Photographing shadows

Narrative and mystery – by including just the shadows of the two people, viewer are encouraged to interpret the picture in their own way. What are the two people saying? What is going on? It looks as though the larger figure is giving the smaller one a dressing down – and that the horse is joining in the conversation. All nonsense, of course, but an expample of the sort of ‘storyline’ that that be introduced when using shadows

Include shadows in your photographs and can show graphically, or express more subtly, anything from lead-in lines, texture, atmosphere, angular or curvaceous shapes, narrative or mystery.

All these things are possible when you use shadows. It is the combinations of shadow and light that produces the illusion of texture and form within the two-dimensional images we produce. Shadows can be subtle and diffused in soft, high quality light, or, if the light source is small and intense, they can have crisp, sharp outlines totally devoid of detail. A typical example of this might be the sun in an empty blue sky, or perhaps the light from an undifused flash.

Shadows can be used as subjects by themselves, or as devices to add interest and leading lines within your composition. Take a look at the picture of the door knocker (below) for example; the shadow forms a major part of the composition. Without it the picture would be very ordinary; a simple record of an object. But the shadow of the brass knocker extends across a large part of the left side of the picture – it has been used not only to accentuate the shape of the knocker and the door nails, but as a compositional device.

Mystery? Well, yes, include only the shadows of people and this can inject a powerful feeling of something or someone unseen; a suggestion of what the person might look like, but without the whole subject revealed plainly. That in itself makes the viewer of your picture look again and try to see more. People are always curious about people so if they cannot see the full features of the subject they are left with their curiosity unsatisfied. This can create a visual puzzle without the answer – and that becomes intriguing.

So what about the practicalities of including shadows in your photographs? How do you arrive at the correct exposure, for instance? Well, I’ve never believed in making difficulties where there are none, and taking pictures of shadows is no exception. As a rough and ready guide, just remember that if you want your shadows to be darker, you should expose for the brighter areas in your picture. It’s as simple as that. But don’t overdo this or your pictures will be underexposed and have a lifeless appearance. The other thing to be aware of is that shadows can register as very high colour temperature – they appear blue – when they are cast by a bright sun in a clear blue sky. So you may want to try the ‘Cloudy’ White Balance (WB) setting to counteract this. But this will depend on the effect you are trying to achieve.

For those of you who are a bit nervous about taking pictures of people, photographing other people’s shadows can come as quite a relief. You will no longer need to point your camera directly at your subject, who is likely to remain quite unaware of what you are doing. Pictures that include the shadows of people – without actually showing the people themselves, encourage the viewer of the photograph to interpret a story or narrative into the image. They must ask themselves what the people are doing, what they might be saying or discussing – and that’s when a sense of mystery can be intoduced into your photographs (see photograph at top).

Photography in mixed light

For anyone who doesn't know, and who may have a passing interest, I'm a keen cruising sailor, and posts on the blog may be a little spasmodic during the summer months because of this interest. But that doesn't mean that I will not be taking lots photographs. In fact few activities lend themselves to picture gathering more readily than sailing. Maybe not when the conditions are rough; then I'm just too busy sailing the boat. However, cruising takes me to some very beautiful locations. At the moment I'm based on the West Coast of Scotland and few places on earth can be more spectacular. Mountains and sea are a powerful combination. I hope to be posting some pictures taken on some of my short voyages over the next few weeks… but I promise I won't bore you rigid with boat talk.

Yes, I'm lucky that on my boat I get to see some wonderful places; I often drop the hook in secluded anchorages that are impossible to get to without a boat. But, you know, with that understanding of the light that I keep rattling on about, visual interest and appeal is to be found just about everywhere you look.

The picture above confronted me one evening when I put my head out of the saloon doors and looked across the marina at Troon Yacht Haven. Now marinas are not noted for their beauty. In fact they have been disparagingly described as boat parks. Although Troon is a good safe place to keep a yacht, no one could describe its setting as idyllic. But look at the way the last rays of daylight are slanting onto the houses behind the row of boats, while the boats remain in shadow. I took one glance at this scene and dived back below to get the camera. This sort of light sometimes last for only a few seconds.

It's the combination of light temperatures the 'mixed' light - that gives this picture impact and appeal. The high temperature blue light of the shadows is in total contrast to the low temperature golden light shining on the houses. Those are not the prettiest houses in the world, but in that wonderful light the place looks like heaven.

It is vital not to over-expose with this type of shot. By all means let the shadows go dark that will add to the impact but over-exposure would have washed out and lost the colour in the houses. I took my light reading from the houses NOT the boats, and I deliberately under-exposed by 1/3 stop in order to saturate the colours a little.

