How can I say this nicely? The night sky in New York City leaves a lot to be desired, especially if you have viewed the heavens from the deck of a container ship in the middle of the ocean. The stars, the handful that you can see over the city, don’t shine very brightly. Several hundred years ago, Venus appeared so brilliantly in the night sky that you could squeeze in a few rounds of shadow boxing with a friend before it slipped below the horizon. The sky was so dark that astronomers surveyed the night skies, unlocking the secrets of the universe, from open windows in their homes and from the gardens in their backyards.

As a photographer who enjoys photographing at night, I am often drawn to the interplay between artificial light and the man-made surfaces that it illuminates. However, I also know that it is this very light that keeps me from capturing star trails or seeing the beautiful expanse of the Milky Way galaxy stretch across the night sky. How many of my fellow New Yorkers have never had the pleasure of seeing the night sky in complete darkness?

For eons, the only light on Earth was from the heavens, fire, and bioluminescence. The modern electric light bulb started a war on darkness that humans have been consistently winning since 1879. Animals and humans evolved in a world where the planet got dark after the sun went down. Our eyes are designed to see best during the day, but we see fairly well in the dark — given the chance to adapt. Animals (including homo sapiens) developed eating, mating, working, sleeping, and migration habits over tens of thousands of years of naturally regulated light and darkness. The electric light changed all that.

Astronomers were some of the first to notice that the night skies were not so dark anymore. Large observatories in and around urban areas became crippled by light pollution from ever-expanding cities. Shutterbugs and stargazers noticed changes, as well. But, it turns out that light pollution is not just a problem for astronomers and night photographers; it has negative effects on all of us humans and the animals with whom we share the planet.

I strolled down to the shore of the Buttermilk Channel, on the East River, to photograph the September 11th Tribute in Lights. Two giant beams of light illuminated the night sky from near where the twin towers of the World Trade Center used to stand. In the beams were hundreds of circling birds — illuminated so brightly they were picked up by my camera lens miles from the site. At the time, I did not think much of it, and I was honestly annoyed that the light display was shut off several times as I was photographing. I assumed it was a technical glitch. What I did not realize was that bright lights like this, and even normal city lights, have a harmful and sometimes fatal effect on birds. The Tribute operators, working with the local Audubon chapter, regulated the display out of concern for the birds. Like many animals, including us, birds are attracted to bright lights and, like deer caught in headlights, lights can be disorienting and blinding and effect migration patterns, safe flight, and a host of other things.