These images of a rain-soaked Nottingham city centre were taken by Lewis Stainer, an audio-visual assistant at the University, as part of the 4am Project, which collects photographs taken around the world at 4am.

Lewis joined 40 photographers who met outside the Council House early one Sunday morning to capture the streets at a time when most of us are asleep.

The event tied in with Saturday Night and Sunday Morning: The Authentic Moment in British Photography, an exhibition at the Djanogly Art Gallery.

Lewis said: “I really enjoyed it. Considering what time it was, everyone was really bubbly. It wasn’t great that it was so wet, but the reflections actually helped with the pictures.”

Lewis, 21, joined the University in September 2012 on its apprenticeship scheme. He helps edit and upload images to the University’s database. Working with Image Editor Lisa Gilligan-Lee, he takes photographs at University events and captures campus life. He also spends a day a month studying Business Administration at New College Nottingham.

“I’m really enjoying it,” he said. “I’m learning to shoot in a way that reflects the University’s style — you have to think about how the photographs will be used, leave space for text, and use lines to draw the viewer in.”

Lewis previously studied TV and Film at New College Nottingham and leapt at the opportunity of a year-long apprenticeship because he wanted to apply his passion for photography in a working environment.

He was one of 17 young people offered an apprenticeship when the University launched the scheme in September. All apprentices are working towards an NVQ at college.

The Saturday Night and Sunday Morning exhibition celebrates the novel by Nottingham’s Alan Sillitoe and the 1960 film starring Albert Finney as Arthur Seaton, while exploring social change in the late 1950s and early 60s.

Arthur worked at the Raleigh factory, which once sprawled across Jubilee Campus, but he lived for Saturday night. So it was somehow fitting that the 4am photographers should meet early on a Sunday morning, when revellers are on their way home.

The 4am Project was created by Birmingham-based photographer Karen Strunk who was struck by how different city streets look in the early hours. She began staging events so other photographers could share the 4am experience. In April 2009 4am became a global project, and photographers from more than 50 countries have since uploaded around 7,000 images to a dedicated website.

Karen was commissioned to stage a 4am event in Nottingham by Anna Douglas, the co-curator of the Saturday Night and Sunday morning exhibition.

Karen said: “It was really interesting to host the event in another city — and it tied in so well with the exhibition. I was really pleased with how well it was supported — when it’s wet you normally get a fall-off.”

The exhibition runs until 10 February at Djangoly Art Gallery. For more on the exhibition, visit: UoNSaturdayNight

To see a slideshow of the photographs taken in Nottingham, please visit: 4amproject.