Chinatown Nights with Countess (Patreon)

Back out on the streets at night, this time with Countess as we walked around Chinatown in search of interesting lighting.

One thing that I'm learning as we explore night photography is the use of a much, much higher ISO while shooting.  I think these were shot at ISO3200.  By comparison, my studio work is usually shot at ISO100 or 200.

Shooting at such a high ISO brings with it a lot of digital noise, which requires a lot of finessing in Lightroom while coloring the images, but I think I'm getting the formula closer to being right.  Too little and it stays noisy (and thus, too difficult to properly retouch); too much and everything becomes too waxy.  

I also managed to completely fall flat on my back and tear off a chunk of skin on my leg while shooting, thanks to not seeing a riser behind me as I was backing up.  Photography is dangerous! :P