Night photography provides an opportunity to exhibit a scene in a different way. Generally, I prefer to capture night images of buildings before it gets too dark. During twilight, the color of the sky is more appealing. And, the dynamic range within the scene is more manageable for the camera's sensor before the sky goes completely black.

One night while I was walking in downtown Santa Fe, I captured the following photograph of the St. Francis Cathedral.

St. Francis Cathedral I tried to maintain as much detail as possible in the highlights and shadows of the frame by taking multiple exposures and blending them together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) photograph.

The next night, I took another photo of this church about 30 minutes earlier than my initial attempt. There was a little more light in the sky and the sensor wasn't challenged as much to retain details throughout the image:

Cathedral of St. Francis Although the church isn't lit as dramatically in the second image due to the artificial light having less of an impact, I prefer the second image for the color in the sky and the details visible throughout the frame. Of course, your preference may vary.