Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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.I E ~ XPO "URE OPTI N
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89( REFLEC -- L
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118
KY BROTHER
II . I E J
H I K BROTHERS cou .I
- JCHT . D LO\V~LIGHT PH T RAPHY
1
""} cil
~c/111 lflles
CLTlfl
Filt.ers
BL E PO UR A D A DWICHI ~G
L I 'L ~ V PO R
POL\RIZIN G FILT R
EUT L -D rrY J 'I ~- rER
GRADUATED 1 E TRAI I . Tl - I ILTER
D
Fil11 t l s. ryigit(Ll
JJtJ
1'8
I -
142
lt
] 18
"I 0
1.51
154
0
I
]22
126
128
OR
15
158
160
ar ..
tajfted '.vritin
ve11 thin down-aperture s : utter
peed and e'en ti~ne of day-for each expo<ure .. ] \'\r.a .
-oon addin ., note on lens choice. I devoured photoo-raphy book at the local Hbra11 - and it wa n t long before ]
began to develop a n1u h better under<tandin. u~and
appreciation- of apeitures and shutter speed alon~r
& .
11
h
To
alwaJ
I
Lh ,r
th ~
n- at d
he'" rt of ev r_ ' ., l ) ur~ .
three el n1 nts 1:11 k u " hal I aU L i( n -
J ,
at 1. call the 1 hutog.ra1 hi triangle. i'an~ili izinu- _oure ".it] th , r latw )n I p an 1 th trian ' ~ will fi,. t
and for ,JTI L nable ) ou to Blake COIT t r u ur . f .
l110f con -i t l Ll ' rhi. - in turn , \1ill fr ' y . u to I arn th
ail of r r~-[ino- ~ Teativel ,. corTe t xp< ur un] r rn n
dill rent libhting itu tion . b1 addiLion, at t - h ar , f
th phot ~ rhi~ ' t1ia1gl i d1 - e po ur In l ; \ ithouit
it tnaki n 01 a onect po ure would r _,quir,- Lh ,:, niU
1 ...lit of a l yu~ e era a1 d a , ar ful e.'_, in ~ L rnrnin
Ii hi'. alu . 1\m d.. ... -ot n ed t know wh re to La~ e yo u
Ill L .r r a lin 0 Lo lJI t . u ~ e ful xpo. ur . ;H acllr~ . ~
th c prin try ] ue. . o that . ou ~ an 111
b ) )nrl irnplv r ,., r ling corre t ex1 o ur to l ""' n in r Lh art of
rnaki n(j r~ . . ati\ el- o T t x1 o. urcs.
I h 111 r - rn nti on of th ,, ord expo. u.r a t t1i '. 'e ar
in th . . h at -, ( f man - )hotorrra1 h . :r
r the y a , I
hav . . v~riLn -, ed thes anxi t. r aUaek. n -~ th y are often
1
'
"
an1e. \ ~ ry an1L a i till n L] ]no~ 1110 th n a iuhtproc t I o. \ iti a ln Lit on . nd and .a li~rht= I - ~ Live
l vic he i lL fihu r a di oit
hi a. the oth -r. The
~ roc . of light - t Iiuu through th 1 n- to r~ ~ ~c r J an
.inta e (I it on fln or diuita! 111 l~ ia) ~ . till h - . all .
nd th - r cord ~ ~ lnat.r. ~ -- ti 1 . all d. .:n -.. Kpo 11n~- .
\\Th ther .'' 'lJI l , ol film. or d.i .rital.' an all agr ( n
on thi 1b: th r ~. lway. . ~ hot -inT in(J" ofh ar l h .lp
u out wh n '"' 1 . w "t ri h[ r , but plea ~e n1 k 't ' ur
~oal t u -e ph t~ - n-gin ~ o t'\ulre nl/ a our la .t re ~ rt .
Do you r alJy -I j v .1 en li . .all of _,rour lei~ r titn - at
the con1putP-r ., ~r - tiuc.r ha I x o re ? L ,arn ~im g ho' Lo
Inal _ Ll , orr ... t .. po "ure in- a1ner 1 will a v ~' u 1 l of
tin1e .' ::t ~. d wh~
ul h . t u tnore tin1~ :
Fo n1an r, a l 1 ., th m.clerial n Lhi. 1 o k wiU be
~rand r Jw l tTit n~ , whi~
o.r oth . th .__ mat, ibl n1ay
. rv t .an affi n1aLi n of whaL i . 1lr -a ly known. l h Lher
you Lry
C! ll of th
u u tion , th mat ial '' il
hav a ~ rofou l a ~t on TOUr ~11 ility Lo ay 'W th ' . rtainty thdL . ou d kJw cwb t rour xpo tUe wiH }
I
I TROD
"110
,l
TV!h
w at. 1s
j
eant by ''E
xposure ,,')!'
7111
1r1
,-u ,:lcfl. Bttnwr oft nthan nol., IIL\\oTJ ro-ur r .f rs to th , anH Hint ~ and a ,t o ii 0 hl fctll ing n hoto . .~. :itiv . mat rid1 (eith r th . fi1nl r digiLd ai l) . 1\nd
i n1th.i: < m t f' . t i 1 on1es UI rno. t ft -H as part of t rue . ( n- a q tw."ti H )"\ e h ard lllOr , fle n than a \'" oth x:
;."H y Bry<-J n.. what hould rn) x J . ur , h~e? ~ (In other
ex~
f(H
lW
n~J?
'
C(rr
t! '
J\]du IJnh
111
an .. w
~ nO\\
of no other way
o -i L nLlY
make COITect
posur than to
learn how to hoot a fullv tn~nual
, pos tu~e_ On~e you
1 aru l ho\ to
hoot in 1nanual , ., po ur n1od , (if
really terribly ea y), .roull beLL _.r uud .rstan l th out,. .on1 , f ol r ~- p , ures
when you hoo. ~ l
out in , 1nj- o1r
full autoexpo ur n1o l .
~1ith "our an1 , a and 1 - i f ~or t )f
.you . t .,, ur a 1, ra dial to 1\1 or manual If yo r
on how to el. vo r
ean1 sa t 111a ual ~ posur tnod ~ rea
th n1 lll l!) G . . t ''Olll on to .1 as your
uhj '"'ct nd o-o t a l ad) part 01 your
) ar I r a n - ighboorh od pad or i it"
J'
'
an O\ I ~ l day~ a y rh r in th ) ard or
J ail wil -~o. R . gar
u OUI" ("alller
nd r gardl , of \\rhat 1 n yo1 re
u. inO', tyorln. 1 inTtothenunlb .r 5.6 (jlS.6). lac . your ubjec up
aoain. t t h l
r 001 ix- to ei ht-
n .
foot ~ h ul h xy.
vie" jnd .r an l
o'"'~
look throu h th
cu on . our ~ bject.
flj _t yo 1 . h tte pe d until th
e Tn r ,_ ight m , l r indic t , a co1 . ct
po ILU'e in your vi wfint er a d
t k th ph togra h. You v j 1 t n1ad a
rn nual oi ct po ure!
Op rat! )' in n1anual xpo --u e n1od
i. n1pov\ ing
n1ak
not of thi
rn Inorabl da I
B
1
X' I
ir.J
I ." J,
S l"l")) r,
')
f' J
L
l~ ..-
1~6
DEF.I l G E . . . PO ,. R
a fi d-z nl-1
digit I an ra you rnay find that your a a ap rtur o }71.4 the ian1 . ter of the actual len
ap rtur d n'l g . ~ a l or n1ayh 11. , [ach on f the op ning '\\1ould b . 3.S.711101. Here 50 (1 n - focal L .- gth)
num r
n~ _'1 ond t .a p ~ ifw op ~i ng in your ] n
divided b l. (stop) equal 35.7 ( ian . t r of
s op nand th -_
I -ning alh call .f- to . a in photo~raph- ing). h \d t tnakes rny head spin ju m: t
.in<Y abuuiL
i~ t~ 111. th
c d f/4.- t :
..6 i f/5.' and c on.
all that. Than goodne thi - 11ct very ittle _if an; thing
Th p im r fun ti
th
1 n op nin i to control to do with achie~ ing a orre t expo ur .
th v lum f 1 ght th<, r a
the .fibn or di . ital n1 di
Tnt stingly enough a h ti111e ou d eend frotn on
during an . p - ur~ . h - ..rnaller t . f- top numb r, the ap rtur op ning to th next . or stop do .n ucl a fron
larger th, I n p ning th l~arger Lhef- top th smaller jl _ to j/5.6 the volume of light ent ring th n - i - ut in
th I n p n"ng.
a . Lik ,,vi .e .- if you change frotn an ap rtur op ning of
or th t hni 1 min ; d ouL l here an.f top i
frae - jl tofl8- th volume of li q-ht nte1-ing tl l
doubl - ..
l. o that ndi al
th diameter of th aperture. The f. Each hal ing or doullinll' of liaht i r f 1. d t , a a full
tan for th fo ai len th of th 1 n ~ the lash (f) means stop. hi i impottant to note n man_ ' am ras toda
d v.ided by, and the nun1b r repre ~ ent the .top in use. offer not only full top but al o tl al ~ ilit r t . t th .
or ampl - if ou '\\rere h otin v~rith a 50mm 1 ns S e- t ap rtur Ito one-third top i . . f/4 fl .5 jl" fl .6,f/6. I
photographed the
daug1hter of one o,f my students . Since depth of fielld
was not o big concern for
thi s composirioni I chos~e a
#Who cares?IJ aperture of
f/ 1 1 (see poge 56 for more
on this type of ~a pe.rtu re).
Handholding my c ameral, I
adjusted the
shuHer
speed
1
[80- 200mm lens, f/5.6 for
1/250 sec.]
in a
18 D .PI N~ -
I XPO.. RE
positional element. As I
fr01med the imag1e1 I ad'justed
the shutter speed until 1/250
sec. wos ind1cated as the
corred ~exposun:~.
f/ 4
for
f/7.] f/8,fl . j7 0 j711 and o on. ( he und . dined nLunr r - nt t ori inal basi top whil th th r
ar th . n
r on -third option ometiln1es availall .)