Aperture Value - correction

I'm sorry - yesterday I got it wrong.

When talking about the way I set the exposure for the live gig, I incorrectly said that I set the camera on Shutter Priority (TV) mode, then set a wide aperture and let the camera decide on the shutter speed. This, of course, is dribble.

I meant to say - set a wide aperture using AV (Aperture Priority) mode and let the camera decide on a suitable shutter speed.

Thanks to Alwyn for drawing my attention to this silly mistake. I have now corrected the wording of yesterday's post.

There, confession over - I feel better now.

Photographing live gigs - part 2

I arrived at the theatre early, well before the start of the show so that I could check out shooting positions and angles. The stage had very limited access to the wings and as the best shots are often taken from the side of the stage, this would make things quite difficult.

The only way to get into this position would be from the front of the stage, so the band had to be happy for me to move up there between songs. Access to the back of the stage, where I could shoot from behind the band, was easy and I checked out all my routes from one position to another while all the house lights were on. I had put a small torch in my pocket so that I would not be stumbling around in the dark when I went back stage during the performance – it would be very dark there then.

I even managed to gain access to a small lighting gantry above the audience from where I could use a telephoto lens for frontal close-ups of the band. During the show, I dodged from one position to the next, and often back again.

As I was on the move and adapting to the different light conditions and positions of the performers, I left my bulky camera bag safely locked in a dressing room and operated with two camera bodies and two lenses.

With the stage lights constantly changing intensity direction and colours, you may find it useful to use the Aperture Value (AV) exposure mode. Remember, this is more correctly called the Aperture Priority (AP) mode. Just set a wide aperture and let the camera decide on the shutter speed. However, I prefer to use the basic M (Manual) mode whenever possible, so that I can change the exposure myself as the lights change. It is also more reliable if shooting directly into bright stage spots – a situation that can confuse any automatic metering mode.

ISO
I set my ISO to 800 with the certain knowledge that I would need the fastest shutter speed possible to stop any action. This would result is some loss of quality, but that was a price worth paying.

EXPOSURES
Most of the shots were taken at between 1/60sec and 1/125sec at f2.8 or f4. Of course these shutter speeds are pretty slow for stopping action, and there were some failures when I pressed the button as the subjects moved, so it was important to take lots of pictures so that these could be discarded. The camera’s LCD illuminator is invaluable when checking settings in the dark in the dark.

WHITE BALANCE
You will never win completely when the stage lights are changing from bright blue to deep red. I simply set AWB (Auto White Balance) and let it happen. Any adjustments I made later in Photoshop.

LENSES
The most useful lens proved to be the 17-35mm f2.8. With this I could get really close from the side of the stage and include the stage lighting in the shot for dramatic effect. For the long shots from the lighting gantry I used a 70-200mm f2.8 zoom. I don’t often bother with lens hoods, but in these conditions, with lights shining into the lens at an angle, I made sure I had a hood fitted to avoid flare

Top photograph
Doug Carroll may not be as famous as Mark Knopler, but he is one of the most gifted guitar players in the UK. I wanted to get a picture that really summed up his total immersion in his music when he played solo. I liked his natural pose with the spotlights shining down on him through the stage smoke. Stage lighting is mostly from front and back of the performers, so if you are photographing a band from the wings you will not be shooting directly into the light

Lower photograph
From the lighting gantry just above the audience I was able to use a telephoto lens and get reasonable close-up shots of the band. The light behind Mary was flashing on and off and changing colour so there was an element of luck involved in getting a good facial expression with the right light backlight




TIP
Earplugs are essential for photographers working directly in front of a powerful sound system. It’s LOUD. Over the years, I've covered dozens of rock bands' live gigs - from the Rolling Stone’s, Rod Stewart, Freddie Mercury. I hate to admit this, but I've covered The Beatles as well – and my hearing has never been the same.

If you want to know more about Doug, Mary and the The Mary Barclay Band - or buy their music - go to...
http://www.sensationalmarybarclayband.com/
http://www.myspace.com/sensationalmarybarclayband

Wildlife photography

Ken Terry, one of my regular students for some years - and now a good friend - wanted to tackle some wildlife photography before he spent the weekend with my group learning more about portraiture in the comfort of the Cally Palace Hotel.

Ken owns some pretty neat kit and the three wonderful photographs here show that he really knows how to handle it.





I arranged for him to spend a day with Wildlife Ranger Keith Kirk, who knows the area and its wildlife extremely well. Keith took Ken to a secret location to photograph red squirrels and then, despite the cold and rain in the afternoon, Ken got an opportunity to photograph the spectacular red kites, which have been part of a successful re-introduction program here in SW Scotland.




