The world's most famous landscapes, captured at night by Darren Almond over 25 years, defy the rules of photography. His Fullmoon series, published by Taschen, showcases breathtaking images of Yosemite valley, Patagonian glaciers, Japanese temple gardens, and Bermuda's pink sand beaches, all bathed in the soft glow of moonlight. But how does he manage to make these scenes look so bright and colorful when they were taken in the dark? The secret lies in a simple yet powerful technique: long exposure photography.
Almond's approach is a testament to patience, planning, and a deep understanding of camera sensors. By using long exposures, his camera sensor collects photons, gradually building up full color and tonal range, just like it would in daylight. The moon, after all, is just reflected sunlight. The challenge lies in the planning. Almond meticulously calculates the best time around the full moon, obsessively checking forecasts for cloud cover, and accepting that a single unplanned car headlight or drifting cloud can ruin a 15-minute exposure. It's a high-stakes game, with no retakes possible.
What elevates the Fullmoon project beyond a clever exposure technique is the choice of locations. Almond revisits sites with rich historical significance, such as the Alpine viewpoints sketched by JMW Turner and the volcanic islands surveyed by Charles Darwin. By capturing these places by moonlight, he offers a unique perspective, transforming familiar landscapes into something new and captivating. The key takeaway for photographers is that a full moon is a usable light source, not just a subject. While it's weaker than sunlight by a factor of around 400,000, exposure is just time, and time is free if you're prepared to stand in a field at 02:00 waiting for cloud cover to clear.
Almond's Fullmoon series is a testament to the power of creativity and technical mastery. It's a must-see for any lover of fine art photography and a valuable lesson for photographers. The expanded edition of the book, published by Taschen, includes over 370 images, an introduction by former Tate Modern chief curator Sheena Wagstaff, and an essay by the writer Brian Dillon. It's a lavish, era-spanning book that would be a great gift for any photography enthusiast. So, if you're looking for a unique and captivating photography project, consider the Fullmoon series by Darren Almond. It's a journey into the beauty of the night, captured with a simple yet powerful technique.
