Light #8 - Weather

[RichardTaylor]

Light 8a.

Weather - Fog & misty rain

The weather will have a major impact on the appearance of your photographs.

The clue is to always be prepared for it and seize the moment as it may not last very long.

Some examples.

(1)This early morning fog was totally unexpected and made for some marvellous lighting for shooting steam engines especially as the steam and smoke mixed with the fog to make a great atmosphere.No harsh shadows at all and notice how the background disappears.



Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 47 mm
ISO Speed 800
Exposure Bias -2 EV

(2) For comparison - A couple of hours latter, near the location above, when the sun had burnt off the fog. Bright sunny day with just a few puffy clouds about. Notice the solid shadows.



Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias 0 EV

(3) Light misty rain 2:15pm on a late spring day. Notice the beautiful soft lighting.



Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture f/14.0
Focal Length 105 mm
ISO Speed 800
Exposure Bias -1 EV

(4) Even indoors, with most of the light coming from outside, an overcast/rainy day, can provide beautiful light. Here the light from a drizzly day was coming in through a very large open door to the front of the subject.



Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 45 mm
ISO Speed 1600
Exposure Bias 0 EV

More to come

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Larger versions of the pics are on my Flickr stream
Thanks for looking, and feel free to ask questions or comment.

Richard

[PROFusioNZ]

Excellent series on light Richard! The examples were helpful - it was great to see your thought process in regards to different lighting situations.

Looking forward to more...

[RichardTaylor]

Thanks very much. I also learn a few things whilst doing them.

[RichardTaylor]

Light 8b.

Weather - Storms

You can shoot from any direction and not have any real worries like harsh shadows and glare. The main thing is to have wet weather protection for you and your camera.

(1) It also makes for some great opportunities to capture something different. Shot in pouring rain



Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture f/9.0
Focal Length 320 mm
ISO Speed 500
Exposure Bias 0 EV

(2) For landscapes, even at a motor racing track, storm lighting can be magical. Always be prepared as the lighting conditions may be fleeting.



Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 100 mm
ISO Speed 250
Exposure Bias -1 EV

(3) There were storms about one morning. Occasionally you do get lucky and a break in the clouds will put sunlight in the right spot. Very little post processing. This is an approaching storm and a few minutes latter it was pouring.



Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 135 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias -1 EV

(4) Why it always pays to have your camera ready to go. 3pm on a spring afternoon. There were showers about. Picture taken through the window of a tour bus on the way to visit this church. Lots of post processing to remove the window reflections.



Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 85 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias -2 EV

More to come.
----------------------
#1 Introduction
Light #1 - Introduction.

Part 2 of this series (Light #2 - How much? Enough #1. ) can be found here:

Light #2 - How much? Enough #1.

Part 3 - Indoors (1)
Light #3 - Indoors (1)

Part #4 - Low light outdoors (1)

Light #4 - Low light outdoors #1

Part #5 - High contrast light.
Light #5 - High contrast

#6 Too much light.
Light #6 - Too much light.

#7 Light direction.
Lifgt #7 - Directiuon

#9 Time of day.
Light #9 - What time of day to shoot?

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Larger versions of the pics are on my Flickr stream
Thanks for looking, and feel free to ask questions or comment.

Richard

[ccting]

Dear Richard,
Picture (4) under 2nd post: Very nice pic that record the blowing wind beautiful, excellent foreground-background tone harmony. Great 1st horizons level, and beautiful "Z" as extreme strong leading lines to the house, beautiful trees as deliminator frame, great color harmony for subject and surrounding, subject is beautifully placed not far from center... However, i have 1 doubt that :

a) You are shooting at 1/250s but I still able to see motion blur for trees, . I thought 1/250s is sufficient to freeze running human..??

b) Is the main horizon at dead center? If that so, what is your reasoning for doing so?
Note: I use non-pure photography terms..


c) As my observation for your pics about the exposure bias. ...
the exposure bias = - the percentage of lit area, when using matrix meter and subject in lit area. How about if the subject is in dark area ? I believe you will never take any shot of that or do some framing to void that?



for Pic #4 under 1st post : the man with hammer.
If I reduce the shutter speed, perhaps to 1/70s with -2EV flash compensation (so to retain the natural light), combine with flash to freeze the motion of other part of body, but with a little bit of motion blur to record the act of hamming.. will that possible?

[RichardTaylor]

The trees have been slightly softened during post processing.

It is a "grab shot".
I had no control over my shooting position and very little control over when I took the photograph, as I was sitting in a tour bus. Otherwise I may have composed the photograph differently.

Exposure bias is for:
(1) Control the highlights and/or to ensure a correct exposure. Either by using the histogram or by use of the "blinkies" or from experience as to the subject itself and how it relates to the rest of the scene.

Framing (either during shooting or when post processing), is always for compositional purposes, except on very rare occasions (like accident photographs).

[ccting]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

The trees have been slightly softened during post processing.

Exposure bias is for:
(1) Control the highlights

.

My brain, at this moment, tells me that,
a) exposure time / shutter speed controls highlight.
b) changing exposure bias impacts the exposure time significantly

Question: Is that true that exposure bias will influence exposure time / shutter speed that influence the highlight?

Question: Faster shutter speed can retain highlight than slow shutter speed? If that true, any reasoning for this ..?

TY ;D

[RichardTaylor]

Exposure bias doesn't mean only time (shutter speed), it means total exposure.

Reduce the exposure enough, and you reduce or eliminate .the blown highlights.

Try it yourself.

[ccting]

@Richard,
You must be using Nikon Camera body..

[RichardTaylor]

Canon, and not always a DSLR, see the exif data.