Ken captured some great shots of both the squirrels and the red Kites, and I thank him for permission to post them on the blog. Wonderful photographs Ken. Very well done.



Equipment used: Canon 1D MkIII, Canon 500 mm LIS f4 lens mounted on a Manfrotto 055PROB tripod fitted with a Wimberley version II head. Ken used ISO 1000 and AV as the light was changing so quickly that sometimes it was 1/500 and sometimes 1/4000. It was windy and raining, but the cloud thickness varied.

This is how Ken set up the camera for each shot...


The top picture of the red kite:
AV, f5.0, 1/4000 sec, ISO 1000, Servo AF.

Lower picture of the red kite with its talons in the other bird's tail feathers:
AV, f5.6, 1/1600 sec, ISO 1000, Servo AF


The squirrel, below:
AV, f5.6, 1/320 sec, ISO 800, Single shot AF?

Photographing in hard light - part 2

As promised yesterday, here’s the other – very different - photograph taken for The Sunday Times at Aberdaron in North Wales.

This time, rather than use a wide-angle lens and move in close, I have moved right back from the scene behind the village churchyard and looked at the beach through a small telephoto lens. I’m still shooting into that hard, contrasty light, but the effect is quite different.

The outlines of the gravestones are picked out by the backlight – remember, backlight exaggerates outline shape – while the curve of the beach stands out because of the glare of the sun on the breaking waves. This backlight has also isolated the silhouette of each of the small figures in the water and along the beach.

Slight under-exposure has given an almost ‘moonlight’ effect, but in fact the shot was taken around midday with the sun very high in the sky. This under-exposure and ‘night time’ effect can be even more noticeable when shooting into the light and using colour. It is most noticeable when shooting into the light over a bright, reflective surface – like the sea.

Photographing white on white - part 2

With the camera set to Manual (M) exposure mode, your other option is to use the camera’s build-in light meter to take a light reading from an area that is not just all white. I can’t be faffed with grey cards - there is nearly always something roughly mid-tone to point the camera at; a door, or perhaps your brown camera bag - I’ll take my reading from that. Once the shutter speed and aperture has been set to this reading, I then I point the camera back at the subject and take the photograph.

I have mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again – it is vital to ignore the light reading needle, or indicator, in the viewfinder when pointing the camera away from the area on which you have just set your light reading, and back at your white subject. Chances are that when you re-compose you picture on the white subject, the exposure meter pointer will now indicate over-exposure. Ignore it!

The biggest mistake my students make when doing this is to ‘chase the needle’ that is, they re-adjust the exposure when they point the camera back at their chosen subject and notice that the light reading says the subject is now over-exposed… that over-exposure is precisely what you do want. If you want to use this method with an auto exposure mode, you must lock the exposure with your Auto Exposure Lock function (AEL).

Of course, you could set the ISO for one full value slower – use ISO 100 instead of 200, for instance after you have set the exposure. This will cause the camera to over-expose by one full ‘f’ stop, but it’s often fiddly and as I always use the slowest ISO I possibly can anyway, this is not an option open to me.

Top photograph
Even a very small dash of colour – like the red of this one flower – can have a dramatic effect when it’s placed against a ‘plain’ white wall. Keep your eyes open for these splashes of colour and position them carefully within your rectangle. In fact, look more closely and you will notice that that ‘plain’ white wall is anything but plain. It is full of colour and texture. This flower is placed more or less in the centre of the frame, but it’s often a good idea to revert to that good old Rule of Thirds when positioning your focal point.

Middle photograph
I’m pleased with the simplicity of this photograph. Again, there are no hard shadows, and that has softened the texture of the white walls. It helps to think in rectangles when looking for these compositions – just frame carefully and cut out as much unnecessary detail as you can

Bottom photograph
Even the white paint-bucket and make-shift brush can make an interesting subject. Don’t be afraid to move in close and fill your frame. This will cut out distracting detail and add more impact

Photographing white on white

White walls, white steps, white roofs, white guttering – and even the white pot from which all that white paint comes – so where’s the photographic interest in that lot? Just all white isn’t it? Well, there’s a lot more to a white surface than you might think at first glance.

I’ve long been fascinated by the extraordinary array of textures, tones and hues to be found in plain old white. Photographing white surfaces and objects presents lots of difficulties, but all can be easily overcome with a little attention to basic technique.

The pictures here are the result of a one hour stroll though the narrow alleys of one small village in Menorca. Almost everything there is painted white.