O\ 1 t. turn to ~ hutt r sp . d. D p . nding on 'the
1nak a - d mod I our ccun ra n1a offi r shutte p ed
from a blazingl fc t 1/8000 c. all th wa} do \rn to 30
ond . T - butter ~ . peed co trol the aJ:nounl of 1tin1 ,
that th
urn of li ht corn1no- th1rou.~ h th
~ d terrniined by th ap rture) i al lov .ed ~o tay on th filn1 or
igit m~ dia in the . arn ra. The .arne hal vi g and doubl. ng pr iple that app ies to 11 eitur al ~ ap : li .- to
I
h tt r sp -ed.
I t m - "plain. et the b utter pe d control n your
am -ra to 500. Thi nu nber d note -. a fraction-S
1 pr . nt . l/50
ee. O\\ change -r om . 00 to .2 50
again t
repre nt /2.50 ' e .. Fron1 1/250 ~ rou go
to /125, 1/60 1/30 1/1 - and o n. Th d I' you
hang fron11 1/30 sec. to l/60 e . (de r a itng th lt ime
th . ight sta on the filnlidigital m dia) or f urn 1/60
to ll' 0 e . (in a ing th tim h light ta.. . n the
fihn/digital rnedia ou
hift .d a full . .to . gain thi .
i i1nportant to note sine n any . am 1 . toda a of r
the ability to set ~h hutt r p d t
n -third tell
/500 ec. l/400 s~- .,1 l/320 .., 1/250
. 1/200
..ec. l/160 ec. l/12 -c. - 1/l
. . 1/80 ~ "., l/60
sec. and ~ o on. ( gain Ll 1 und tlin d numb :r; Iepres.ent lhe origina . basi top ' hil th oth r ~- a1re the
ne~~ r one-third option
on1 tim a ailabl .) Cameras
that offer on ~thh~ I _t . I lf fl. .-t the am +a indu .try
atten1pts to mak it a i r for you o h ,, -'peifect
e po u:re . Bu .. youll l i -all'n lat 1r on its me that one
alwa .rant a p f- t .- o ur .
The finall g f th tritang1 i- 1 . heth -r" ou hoot
'\rith film or u a digital an1 ra ou hoic of I 0 h
a dir~ . t in1pa n 1th mbinat on of ap rtur
and
b utt r p d ou an u . t o important 1Lhat it "valrant its own di.
o .and ex r -ise . o take a look at
lh next pag .
1
EXERCIS~
b tL r un ]er. tand t
ff -ct of 1 0 n pour .- think of th I 0 s a orker b . If m
am ra i et fo. I 0 100 have in effect I 00
V\ro *k - ~: and if your earn ra i -_ et lor l ~O 2'0 0 rou
ha -200 worker b
. The job of the .. e ' orker bee i
t gad r the light that con} s through th 1 n and
Inak a in .aue. lf both of us et our lens at he . an1
,JflC
10U
hv, a m n
Exp~ osu
\\orker l e . at I
O~
200
than I do at I
. l 0.
ow o thi r lat t hutt r ! e d?
t-s
tun
L
photo in , u - n i of a lon floll\'e , ta . n on an
over ast d -Y- . m m~ , - that your (,a1ne a i set to I ,0
200 and min o
100 both wi h an aperttrr of
f/5.6. o '"rh n ' u adju t - ur hutte sp ed for a orap ~ r iure of .f/5.6 meaning that the arne olun ~ of r et ~ .,. po.. ur
/250 . i . ind:i ated as ' corre t hut
l"ght ~ill I e 011nin throuuh our len 5 - ' \r ho Vrl i l wh n 1 adj , t m_r huu . r . eed for a correct expo ur
r,-, or l the im.aue ibe quic e ,L ou or n1 ? ou \/11
1/12- se .- a long, r expo ure- i indicated. 1 i. i ,
1
I ecau e our .2 00 work r be s n d only half a - mu h {IT ou wa nt you .an leave the canrt a in the automal.time a n1 l 00 work r b
to mak tl iinag .
i apettur ~p iority n1ode for hi
.r i e, too). rit
ince thi i ucb an i nporLant patt of nd . andO\ n th 1
t ._hutter pee l. Then chang vour ii~m
ing e: po ure I wan ' ou to rut the book town o . a~ ain, his tin1 to I .0 JQO l aYing lt h - ap rt r at jl8
moment and get out _rour , arn ra, as '"'r H w a p .D.d and on e aga n point th aLl a al th arn . ul j t.
pciper. S t the fihn p d dial tr I 0 200- l th
hether .ou r in n1anual n1od . or auto-a rtur -pri r~
if .. ou have a roll of filrn in ,our fi] rn a1n -a tl at i ., nol it . mode you Use that JOUr 1ght m L r i in i a ing a
ISO 200. (Don forg L to - t the I
. a _ t th . orr t (liff r nt shutter pe d for a orr ct x o ur . n
nu.mbei v1.rh n V{e r don h r . 01 , t your a.p rture a. 1in, \\ ite ~own thi- hutt r p d. nd fi aU'.
t p a] ov .
p nina tof/8 and ' ith th am 1a p int -d al ome- change the I' 0 ' t 800 a d r p at d
thinu thai w , ill -n1.inal -d., a ju . .t . , ur . ut e - 'peed
What h1ve you noti . d? h n -o ~ ~ chang fiom I 0
until a con-eet po"'ur ~ indi ~at d in th viewfinder.
00 to I ~ 0 200 your .. uU r. p I chang : fr 11 I 2~
see. to 1/250 e . or p : a1 ' orn Li inu; lik fr m 1/ 60
e . to l/320 , e .. Th . huu r 1 d, are x. mpl ..
of ou e and not k:nov ing 1~ hat y~ ur , uhje t "\-\fa. t s
difficult at b t to d t 1min - y ur a lual hutt r pe d . .
but on thinet i c Itain: a h butt r 'P d i o ' to
if L , ~ a tl half . n1 h w lh n l efore it.
Wh n ou inc1 a. .. h n : mb
f \"orker 1 s (the
I '0 ) f om 100 to 2 0 , y .u , ullh tim n e ~ aryr to g t
th job on in h~ If. (If nl. th - r al )f\ 0Jd d wotk d r e
that.) hi i ' .hat .ur . hutt -r p d wa - t Bing 01 :
Going from 1/121/250 - . i half a - lo g an
posur - tin1~ . V.,l .. y
t the 1 ~O to .QQ . ou w nt
fron1 1/12
~ .-pa._ ing b ' /2-o e . - nd e d d
up at I 00 c . Ju t .- ~ a h halvin-' of the s uu r
. p cl . call d 1 top a h h~ncre fTom I ~ 0 100 to
0 2 t I.. . 4DO i 1 .id ~ed a 1-top increas (an
in f '~'~' ork r bee. ).
u an Jo ~ hi am
ju t a asil r b. l avi g th hul.ter
, constant for in tance at 1/12.5
........""' an . adjlu :tirmg th ap rtui until a conect - po ure
i indi . at - d in th . viewfind r: or. if you hoo to t:t
in uto xpo ure n1od
el t hutter--pt orit r ,~ t a
h tt r p ed of l/125 . e .. and the aJnera '" n et the
l ' t ape1tu Jr foT 0 .
1
..
-C
'
record exacting
sharpness ~rom front
to back, I used a
smalll lens. opening. I
sky
which indicated a 1/15
metered off the lbl ue
1.
recompos:e d.
I immed iate-
pod.
Since
I knew I wonted
sky I ad justed my
1.
[300m m lens,
8 s-econds]
f/ 111 For
'I
1.
l,1
"
1
-
'
anaeli elernenL
Thi
r -ativ a proa h towar . .xpo ur will r a ,
ountl s r ,, ard if' ou g t in 1th habit of .I', "
ne and d te nng' hat on1bination of ap rt11li" an
butter o cl ' ill r d I the 1 10 'It clynami an
ati
po u ~ - fo that uJ jr t. The ehoi in e po. r - i
alway . rour
o ,:,;rh not mak it th n t ~ tiv po. u po. , ~ bl :
.'J
:.. . DEFI I
1/2 sec.]
f/ 1 1 for
is triJIIy eye-opening ..
1 second]
26 DEFI I
~.
rpo.
th my oamera and
Nikkor 80-400mm
zoom lens mount,ed
on a tr~pod and the lens set
third
photograph (opp~
si te , bO'Hom) wa s f/ 16 for
1/60 sec. AU three exposures are exadly the sa1me in
terms of qua1ntrntaHve value,
but qu~te different ~n ~he
11
T, CRE A IVE E PO
. f company.
bdo
Albove:
f/4
for 1/ 1000 se c.
For
RE , . , . 0 E CRE TI
e C eatve. y Co ect E po ur
ne l th b ,t l -, -. on I k o ,.r v I. r
ling.
ot urpri ingl ', iL will) -ad -: ou fur her to th
1vorl of , r . . ativ J ' f!OtT - t ' . pn ur - . Ch o . a
stationaT_ . ubj, it uch a a flow r, or ha a fri d
tand for a portra~t. l o hoo: a rno' ing ubj, cL su h
1.
wa ves, diff,e re nt
eHect-all because of a
cha1nge in exposure. The
camera and lens were the
same for both im,a ges, but
for the imogre at right I chose
o shutter speed of 1I 500
sec. ito fn:~eze the action of
the wa1ve. lln do"ngr so, I
knew ~'d end up with a la~rgre
liens opening, namely
bec,ause I wa1s. using ISO 50.
Sure enough, as I odj1
usted
my opertu re whi Ie ita king a
meter readiingr off ~he distant
hori~on a1nd blue sky, I ~got
f/4 os a correct exposure. II
3U l EFl 1
. ~X PO
RE
the shot..
IFor the 1image above, I
wonted the angry surf to
have a softer and more surreal quaiHy. So, I set the
aperture to fl32t knowing
thot this would force me to
use a much slower shutter
speed [1
s,ec.} since the
18
1IB sec.]
Lo
aw ntain a
CO
IJutt -
d in
ct. 1~ or a h . po ure
and . huUer . I d u d.
COlT
than s1 ,.
