One doesn't normally think of spectacular night views when they think of Pyongyang. North Korea is notoriously short of electricity, and blackouts are the norm. However there are times -- usually when large numbers of foreigners are present and the country wants to put its best face forward -- that the capital city is brilliantly lit up with some jaw-dropping color. The following photographs are a small sample of what the city looks like when the power grid is operational, but by no means typical. Even during the course of one trip, the city can be dazzling one night and nearly pitch black the next.

Pyongyang's central railway station. Photographing this is always a touchy subject; for some reason most guides will deny your request to take pictures of this old building. But there's no denying it is pretty when lit up at night.

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The Koryo Hotel, one of the best hotels in North Korea.

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With so many uniquely shaped buildings and monuments, Pyongyang is actually a wonderful city to photograph.

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Gorgeous shot looking down on the city from my balcony high up at the Yanggakdo Hotel. The next night when I came back to try to take some zoom shots of this amazing scene, everything was dark. These buildings were never illuminated at night again during the rest of my stay, and I felt fortunate to have had this one beautiful -- albeit brief -- look.

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As the centerpiece of the city, Kim Il Sung Square is positively gorgeous when lit up at night. The problem is that night stops there are never included on tours. It literally took days of beseeching our government minders before they finally consented to take us there in the evening for some spectacular night shots. And even then, we weren't allowed to stay long. They nervously looked around and told us to hurry as we set up tripods and tried to snap pictures as quickly as possible.

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A shot from Kim Il Sung Square across the river to Juche Tower at night. Dazzling display of light!

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North Korea hosted the largest foreign delegation in its history in 2012 for the epic celebrations surrounding the 100th anniversary of the year of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung's birth. Even journalists were allowed in the country en masse to cover the festivities -- a true rarity. A building boom of several years preceded the big holiday, and the city had never been so spectacularly lit up at night. Here, newly-constructed apartment buildings near Kim Il Sung Square provide a breathtaking backdrop. Reports said that as soon as most of the foreign guests left the city a week later, it was back to its usual pitch blackness again. But there is no denying it was a brilliant show while it lasted...

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Just when I was beginning to be impressed by how well the city was kept lit up during my most recent visit to Pyongyang in 2012, small scenes like this would jolt me back to reality. This photograph was taken right after dinner as I stepped outside the restaurant onto the street. Everything outside the restaurant was pitch black, with only this little sliver of light from inside the restaurant to illuminate the curb.