To keep things simple, I set the White Balance (WB) to Auto White Balance (AWB), and this coped extremely well bearing in mind the tremendous range of colour temperatures between deep shade and bright sun..

The most difficult problem, when photographing white objects is exposure – but it is really a lot easier to solve than you might think. If you point your camera, with its built-in light metering system, at a white object it will register an awful lot of reflected light. In effect, your metering system is looking at all that white, saying ‘Gosh, there’s loads of light here, let’s cut down’. It is being fooled into cutting the exposure down. Unless you are aware of this – and do something about it – your picture will be under-exposed. All you have to do is set your Exposure Compensation function to around +1 – that’s plus one value, or one full ‘f’ stop. Then your camera will ‘over-expose’ by plus one ‘f’ stop to compensate for all that reflected light, and your image will be correctly exposed. Experiment until you get the exposure you want.

Setting the Exposure Compensation value to over-expose by about one full ‘f’ stop is one of the simplest ways of getting the right exposure when photographing white. Don’t be afraid to experiment, you might sometimes need to compensate even more if the white is particularly bright

If you are using the Manual ‘M’ settings as I do all the time, there are another way of getting around this under-exposure difficulty when photographing white areas. I might frame my picture approximately and look at the exposure scale in the viewfinder. I then just set my exposure to over-expose by the appropriate amount – in other words, leave the pointer on the ‘plus’ side of centre. I do this either by setting one full ‘f’ stop over, or doubling the exposure time; for example, I’ll use 125sec instead of 250sec.

Top photograph

Looking out from a shaded alleyway at the brightly lit church tower caused fewer exposure problems than you might think. I just framed the picture and set the exposure using the centre-weighted mode. This has taken the reading from the very bright white tower, but also taken into consideration the large areas of shaded white. Notice how the light is slanting across the right hand surface of the church tower has created texture, while the light hitting the left side is straight on, and this has shown a flat, pure white surface

Bottom photograph

All the time I am looking for patterns and shapes created by shadows. These can be used as compositional devices in the same way that any other subject can. So place these shadows carefully and move around to adjust the composition. Shadows can create really interesting designs on white

Next, in part 2 – more exposure options

Question about manual exposure

Another former student of mine, John Hamshaw, emailed me with the following question about my article on using Manual Mode exposure settings...

May I ask a question about your M is magic blog article no 1? You give the example of the two basket pics, where you say that you manually set the aperture to 5.6 and manually set the speed to 1/30th sec. This gives a reading on the exposure scale that the pic will be underexposed (obviously by the camera's built in meter), and you therefore correct it manually to 1/8th sec to set the scale reading to '0'. Isn't this the same as setting the camera to Aperture priority, set at 5.6, and when half pressing the shutter release, the same camera reading/meter will set the camera automatically to 1/8th sec?

(No doubt you will think this is a dumb question and what on earth has JH learnt from me in two courses??...but if it isn't and you want to use this question on the blog please do so)

Best wishes, John

Thanks John,
No, those courses were not wasted - I know what beautiful photographs you take.
The only dumb question is the one that is never asked.
Yes, in effect, what you say is correct. BUT... when you are using an automatic exposure mode such as Aperture Priority, unless you use the Auto Exposure Lock (AEL) function, every time you make an adjustment to the your framing of your composition the chances are that the exposure will change as the metrering system reads from a different area of the subject.

This is precisely why I cannot be bothered with auto settings.

I want to take my reading from the area of the subject I choose and for that exposure not to change when I re-frame the picture. Yes, I can do that by locking the exposure - but that seems to defeat the object for me.

How to use Manual Mode - part 2

There is nothing mysterious about the Manual (M) mode on your camera. I said last time that ‘M’ also stands for ‘magic’, well it’s true – the magic comes from you being in control and not the camera.

For those who have not used their camera on ‘M’ before, let’s take away some of the confusion and myth by saying that you do not need to juggle BOTH the shutter speed settings AND the aperture settings straight away and at the same time. You simply start with one or the other, set it – then look at the exposure scale (see pictures in last post) and move the other setting until the pointer is in the centre of the scale.

So how do you know whether to set the aperture or the shutter speed first?

Well, there are many subtleties, but basically it is very simple - let’s say you know that your subject is moving quickly so you need to set a fast shutter speed. Do it – set maybe 1/250sec. You can do that even before the camera comes up to your eye. Now, look through the viewfinder at your subject and change the aperture setting until the pointer on the exposure scale is in the centre.

