.

There was also a stall that sold clothing, and people seemed to be intrigued at the options they had available. I couldn't blame them as the clothes in the stall were really beautiful!

There was also a stall that sold illustrations. I didn't intend to take a photo of it, but I'm sure you'd know why I did, judging from the photo.

The August Night Market was a blast and I honestly enjoyed tasking myself to shoot in conditions I was previously not acquainted with. The fun of challenging yourself is that it improves your artistic vision and your versatility as a photographer. I would definitely love to shoot an event like this in the near future! Lastly, here's a photo of someone from the same band that performed earlier in the day, but this time, at night.

Nima Photography

Always telling stories

The Night Market /August 11, 2018 by Osase Noma-Owens

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