20 Oct 2025 Life Dark

Dark Mornings and Van Conversion Work

It is that time of year around here where the sun doesn't come up until almost 7am.

Cutting a Hole in the Roof of the Van (view full res)

It is that time of year around here where the sun doesn't come up until almost 7am. We are located right on the edge of the Eastern and Central time zones so the weeks right before Daylight Savings Time changes is a dark weird time (although a few years ago we thought we were done with the changing times, but apparently not). By the time the sun does come up and gives me some decent light for photos it practically feels like lunch time. So, photos in the dark is what I end up with.

Taking photos in almost complete darkness feels like just what I do this time of year. This is much more obtainable with the equipment we have today than it was 10 years ago. It still takes practice doing long exposures and making people into ghosting images. Both of these shots of my kitchen were almost 10 seconds long. One I walked in and out of the image without leaving a trace of myself. The second one I'm standing in front of the pantry door for half of the exposure so I look more like a ghost image. I kinda like both shots.

Long Exposure in a Very Dark Kitchen (view full res)

Self Portrait in the Dark Kitchen (view full res)

Working with low light photography does give you a lot of options and it allows you to really highlight specific parts of the image, like here with my coffee cup.

Continue Van Work

We are continuing on with our van conversion work every spare minute we get. Installing a vent fan was one of those jobs I had long avoided just because I didn't feel like cutting another huge hole in the roof again. But having a vent fan inside a camper is one of those things you really don't want to do without. If anyone asked me one thing that was a must install (that is, other an air-conditioning unit, see Installing Dometic FreshJet 3 in Our Van) it would be a vent fan. You can't underestimate the value of this little device and the benefits it provides. It's small, easy to install, and doesn't really cost all that much for a really nice one.

If you are interested in the full breakdown of the install, we are chronicling all the van work over on our travel site Shanty Travelers. The vent fan install is over at Installing a MaxxAir Maxxfan Plus Vent Fan.

Finishing the Vent Fan on the Van Roof (view full res)

Edgar Helping with the Van Build (view full res)

As always, Edgar the Papillon is a huge help guarding the doors from invading squirrels while we work. I'm pretty sure Edgar is as happy about being in the van as he is anywhere in the world.