Saturday, September 27, 2008

The Light Press


PHOTOGRAPHER'S DIARY: Reflections While Shooting at Olson House, Part 10

I'd been shooting buckets, basins and brooms in the shed. From behind me bright, north light spilled over my shot. When I turned, light and shadow sprayed me. I didn't even think to stop and ask what the thing was used for. I used it to wring out sunlight.

I wish I could have everything in sharp focus. I used my best macro lens and stopped it down to f25. Even so, depth of field is short, and I chose to focus where bright light first leads the eye.

I had many questions in processing the image:

How much shadow detail to squeeze out? It's tempting to adjust curves to lower contrast and make the shadows glow, but ultimately I decided that drama had soaked me, and I preserved only a shimmer to show that something was in the shadows.

What makes this shot color rather than monochrome? When I tried it in monochrome I couldn't tell whether the light source was daylight or electric light. I prefer fresh-squeezed.

2 comments:

GMG said...

Hi Ted! Here I am to enjoy your lovely blog on my weekly visit!
And this week we have again some wonderful pictures! Great light on this one! And the Thresholds are awesome!
Look forward to reading you at Blogtrotter, now back in Chania!
Have a great weekend!

Emery Roth said...

Thanks for your visit. I'm off to see where you'll take me this time.