If you know you need a small aperture in order to get the maximum depth of field for a landscape shot, for instance, set the aperture first – say f16. Then look at the exposure scale through the viewfinder and change the shutter speed (slow it down or speed it up) until the pointer is in the centre of the exposure scale.

Of course, as a rough guide, the smaller the aperture (higher the f number) the slower the shutter speed will have to be. The faster the shutter speed, the wider (lower f number) the aperture must be.

All this needs practice – but so does anything worth doing. Eventually you will get to the stage where you can take pride in the fact that your camera craft has become intuitive. You will make mistakes – don’t worry. We all do.

Never let setting the exposure get in the way of capturing the moment. You will be surprised how quickly you will be able to set your exposures manually. Do bear in mind that once your exposure has been set roughly for the light in a particular situation, chances are that only minor adjustment, if any, will be necessary for each different picture. If you think you are going to miss a picture – revert to Auto Exposure mode. It’s the picture that matters, not the way it’s exposed.

For photograph of the cows on the beach, I set a small aperture first – f16. That was because I needed all the depth of field I could get. The shutter speed was then set to match that aperture. The photograph is not just about cows, it is about cows out of context in an unusual setting. That setting had to be sharp and clear – hence lots of depth of field.

How to use Manual Mode - part 1

'M' MEANS MAGIC

Most digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras give you a choice of automatic or manual shooting modes…
P - Programme
TV - Time Value, sometimes known as Shutter Priority (S)
AV - Aperture Value, sometimes know as Aperture Priority (AP) or even just ‘A’
M - Manual

I rarely use anything but the ‘M’ mode, so here are the basics – or at least, the way I use it. If I had a dollar for every photographer who has asked me to explain in simple terms how to use ‘M’, I’d be a rich man.

In all modes except 'M' , the camera goes all, or some way, to deciding what it thinks is the ‘best’ exposure. I refrain from saying the ‘correct’ exposure, because like all automatic processes, it doesn’t always do what you want it to in the real world.

That’s why I almost always use the ‘M’ setting. I like to decide on the exposure I want.

The first thing to remember is that when your camera is on the ‘M’ setting it does not mean that you are left entirely to your own devices to arrive at a correct exposure either by guess work or by using a separate, hand-held exposure meter – you certainly do not need one of those. Your camera has a very efficient and perfectly useable exposure meter already built into it.

If you have always used your camera on automatic settings, you might not have noticed that when you switch to the ‘M’ exposure mode, a scale appears somewhere at the side or bottom of the viewfinder. On some cameras this scale appears on the LCD as well. All cameras vary, but most scales will have a plus sign ‘+’ at one end and minus ‘-‘ at the other. Beneath or beside this scale might be a moving pointer, or the graduations themselves may light up. Whichever it is, when the pointer is in the centre of the scale, you have a correct exposure. The graduations are often in 1/2 or 1/3 values, or f stops, so if you have the pointer on either the plus or minus sides of the centre, you will be over or under exposing by the indicated amount. Easy.

In ‘M’ mode, the exposure is adjusted by altering either the aperture and/or the shutter speed settings. As you do this, the pointer on the scale moves. To keep things easy, set your metering to ‘Centre Weighted’ mode. ‘Averaging’ mode is too… well, average, and ‘Spot’ mode is too precise and sensitive until you get used to things. I use ‘Centre Weighted’ almost all the time. In ‘Centre Weighted’ mode, most cameras will take an average light reading of the whole scene, but will take much more notice of the central area, and this can be very useful.

Once you master the basic of the Manual mode, you will quickly realise that you can have total contril ver your exposure. Yes, you will make some mistakes, but that is all part of the learning process. You will find that the rewards from ‘doing it yourself’ and being in control will really enhance your enjoyment from your photography. ‘M’ doesn’t just stand for Manual – it stands for MAGIC!

1
You will see something similar to this in your viewfinder when you are in ‘M’ (Manual) exposure mode. The exposure scale has ‘+’ at one end and ‘-‘ at the other. Here, 1/30sec at f5.6 has given a reading on the ‘minus’ side of the scale – the picture will be under exposed.

2
By slowing down the shutter speed to 1/8sec, the reading is now in the centre of the scale at ‘0’. This is the correct exposure for this subject.

Next, in Part 2, I’ll explain more about the Manual mode and how to use it.

How to take flash photographs – part 4

Over the last three post, I’ve demonstrated just a few of the ways you can create beautiful, soft, directional light with your flash gun attached to your camera. I hope by now you are realising that a flash really is a superbly versatile and portable source of light. When you have the facility to separate that flash gun from your camera, things get even better. Then you can really put light exactly where you want it.

