Color and clarity: a note on shooting at night

Night shooting

Shooting photographs at night can be hard especially when light is low. It can be hard to capture color at night as well as to focus the image completely. One method for focusing at night is to open up the aperture and even over expose the image while finding your focus then stop back down once the image is focused. Another tip is to “zoom” all the way into the plane or object you want in focus, focus the image, and then “zoom” back out using the lens angle adjustments. In order to capture color at night you first need to make sure you have chosen a subject that can offer enough light, add light to the subject, or use a lens with a larger aperture. The subject I chose in my example photo gave me enough light and color for the image. Choosing an image with large fields of color like the faces of buildings and the large expanse of sky in my image will allow you to make a vibrant image that is rich with clarity and color.

Tilt shift photography: step one

Tilt shift photography

Synopsis- This post will introduce tilt shift photography in an easy to understand way that any amateur photographer could understand. This post will inform on the technique and tilt shift application called miniature faking. Then the basics of tilt shift will be discussed as well as two examples of tilt shift photography that I created with my camera.

Supplies- For tilt shift photography you will need a camera and either a tilt shift lens or a photography editing software that is capable of creating a tilt shift effect. A tripod is necessary for tilt shift photos as well due to the extremely short depth of field offered by tilt shift lenses.

Introduction-

Tilt shift photography is a form of photography that can be used for many amazing results. It is often used to accentuate architecture and for another technique called miniature faking. Tilt-Shift miniature faking is a creative technique whereby a photograph of a life-size location or object is manipulated to give an optical illusion of a photograph of a miniature scale model (tiltshiftphotography.net).

How its done-

Tilt shift photographs can be accomplished in a post photography editing software or with a tilt shift lens like the one I used in my examples. There are two adjustments on a tilt shift lens that are not found on normal lenses. The first is the shift which moves the lenses center of perspective so that it is not centered to the camera’s censor or film frame. Next is the tilt which tilts the plane of focus, which is usually perfectly parallel to the frame, so that it becomes diagonal. Shift movements enable the photographer to shift the location of the lens's imaging circle relative to the digital camera sensor (cambridgeincolour.com). Tilt movements enable the photographer to tilt the plane of sharpest focus so that it no longer lies perpendicular to the lens axis (cambridgeincolour.com). Both controls are adjusted using knobs found on the left and top of the lens that control the angles of the interior glass lenses. These adjustments will allow you selectively focus on certain objects within the frame.

Example 1-

In my first example I chose to put the flag in the lower right in clearer focus than the rest of the image. The angled plane of focus goes from the red building and flag to the white building behind it. The majority of the frame is out of focus with the flag and red building in clearer focus than its surroundings. This makes the eye draw to the flag as the focal point. I shot it with the tall bank building in the frame for a very specific reason. The bank building on the left is the bank of Albuquerque which has a smaller look-a-like building next to it out of frame. Those two buildings are as symbolic to Albuquerque’s skyline as the twin towers were to New York City. The symbolism and meaning I was considering in this picture is my views of the city and the country. I often lose sight of how small Abq is and how large and amazing America is, it’s a strange illusion that I wanted to express here.

Example 2-

In my second example I performed miniature faking in which I turned Central Avenue into a toy model set. By shifting the plane of focus and my perspective from the third story balcony I was able to create an effect in which the cars on central seem to be toy cars in a fake world. Central has played both a joyous and horrific role in my life as far as the events that have happened on it both in and hidden from my eyes. It was a fun experience to turn it into a fake little world with the adjustment of the tilt and shift knobs on the lens. The key to miniature faking is to focus only the subject somewhere near the center of the screen and to blur everything else. This is done by dialing in the shift to fit your subject in the center of the perspective and by creating a plane of focus that compliments only your subject.

The best way to learn tilt shift photography like many other aspects of photography is to experiment. I had taken very few tilt shift pictures before I took this one and within twenty minutes I captured this shot.

Shadow: the critical absence of light

Synopsis-

This post will address shadow in image creation and the importance of shadow control in visual expression. This post also features two examples with descriptions of how the shadow works in each one. So sit back and open up your mind for a refreshed idea on the part of the picture you can’t see—you know the part that gives texture, controls where the eye looks, and has power equal to light.

