“Last Night” by Sortvind is a beautiful photograph. Although not necessarily a concept that hasn’t been done before, the way he has executed it is wonderful. There have been many photographs taken with some kind of glass in the foreground and out-of-focus lights in the background to create this dreamy, nostalgic, invigorating out-on-the-town sensation. It reminds the audience of parties where we felt like kings as we met new people and those new people changed our lives forever.

I’m very excited to learn that the lights are not a manipulation at all, and that instead the photographer manually set lights in the background. This is something less and less people have been striving for—a more traditional approach. The brightness of the lights and the way they bend on the inside of the glass are touches that could not be present if it were a manipulation. I also very much enjoy the choice of glass the photographer went with; the little stars etched into the glass mirror all the popping lights shining through it. The choice to make it a square photo makes the whole thing seem even more like a frozen window in a very specific moment of time—at that party, when we set down our glass to shake the hand of a new friend. The soft, slightly desaturated color tone is the finishing touch to bring home that nostalgia, the pure “memory” feeling this photograph emits.