II .
j_ J
'
7 '.
rNE
RE TTV LY CO KH E ./ J
E 1
f t and foremost if) ou l\1' nt t~ inlpl. make a.n ~ p . ure or if you '\'\rant to nruak~ a r ati
'
~id
a th
ativ
po
s.
. con1ponent of ~ oll r, - fi hn p
d s utt r p ed,, and pertu- - t ge
v n cl iff r . nt t rp . f xpo tiT s an, I in - of thw::;;:,c
~oinpon nt , it'
t r th ap 1 Ltu or the hutt r p d
that _ mo 1: oft n ~ . hi d1 .. u e s of a realv
pour, ,, lll tart th r : n all a1 erture if/ 6,_{/22 an 1}73.2)
are th er ativ fl r , ~
hin l what I call .tor telling
expo t re [option - in ag that . huw great depth of
field (. pa ~ . 3,6--4 7 r horough diseu ion of d,-pth
of fi ld). LaTrr ap tu . (f/2.8, f/4 a d f/5.6) ar th
, reativ for e h hind what ] , aU . ingular~thetne or isolation .: po ur [option 2]~i n1 1g that hov~r ha- lo,~\
lepLh of field. 'fh m "ddl f-th - road aperture.. (//8 a d
.flll are v.rhat 1 . all ' ho ares-? .- . .po ur - [option .3]those n '~ hieh depth of fi ld i of no , one rn. ~Apertu
i al o the elem nl n los -up or m.a ro photograph r
that hovr.rcases p ular highlight-, itho out-of-focu
ireular or hexa onal hall . [o Lion 4 ].
F.a t shutter .pe d_ (1 /250
. . - /500
c.. a d
l/10 0 s . ar the , r ati fo1
po uies that
freeze action option . J whHe sl
utt . - pe Jd (I/60
e ~.. l /30 ec. and ] f ] 5 e c..) ar th b h"ndpanning [opt"o 61. The supe I v
(1/4 ,
/2 se ., and 1 , econ ar th r, ti e for,
b ~ ind
posur
thait implJ motion [o ~ ti ~ n ....]. '11:
'1-aclon n1ake up a total of . even er ativ x o. u1 ~ tool
to eall UJ on lvhen reach l 'fll for your goal of . . -hi . :i ng th .
ou
an
~ r ak
tJl"
~hr
down th
I.
32
r. ".
EVb
RE TIVE E.i PO
.33
'
'
'
- ~-
'
..
'
..
'
, .~
..
..
'
'
<
...
'
"
..
''
'
'
'
..
-
'
'
''
n ur dull th brio~htn
, f th ~a ul d.dn t ~'ill u
a ho], in th fHnL Th i . an1
g c1 o in1pli
thb .'~
,,d1en rou'' i a , i1nl lit 1ft urt nth- ntu11. , ath ch~aL.
- t the ap ,rlur vid - p . n o that a r 1uch
] igl t a I o ibl ." can pru . thr u crh th len . and onto I he
fihn/ r iLal ITl dia.
lth ugh Lh , J[ , on1m -ndation are ' reU~inl . nio . d, I -ould r ol d1 agr
ith then1 tnore. T y el up
th un u 1 , ti , o ph t graph Or' in on i t 1t r ult .
~1h. . B, , au th y , i v tli , o- . i leratllion to a far more
it 1 o ta L fun --ti )11 of p -rlu . : it ahi]it_ lo d tern1in
pth f fi,1 L
ju t' hat i lepth off .ld? If th r , a of ha.r n . .
(from n a1L far) within ' photogJaph. A you v In lo ~ ~1 t-ly n ti d ~~h - n ]o king at nagazine cal, 1 dar'"". gr "' ti g ,aid . or ]arw 1j t1 r, b ok- o1n phot. gra , b contain a gr, at l al ( f h rpn . ou Ini, ht , n1y. tifi ~ d y
t
t hniD u pro iona] p otograph r u ~o r ec r I
tr tn harrn ... throughout :Jtn i1nag - ' ,r ' am I ~.
f n1 th flo"' lll. in th imtn diate for ~ound to th di tant m u tair s 1 yond. ~Th n you t11r t a hi v ov rall
. harp , -in a otnpo ition like thi - . , u t ay fi , Lhat
wh n you focu . on tl or o-roun ] flo,~t r Lh . a. km untain
'O out of focu .. :' and -wh _, ., ' u o 1 on
0~rou
th nountain . the flo , r, r o-o out of fo u. r v had rno e
than one tudent ay to n o er th y
'' ' i h I ha I
on . , ,f tho e prof : - .o 1al' camera hat w, Id allo\\ rn to
g t x~ ctin , h 11 1Jn , f10n1 front t
~ k:
J y ant
b li ., it '\,\rh n I t 11th m that th y l , a v , o! ~ .' .r ju t
\,'\rou]d ,
.>J
'
to
P~I ' T
RE
.1
Oc
38 APER.l
1. ~ .
ut \ ha -,
hav ar distance etting~ . . Th , li ~
tan
ttino- a r ~ in1ilar to th d pth-of-field ale in
that lhey allow .rou to preset th d pth of fiell before you
take }our hot. nd, . inc . e ':)' , tor) teHing con1po ition
hen photograph a
scene like this, I
know I need to use
great de pth of field to
ochi~ev~ e sharpness throughout. I also call upon my
wide-angle-lens, in this case
my 20-35mm zoom. I set
my aperture to f/22 for maximum depth of fi eld and preset my focus so thot the d [.s,.
ta nc,e of 'two feet is o ligned
d i r~ ectly above the center
mark near the fron t of the
lens. And as ~ learned long1
ago, when l look through the
viewfinder, the scene before
me is anything but sharp .
This is because the viewfinders of all modern.,day cam'eras a1Uow for wide open
viewing1, mean ing1tlho1t even
depth of field not by refocusing the lens, but by combining a storytellli ng wide-anglle
lens with a storytell ing1~ aper
ture and w i~h the focus preset via the distance scale.
[Both photos: 20- 35 mm
lens at 20mm, f/22 fo r
1/30 s.ec.]
.
T, RYTf.U I
AP .RT RE
1-0
I EH.I
HF.
..
f/2 2
II
fuzzy when I
f/22
transforming
the fuzzi-
to sharpness. I then
adjusted my shutter speed
ness
(Note: To take
my meter
read ing, I first tilted the cam-
1/60
sec.]
wide-angle lenses?
Absollutely not, but the wideangle f.ocal lengths are most
often called upon becouse of
their ability to encompass the
I
I!
li
'
. 2 A P'EH'f . RE
c1
~.
AP'ERT , RE
1/60 sec.]
'
Zoo
0]) ~npus
nlax- 1 ikon, on o
anon fixed-lens
digiLalli can era _you n , doubl are awar tl at
th foe all 1 gLh of ) our zoo1n l
doe not one pond
to th fo ~ai-le u;th number. for a 35mn1 L ' camera.
th r yott -hoot "\Vith a
I\~inoha
~:~.. 1{'1
U RE
sc ne at an ap Lur of jl::.
qui ,r alent in d o~th o'
field to n1 _rf/ _: and uh .. equ ntly rou '" ould be able
to u ," a hutt I
d that. four to . fa ter- a blaz~
i.ng 1/500 se . 7h( ne t a tripod at that peed .
Lik . ."' , '"rh -n hoot] ng 1, , , -up of flo,vei - or of
delMdrop on a blade of gra. . (a -u1nina you ha re a
elo e-up/tna r feature .ou , an hoot at ./78 or }711
(equiva , nt uf }7 2 or f/64) and on e a ai. r cord
orne ar az g har n, , .n d tail that -.I R . can
only d a.1n of. nd a V ry LR u er k1 oV\rs, \i hen
photographina \i\ i th a 1na o ), n at .f/3.2 w ~ alway
u inO' our Lri od . in . h tt r pe d ar oft -n t o
slo\! to aC-ly andh ~( th cam ra and l :r -. Bult her
again ,, ith our a 11ur, atf/8 an.f/3,2 equival nt) you
can p 10L gra h the , In 1 V\rdrop at rnu h fast r hutt p I -n1ore , ft n than not w-ithout th 11 ed or
a tr.pod.
o.. i lt h r a do,vn. de to the e fi d~zoom-1 . n
d,gital ~an1era .. oth r t an the ab enc of a true ""rideangl - l n . e ~ th : ou an t be earl) a u c ful \i h n ho ting ingular- thenu~/isola.tio.l , orlpoiLion
e pag .
-55) a LR hooter an. Ev n
wid your ] , n.- - t to t
telepl1oto len lh, an ,,rith
. our apertur ' ,;yJ l op n, y u n truggl v~rith 1110 t
au mpt tc :r en l a ba kg-round hat r 111ain n1ut d
and out of focu . R mem r. v n v de op n- at j72.8
fc r xarn ~le-. ou till ha' e a d pth of fi ld equ i val nt
to f/11 on an .R. he1 ar a e ori cotnin ont
th .. 1n.ark t that an help in im s like thi (au~ i lary
len s clo. e-UJ flt r , an I uch , but b) th tirne ou
add i.t a~l u
rou reHlize that .rou ould ha
p - It
ahout th a1n an1ount of n1one for an I
t m.
nd finall n1o t fixed-zoom-1 n di~ 1l an1, ra
do not ha r a } kin l of di tanc, n1arkin u - on th 1 n
o } ou ,, on't 1 e ah]e to n1anuall) -et the fo u r Inaxi 111um f, pth of fiel a I e des( I; bed f(n th , _LR
u e1 . n t ad ou 11 hav, to r,-1 on e irnatinb our
fo u- d di ru., . '"hen hootin torfi lli 1g orapo ,i tion . To n1ake it a eas a po ib] do th - folio i g:
'V;Tith you len - et tofl8 orj711 and at th 1\rid 1 fo al
l ngth ('""'-9tntn) fo u on otn thin ~ th _ n that
fi f t frotn the camera.. h n adju t your hu Lte r
, p , d until a , orre t po ure i in, ~ at d ,a,nd , imp]y
hoot! 'en thou h obj , t i.n th vi '~ finder will
ap ~ ear out of f~ocus '\1 hen you do hi , ,, u 11 quick] y , e
on . our an1 as di I lc1y
r
thaL tho ~,
am,
object - record in hi:up o 11 after ' .u pr lhe .. hu t r rel ~ e.