For the photojournalist, a small portable flash is absolutely essential. Without it, he, or she, could not hope to get professional standard photographs in difficult, remote and often poorly lit locations. I have often chosen deliberately to photograph my subjects in what might be described as ‘difficult’ light conditions, and the reason for this is simple – those difficult light conditions can produce highly atmospheric photographs.

Take a glance at the photograph of the man sitting astride the old butcher’s bicycle. This was a wonderful story about a man called Cor Ellen – he is a professional beachcomber on the Dutch Friesian island of Texel in the North Sea. I was commissioned to photograph him for an article for ‘You’, the Mail on Sunday Magazine in UK. I took a great many photographs of Cor – in his home, working on the beach, with his collection of extraordinary things found washed up on the shore. But I wanted an atmospheric shot of Cor on the old bicycle he used to get around the island. I also wanted to show the atmosphere of this remote, wild and windswept place – where better than on the shore beneath the lighthouse.

To add atmosphere, I chose to wait until late afternoon when the light was fading. The camera was put on a tripod. I took a light reading of the cloudy part of the sky. At ISO100, that gave me 1/15sec at f11. The flash was held in my hand as far away from the camera as possible to my right hand side. It was connected to the camera by a long cable (synch lead). I timed the flashes of the lighthouse and pressed the shutter just before it shone.

The flash has fired and lit Cor and the bicycle, but the shutter has remained open – gathering the light from the sky and the lighthouse. A very similar technique to that I described in my article about photographing sparks.

TIP FOR TODAY
Try to avoid those ‘curly’ flash cables – the springy ones like those on a telephone handset. They are a menace because the temptation is to stretch them just a little more, and a little more, to get the flash just that little bit further away from the camera. Then BANG! the tripod is pulled over. It happens so suddenly you will be unable to stop it. Better – if you can - to use a long, simple synch lead with no spring or curls in it. Then you will always know how far it can be pulled.

Cordless infra-red devices are often unreliable in adverse outdoor conditions.

Photographing Christmas

Okay, let’s get a bit festive and look at how to produce a couple of simple, atmospheric pictures this Christmas.

I put the camera on a tripod. A flash unit was hidden away on the fireplace behind the couple. I didn’t bother setting up flash synch cables or infra-red gizmos. I just got the young chap to fire the flash with his spare hand when I had the shutter open.
I used the ‘Bulb’ setting on the camera and fired the shutter with a cable release – the simple, sensible type that screws into the shutter button. This is the type that you can no longer use because the camera manufacturers have stopped putting the screw thread in the shutter button. Clever – now you have to buy expensive electronic release cable or silly remote controls (have you ever tried using one of those things outdoors in the wet on a bitterly cold night?). Ggrrrr!
I set the aperture to f11. ISO 100 was used. The shutter speed would have been around 2 seconds.

It is a big mistake to try and use wide apertures with this type of shot. Those small Christmas tree lights can often appear as fuzzy little blobs at wide apertures. The magic starts at f11 – just look at the sparkle around the candle on the mantle piece. You do not need star filters to get this – just stop down and use a slower shutter speed.

Photographing fog Part 2

I almost forgot that a couple of days ago I posted the first part of a piece about taking pictures in fog. I promised part two, so here it is. Last time I said that one of the problems of getting the correct exposure when photographing in fog was that all that reflected light can fool your metering system into under-exposure, creating dull, lifeless images.

Well that’s not always the case, and this picture is an example of a situation when arriving at a correct exposure is very simple indeed. You’ll see that there is a good distribution of tones in this shot. The bridge itself is very dark. There are dark shadows beneath it. These shadows are balanced with lots of white – even the street lamps a glowing. The result is that if you take a general or average exposure of this scene then you will not go far wrong.

I mostly use the centre-weighted exposure mode. I simply took my exposure reading from an area around the centre of the composition and used that.

Come on – photography does not have to be complicated. Just think of all the extra pictures you can capture if you keep things simple.

Photographing fog

Just because the weather is poor, it’s no reason to put your camera away and hunker down in front of the fire. Fog, for instance, is one of those weather conditions that can transform everything you see into mystical shapes and monochromatic colour.

When fog descends on this part of SW Scotland, I often head down the estuary to photograph the boats heading up river into the harbour. These fishing boats come looming up out of the mist, so it is important that the camera is set and ready to take pictures.

Fog is one of those conditions that can cause your autofocus to ‘hunt’. So be prepared to use the Manual Focus function – remember that? It’s the one where you actually have to use your own fingers to turn the focusing ring. If you are using an automatic compact camera, you will not have this option, but my little Canon Ixus always seems to cope better that the SLRs in these conditions.

