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….
The Big Apple Circus was on every Christmas at Lincoln Center. We could go. There was no admonition against pictures. So I took pictures. … in the dark, with slide film, and a point and shoot camera. I am appreciative that they let me take pictures. I am surprised that the quality of the shots was pretty good. Digital camera sensor technology today? No problem! But back then? It was a challenge. I liked to push the envelope. And then they moved the goalposts way back. Impediment no more, today’s digital camera can pretty much shoot in the dark. But a long time ago…
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.
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: 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: iPhone 4s, 1/913 sec, f2.4, focal length 4.28
I’m not sure if this is a self portrait or it was done by a friend. David’s right arm could be holding the phone. There is background flare which highlight’s Sarah’s hair. The exposure is low in the foreground and probably could have used a fill flash to brighten up the colors and detail. Otherwise for the moment it was a shot of two happy people at a wedding.
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.
Technical: Canon G11, 1/100 sec, f4, focal length 13
The subtle blue color cast is easily fixed in Photoshop. That is just part of the consideration in this image. My friend Farid was prodding it along so I would have an action shot. So here I am sort of swimming and panning on the fly. Hey, it worked. Your subjects really don’t pose for you as much as you’d like. So I shot. The delay in shutter and exposure can be annoying. There’s no motor drive here. It does make you more deliberate in pressing the shutter.
PhotoCritical 