Learning Light

In my ventures to learn all about photography, I have been focused on light (pun intended) this past week, specifically, learning how to properly use available light and how to break the basic rules of using light in photography. Since my main educational means is just taking photos as much as I can and seeing what comes out and what doesn’t, time has not been on my side in learning the basics of recognizing when the light is right for shooting. I have gotten frustrated over the last several weeks numerous times when I have been out shooting hoping for great results only to be disappointed when I look at my photos later and most if not all are just not pleasing mostly due to lighting issues.  Some are blurry because of not enough light and some have blown out highlights because of too much light. Others have bright spots or poor reflection from harsh light or don’t come out at all from using wrong settings (or when I am in a hurry to catch a fleeting opportunity I forgot entirely to change settings before pressing the shutter release). With this recent post from This Week in Photography and my participation in this assignment last week from Digital Photography School, I now have a better understanding of light as it pertains to making great photographs and why I have been very dissatisfied with the outcome of my photos. 

Judging the quality of light for taking pictures is something I have struggled with especially because I have yet to send off my sigma lens to be cleaned (and I keep trying to use it) but with my other lenses I encounter the problem just as much. Following the tips given in the post about the three qualities of light over at TWIP I think I can expect better end results. Learning how to break the rules about light with the contre-jour assignment at DPS helped as well. I shot a lot of different scenes trying to find the best example I could make that would qualify as contre-jour which everyone in the thread had trouble comprehending. I even tried out some filters I inherited from my dad, including a circular polarizer (Hat Tip to Blue Ridge Blogs) and a M.G. 58mm 85B. I have many more filters to try out and am very excited to learn all the right instances in which to use the various ones I was given. (Next week’s DPS assignment is filters- Yeah!)

Last week, the family and I went hiking at the Hebron Rock Colony and I finally succeeded in getting some dreamy waterfall photos. Just before we left a ray of sun peaked though the trees and was shining down on the Watauga River. (If I am wrong, please someone tell me what river/creek this is actually.) After trying again over the weekend to find a better contre-jour scene with drama, I just couldn’t decide on which shot was better out of the many I took. With a little prodding from Brian, I decided to submit this one. I am sure in time I could do better but it was a challenge to learn this concept so I am happy with it for now.

Many thanks to local bloggers Marie and Gnumoon for their continually updated photoblogs because it gives me a view of excellent talent and a glance at skills I strive to learn.

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