würst | G Dan Mitchell Photography

Patrons standing around a “wiener würstl” stand at night in Vienna

I made this photograph on a late-August evening in Vienna. We had just returned from dinner, perhaps a bit early, and I realized that I had just enough time to head out and do some night street photography in the crowded nearby streets… which were absolutely filled with pedestrians. There was a lot to see and photograph — a nearby cathedral, shops and cafes, pedicabs, people passing by. As I neared the completion of my looping walk I passed a couple of the ubiquitous “würstl” stands, which seem to collect people in their circle of light.

This photograph is part of a genre that I’ve been pursuing for the past few years — handheld night street photography. It was just a few years ago that I realized that small contemporary digital cameras are now good enough in very low light that I can photograph street scenes using only available light, especially if I seek out sources of light such as this. I’ve been doing night photography for more than fifteen years, and I’m part of a collective of San Francisco Bay Area night photographs known as Studio Nocturne. As it turns out, we’re in the middle of our “fall season” right now, with several events coming up right away.

For more than 15 years we have exhibited every fall as part of the San Francisco ArtSpan Open Studio Event. This year our “open studio” is at ARCH Supplies in San Francisco. Our opening preview and artist reception is on Friday, October 26 at 6:30-9:00PM. Our exhibit and sale continues on Saturday and Sunday, October 27 & 28, from 11:00AM-6:00PM.

Studio Nocturne 2018 ArtSpan Open Studio October 26-28

We’re also doing a San Francisco ArtSpan Open Studio “hub show” mini-exhibit at Farley’s Coffee in San Francisco all month, with a public reception this Friday, October 19 at 6:30PM-8:30PM.