Chasing Neon: My Boston Gas Station Pilgrimage

A love relationship between a specific scene, and a nightstar film stock.

There's something magical that happens when you load CineStill 800T into your camera and point it at a gas station after dark. CineStill 800T is essentially Kodak Vision3 500T motion picture film, repackaged for still photography, with the difference of having the protective remjet backing removed.

This turns this specific film stock into a machine capable of producing dreamy, red-orange halos that bloom around bright light sources, the name of this effect is “halation”.

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I have a dedicated post about the CineStill 800T and all the charm, read it here:

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When you combine this with the film's tungsten color balance (designed for 3200K), gas stations become the perfect subject, because the cold fluorescent lights that illuminate are not rendered naturally, turning a scene into something that could perfectly be a Blade Runner's still.

Next time you're out shooting at night with CineStill 800T, don't drive past that gas station, especially at night. Stop, compose your shot, and watch as the ordinary transforms into the extraordinary after developing.

I was visiting Boston over the long Memorial Day weekend—a remarkably clean and affluent city. When I arrived that afternoon, I spotted a Shell gas station with a striking neon sign glowing behind it. The scene immediately triggered my photographer's instinct: I knew I had to return after dark with my CineStill 800T to capture that moment.

I even posted a voice note here on Substack to document the full sensory experience. There's something magical about the synchronicity between the neon lights flickering on and the evening chorus of crickets, all layered with the distant hum of highway traffic. The combination is absolutely mesmerizing!

The video above was taken minutes before I captured the shot below. When I arrived with my Mamiya 7II and 35mm panoramic kit, the gas station had closed for the night. While this added to the post-apocalyptic atmosphere of the scene, it also meant significantly less available light, making my handheld shot much more challenging. Here's the best I could manage with what I had:

sHELL.

1-second exposure, handheld. I had to brace both my camera and myself against a tree, which is why the composition isn't quite what I was after. I definitely needed a tripod, and I mean DEFINITELY.

This is my biggest regret from the trip: not bringing a tripod. Now I'll have to return to capture this shot properly. Have you ever found yourself in that situation? Wanting to make a specific shot but lacking the right gear? Let me know in the comments!

But the gas station pilgrimage continued! Right after, I spotted another Shell and a Mobil station. These had the amount of light I was expecting from that first Shell with the neon sign — much easier to capture (no, this was not written by ChatGPT just because it has an em-dash, fuck off… I know how to write.)

Part of the halation charm comes from the fluorescent lights right on the ceiling: a vibe that was missing from the first sHELL shot.

The next day, I captured some beautiful gas stations as well. The lack of litter on Boston's streets reminded me of places like Tokyo and Seoul. I think this cleanliness really helps with these wide-angle shots, allowing me to highlight my main subject without distracting clutter in the frame.

There's also the CineStill 50D for daylight shots, but that's a topic for the next post ;) — CineStill, you should be sponsoring myself!