Nocturnal New Orleans

Behold the mystique of the New Orleans night—that tinge of excitement, that veil of mystery, that sense of danger that emerges during “the witching hour.”

Darkness may unleash the Dionysian in the Crescent City, but the nightly sparkle of illumination also showcases its ethereal and enduring beauty. Through hundreds of nighttime photographs taken in the streets and from the air, Nocturnal New Orleans captures this mythological magic—even as it argues that the mystique is neither mythical nor magical, but stems from a rational awareness rooted in history, geography, economics, and culture.

With photographs by Marco Rasi and text by Richard Campanella, Nocturnal New Orleans heralds the jewel-like beauty of the Crescent City in darkness. Its stunning photographs demonstrate that the city’s allure is not merely construed or illusory; rather, it was born among transients in a diverse port city, at the nexus of a vast hinterland and a global foreland, where anonymity intersected with desire and opportunity. It began over three centuries ago, and it will continue this very evening, after nightfall, during the witching hour.