1
46 iH
igita Ca eras
,
1_
_c
c~amera).
Si nee I didn't
f/ 4
for
1/30 sec.]
4~
Singular-Theme Apertures
he , cond p ttu, ~lakin~- ituatio
r hi, l
~ hen mbin
l! ith lai"
1 ns openin.o- ffl '.8 fl or
c1ttention to aperture cho], e i pm"amou- 1l .f75. ) a hallo ,_.1 d th of fi . ld re_ult . por rait , ither
i , "\'\hen 1n king \'\ hat I caU a ingu.lar-th.eme o1 eanclid or pn ed i a wood ca didat, for a , 1 hot o.mi. ola.tion compo ition. H , harpn i._
o. i tion. a i a fl ."\er a d an ' other ubject ' OU d llij k
le1iberat I ]in1ited to a i gl an~a in the to . ing out frotn at ot n i e bu y , 1 . . fb n . ou
fran1e l a' in a 1 ot er ol ~ect -bo h front of ru1d. I lib t l} eek out to selectivel focu on o-~ -. o-iven
behind the focused obj , t out-o ~fo u ton ~ an
. uhj -- the bluriJ background an l/or foi gr, un an
hap . This effect is a direct re ult o th ap rtur hoi .
all f rther attention to the in-fo u u ~ , L hi i a
ince d1e teleph01Lo len h.a a l1aJ].", V.f angl of v]e,,.r . tandw . -'vi uallaw often refeiTed to a , visua.l weight:
a.n 1 an in her dy shallo, depth of fi lcl it' oft . n h
" hat rer i _in fo u s under .toad b th ,
and brain
len of hoice fo the e t_. p of photog.rap 1ic ituatiton. ' to b of greate thnost importan e.
.........L ...
01
ed
from the
background.
encompass a moderately
wide and sweepmng v1ision
of the s urround ~ ng vineyard
and village in Beaujolais,
France. M oving in dose/ I
focused on the Ilion e cluster of
grapes, set the operture to
Butlou. I ~h re an
too] on the eamera ~hat can help d t rmin th be t ap rture ehoice for ingullim. . theln . , on1po ition ? y;
th .
i : the d pth-of-field pr ;, I unon. U\\fev r thi.. button i n t found on
cam :ra.
nd unfor'tunat ly v
vvhen it s present; it i often tb mo :t mi under tood ~ a
tur on the camera.
an
11 .
s ertng
imp a t e depth-of-field pre ie\1\. button is
t u
it 'nitiall confu .e many photographers.
t pi al con1ment hear from students in 1ny
"'ork hop i I pr ss t an everything just get dru:k. ''
'Ov r omng thi . di traction i n t at all diffi uh it just
take pra fee. H you1 ~amera does indeed ha e a
dep h-of-fi ld pr rie1N button h) this exer, ise: First,
et our ap . rture to the . tnallest nun1her--172.8 .f/3,.5,
or }74 for ample. . ith a 70mm or longer lens focus
on an obj e t close to you, leaving enough room around
the obj ct that an unfocused background is visibl in
the compo ition. Then, depress the depth-of field pr view button hile looking through the vievrfind r.
50 A PEH T
RE
t n
of fielld.
[Both photos: 7 5- 300mm
lens at 280mm . Opposite:
5... A 'ER
RE
depth of
fi.eld to render the back,g round an arrea of colorful
muted tones . The womarn
liens and shallow
[7 5-300mm lens at
200mm, f/5 .6]
. - II - IE
PER fU f E. 53
Helld of wildflowers,
not the
54
I I:. RTUR
lens and
1/12.5 sec.]
of
56
A. PE~~]
U H.E
lliptical rang and ' ventuallliy onto the film. The eff c t
i . . imilar to . our.in:g 1nilk onto an ps.jd, -dov n bowl::
only a ]i ttl milk r, 1 11aj n . on the enter l hi le mo ' ot'
the milk , :ill . o~f to th i
Du t . tb .. .att r ing f
th ] ight a "'ri ~ op n a , rtur do n l provid th kind
of l_
u -t - dg ...har~ ,n ,~ . that ap Jrt r . of f/8 to fl I
can. Wh n lio-ht pa s th~ougl1 ap J1ur of.f78 toj7ll
it i . -ont'in ~j to th _v.r t . pot on th el ipti al _gla .
o, who ca.r.es ''rhat aperture . ou u e '~ hen . hooting
on1posi tion "\vh r d pth of fi ld on e rn . are tninimal
at b t? _ou - hould! And , iron cally you should u.
''V_ho , re . apertuJre. (jl-8-jll I), if you lvant C[ itical
- harpne; and great -ontia t.
1
..
by
the early-
fnrontlight was
11
~ WHO
II
0 1 portrait
58 APELl'fl HE
111
~vlH
beautiful wife.
~~Who
the
aperturre to
f/ 11 and
f/11
60
for
1/250 sec.]
PF~ RI
RE
prin ipl- ab u ap ture in the big i\Tor1d app . r quail r to th .. .m.a ll wo lcl of the c ose-up. For in .tan ;
althou~h the ltVorld i 1naUer - much, much tnall r '"n
om a .- rou till 1nu t decide if ou " ant gr at
d pth of field (on to h o inches of . harpn , , in the
macr ' ~-I d) o 1 mited depth of fieid (one quart ~ r of an
in h). r mayh your .ul ject is a clo e-up that fall into
. ho ea ~e ? - aperture category:.
There are differen ,e .. between regular and ma ro ~ hot graph ho~v ver.
hen ou shoot close-ups it" - not at
aJl uncommon to find yourself on your hell sup . rting
your am ra and I, ns v_ith a teady pai of lbow - a
mall b an bag or a tripod ' ith legs lev l to th g1ound.
Th .]ight .t hift in point of - i w can chang th fo u . .
point d ""amatieally. And, s nee the clo --up\ odd i mag~
th
nifi d
en the li htest breeze -will test your pati n e'"rhat you feel a , a 5 1nph breeze appear a a 50 mph
gu - in )'Our ievvfinder.
n addition ince depth of field .al?Jva d r a e .as
you focu cio ~ er and closer to your _ubj t, th depth of
fj 1d in macro photography i e tr m ly halJo'"' The
d pth of field in elose~up photogJ"aphy x 1t n one-fourth
in front of and one-half be ond the focus d , u ~e .t vr~hile
ill regular photograph . the dep h of fi 1 i . i _;hibut d
on ~third in front of and nvo-third b ~ "" ond the ubject.
e dle to ay critical focusing and .a gain a .tead pair
of elbo'\ . a bean bag or a n-ipod ar ,~ . ntial in r co ding exacti~O" harpness '"'hen shooting lo . -up..
-.
10 MACRO PHOTOGR
~Pfn
63
several shots.
- d
tne
oamera
v1
1ew f1ndlerl- an
wwfh the COime ra's self-timer
0
. .......... ""-Lo
64 _PERT Rf.
ti ~ed-lens digital for this rea on, if for thi. rea on onl) .
,,
I ha"re a macro len thaL ean go to f/32 but to go
on top further to f/64 . . . oh, that \\rould be so njce ..
It ould tnake such a differ nee in much of n1v closeup \ork.
Granted, shutter p d: are alr ad
ln~N enouo-h
o, I '-'lOtdd patiently
\>\
ait
coveries.
This point-chipped,
abstract shapes~
(lind
1/8 sec.]
66 APER
HiE
Since I wa11ted to
soher shapes and
hues of the rose in a highly
cha rg1ed sensua l! way, it
01nd tones.
render the
mo
-hare uf
mn.ovi
hot on
\ \r 11-iHum.i nated ..tr
t . Di J you noli
that '"rh, n th amn r . f~oc u ed in elo .e on
th l~ara l r
the ba -kg1-ound lighu
appear as out-of-fo u cir -lie or hexagon . of olor . I ike
th . dea of vi ual w, ight thi i , anoth . r opti_, al phenomn~
enon: in . lo. e~up photography any out=of-focu pot of
light app aring in ide the vie\vfind r "\1Vill r cord on fi m
or digital media in the hape of the aperltur in us .
dditi.onally the di tan e het'\\reen the main subj ct and
th background light deteimine , ju t how la:rge and diffu d th . out--of. .focu spot .
b . Th .pots are al o
ca ed specular highlights.
To produce a. background of out--of-focu , circles ou
mu sl use a w"de-open aperture . This i the onl aperture
that is 100 pereent circular n hape . . . n other apertures
are hexagonal _ o. hether you're using a macro lens (for
1.\,.h.ich a l\ride-open aperture may bef/2.5 orf/4) or a 11telephoto zoom vrrith the --macro - etting or extension tube
on your 35-70mm .zoom ("\l\7 hen ' ide open i .f /3 ..5 or
f/5 .6 you rn ust ph ysicall set the aperture to the \'\rideopen setting if ou ant to record cir .ular h a ~ e .
H you have a fondness for hexagonal hape ., imply
u .e any aperture except 1 ide open. The oon er you put
yourself in po ition to explore and exploit the e out-offo u hape ., the ooner ) ou can begin to record colopositi.ons of gre at gr.aphie syrnboli m..
Finall don't forO'et to photograph the sun. I've aiTived
in . ountless meadow at da:wn or jt1st before su nset and
focu d 1ny . lo-e-up equiptn ent on a sin ..le of blade of
grass or seed he ad . framing it against a large and loom-in -, out~of~focus ''ba_ll ' of light. W hat I record ed 'Was of
course not: the actual sun itself but rather a circular
record of its di . taut rays of light.
n . our
thalt o n ta~ n n~gl t n
wn
68 AJPERT R
J.
.,
~-
l
raJ a . t ~i ng of Clflr t na: tree light and n a
dark roon1, plug then1 n. ro1n across lhe
roon1, look at the 1 ghts through } our close-up
len (either an atcLual rnacro le n at zoorr1 len v\iith a
macro/ clo e-foc us setting or a hort telephoto len
v/th an tension tub ). No'v place . our hand oul in
fronr of the lights and ocu ~ . our amera on your
hand until iL s sharp. ou hould ee a host of out-offocu hape of light behind your han .
