I tried a few black and white photos. The sun makes light and dark spots all over the wooded area which really looks nice, I was hoping to show the difference via the black and white greyscale.
This photo had a nice reflection and had some good shadows mixed in at the same time.
A water fall with shadows and light coming across it.
Half the forest was lighted and the other half was in shadow.
I tried to show the difference in shadow and light with the large tree in my front yard. I want to show its size but also show with the setting sun how it was making everything behind it, in shadows.
This was a forest shot of setting sun, where it was coming across and making a shadow with light environment.
Okay Michael… The assignment light and shadow is kind of tricky to do using foliage in nature. On a sunny day there's a lot of very contrasty light that creates a patchwork of Whites and Blacks that's sometimes difficult to see in a photograph. I find that the forest is a lot more beautiful on a cloudy/rainy day as the light is more open and you can see more deeply into it. This is particularly true when the foliage is out.
ReplyDeleteAll that said I do like the first one in the way that the sunlight is catching the leaves in the foreground. It does get a bit blown out at the top though.
The water shot in the next frame has more going for it. My only improvement on this one would be to darken the railing on the foreground right side that's going out of focus. Remember your eye goes to the lighter areas and we want this element to play a background role.
In frame number three we see the same issue of very contrasty sunny light. Humans consider that a gorgeous day to go shooting and to be a clear and sunny one… it lifts our spirits… Cloudy, rainy days tends to depress our spirit. Photographically speaking though you can reveal a lot of subtle tone quality when the light is quieter. The bright sunlight on the rocks in shot number three grabs all the attention. I find the water falling and they patterns it's making to the right to be a more interesting part of the picture.
In number four I would darken the sky a little bit more and balance it up. Number five has the same issue going… lots of contrasty light and it's difficult to find the focal point.
Number six… again lots of deep contrast. The issue is that the sensor on the digital camera has a very limited dynamic range. Our eyes and brain can see a lot more detail over a wider range of light from highlight to shadow than a camera sensor can. Learning to be a good photographer then involves learning to see as the camera sees not as our brain initially is perceiving a scene.
Keep shooting!
I have a few where the sun was at my back, I think there will be less of a blowout area in those. I will modify those and see what I get.
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