Photography in dark

I have tried using a flash when taking photographs in the dark with my old digital camera, but they never seem to turn out for some reasons. Most often I just get DARK pictures, where I am unable to view that which I was trying to photograph. It really drives me crazy.

Use a tripod and long shutter speed. With a tripod, you don't need to up the ISO, which causes more graininess/pixel noise. I'm sure there are a ton of websites devoted to low-light photography. It's not something I do a lot of myself, but a tripod is the photographer's best friend. Too many shots are ruined because of shaky hands.

I use film, so I can't increase the ISO because it's set in the film. I use 100 ISO to prevent graininess. I only use flash when I am taking pictures of people at night. But, even then, I don't usually use flash. What I do is slow the shutter speed and maybe open up the aperture. A light meter may or may not help in this situation. You kinda have to wing it. I also recommend using a tripod. Most of the time, I keep the shutter open from 5 to 15 seconds. This is especially great for picking up streaking tailights. Any longer, and all vehicles, people, etc, will not show up. Any shorter and you might get blurry movements.