The other main problem can be one of exposure. All that white mist reflects a lot of light. Just like photographing in snow, this can fool your exposure reading into believing there is lots of light – that causes under-exposure. So over-expose by one stop or value if you are using manual exposure mode. If you are using an auto exposure mode then set the exposure compensation to +1 value. Experiment for best results. Not all subjects need this compensation, as I will show you in my next post.

Photographing the wind

Living on the west coast of Scotland offers plenty of opportunities to photograph the effects of strong winds. Wind-bent trees make fantastic subjects, and my students often photograph them when we head off along the coast to take landscapes.

There are two basic methods of showing the wind actuality blowing – one is to use a fast shutter speed to freeze the action, and the other is to use a slow shutter speed to allow the movement to blur. Both can be highly effective when done well.

The practical difficulties of actually putting the camera on a tripod and using a long exposure in strong winds can be hard to overcome. Camera shake is the biggest problem. Yes, even when the camera is on a tripod, it can still be subject to vibrations and movement when the wind whistles around it. A good heavy tripod is one answer, but failing that you might try weighting the tripod down with a plastic bag full of stones or sand. Anything will do. The last thing you want is for the camera and tripod to get blown over. Most tripods these days have a hook onto which you can hang a weighty bag.

For the picture of the waves, I used a 200mm lens to compress the perspective and pull the waves closer together. 1/350sec was used to freeze the action.
The shot of the wind-blown grass was done with the camera on a tripod – a heavy Benbo. A slow shutter speed of two seconds was used to show the movement in the grass as the wind blew through it. A wide angle lens was used to fill the foreground – because that is where the action is.

How to photograph snow

Winter is well and truly upon us here in Scotland, with hard frosts and the threat of snow. When town and countryside is blanketed by snow, the world is transformed and pictures abound. So wrap up warmly and make full use of the opportunity.

The greatest problem presented by snow - apart from getting about and keeping both you and your camera warm - is exposure. Automatic metering systems want to average out all the tones, and this causes under exposure and dull, grey snow. Just as I explained when talking about photographing the coast where there is lots of reflected light.

The answer, once again, is to deliberately over expose. Maybe by anything from +0.5 to +2 times. Either by using the Exposure Compensation control, or literally setting a manual exposure that over exposes by this amount.

If you are photographing snow on a cloudy day, try to include something in your composition that adds contrast to all that white - see the picture above of the man walking past the railings on a snowy day. The black railings have added contrast and given an impression of depth within the image.

Keep you eyes open for contrasting colours that can catch the viewer’s attention. Red always works well against white snow – see the picture of the snow-covered boat. To add depth this time, I have included the snow laden branches of the tree.

Just in case you are thinking you need expensive SLRs to take pictures of snow, forget it. These pictures were taken on a Canon Ixus 700. Exhibition prints as large as 20"x16" have been printed.

Photographing seascape and coast - Part 1

Coastal scenery offers unique challenges to the photographer simply because it seems able to perform visual somersaults every few minutes. Partly, of course, this is due to the rise and fall of the tide which can transform a view of rolling breakers into a scene of mud, sand and rock pools within minutes. And of course, there's the ever changing light...

Backlight over a dimpled shiny surface, like these wet rocks (picture above), can create wonderful results just bursting with atmosphere. Again, timing is critical for success. Take several shots to ensure you capture the spray when it is in mid air. There is often a moment when it is almost suspended – that’s the moment to press the shutter button

As with all landscape photography one of the prime considerations is the direction and quality of the light, and the quality of the light along our coast can be spectacular. Sea and sand reflect the light, softening and putting detail into the shadows. I’m lucky enough to live in Galloway on the west coast of Scotland, and as I prefer to have the sun low over the sea and not over the land when I’m taking photographs of the shore, this means I don’t need to get up at dawn to take pictures of some of the coves and inlets along this beautiful coast. I can delay my assignments until later in the day and shoot into the low afternoon sun, or work even later as it sets into the sea.

TIPS
1 - Check the tide times before you go – do not get trapped by a rising tide.

2 - Time your photo shoot to have the sun low over the sea.

3 - Check the weather forecast before setting out – there are often clear, blustery skies following a cold front - ideal for dramatic sea and sky pictures.

4 - Take a good look at the scene and try to form a rough plan of action. Try to walk across the beach along the edge of the surf if possible. That way you won’t spoil pristine sand with your own footprints.

5 - Keep lens changes to an absolute minimum when working on the sea shore. Don’t change lenses in wind and spray.

