For me, I like photographing just before sunrise or just after sunset, a time when most people are still asleep or eating dinner.  For example, I’m sure thousands of pictures of the Cookeville Railroad Depot are taken every year, but I wanted to make an image that might look different.

I chose a clear winter day just after the sun dipped below the horizon in order to even out the lighting and eliminate harsh shadows that can be a problem during mid day.  When the sun is down you should be prepared with a tripod so that slower shutter speeds will allow the camera to gather enough light but still enable you to get a sharp image.  The downside of slow shutter speeds is that moving objects will blur, but depending on what you want to achieve, this can be a creative choice. For this type of photograph, artificial lighting is a must for me to add visual interest.

For the Depot image, I used a 2-second exposure at f/11, but as it gets darker, the shutter speed will have to be continually slowed to gather a decreasing amount of light.

In addition to the Cookeville Railroad Depot photo, I have included some travel images using the same technique.  Unlike the depot, you  will notice the use of water to reflect lighting.