Beyond the Veil

Chasing light is ever the photographers endeavor. Weather it be on bright blue days, looking for visually interesting contrast, or on storm ridden moody days such as this one. Light, shadow, clouds, nature, all building to a moment of blissful peace. You’ve found the light against the darkened skies, now your job is yet to begin. Finding the perfect position for your equipment, and the consideration that this light is yet fleeting, you wont have long to capture the moment, to freeze time. Yet you carry on dutifully to create. Doubtlessly, it is assumed we capture these scenes as is without any real work, but the truth, most people will never have the patience for. This image, from the same time as the previous is giving you a glimpse just beyond the veil.

Here it is, the photo that has caused me a fair bit of sleepless moments. I managed to churn out the previous with limited work, altering my masks, massaging the light to look just right. This on the other hand had many more features to wrestle with. So, I began as I always do, balancing the exposure between light and dark. I expose for the highlights in my photos, and then bring the shadows back out, it often leads to a deeper contrast, but I try and assuage some of that.

The trick behind exposure leveling is often patience. You know what the scene looked like, all you have to do it slowly bring those sections out for the viewer to appreciate. Then bring your colors into play. It’s a balancing act, and can take some time to get just right in a scene such as this where you, as the photographer, have no control of the light. You can just hope you set your exposure correctly. At the end of the day, as you become further assured of your abilities, the capture will be less coincidental than your final product. It all takes a little time, but can be well worth the effort.

Until Next Time!

Aperture: f8
ISO: 200
SS: 1/8th
Focal: 66mm

Fujinon 50-140mm