Still of the Night

A Photo Essay by Patrick Joust
(Baltimore Magazine, July 2014)

Patrick Joust is a librarian I work with at the Enoch Pratt Central Library. Whenever he’s not helping the good citizens of Baltimore with their queries, tech-savvy Patrick can be spotted around town with his collection of cameras, his discerning eye capturing the broken-down beauty of landscapes most Baltimoreans turn a blind eye to during daylight. – Tom Warner (BoL)

A freight train passes by row homes on the edge of Cherry Hill while the headlights of waiting cars shine through. –Photography by Patrick Joust

A freight train passes by row homes on the edge of Cherry Hill while the headlights of waiting cars shine through. –Photography by Patrick Joust

What is it about the night that intrigues us so? The darkness, the stillness, the glimpses of interior lives seen through illuminated windows: It all seems so pregnant with possibility compared to the flat brightness of day.

Baltimore photographer Patrick Joust excels at capturing the romance and danger of the Baltimore night with an unflinching gaze and elegant use of chiaroscuro reminiscent of painters like Edward Hopper.

Like stills from a modern film noir, his shots hint at something ominous lurking just out of frame, as if the heavy calm is about to be broken, but by what is left up to the viewer’s imagination. – Introduction by Amy Mulvihill

Continue reading the “Still of the Night” photo essay at Baltimoremagazine.net.

 

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