6 - Always use a UV or Skylight filter to protect your lens from sand and spray. Keep plenty of lens tissues handy.

7 - Anticipate cloud movements. Have your image framed in the viewfinder and be ready for the moment the sun breaks through.

8 - Wellie boots are far more useful than walking boots – you can get right into the water

9 - Try to capture splashing waves just before they start to fall back into the water – they will be almost suspended in mid-air for a fraction of a second.

Don’t restrict yourself to landscape format. Think vertically for extra impact and crop in closely. This shot was taken with a wide angle lens – remember, your wide angle lens is not just ‘to get more in’. It can be used as a compositional device to accentuate an illusion of perspective and create a feeling of distance within the shot. You must not overexpose photographs like this when shooting almost straight into the light. Let the blacks go black to increase the contrast and add drama. Over exposure will lead to bland, flat uninteresting images

Next, in Part 2. Getting the exposure right

How to photograph sparks - Part 3

For this picture I have used a separate flash unit to add some details to the man’s face. Compare this shot to the one shown in Part 2. That was taken without flash.

The technique I use is desperately simple. If the shutter speed is set to ‘bulb’, or is slow enough (perhaps 1/2second or less), there is no need to connect the flash to the camera by any means – cables or infra-red. You can even hold the flash in one hand, point it at your subject and fire it manually just before you close the shutter. So – open the shutter - fire the flash – close the shutter. This is the way Victorian photographers worked over 100 year ago when they used flash powder… yes, I know, I’m an old git. The technique works just as well today with your electronic flash and digital camera. But the makers of hi-tech gear will not thank me for telling you.

The flash has lit the man’s face. I set the flash to ‘manual’ mode and put it on half power. This was just about right, taking into consideration the flash to subject distance, the f11 aperture set on the camera, and the brightness of the sparks. Experiment with your own flash unit you get the results you want. You can play with your flash guide numbers if you have the patience, but, frankly, to me life is too short.

For the picture of the glass-modeller (left) I used two flash units - one from behind the sitter to separate his dark hair from the black background.

Whatever you do, do not use too much flash power. This will destroy the atmosphere. To be effective, most of the light should come from the sparks themselves.

Sometime I do connect the flash to the camera with an extension cable, radio, or infra-red device. Then I prefer to set a fixed shutter speed on the camera (not ‘bulb’ mode). I also set the flash synchronisation mode to ‘rear’. This fires the flash at the end of the fixed exposure, just before the shutter is closed. The reason for firing the flash at the end of the exposure is to avoid the subject’s movement (they often jump) as soon as the flash goes off.

TIP… It is vital that you brief your subject before you start. The subject’s head must be kept very still during the exposure.

TIP.. To find the ‘bulb’ setting is on your camera, set the camera to ‘M’ Manual exposure mode. Slow the shutter speed down as far as it will go. The ‘bulb’ setting is usually the next setting after 30-seconds.

How to photograph sparks - Part 2

Exposure for this picture was simple. I just fixed a cable release to the camera, put it on a good firm tripod, set the aperture to f11 and the shutter speed to ‘Bulb’. There’s no point in trying to take a correct light reading because when the sparks start to fly it will be irrelevant. I set ISO 100.

When my subject was ready and producing sparks, I just pressed the button for about 1sec. You will need slow shutter speeds of at least 1/2sec in order to capture the full trail line of a spark – not just the dot of the spark itself. If you use a faster shutter speed you will just capture a series of frozen dots or very short spark trails. This is not in the least effective. Of course, you could use fixed shutter speeds rather than using the ‘Bulb’ setting, it’s just that I prefer my way. I like to ‘gather’ the sparks as they fall and spread. Then close the shutter when I think I have gathered enough.

I set the ISO at 100 because it is not necessary to set a fast ISO when you are using slow exposures and the camera is on a tripod. Remember - the slower ISO the better the quality and sharpness of your image.

Why f11? Because experience tells me that at ISO 100 sparks from a welder’s torch are just about right at f11. For sparks from a disc cutter or grinder, f8 is often best because they are not so bright. Experiment for yourself and see which you prefer.

Unlike the picture in Part 1, there was absolutely no ambient light for this picture. The workshop was completely black This time there is no light on top of the man’s head – his face is lit solely by the glow of the cutting torch and the sparks. In this darkness I could have left the shutter open as long as I wished – provided the subject kept his head still.

TIP… your auto focus will probably not work with this type of subject. Turn it off and set the focus manually.

Next, in Part 3, I’ll explain the ‘bulb’ setting and tell you how to add some flash