Available light photography is a trend dating back to the 1950s. The idea was to take advantage of the available light when making photos indoors under poor light conditions, without using a flash. This would preserve the mood and style of the situation. Photographers would use high speed black and white 35mm film. That the photograph would turn out grainy was not considered a disadvantage, but rather the style of the photograph. View a photo from that period at the bottom of this page.

Camera used and technical details see text below the images. From image 5 on, the Nikon D700 was used. Note that there is less grain than in images 1 - 4, although the sensitivity is set higher.

The camera used is the Nikon D50 or D80, with a Nikkor 17-55mm 1:2.8 lens.

I took this photograph 1956 at a café in Vienna. The camera used was an Exakta SLR with a ZEISS 50mm 1:1.4 lens, the film was an Ilford 1600 ASA. Viewed with a 20in 1600 x 1200 pixel screen, the image appears the same size as my old 296 x 220 mm enlargement. Back to top of this page.

Images copyright 1956 - 2008 by G.W.Schnell. All rights reserved.