~ gain, to record the
out-of~o u
hapes as
circles you mttst u e a '";ide-open ape1:ture (the
n1aHest aperture nun1her . 'fo record these shapes
a hexagon , c on ider hooting at .f/8 or.f/11. If ) our
camera ha a depth-of-field preview button, pre sit
onee you ' e set the aperture to .f/8 oTj/1] , and note
how tl1e hapes change f1.on1 circles to hexagons.
ow that ) ou ve practiced on Christ1nas tree
]i . ht , -c on ider puttin thi technique to '''ork at any
time of veaT. Theater Inarquees building li crhts and
even ca1 head- and taillights can he rendered as outof-focus spots of light. Sin1plv look at any of these
subjects with ) our close-up equ ipment fiorn a distance of ten to tvventy feet and enj ov the 1 ght s ow.
Far those shooting wit fihn catneras these specular
highlights can be great e]ei :H~ nts Vrlhe shoot ng double e posures of city scenes at dusk or nighL tin1e.
Shoot. the a. version of the scene in focus, and then
another ou t of focus.
f/4 for
1/500 sec.]
y brother Jlim promised me but one day
off~ slave driver that
he itS1 if I would help him
builld his new home tihis past
seed head
69
hutter rnechanis1n i to
arl~nit Hght into the amera- and onto th
fibn or d~gita ntedia- for a specifi~ length of
ti~n . ll LR cameras f1lnt or hgital and
n1o t :ligital point-and- hoot e:tnlera offer a
l Lion of huu r . p . d hoice .. Shutter peed eontrol th ffe t of motio in our pictures . wh th r that
n1oti n Ie u1tt from yol.J leliberately moving the cam ra
hil maki1 .g m image or ftorn our ubje~
a~ ~ vng
.ithin your eo1npo iti n . Fast . huuer . pe d fr~ z
a Lion., whil
lo"V o e an reeor( the a tion a a ~ lur.
I
""';..
li U'JTER ' P
p unlt il now. our di cu ion has been about th riti al rol ap . rtu p ays in rnaking a trul v creativ . x . ou:r . Thar. all about to eha_ng a hutt r .
d Lak
c n iL T t ge. Th r l are t\'lrO itu.a.tion . in l hil h JOU
hould mal th
huuer peed your fir t p io t r: \vhen
th ' . ne off>r, notion or action opportuniti
lr when
you fin your lf ho tin in lo\' light wit 1 Otlll a tri . od.
.n
world i on a tion-pac ed, motion- ~11 d o- rportunity, and hoo ing the ri 1t shut~el~ ~ p d fir L an th n
adj . ting the ape1ture is the order of th , ilia y for capturtnrr motion In .our rn1ages.
1
l/l5 sec.]
Bas
utt
Spee( s
uo'
\ 1
~v r
fin ani intri , t d Lawl ~ , of ubje ~t that \~.-rou }, oth 1 v.ri b tnoviJ g lou u rnckly. - nd ordy \\ ith th ai l o.l
th shutter . p~ d can 1 hotogr 1phers in1plv n~ulion,
en1pha izin ..- i Li rrn o n1 r n1ent in a con1 o it' on hy
1. nnino al fl!Y ' 1iL iL.
I
_ I
ear'i ng th e sound of an
oncoming tra wn, I hurriedlly turned my .attention awary from flhe sunflower
7':
Freez ,1
OtLOT
'I
Cl
cr.
~6
H i TTER PEEJJI
pafientandwas soon
rew arded. The w ind picked
up, a111d with it, ev.en larg er
swells began to form . .My
As
1
a resul t,
FRKEZTNG MOTION 77
enoug1h to bri1ng1the!
c01mero ond tellephoto lens
alon~g. As my daughter
Chlloe's expression ottests,
this is a great way to cool
off on ~a hot su mmer day.
And
kds
the
~8
H TTER - I
E l~D
photographing the
birds that c.am,e to my bird
1
feeder. Obviousl y, a bird
Moor D i.ves
o r ~.ru11 ra today com
full)
.1pped lvith
a built in n1otor dri v 01 '~ j nd r "\\rlnch
aUo\
photo: rapher-. t, , att 1in a higher
degre of Lc
" hen recordi g n1o 1ion. ~lit 110 t
the aid of.a rnot ,r dri'e or \1\inder if' oft, n a hit~and
rnis. propo if on a you try to anlti ipat the e act
right JTIOffi, nt to fi- the butt I.
i tl th aid of a
V\rin r o n1otoT drive, you 'c n b git firing the shutter ev ral econ ahe d of d1 p ak aetio and con( nue fi1 ng thr, ugh to a second or h'\ aft r, and it'
a very . a , t t at one if not "" v ral -of th e po7
ure
fREZf G J 11 TIO N
'9
Panning
otographing n1otion ,~hi e ou.r
ar.n ra r m ain _tationary (a -. de cribed on
th pr viou pag ) . pannin _i a t ch ique
photograph r . u_ in \\ hich they del:ih . ~
nEk -
Panning rae
a11: ,,, - qu.te onunon yeru ago. In
thi -i~uation, fron . . ur pot in the grand tand you
v~rould b -gin to fol o'~.r a ra e ar . mo , ment with rou
am 1a a L car ent _.rou1 fran1e.
t, whil hold' g
th atn 1a, you p uld -mplv mo' e in the .ame direetion a th ar, ] ft to righ or 1-ight to le t keeping th ear
in th .am pot in your 1ie,l\rfinder as be t ou auld and
firng at will. You hould make a po.nt to folio"' through
"'ith a u1.ooth 1notion. ( ny sudd n top or jerl y mov ment ould adver ely alter the panning ef~ t.) 11f1.e
r~ . ulting in1a oc boull how a rae
ar in focu a,uallin t
a backuround of a . treak~ d .olo1fuJ blur.
lhe in1portanc of the b~ ~ ck.oTound 'j":rh . n pannin u cannot be ove1 tate d. ~Tithout an appropri at backgJouncl
n/60 se.c::. at
my exposure
in the m idldJI,e oF
leng1th of my 2().....35mm
zoom lens to 20mm 01nd the
speed exposure.
[20-35mm lens at 20mm
~
/4 sec. at f/22]
01
panning photograph of o
bea r feeding in
fl
stream; I
somehow managed to
PA N NG
8~
TTER
I EE.D
industrw
al sparks? In the falll
of 2002, I was offered an
a1ssignment shooting steel
miUs. I photographed
numerous sublects over the course
of five darys, i ncll uding a
number of varied compositions of hot steel and fly'ing
sparks. At one of the five
mills I photogra1phed, thirtyfoot lengths of twelv&inch
sfee pipe We re sen t down o
long trock wher~e the e'l1d of
eoch was then cut by an
automated machine. lt was
there that I set up my ~ri pod,
about te111 feet from the pipe
itself. Despite ~his disla1 nce~ I
found myself sweafri ng profu s,e ly, as the heat coming oH
the pipes Was well above
two thousond degrees.
With o focall length of
1
hether it coscades
down through rocky
streams or over
basalt-la1y,ered cliffs, waier
cap~ured at a slow shutter
LH C I G M TT
H5
EXI
a S ationary Cam ra
ho ting mov nent "' hil the an1era r mai.n tationa11 relcztice to the ubj t offer an ana
r---.- of po
ibi ]tie . fry . r ur lr nd at thi
e1ci
th ne J tirne . ou vi it th local playground or
arnu ~tn - t park. I promi i lt \Vi II h lp you discov r
rnan y 1110 rnotion-fill . d uhj t . I a playground,
fin,dl a \ ing -et \ -ith a Land of t e in the ba
ground. 1\ you it in th wiug "'id1 v ur camera a d
wid ~angle len , et yo r ltut r .peed to 1/ 0 , .,
and pojnt and focu h an1 r -- at ~our out"" tJ: tch
le (pr ferabl y \'vi th ha t) . h n adjust rhe ap rture until a colT, , t o ut is indi ated by th runera :; In ter. 11
t. LaJt ~ wingin keepi.n ' both
ann carefUlly' rappe I around th chains or rop , of
th \fill~ . or COlli" e ' 0~ C you rea h a good - V\ringing ac tion pr, tl1 . hun, r r 1 a e . Don't he itat to
tak a numb r of ex o.ur -._ . Th re uh' illl e harp
]eg uiTounded b_ a ea of nov em nL- an in ag
tl at . ay' '"'.lt n1p fo jo) .for . pi .' ba sprunof
xt' 1no e to th . , - aw. Pia the ca.1nera o rhat
it J a ~ e r sts flat o tl . ~ ee. aw about a foot ~l front
of v.rhere) o 'll be tsitting. ~T" th the chi d or adult itting on the other nd foe on th 111 wilh yo r --huLt r peed et to /8 e . nd adjust }our ap rtur . .
h n begin th UI ~and-do,~\i n1otion of th rid --k , pin one hand on th
a1ne1a of eoui .e and
hoot a ntm1b .r of Xf o ur at c if rent 1nt. r a
wh"l . continuing ~t ee. a fl.l. The nd I ult . a
harplv focu e p r on againt a background of
lreaked blu1 .
At a 1 an1u. . In 1 t pad , ~lalk ov 1 to th Ill rr -goround and hop o . board. Wait until the 1~.d g rs movinu at a good pa , a1 d lrVith your . hutter sp d e t to
1/3 ec .. fo u on a p J", n or opposit you. - dju t
- our aperture and fire awa ' Th nd 1 ulL is <n
again a sharpl_ fo ''Use I p on agairu t a ba kground
of , \\riding tr ak: . \'(r. uld that rn.-~ke
tise1n nt or D anlamin , or what?'
1
86
~ f-HJ'I T ~ .
P EE D
underexposed smlhouettes.
