Dark is the absence of light so how do I photograph dark without light? I would end up with a solid black rectangle. I tried many different lights from a candle to a night light. I ended up liking the look of the washing machine power button and dial in the dark. It has a UFO landing kind of glow to it. It is a good thing I know this is a washing machine or I might have to say that this is actually a weather balloon collecting atmospheric data.