Tribute to Steve Harper, pioneer night photographer

Harper would teach students to use a tripod and leave the shutter open long enough to make night light as sharp as daylight.

Harper’s class, said to be the first in night photography at any college in the country, soon made the Bay Area a destination for shooters of darkness, who eventually formed a loose collective called the Nocturnes.

Steve Harper and the ‘San Francisco School’ of Night Photography, which opens Thursday, Dec. 8, at RayKo Photo Center in San Francisco.

“Steve was an advocate for night photography as a transformative experience,” says Tim Baskerville, founder of the Nocturnes and curator of the exhibition.

To curate the show, Baskerville sent out a call to Harper collectors, who include Michael Kenna, the well-known night photographer of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Kenna loaned half the images in a show that amounts to 25 photos, ranging from urban grit in black-and-white to lush landscapes in Death Valley.

There is a mix of razor-sharp black-and-whites and ethereal color prints — and you won’t find an image of Christmas lights, fireworks or neon lights in the show.