Summer Light
The haze that settles along the mountains can occasionally be fairly oppressive, over the last week it was so thick you couldn't see ridge to ridge. On the days the haze is somewhat cleaner and the clouds are just right the corpuscular rays cut through and paint the mountains in incredible ways. When first arriving at this scene the entire valley was in shadow, but I decided it had true potential as a scene... if I could just get the clouds to move off a bit. Only a mere five minutes into the shoot this scene began to develop, and produced some of the nicest rays I'd seen this year, vibrant, but not all encompassing. This shot was produced probably twenty minutes into the hour shoot, but you never know when the best light will hit home. The process of editing these photos requires more than moving a few sliders, the scene washes out, certain colors begin to dominate. As I delve deeper in photography, I am learning more about color and balance than I ever thought was possible, but of course I still have much to learn here.
So that brings us to the topic at hand. Leaning, improving your method, when you first start out as a photographer it seems insurmountable to get all of that knowledge into your head. F stops, ISO, Brackets, Histograms, and on and on, but then you begin reading about it, or watching youtube videos on those topics. Slowly but surely you begin to experiment in the field. Finding each piece of information getting stuck in your head. What does it all mean? There in lies the problem, knowing the information turns out not to be enough! How do you know when the light is gone? How do you know what settings you should be using for this scene?
The answer is frightening in a way, and reassuring in another way. You don’t, when you approach a scene, and find your composition you do that thing you’ve heard a hundred photographers talk about doing. It’s time to dial in your settings, what does that mean? It means, even experienced photographers will take a few minutes to adjust their cameras settings. Even doing portraiture, or product photography you need to stop and adjust before you capture the right settings. Even when you think that you have it, you’ll find yourself testing alternate settings Just to be SURE. [Sometimes even when you know you have it, people watching you will make you reach up and start flicking a dial]
You of course learn as you go out more and more how to get those settings faster, more accurately, but no two scenes are the same. You should spend quality time with your equipment, enjoy yourself as you work on creating something special. Learning the “personality” of your equipment, enjoying the learning experience. Because that is what it really is, learning.
Finally, how do you know when the light is “Good”. At first, you wont, because you’ve spent your whole life seeing every type of light, but not photographing every type of light. Certain subjects play better with direct light, some need that vibrant golden light. Some may even demand the moody light of blue hour in post sunset, or pre sunrise. You have to get out, experience, and learn.
ISO: 160
Aperture: f11
SS: 1/250th
Focal: 34mm
