Slide film comes color balanced for daylight which is a little bit blue. Incandescent lighting is yellow – tungsten. It wreaks havoc whenever you try to shoot indoors at night. Hence, flash, it compensates for the yellow and makes color appear more natural. One never knows what you will get indoors in natural light with slide film. Ok, so Photoshop can compensate… but there is nothing can be done about a wild and colorful shirt. It must have been a present….
Do you think about the color of light? Do you consider the time of day? Light changes with day to night.
Daylight is bright blue, a little bit harsh at times. At night it is dark, ha ha, but light is dependent upon the light source which has its own characteristics. And in sunset or sunrise light is more toward the red spectrum. I am always amazed at how people seem to ignore the change of light as the day passes.
Test. Limits. I test mine all the time. I test the camera all the time. Sunsets, the moon, they test the algorithm of the camera manufacturer in low light conditions. You pick you choose you shoot. Sometimes you win and sometimes not.
Detail, color, focus, all are factored in to make the image of my imagination. Then we see whether or not the camera was up to the test. In doing so there are compromises and choices to be made. Post processing can only get you so far. The idea, “I’ll fix it later in Photoshop.” is so wrong on so many levels.
It seems I looked long and hard for a worthy single image today. Stained glass, religion, peace be unto you.
It’s not hard to shoot stained glass. Aim and fire away. It would help if I framed without diagonal lines. Or, maybe that was intentional to give the image tension. Ha ha. I doubt I pondered the issue – at all. Vertical. If you would notice, I shoot way fewer vertical compositions in my posts. I shoot few verticals. It is because my laptop has a horizontal screen and vertical pictures leave too much border. Yeah, simple. Um, no. Verticals are proper shots for portrait work and so forth.
Today I was just looking for something worthy to post and comment. A single. It’s hard. There are so many stories in my head. I find blue to be soothing. I need some peace and serenity right about now. After this I am going to hug my cat and then find Colleen. Nary a day goes by that we don’t hug many times over.
Story? Picture? Both?
Willow. My best dog. He acts/feels like a dog sometimes. He is a cat. Duh! But it feels like he reacts more like a dog ocassionally. He begs. He’s always hungry. He will come when I call. He will show up for petting. He sometimes acts more a dog than my old dog Nellie.
Mute. Willow does not speak. He squeaks. No meow. Squeak. I wonder?
The photo has sharp focus on the eyes. Good. The color cast is blue. Shade. There is a distraction in the background – black hose. Good? Sometimes it is the story? Or does the picture trigger the story?
… that is the critical question. Fleeting moments, it’s an instant call. You get one try… pick. It doesn’t come very often you get to shoot one with and one without flash. It’s a choice. Here David sat long enough for me to get two shots. The Canon G11 white balances automatically. Great! But it’s still ambient light you deal with. So it’s not quite right. The natural lighting gives less detail in the eyes and no gleam or catch light for the eye. Flash is a little too bright and a bit too artificial for my taste. I would pick the natural light. I’m not a fan of obsessive manipulation in Photoshop, so this is what it is.
iPhone
Julia’s on the move again. New apartment and she’s letting me have a look. It’s not art. It’s illustration. That’s my photo there in the corner. Julia had it framed and she has taken it to hang in the new place. Thanks. It’s home for now. She’ll be on the move again in a year. Yup, that’s the plan. All the best.
Technical: Nikon D90, 1/320 sec, f9, focal length 48
FANCY FEET! WINGAERSHEEK BEACH, GLOUCESTER, MA
Susan got a whimsical shot. What fun! It’s a bit different for you. I’ve been trying to encourage you to shoot more varied subjects. Even though it’s still the grand kids, you got a great detail shot. It will look great tucked away in the corner of one page of the books you make. And it’s a great memory.
Technical: iPhone 4s, 1/16 sec, f2.4, focal length 4.28
That iPhone got a workout. Lots of shots between the Endeavor and the party. This one looks like a self portrait. The color balance is not swell. Flash is just a bit too bright. But it’s nice to see my son happy and enjoying the evening. When you consider the conditions, the young folks have made an art out of taking their own pictures.
Technical: Canon G11, 1/400 sec, f4.5, focal length 30.5
I’m still getting the hang of a higher zoom. You don’t look thru the viewfinder or at the LCD. You just point and shoot. It means you get a lot of duds. Fish are the challenge. If I’ve said it once… the slow moving ones are the most forgiving. I’d very much like to put a DSLR to the test. And… a proper flash. But for now it’s a paparazzi style that is working.
PhotoCritical 