Where does shadow fit in?-

In photography light is commonly referred to in three types; highlights, mid-tones, and shadows. Shadow is a huge part of photography and can make or break an image. Photography is often referred to as painting with light. My friend D.S. Canning says, "I don't take photos I make photos." When he first said this to me i was skeptical of the meaning of this phrase but now I know what he means. In photography you apply light to the parts of an image you want to show building them with intention.

Importance-
Lets think of shadows using music as an analogy. Music is the presence and absence of sound photography is the presence and absence of light. You have to get it right if you want to express your vision well. It has to be balanced and timed well. There are many ways to use shadow that are equally as important as highlights. You can leave much of a character in shadow in order to offer a mysterious quality. You can use shadow to accentuate textures and contours of your subject.

Example 1-
In the first image above i used a very small blue light to accentuate key parts of the image such as the drivers cigarette, the steering wheel, and shift knob. The subtle blue light also graces across the dash board revealing its texture which helps you "feel" it visually. The key to this image is not the blue light however it is the vast field of shadow that immerses everything else. This leaves a lot to the imagination of the viewer and moves the eye around the image in curiosity. The shadow also brings attention to the focal point which is the speedometer. The red number on the speedometer reads "0", a dead stop, which is the feeling I felt while shooting and what I wanted to convey. You know that, “Come on let’s get out of here!" feeling.

Example 2-
The second image is a little different. It features a gradient background with a silhouette again using shadow as a sense of unknown character this time to the subject rather than environment. The stylized lighting illuminates the subject’s face slightly revealing the models expression. The role of the shadow in this image is to express a powerful stance for the subject while revealing only the crucial details of the face, body, hat and glass.

Light painting:the most fun you can have in the dark

Synopsis-

In this post you will learn about an attractive and super easy technique called light painting. You will learn what light painting is, the basic techniques, and be given three example images with explanations of how i created them. You will need your camera with shutter speed adjustments and some kind of handheld lights.

Defining light painting-

Light painting allows you to basically draw or write with light in a photograph. According to Wikipedia, “Light painting, also known as light drawing or light graffiti is a photographic technique in which exposures are made usually at night or in a darkened room by moving a hand-held light source or by moving the camera. In many cases the light source itself does not have to appear in the image. The term light painting also encompasses images lit from outside the frame with hand-held light sources. The first known photographer to use this technique was Man Ray in his series "Space Writing".

Basics-

To light paint you open the shutter speed up to a long exposure anywhere from 10” to 30” works best. You can also use your camera’s bulb function which keeps the shutter open as long as you hold down the shutter button. You can change the aperture in order to reveal just the light source used or to reveal the background and other objects as well. Then you shine the light while the shutter is opened in one of two methods. The first method is to build the scene in the photograph by lighting the objects you want to show in the picture using the light reflected from the scene as your light source. The second is to draw or write with the light in which the light goes to the camera directly.

Example 1-

My first light painting example is an image I created for a valentines series. I used a thirty second exposure which allowed me to put light where I wanted it in the image. I used a lighter to trace the heart candies and create a design surrounding them. As you can see anywhere the intense light of the flame goes the light is recorded. Light painting is very similar to the looking at the sun analogy I used in my "Understanding shutter speed" post. Three factors control the brightness of the lights path in the image; the shutter speed, the amount of time the light is held in one place, and the intensity of the light itself. One area where you can notice the intensity factor is above the heart and in the bottom left of the image. The brightest light source in the image is the white hot specs of flint flinging through the air as the lighter was struck. The flint specs only emitted light for fractions of a second but they gave off a very intense glow. therefor the specs remain in the image in little lines that signify their trajectory. I then used a red L.E.D. light directed at the candies and shielded from the lens to give the warm, contrasting light on the hearts. This is also a great example of how you can build an image. What you light is what you see and how you light it is how you see it.

Example 2-

This example is much more simple. I set up the camera to capture the cityscape behind me and simply spelled my name. In order to do this you need to write backwards. The beauty of light painting with a digital camera is that you can experiment as much as you want and your mistakes sometimes become stylish flares for the image.

Example 3-

This last example is an image I created for a friends birthday. I attempted to write “happy”, two friends wrote “B” and “day”, and I gave her a light to write what she wanted which is the heart on the left. All this happened as my friend break danced in the foreground with light sticks taped to his shoes. The result is an image that included many people and represented a beautiful moment in time.