Day 266 - More sunlight, more trees

Still on the theme of sunlight and darkness, I offer this photograph of a nearby yard, with morning sun spilling in light a spotlight.

I'm finding that I really like these kinds of photos (can you tell?), as much for their drama as for the challenge of creating an interesting composition to complement the lighting. In this case, the trees and their leaves create a neat circular frame for the sun-splattered lawn while the fence post to the right adds some vertical contrast.

Again, I played with exposures on this shot in order to find the one that would prove most effective. In general, I prefer the darker images but this one, where the fence and some of the branches of the trees can actually be seen, stood out for me on this occasion. Of course, if I had tried to go any lighter, the area of the lawn that is bathed in sunlight would have been washed out.

Day 77 - Sharp Light and Shadow

The book says that strong, direct sunlight enhances textures and creates opportunities to exploit shadows. The book is right.

We had one of those days today in Fredericton when heavy clouds dash around the sky and the sun plays hide-and-seek with the world. Frustrating, to be honest, since for the longest time I seemed to be set up for a bright-light shot during cloudy times and a low-light shot when the sun was out. Finally, I decided: stay put and wait.

I loved the way this shadow (a tall, bare tree just to the right of the frame) tattooed itself to the Barracks building in downtown Fredericton, creating an interesting contrast between the sharply defined shadow-limbs and the rich texture of the stone building. I especially love the delicate shadow play on the roof.

I'm pleased I waited. The shot was well worth it.

Another thing that book has taught me is not to feel guilty about "correcting" shots on the computer. In fact, it urges you to plan for such corrections: understand what you can do on the computer and then take pictures knowing you'll correct them later. In this case, I cropped the shot better than I had on the street. Then I went into the colour-correction part of the program and increased the contrast to make the shadow darker and more defined against the lighter stone.