[35- 70mm
l~ens
at 50mm,
[1\iiP YI
, MOll' ) l
8~
h ze Zoomi1 g
do you
-.tationa
ubj'e t
'1no ,.. You zoon iL! ln oth 1 " ord ., vou
p - ss the h tt r r l a e while zootnin
O"\-
1na
you1 len frotn on fo<..:alli di tan Eo anoth. ith th p b tafion of zoom len e
on the tna.rket today, I'm urp i d ilia h z , min -duri g- xpo ~ure techniqu ha 1t J n r 1v d..
Z 01nin your len '' hil . pr ]ng th . hutter 1 ea e
will1 roduce th 'f, ired r ult but llOt t ithout practice.
Don t be disappoint cl if your i r t f '\\T attem t don 1
mea u:re up. Reineinl) ~ lll) nurnl er n rule for aH you
fi'ln1 hoo
out th . , : fb 1 i . ch ap '" h n om pared to
the b utna of a mi , d hot.. 1~ 'o r tho of . ~ . u u. ing a
point~ancl~ hoc t di~ital am ra
1 1ay ee1 youT
~h my cameral and
35 70mm lens on a
tripodf I first colmposed this lone oak -at sunset
at a focal length of 35m m
w ith the add ition of o lee
sunset fi liter. With a shulier
.8
11 1 TTF.R 'PEED
Making Rain
fall he di overie ] v made during ID)
tw nty y ar. of . hooting n1 favorite il creating 'rain i has pro ided me with hours
of j ~y~ i ed pl otograph. . Thi technique
h al. .o r . ullited in num lions. s.tock photo
ale to gr , ting ard and . aJ ndar companies, as wellli as
to hea1thcar -related . lient .
Th rain ffe t is '. a . to achie\ e. On lea1r 1nornings.
I et up an o ci iating sprinkler so that the w~ater is back~
1t a it cas ad dn\ n .. I then gather up some flowers or
fut and ar.a g them in pot , small cedar bo es bO'wls
or vas . . To -.ff ctiveh produce the look of falli n . a , I
u e a shuue speed of l /60 ee. I 1nove in close to the
backlit C'.t bject and adjust n1y ape1ture unt 1 the light
111et r nd'", ales th.a1t a cone t expo ure is set. I then sitnpl / hack up,. co1npo e a pleasing composition,, and turn
on th sprinkler. I hoot only "vhen the Sleeping arc of
the o ciHating prinkler be ,ins to fall just b hind and
then onto t.he flo, ;rer . Also I almost ah, ays ehoose the
-200mm or 300mrn fo al length for rain shots, not so
much hecau .e thee ocallengths hav an inherent halIo" depth of field but because the r e nab,l e me lo record
plea ing composition \\rithout getting '\i\re t.
I
.shoulld f,alling
rain
If
on t1
he st1raJw berrm
es. Then
with my shutter speed set to
1/60 sec. 1 II adj.usted ~he
aperture IJintil the light me-ter
indk01tedl (l correct exposure,
whiclh was at f/ 119. I backed
up, composed the scene you
see here, turned on the sprinkler, and fi red off several
frames ea:ch time the droplets
. . I TTER
EEn
f you're
:I
1/60 s~ec .]
'
MA KI G RA JN 91
''
?~ i , a
hat , hould rny xpo . r
r . alr ad ' aid an oft, n- . ird
q
.tion fr m. nl} .tud nt . nd
again a I ta~ - 1 earli r m ' f equenltr
r ] 'l - althouuh ]t rna r at fir t
appearing flippant- i itnpl _ ur po ure houl
be correct creatively correcl that i . _ r
di cu ,,e d
in ountles, work h - and on-Hn photo course .
a bi vn a a r ati l )- correct Ll o~ ur is. p.aratnount to
a pholtog apher abilit to b on. i t - n . IC ahr\raJ the
I
fi1" ~ t priorit of ev . 1] uc ful photogra her to et r-nline V\7hat 1 ind of expo ur opportuni Ly h )r h i . fa . _
in : o 1e that requir, 0' at d -pth of field or ha lo ,,
e )th of field, or on that r quir~ s f[ ezi ng th a tion~
i1nplying n1oti n or panning. 0 , Lhis ha h , n d 1 Imined, the real qu . tion . n - 1~ ~' Tbat hould my p su e be?' but 'From wher:e do I take .my- met- r rea~di.ng.
How ver, h for I an~ l r L .at qu ~ tj, ~ n 1 t ta
a
look at th ndatio upon ,,,., hi I ev ry
o u i
built: light~ O~ ver th y ar , \1\ ll-rneani ng photograph r
I
freeze action,, to pan, or to imply n1otion i.n your imagethe l:i,ght will be there regardless. I can-t tell ou how
many limes I e met studen~s ''"lho think an e .. posure for
the Hp1ht i
9.
Light
beHer
96 LI .HT
part of thre e
days . The
"
"\\
ha to offer.
noLher good exercise i to explor the changing
lil)"ht on your next vacation. On just one da , ri e
before da,~,rn and pho 1ograph some subject for one
I our followin urnise. T en head out for an afternoon of hooting beginning se eral hours. before and
la ting h r\rent} tuinutes iollowing sunset.. otice ho,\
Io, -angled frontlight pro ides even illurnination,
how idehght creates a three-dirnensional effect, and
ho1" shung backlight produces silhouette . After a
da, or h\1 0 of this 70U H oon di cover ""-r hy the }jo,ht
"
of the midday sun s reserved for rela"'!k::ili.g pool.ide.
7
ing
trh is imag1e
above of
98
IG1-I'f
I/ 125 sec.]
f/ 16 for
of
Frontlight
hat i m.e _nt b) hontl" aht or frontlight=
inu: lrnagjn lor a noment that your
can1 ra l n
i . . a giant podight.
J~ v~ ryw r
o _ point the lens you
' -ould light th ubje t in fiont of you.
Thi i fronLlighti.nu ancl thi i - hat the un do s on
unn: r . ay - of our . . I u to fro dightin .' abi ity to for
th rr1o t Jar~ venly illumina r e a ubjeet, n1any photograph r on ider j ~o be th ea ie t kind of light" ng t~
1\' ork wit) n. term ~ of 111 t ring; e pecially \'\7 h n shoot in oland. a
w_ith. bl _e . k- .
o i jt r a11y afe to a that frondi- ht doesnt po e
an gr at e po
- hall nge ? ~~1aybe it c oesn t in tenn
of m~ -t ring_ u in t -rm of te tin . your endurance and
d otion~ it migh. Do ou mind - ettin up earl} or tay1
. runpl : I h qu~ rty and olor of frontligh~inu are b . tin th fit ,t . _our ah . r . unri
an l luring
th la t ' hou uf daylight '"J ~-rue \'\7a rnth of thi o den-
s the la~e.-afte'rnoon
front~ ight cost its glow
across the fa1ce o f this
l1avender Farmer in Provene:e,
I d~dn't hesitate . Witrh my
ca mer01 set to aperture-priori-
FR
1GHT IU
Overcast Frontlight
f all the diff r nt light inc- onditi on that
photc .ura ~ her. -
a t f1:ond i hting
is the on that rna y on ider to b the
safe~ ~t . l 'hi. i b au e O\ rc . ~t fond .ght
ill u m i nat . mo t ubject even l) 1naking
11 L r reacli nO' , imp~ , . Th . . tu 1 , f cou1.
that the
ub} L i n't a land, .ap u
a dull a} k, that u l ~ j L a1 1d ]ioht orn~ inafo
d om . extra a .- \1\rhich
I addre - in th , hapt r on pe .ial techni(fll an I filliter
on J a o-e 138- 51.)
I
II
13403
IH NK B OAT
102
] HT
'I
[80-200m m lens at
f/11 f01r 1/30 sec.]
1711 /,l.r e
B 'l rnJ't :
..,.. 114/ilh....
'
l-IfT!!; ; ! OflJ!
120mm 1
OV ERCA T
n:.
NT I HT 1 .
104
I liT
IlL gener~
o fh.er form, ~an d. , sne
.
ously offered me several
lifers of gas to get me go"ng
aga~n. But before I lknew it,
I'd spent more than five
hours with the wom.an and
her daug1hter t01lki ng about
life on the f~ arm. ~O F the marty
photographs I made that
1
lens to aperrure-priority
mode, set
lens at 1OOmm,
f/ 1 11 for 1/60 sec.]
Sidelight
ronLlit u_ j c t a u:l eo In po tion. photographed und an o r t . y o Iten appea
t.wo-din1en ional ven though our e) e t
rou the u] ~ t a._ dep h. To c ate the il t
ion of thr ~ -dim n ionaHty n iln1 yo ne d
hi hr ghts an l had ow - i ~ other lVOr
ou ne d icleli ht. For e1. eral hour aft r Urillri.
se' ral hour
before sun et yo l find that id lit ubJ t abound
';hen ou .hoot to rud the n rt] or outh. Mak it a point
to take ea h p ollograph a th indicated re ding,, plu
take an addi iona] .po . u r at -1 if . ou ar shootin01
lide or di al and an additi nal -po ure t +I if you
are u inrr o1or n gati'v fihn. Th hado"" 'n any i leli
cene ('.vh th r on fihn or digi al media becotne exce . i el dark w . lh
en i u derex o d and thi
I
. u l ~ ct
of three-o(timen i nali y.
fihn thi + 1 "PO u
den n u,a ti to . n
increa e d e con 1ra t in
ha iz d 1ic, ly, 1n t
I _
p1ih.
he spaces in which I
work are sometimes
cramped. When th's
1ll
'
106 U . HT
it b Her
with
ile working on a
projed ~hat featur,ed
wome111 in 'industry/' I
came upon a fem ale welder
working on the docks of the
Portland, Oreg10n, shipya1rdls.
She was taking a brief break
from maki ngl countless welds
108 liGHT
camera
1/60 sec.]
is is dossic storytelling
stuff--and one of those
shots that Comes to
you, u rather than yo1.1 go~ ng1
to it. With my oamera a1111d
11
ll1
my wife
returning1home from
the markeH
sn
1~ ..
