Night Vision

A Photographic Gallery by Ray Grasse

“Every time I see one of your photos I have to wonder if I'm really on the same planet. It looks like something very ordinary that I would see but it's not.” -Ken McRitchie

I’ve been working with cameras in one form or another since I was 12, when I obtained my first 8mm movie camera. I received my degree in filmmaking under experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage, and while I no longer dabble in filmmaking, I have continued taking photographs—with a special focus on night photography. For my "Night Vision" series I compiled for an exhibit some years ago, I wrote:

For me, night photography offers a way of uncovering worlds hidden both within and behind the surfaces of everyday life. Primarily through the use of time exposures, the lens becomes a tool for exposing secrets normally invisible to our ordinary time-frames. The result is imagery that resonates more in some ways to the language of nightly dreams than the daylight of waking logic.

Below is a short selection of these nocturnal images, some of which involve extended exposures. I hope enjoy them!

—R.G.

Ray Grasse is a writer, photographer, and astrologer based in the American Midwest. He received a degree from the Art Institute of Chicago under experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage. He worked for ten years on the staff of the Theosophical Society, and is author of ten books, including The Waking Dream and An Infinity of Gods. His websites are www.raygrasse.com and www.raygrassephotography.com.