Posts tagged natural light
The Kids, Fall 2009
Nov 4th
I am indeed blessed to have three terrifically photogenic kids to use as subjects. The aforementioned terrifically photogenic kids are less thrilled by this prospect, but I am able to get some decent shots from them from time to time. I just have to skillfully weave bribery, coercion, and brilliantly constructed lies (“I swear, just another 120 shots…”) to get the shots I want. Here are some shots from the Fall Collection:
First up is Kara. Kara is 14, a freshman, and well on her way to becoming a heartbreaker. I’m locking her in her room until she turns 18:
Marshall, age 10, is the middle child. His hobbies are the trumpet, Pokemon, and channeling Hannibal Lecter when asked to pose for a picture:
Finally we have Bailey, age 9. He is all about soccer, baseball, football, and quasi-Beatles haircuts:
See? Terrifically photogenic.
My New Museum Lens?
Mar 4th
My Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS is a serious piece of kit. It is also my de facto “museum lens.” The fast f/2.8 aperture combined with terrific image quality and image stabilization makes it the ideal tool for dealing with the muted lighting found in most museums. To a camera museums are dark places; art galleries almost doubly so. Too much light can damage certain artifacts and paintings, so the lights in these galleries are dimmed. Flash is usually prohibited as well, as flash, too, can damage artifacts or artworks. In order to shoot in such an environment you need a fast lens. Otherwise your shutter speed will drop so low that you cannot create an image without it being ruined by camera shake. Normally you would combat camera shake by using a tripod, but tripods are a no-no in museums.
If I’m going to a place where the available light is less than ideal, I grab my 17-55. It is fast and has image stabilization, so camera shake is almost a non-issue (sloppy technique beats IS, however, so some care must be exercised). However, ever since my wife gave me a 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS for Christmas I haven’t even touched my 17-55. The 24-105 is also a serious piece of kit as well, but I was worried about losing the full stop of exposure. Going from f/2.8 to f/4.0 would reduce my shutter speed by half, and since I was already shooting at unbelievably slow shutter speeds using my f/2.8 lens, I was concerned about how my f/4.0 would perform.
Turns out I needn’t have worried. Taken in the National Gallery of Art:
1/8 second at f/4.0, ISO 400, focal length 24mm
The 24-105 is indeed a serious piece of kit. 1/8 second? Crazy slow. In a non-image stabilized world I would be shooting at 1/30 second minimum and to get that I would have to take my ISO to at least 1600. Image noise at ISO 1600 starts to become a problem and if faced with shooting at 1600 or not taking the shot I would probably opt for not taking the shot. But the IS capabilities of this lens virtually negates the one stop loss versus the 17-55. The extra stop of the 17-55 will come in handy in the darker galleries and in places like the catacombs under the National Cathedral, but for the time being my 24-105 f/4 is my new museum lens.
Two Natural Light Portraits
Feb 21st
There is no better lighting than natural light. If you stay out of direct sunlight you are rewarded with the warmest, softest light that wraps around you subject in the most pleasing way. Here are two quick portraits I shot the other day using nothing but diffuse sunlight coming in through a window:
1/320 second @ f/2.2, ISO 200, focal length 50mm
1/160 second @ f/2.8, ISO 200, focal length 50mm
My Favorite Image of 2008
Feb 5th
1/1600 sec at f/4.0, ISO 200, focal length 200mm
The ideal time to walk the streets of Colonial Williamsburg is from dawn to about 10:00AM. The sun is low, the light is softer, and since the place doesn’t officially open until 10:00 you can walk the streets in relative peace without the usual crush of tourists. You really get a feel for the period when it is quiet. The eighteenth century comes into clearer focus: goats and sheep graze lazily in the fields, gardens are being tended, craftsmen are preparing for their long day ahead, horses are being saddled or harnessed, and all around you men and women in period garb are heading to work. It is a great way to spend a morning.
The image above was captured just before opening time in the summer of 2008. One of the guides had just arrived at his station and was awaiting his first visitor when I grabbed this. It is the kind of image that really transports you back to another time. Had cameras existed in the colonial era, I’m certain someone would have recorded an image just like this one. The softness of the light and colors combined with the memories of that morning make it my favorite shot of 2008.
Pensive
Feb 2nd
1/40 second at f/4.0, ISO 200, focal length 109mm
By all rights this image should not exist. This was a spur-of-the-moment shot. It was taken indoors, with oblique, late-afternoon light streaming through the window, and using shutter speed that was almost a third slower than my non-image-stabilized lens required. I had just walked indoors and hadn’t bothered to adjust my ISO when I saw Marshall staring out the window. He saw me raise the camera out of the corner of his eye and when he turned I grabbed the shot. Miraculously, I the resulting image was razor-sharp. Days like this it is better to be lucky than good.
Little Monster
Jan 29th
1/500 second at f/4.0, ISO 200, focal length 126mm
This is what happens when you combine a rainy day, an empty parking deck, and a two foot tall Godzilla wannabe. This image was taken on July 4, 2008 and while the weather wasn’t cooperative, watching Mia charging up and down the parking deck more than made up for the intermittent showers. And it only took three adults to keep her contained!
