Photographs after dark

Nocturne

The night photography of Mara Voss — cities, weather and people, after the light has gone.

A street washed pink by neon, a lone walker under an umbrella
Magenta Hour — Osaka, 2024
A city block in fog, lit green by a traffic signal
Signal, Fog — Toronto, 2023
A woman in a dark room lit by a single red lamp
Red Room I — Studio, 2024
A teal-lit intersection crowded with neon signs
Crossing — Hong Kong, 2022
A building seen through a rain-covered window
Glass, Rain — Glasgow, 2024
A silhouette against a pale, hazy light
Eclipse — Studio, 2023
A tram at night, its red light reflected on wet rails
Last Tram — Lisbon, 2023
Out-of-focus city lights in warm and white circles
Bokeh Study — London, 2022
Black and white portrait of a young woman
Portrait, Silver — Studio, 2025
A narrow street with puddles reflecting lamps
After Rain — Edinburgh, 2024
Mountains beside water beneath a starry sky
Night Water — Isle of Skye, 2023
A figure lit from behind by red neon
Neon Saint — Berlin, 2024
People on a rainy street seen through wet glass
Commute — Tokyo, 2022
A red neon sign glowing on a brick building
Soho, 01:40 — London, 2023
A young woman illuminated by green light
Green Room — Studio, 2025
Three people walking along a cobbled street under lamps
Three Walking — Porto, 2025
Light trails on a road under a starry sky
Long Road — Nevada, 2021
A man in a flat cap under dramatic red light
The Regular — Glasgow, 2024
A garden and block of flats lit green at night
Estate Garden — Manchester, 2023
A rain-streaked window with city bokeh
Weather Report — Glasgow, 2025
A young woman with braided hair in red light
Red Room II — Studio, 2025
A scooter rider among towers and light trails
Downtown — Seoul, 2022
A bridge lit gold over water beside a city
Bridge Lights — Ho Chi Minh City, 2023
An aerial view of a city and motorways at night
Arteries — Madrid, 2021

Statement

I photograph the hour after everyone has gone home — when a city is lit only by what it forgot to switch off.

Mara Voss is a Glasgow-based photographer working almost entirely at night. Her pictures are made with available light — street lamps, shop signs, the glow of a last bus — and printed large, in small editions. She takes a handful of editorial and brand commissions each year, alongside long-form personal series.

Selected series

Three long nights

A lit shopfront sign on a dark street
01Series I · 2021–2024 · 38 photographsSodium
A woman lit by one red lamp in a dark room
02Series II · 2024–2025 · 21 portraitsRed Room
A bus on a decorated city street at night
03Series III · 2022–ongoing · 54 photographsLast Service

Exhibitions, books & prizes

  1. 2025

    Red Room — solo exhibition

    Tramway, Glasgow. Twenty-one large-format portraits with a sound piece by Iona Reid.

  2. 2024

    Sodium — photobook

    First edition of 800, printed in Verona. Shortlisted for the Paris Photo first book prize.

  3. 2024

    After Dark — group show

    Photographers’ Gallery, London. Four works from Last Service.

  4. 2023

    Night Water — commission

    A year of nocturnal landscapes for the Hebridean Trust’s dark-sky programme.

  5. 2022

    Emerging Voices award

    Selected from 2,400 submissions for the Northern Light Journal’s annual prize.

  6. 2021

    Long Road — residency

    Six weeks photographing the desert highway between Tonopah and Ely.

Northern Light JournalBlue Hour ReviewSalt & SilverFieldnotes MonthlyThe LanternPaper Moon

Commissions

Let’s make something after dark.

Editorial, brand and architectural commissions — and the occasional album cover. Tell me about the place, the people and the hour you have in mind. I reply to every enquiry within three days.