GHT 109
Backhght
a ldi 1t an } eonf 1. ing. orn beginning
ho ograp .. 1 , a utn thaL ) a kl. crhr.ing
n1ean th - light ~our
u uall) th ., un iiJ
ou r outdoor is h hi d the photographer
hitti1 th ron I. of th . bj t.. Ho, ev r, th
oppo ite i true: th livht i b hind .th -) u~ject, hin.inu th
f[ont of the photograph ran( the ba .k of the .ub1ect. Of
th three prin1ary lightinur on . if on ,.....-frontli ltino- llid l"ghting an I } a klightino'~backlight eontinu to 1 e th
bigO'e t ouro - of both urp.i a d di appoint nent.
One of h n L hiking ff ct a 1~ieved ,rith ba
1 ght i ilhou tting. Do . ' OU r I } mber 1naki g your fir t
ilhouett . If ou'rc ]ik In t oth r photogr:tpl .. r
ou
probably a hi
d it )y a id nl. lthough .ilhoue t~
are I 1.hap- th ~ n1o t popu Ia t r . e of i1nag - rr1any . hot arapl1 -. fail to get t
, po ure col ct. hi jn oni ten y i u uall_ a re._ult of l n . choic and rn t, ril g
1
aLiun. For
'wl n you u
L lephoto 1 n .
u h a a 200nun 1 n , you 11u t l n
'\'h r I o tak r~ ,ll.l r
r --t T 1 adling. in e t~ l p oto len - T a e th imab
IlaJn ifie~ ~ tion of v ry b 'ght back r nd ' I!Jnri .
nd
. un 1: " the lllicr t n1 ter e thi n l:i if.i d brightn ,
n ID 'UWO" . ' a . expos r .~} cordingly. u~ _rou w '-' . Lo
. oot at that po ure, you d n up '\ViLh a pi tu of a
'" Hm1le,
1
\ '
aik
01'"
lng
01
1- 0 Ll .HT
II
11
UGH
111
112 LIC HT
p ~ rien , d land. cape shootr . , a they eek out ubj ct Lhat '_ t
v 11 nature
ar, , on1 what transparent: 1 av,
. cl h ad a 1d de'"'T
ecl 1 icier ,,,reb to nar 1 "' but a ' . Ba kli J1-1 al,,.,{.~llJ
a fev
po .. ur opti n : you . a either silhouBacklight i fa ored by
com~era
up toward the
back~
frost-covered w~eb.
5
[24mm lens~
1/250 se,c.]
f/ 16 for
Exposure Meters
s discu ed in the fi11 t hapt r at th enter of the photogTaphic ti angl (ap rtur
c-
1,.
'
t.
116
lGHT
recomp . , th cene o that lhe subj t i , no 'V , ff- nu fire th . shutter release you ..tiU r cord a
correc l e ~PO u .
nd fiinaH - ther i matrix m.e.t ering. Iari n1o IL rin(Y,
arne on th rna ket about t n - eai . a o and 1 a in
b n r vi d and impTo - d. It rar that you ll firK a
earner _ on h mark t toda that do n t off I a kind of
met . rin:g
t n1 buih on th OJri9"inal id a f malrmx
met ring Thi hold true for mo t LR and digital "anlera .. attit metering relies on a. n1i roc hip that ha b n
rogrammed to - e thousand of pi t --taking ubje t . fron1 bri ht white snowca1 ped p ak to th dark,
an n an . everythin in between.
ou po nt , ,
a1nera tovvard your subject- n1atrix n1et ring r , ogniz. .
th - ubj ct (-Hey I kno,i\r thi cen ! It' . h. ' r .t on
a ~ unn~ da~ .' and .ets th expo ur a r, ngl . y; t a.
1
to
.1
E 'PO
"II
RE A ETER
11'
18o/o
fo \rhat rua b
ur ~ ri. ing
: our
.mn -ra , g t rneL r wh ther a rag ent r-w r."'d rnatri , 01 p
doe not ee
th ,vor lin -iLher living coior ~ black and
v'{h t but rath r a - a neutral gra . In a clition you1 r fl ct -d -lighL .rn t r i. alli o al"brat d to
assume that all tho r uual u-l"ay , 1l j .t
ill refle -t
back appTox.itnat 1y lBo/o of Lh 1ight that hit 1hen1.
Thi ound i.n1 1 , ouuh hut m
o L n than not
it s th refl ctan of light ofl a gi en . bje t that , reates
a bad xpo ur . not the liu,h t that . t1 ~ . 1Lhe ~ubj ect.
lnauine that you arn "' aero . a hl k at a ~eep auain t
a vvhitl
a~l d in fL]] unlight. f Oll
re to 110 e
in Jo an ll-t d1 m -L r 1 ad th light flectinrr off t
cat th n1e eJ \roull indi at a . p if}, r adi.niJ'. If you
were to th n point th arrruera at .nly lhe white wall f
expo ure n . t~ \l\ ul 1 r nde~ a , parat , di tin t read~
ing. Thi aTiation \ ro ld o ur b au . all.thou.orh th
ubj, t ar
nly j]l ~n1i nate l th r r, flecti e ~qualities
radi all lift r. I .ample h ,w-hit~ 'V.rcJ] '~vould refl ct
O\'\f
'.an ]
it refl
d Bo/t.
by wh te
COiieS
II
The Gay Ca
I fir t 1 arn d about l . ,o/( refl ,c tan e., it
took me arwhil to at h on . n tool that
, nabled m. to und r tan it ll\~"& a gra ar ..
old by most can1era tor . gray ar I,. om in hand
1f{hen you hoot right and dark ubj1 .t1 , u . h a , white
and} b ache novrir- ov r d fi ld bla k anmals or
b]a k shin r car .. Rad r than ointing our camera at
the . ubject, imphr homd a gra_ ard in f ont of _'our
,... . ...,.L ..
ov rrid
..
1,
ollowi ng a heavy
f,all in Oregon's
snow;.
WillameHe Valley, I headed out a1t first li'g ht and photog1raphed this 1lone oak tre,e.
Using a 50mm lens and a tripodJ II first set the aperture to
.f/8 and then adjusted the
shutter speed untill 1/30 sec.
indic.cded o correct exposure
in the vi ewfinder. The result
(opposite/ top}1was. that the
meter turned all of my wlh ite
snow gray.. Why? Although
white subjects 1refllect 36% of
120 LIGH
got son1ething on your hod that . ork ju .t as '' ellbut ou 11 ne d th gra ard to h . lp .ou it itiall . H
you're e\er in doubt a out an_ r . o ure situation
m, ter off th alm of our hand. I no\ your pa m isn't
gra r but ou tl
imp]~ u~ e . our ray ard to calibrate'' your palm- -and on
ou e d ne that, }OU ean
let.lve the
ard at h rn .
To alib:rat your alm ta e your gra card and
cameta into full un and
t rour aperture to f/8.
.. l1ile filling th flarn with the gray card (it oesn t
have to b - in fo
) ljt t our h tter speed until a
eorrect e po u i indi. at . d b the ca~:nera liaht
meter. No h ld d palm of our hand out in front of
your 1 n .. Th , am era m~ ter ho 1Jld read that you ar
about + /3 to l top ov r, ~ po , d. ake a note of thi .
Th n tak th gray ard once ao-ain into open . had
o Ta
needed
~and,
subsequently,
renders an underexposed
image. One of the easiest
indcated exposur~e.
However, II chose to i1g1nore
it, and a1s you ~con see her~e,
the s.e cond exposure of
1/115 sec. is the oorr~ect one.
[Bo~h photos: 35- 70m m lens
at 50mm. Opposite~ top: f/8
122
r r ~ , .IT
QfL, nli me~ wh -n hooti-ng Ull d r Jiffi -uh F gh!Lwnu . i uaf 1 (' Ji,dleb gh n ba light be in th n~ o pri 1n 1ry
'arnpl an int r al di put n1a_r t ~ k~ pla ~ a - _rou
' tl over ju. t her
a.ctl: you hould point y r
r 1> rt-t to tat
m ler :r ading. I kn ~~v of '"
on ' Hili' r
uali i d to 1n iate th
dill I ut, - b t\\ - n you . nd
y UJ. )iuh tn t. r ~han th - k Bro 1h r . The_r re not
bia d. Th y , ant only to of r th o
o] u lion that
' ork - e c h n very ti 1 1, _ o on u n
a
Brother
Blue. k 1, tl uo-to J 'or tho , . ,.v]nt~ r land ca e ~t::t:::
pag 12 ~1 ' ~ ~a k abr. do portrait . b ighL l]ow -f1o~\r -r
I
close~u
Js and fi 1 of d p pu1pl
r. Thi.
rneans rou take a 1neter readin of th
. _y
and u~ e that expo ure tc rnak . . rour imag . h n ,_ hoot~
int; ba .lit unri
and un ,e t Iand , ap
Brother
Backlit Sk r ou o-to ~ . '1 hi m ans _., ou ta.k a
meter ead llg to the ide of th u in th - ,
n , n .
u e tl 1at readi g to 1nake yoLu in1aqe. h n ooting ity
or country c nes at du k, Broth ->r D.u ky Blue . k ' g t.
the call 1nean 1g _rou take . our n1eter r a ding fro n th
du k ky. nd . '"'h n aced with oa .tal .cene or b k
r, fle tions al u m~is o un t all on Brother Refle ting
kJ 1neaning .) ou ta
rour rueter readin fron1 th light
1efl. cting off th . urfac of e11 water.
Warning: 'O nce you e call d upon the ky rotl ers
) our an1era'' h ght met r " n let ou have it. ou will
1
ou hav u l Br L. r Blu ~ 1 y an l t
the ex l 0 ur . . ,. our li.gh L :n11 l r - ill g , into a tirad . '"rh n
. ou reeon1po hat fJI[ondi I wi t lan I ap ('" r ~ , u
nut. . '! ~ ve got e re : of 111_. own and kno"v hat rnl ..
noti L. at one
1
disastrous.
Granted, the sky is now 1 stop overa
exposed, but 11-~>' s a weIcome ;11r01d. e-on
HE
OTHER
123
124 LICHT
and
1/60
sec.]
en shooting backlight~
.
sets-and especially
wHh a telephoto lens- C<all 0111
Brother Bock/it Sky. In the first
exposure, the wlndmilll gets lo.st
in a cloud and ols'O is a bit too
dark. Thi's wos the reslJlllt of l~s
iening to the meter. But, when I
took the exposure usi ng1Brother
Backlit Sky-alwarys to the left
or right of' the sun, ,o r above or
below it ( l eft)~l was able to
record a much better exposure.
