I can feel your pain

There is over 2 months in summer here when sun is less than 12 degrees below horizon and only brightest stars are visible at night...

Attiyah Zahdeh:

If sun is at any given altitude, the sky is equally bright no matter what time of day it is, it can be midnight or noon depending on location and time of year, but the sky is equally bright regardless of time of day as long as sun is at same altitude.

What it looks like on a photo depends on the exposure time, it doesn't necessarily tell what it really looked like.