Project 13 : the day

We all know that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Each day throughout the year where the sun rises and where it sets is slightly different and the height it rises to at midday varies as well. In there are only two days a year that are similar, March 21 and September 21. The longest day is June 21 and the shortest December 21.So at any particular day, as photographers we have to deal with our outside light source as variable and make the most of it,mainly by planning ahead.

In a recent post here I described some software that will calculate sunrise / sunset times and positions for any location on the planet.This may seem a bit over the top but for planning I think it is worth considering especially  if precise work is required, such as the sun rising behind a glass building or setting across a lake with a reflection. Another important note to take with you when out in mountainous areas is that the early and late sun will be hidden if you are in a valley that is aligned north south. Much better to be in an east west valley, where the early and late sun will be visible. The sunrise, sunset and twilight parts of the day are often referred to as The Golden Hour because of the nature of the light, its colour and the modelling effect it has on the features within the landscape. Long shadows, warmer tones are at their simplest more interesting than high bland mid day sun. Suffice to say that map reading, compass and watch skills are part of the landscape photographers kit if control is required rather than random stumbling onto the right situation.

The course notes ask us to spend a whole day at a location with some terrain and photograph the difference in light as it occurs. If one were to photograph a flat field during the day there would be no significant change, other than maybe the colour temperature being warmer in the morning and evening, with the midday light being blue maybe around 5600K. The purpose of the exercise is to notice and comment upon the changes we see during the day.

During a visit to The Lake District (well if I need contours and relief then here is about as good as it gets) I shot a simply sequence from 0500 through to 2000 of a fell side near the village of Threlkeld. I did not spend all day on this but did try and space out the shots and while maybe predictable the effects are noticeable, not only in shadow and shape, but also in the colour temperature. The photographs below are unprocessed images to allow full demonstration of the natural light and its colour.

 05:00 hrs

At 0500 hrs the shadows are long and the light is quite warm. The lit area to the left shows good detail due to the low angle of the sun and the warm light enriches the colour. The tree to the left is almost back lit and is partially silhouette. 

 

09:00 hrs 

At 0900 hrs light has become cooler and more uniform. The tree is now lit and provides more interest than before. The area of hill side to the left is now less interesting due to the sun being low and filling the shadows. The overall light is uniform and not that interesting.

 

14:00 hrs 

By 1400 hrs the sun is just past it highest point in the sky. The rocky area on the left hand side now has shadows due to it being on a slope of approximately 45 degrees and providing a good angle for the high light.

 

17:00 hrs 

At 1700hrs the sun provides oblique illuminate to the left hand side slope. The detail here with two distinct ridges is pronounced and has not been visible before.The tree becomes the dominant feature and the distant area in shadow less interesting.

  

20:00 hrs 

By late evening the sun has set and the entire area is in a flat light.

The light during the day had changed this somewhat unremarkable small vista pretty much as one would expect. The morning light (0500) in this instance gave the richer tone but suffered from the large shadow area and may have improved at around 0600 or slightly later. The 0500 image can be improved by some local adjustment.

 

05:00 with PP

Contre-jour - Projects 20. 21.22

The Lake District visit in February didn't produce images of note largely due to the weather and strong winds. It was, as always though enjoyable as a spectator. I have just returned from another 4 days just outside Keswick and the weather has been fabulous. Good light, no wind, longer days and temperatures above 20c all conducive to being able to bag a few projects and start Assignment 5.

Project 13 - throughout the day
Project 14 - changing light / changing views
Project 20 - sun stars and diffraction
Project 21 - silhouettes and reflections
Project 22 - positioning the sun
Project 23 - soft light

The ones I have missed seem to require me getting up at dawn, which is fine during the working week but not on holiday, so they will come later.

The course folder was referred to from time to time and I am pleased that some work was done and after a week or so I will return to the Raw files and start some PP work and write them up.

Assignment 5 : in the style of an influential photographer, was also on the agenda and the 5x4 was included in the kit for the trip to work on the Edward Weston style.

363 digital files, 12 5x4 negatives and optimism by the bucket full.

So far, this seems to have been a rather positive trip and working towards a number of useful milestones. In reality it was one of the hardest I have ever done. Not that the photography is overwhelmingly difficult (its not that easy either) but all I wanted to do was be a tourist. I walked the 4.5 miles around Buttermere without a camera. I just didn't have the mental state to bother about photography. My indulgence was just to enjoy the vistas, the moss on the trees, the rotting logs in the forest, the lichen, the ferns, the lambs, the other walkers, the ice cream van at Gatesgarth and be a tourist. So often I have found myself missing out on the experience because of the constant requirement to photography. In the afternoon we made our way back to Keswick and did the lake tour. Again no camera, just the enjoyment of being there with no pressure to take the picture of "child with ice cream" or whatever. This non photography day may have resulted in no images but it didnt prevent me thinking about my work in hand. As a photographer your eye constantly sees shape, texture, light and shade. The seeds of new ideas are sown and will be gathered later, so while there is a temptation to constantly be looking through a view finder (because we might miss something) I now feel I will spend more time observing and run the chance of missing an awesome "now" moment for my longer term ambitions.

The non photography period was not repeated, I had "lanced the boil" so to speak and on the last day (29th April) I started on the Edward Weston assignment. The slow, detailed approach using the view camera is so rewarding. The constant re evaluation of the composition, the focus plane adjustments, incident light meter readings supplemented by some spot readings and other minor adjustments become therapy rather than a chore. You check 10 times that the lens is closed before you withdraw the dark slide and then as quickly as possible (the light may change) you make the exposure, turn over the slide and slip it back in. Then all over again you ponder whether to make another, perhaps half a stop darker, and so it goes on. The negatives and transparencies are to go away next week and then the joy of the light box. These images are cherished, handled with white cotton gloves on their way to the scanner and feel a part of you as you can remember every moment in their making.

Wista 5x4 Field Camera in use on Gitzo Tripod

EDIT - Some time later after some editing.

Contre jour - against the daylight is featured in three projects (20,21,22) and I am not seperating them to any great degree as they all seem to cover similar ground.

Primarily this is when the camera is pointed directly at the sun to achieve a particular effect. My own preferences here are that I do not like this technique that much. The photographs tend to be dominated by the technique and suffer with poor tonal range, not easily dealt with on a digital platform.

Project 20 - Sun Stars and diffraction.

24mm f32

This straight into the sun image was shot at f32 on a wide angle lens and shows the maximum sun star. The resulting image is extremely back lit with very dark shadows. Recovery by PP is not possible without there being obvious manipulation. The sun star effect is at its maximum due to the very WA lens and the small aperture. A normal or telephoto lens cpupled with a large aperture (say f2) would reduce the effect to near nil.

Project 21 - Silhouettes and reflections

The Silhouette (named after Etienne de Silhouette) is a photographic method whereby the person of object is full tone black against a single colour or tone. In landscape photography this is generally a tree or building and is used as an effect rather than any other reason.

In the example below I have included a foreground shadow silhouette to enhance the image of the trees. Careful positioning of the sun behind a tree darkens the shaow and creates the classic silhouette.