When the recession hit late in the first decade of the 2000s, like a lot of others in the corporate banking world, Ben Davis lost his job. Davis had spent the bulk of his early career on the creative side of corporate banking and branding.
His world changed in a big way. Davis knew he still wanted to tap into his creative brain. And that’s about the time he fell in love with “Reno After Dark.” That’s the name of his Instagram account that now has more than 170,000 followers.
“For the first time, I didn’t have any set income,” the now 45-year-old says. “My wife told me to get out of the house and don’t worry about money. I started going downtown at night, shooting photos. It was just part of a personal project, a way to deal with Covid-related stress. I showed my work to people. They said I need to share my work, get it out on Instagram. I started the account in 2012 and it continued to grow and become its own income stream. I do social media for businesses that align with the brand. And it’s become its beast!”
So, what is Reno After Dark? It’s the style of photography that Davis explains as “a little bit of street photography, a little bit of street portrait, a little bit of urban landscape and part documentarian. It’s a little bit of tension between those things.”
Davis’ affinity for downtown Reno street images came about largely by accident. His followers can thank his wife’s love of after-work hours appointments of female beauty maintenance.
“The first couple of times I went downtown, my wife was having her nails done and it would happen to be at night,” he says. “I’d go with her and then go walk around during her appointments. That’s when I realized I like night photography a lot. It’s a little more challenging from a technical perspective, but also Reno is a unique city at night. The colors are eclectic. Interesting people come out at night. You get tourists, locals, police and fire. The city not only looks different but behaves different and nighttime is definitely my jam.”
You can take one look at Davis’ photography and see his camera skills speak for themselves. He started shooting pictures as a pre-teen. His first camera was a Nikon EM from Action Camera in Sacramento. Still, it took a while for the love of photography to fully blossom.
“I shot for a couple years with my dad. It was a chance for us to spend time together, but it didn’t really hook me. At the time it was a little slow. You were still using film. It didn’t click with teenager me. I decided to go graphic design instead. Then in 2009, I bought a Canon 30D. It was my first digital camera; and I was hooked in the art of taking photos, the gear, everything about it. Something with the purchase of that Canon totally clicked and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since.”
Davis often gets asked about expanding his imagery beyond downtown Reno. Does he get worried for his safety in the late hours of the day? Would he be interested in shooting other areas of Reno - after dark? There’s an easy answer for why focuses his efforts on the Virgina Street and Truckee River corridor.
“My experience is anecdotal, but downtown Reno is not as bad as the reputation it has been given by some locals. I’d have more concern for my safety during the day more than I ever had at night. I still tell people to use common sense, but it has been my experience that Reno isn’t a terrifying experience after dark,” Davis says.
“I have done other things after dark - the Reno Rodeo, the air show - but in terms of street photography, there are no other parts of Reno that are very pedestrian. It’s so hard to encounter people on the street, but in downtown Reno, where you’re among the [businesses] and concerts, that works. If you walk up to somebody at Meadowood mall, you’re not necessarily met with the same understanding when they see a guy with a camera.”
Davis seems to have definitely found his niche. He’s turned Reno After Dark into a success and found ways to monetize that success into an income stream that supports his family, and maybe most important of all, he’s enjoying his work.
“I absolutely love it,” Davis says. “I go downtown two or three times a week and shoot photos. It’s easily one of the highlights of my week. I joke that it’s a little bit of quiet time, just me and my camera. It’s my creative outlet. It fills the cup so to speak.”
"Downtown Reno is not as bad as the reputation it has been given by some locals."
“I go downtown two or three times a week and shoot photos. It’s easily one of the highlights of my week."