[80-200 mm lens at 200mm"
.L
one minute .
Aga ~n,. the lighti'ng challenge here is ~h at the llight
l_ l.l w I1e n presen tme-te r '''frea IlK.S
ed wit1
h b>la1ck or white subjects, and does everything it
can to render them os gray.
Due to ljoders dark skin
color, the l'ight meter interpreted her much lower
reHected-light value to mean
that the exposure time should
be muclh longer than the
1
'norm.'' So, I put Mr. Green
Jeans to use and pointed ~he
light meter toward the bouq1uet of camatlions she was
holding1.. I'd already determined this wos a "Who
~cores?" composition, ond so
I chose an f/8
aper~ure.
flow,ers,. I adjusted
my shuHer speed unt:il a -2/3
1:...6
ICHT
--
is is a dassic examplle
both of what the Ii~ ght
meter w~ants 'to do when
con~ronted wi'tih white (in tJhis
cnse the water in a waJt~erfalll')
. L . . RE. )I
f
d 1lf1rerent
exposure was
y day,
Bryant
P'a1rk in
Son Francisco is an
acrv~e place, ~illed wmth
people. But where do all the
people giO when the sun
goes down? To dlinner;
ploys1 parties, and the
movies] That was okay by
me
illGHT
.f/2.8
4 seconds to 8 seconds to
16 seconds to 30 seconds.
Since the camera d~dn't lhave
on actual sh utt,e r speed selec:~
Hon For 30 seconds, I lhod to
use the B setting and, with o
locking cable release, f1ire
the shuHer wh illle keeping a
dose eye on my watch.
[Both pho~os: 80-200m m
lens ot 200mm. left: f/22 fo1r
1160 sec. Above: f/2.8 for
30 seconds]l
2 seconds]
e Arova1is mountain
range in the Northern
French Alps iis a skier's
paradise] and th e vlloge of
Gr,a nd Bornh01nd sUs ~n the
va.Uey floor of thes~e impressive mountoi,ns. Ws 0 1 town
thort offers wonderfurt lowlight photo opportunities if
you con put off eafrirng dinner
For half an hour or so!
With my camera ond 3570mm l,ens on or tripod, 'I set
the focal len,g th to 35 mm
01111d the op,eriure to .f/2.8 1
and then roris,ed the camer.cl
to t1
he dusky blue sky above
the mountain rarnge. I odjusted the shutter speed unrtill th e
meterr irndicoted 1/8 sec.. as
a correct exposure. I then
recomposed~. stopped the
lens down 5 stops to f/ 16,
129
exposure-chose a shutter
owo~te d
by On
number of stops. (1/4
my exposure time
~equal
sec. to 11/2 sec. to 1 second
t:o 2 seconds to 4 seconds to
8 s~econds is 5 stops}1.
30 seconds!
for
30 seconds]
f/4, took
a meter
132 llG H
is nothing1.
But wait! Si nee I wa~nted
to shoal 01 long exposure
and use the first exposure 1
took using Brother Reflecting
Sky, l1hod to do the m1o1th.
Si nee f/ 4 was c~orr ect at l
second, ~hen f/5 . 6 for 2 seconds would a lso be g1ood, os
1
50mm,
n e'
.1
134 LIGI T
several! ye ars
sky, but I
I H1'
f/16
for
NO LO\V-LICII
seconds]
P I T GRAPH .
13.5
Deliberate Overexposure
p until nov~r r . harl. d a lot of -olid and
basic ioformaf o - informati n lt hat will ge'i
you l,vb.ere l a t to go and back again. But
now I 'Want to how - ou how yo _ an add
.orne extras to -.- our und ~x landing of e posure. These extras includ t ehniqu
uch a -. _elib rat
o erexposure~, double . posur and Jnultip], e . po u -~- - .
as. well as the use of fi[t, rs -u h a , th n utral~den it . .
graduated neutral =d - 1. i ty gradllJated o] or and of
course,. the of en mi under""tood. . olliarizing filt r~ Let"s.
start 1il\l'ith overexpo- ure .
hen was the last tim "ou d -liberal ~y- hot a on1positllion as overe po ed? I don-l m. an o ere ~PO' ed by a
stop or h.vo but ~ather by thr or fo Jr top . ik any
experiment the result of hooting ,_xpo re thr e or
four -tops overexpos d '~ on t ah~ ay be ompelling; but
since n1ore often than not a cornp lling image '~vil r sult,
)OU n1ay want to try thi . irr1pl . tri k. J ighting pla ., - the
bigge, t ro]e in delih , :r at over xpo, ure . The light
should be even and for that r; a on frontlit _object or
subj, t that are under th nft an . ven iU minaf on of
an overcast day ar h .t.
e image of my wife,
albov~e is a standard
IS
a II secre1!I'll o f- ma1ny fa. sh10n
and gllamour
13.8 P
fA
TECH
---~ -
Q E AND fiLTER
'
~th my cam~era
and
lens secured to my
tripod/ I wos able to
compose some ~graph ic
images of the Homingos i'n
the smnllll lake below me a i
Singapore's Jlurong B~ ird
p,a rk. In my fi rst ex1pos ure,
Ill
Bur, I wanted to
IJ
139
1 "0
Pt:f.: I AJ T E H I '
.
E: AND FI T ' R
po "ure - b cau
J ou 1 b u ing
t~ chniqu all d
and-wiching. hi i
othing mor -ha pla ina h \io
slilde or eg:ttilve to 0 t T Uu t lik ~ ~- po in . h\ro
itna e on th
an1, pi
of ~ l~n) ncl then n king a
print. Th trick to 1na . g ILh rwu-ht _po ure wh n sandwi hin ho\1\ ever, i ju L L o _po it of makin . an incatnera doubl
po - ur~ : ou l1\'~ nt t hoo e - lie ; or
ne ati v . that are - a h
top ov r . ,. po ~ -o that ,.,rhen
they ar anch\i . h d tog Lh r th y oml in to Ina 1e a
'' on ct expo u ., . (If ou andwi h togethe1 h\ o sli l~
or n gati' e that ar, a ~h ]
p nd rex o d you'll
end up ~.riLh a larl '_ L-~r under xpo ure an l\ ic .
One of n1y fa o t L chni u . to ombine sotne
ovete pose i kie wi h orn ~ of" mJ ' mth vvo k. The
r ~ . ul ts are often urpri -in g. - orn _ ph tographer ]o ~ to
and ich ~ ev r ~ 111 '\!\ r eon po. ition , \\i hil oth I combine se- eral ov po d
1 trai .. Th next tiln . ou 1 .
out shooting fi.hn 1nake it a point to hoot an additional
on - or t\\TO fra1n . d lib at ly at 1 to oveJ."expo Uire in
anticipation of and'\ i~ bin a th 'In lat .
1
n I first arrived at
this location ~~oppo
site, leftt my intent
was si mp 1ry to record a basic
sunset mage, and thafs
what I did. After taking sev1
ready
to
head
home ,
and
01
shutter speed of
by
.II
Multiple Exposure
f taking
of
] 2
PECrAL TECH lQ E
II
D FJLTE R
Polarizing Filters
f tlil
144
~J
ri T .
;J
1.
at a ninety-degree ano1 to th sun and as you rotate t- e thiid of the con1po irtion. o one half or o~ e thilli of the
polar zing filter on yot e
you 1 eleaily se the tran. ~ hlliue sky i much n101 e aturat d in color than th 1r t of
fonnat on: hlue . k r an d puffv white loud ~.riH ' pop it. Perhap. ou \ e air ady .e en thi ~ eeet in omn of. rour
with Inl cl deepe1 co 01 and contra. t.
land ..a pe .. 1 U\"\f you kno~f\r """hJ.
~lh_ r i l.h.s? Ligl t \ ave mov arot nd in all snrm:s of
\.!though the:re . vertical light around \\rh . n you ar .
ections- u 3, dov- ' ide"\\ra_r. . and all angl 8 in "O[kino- \ i~h f:r ontht or I acklillt ubject , the1ll no ne d
bet\1\'een. he .greate t glare com s from erlical light to u e the ~ olarizinq filter at th , ti1ne . in , th.e un i
w.a e ,. and the ghue i n 10st inten e v hen the un it ellif not lono;e:r nt a ninet -de!!ree an1ge to _ou.
i at a ninet -degree angle l O rou. he pola~: iz.ilng filter i .
l th u of polarizin u filt Ji ] inl ..t d to ~ n _.r day- ?
de i .ne l to ren1ove thi verti .al ghure and block out ver- D finit lliJ not! In a t on cloud . or rain_, da t n
tieai Eght~ aU n ing only the .n1ore plea ing and~ atu1c ted j u t as much vertical ]i aht and glar, as on su llny da ' .
AH thi . Jtica1 h: ht ea t , ~uU re - , ~hr, glar, on w . t
c o]or . f:reated 1 , horizontal hght t.o record on filn1 or digital , ar l.
stre ts~ \\r 1n tal and la , urfa. . u h a a .and
N, t that if you hift you1 location o that you 1 at a windo'V\r ) . 1 t f:ol~ag . a d u fa of b li of wa1 r
thirt. r- or for y-five d . ~~ree anol to th un, the pola:riz u -h a . tr a1:n , and riv ). Th polatizi~ flt r g t rd
inrr f ct of th
will be en on only one half or one of aH thi duH uray glar -.
1.
cr
07
rater
was ot a
use the
con
lndistind
vivid
"
my !POlar-
146
Neutral-Density Filters
ith r a filt r than can redu e your depth of field?
I th r, a filt r than can irnply motion (panning) or
turn that fa t-mo ing '\1\faterfaH int, , a ea. of \1 I ite
froth)r foam'? You b t th e i and its called a neutral-d n it filt .
Th sole urpo of lth ~~ utai-den ,it (or ND filter
c
ture to
1I 4 sec.]l
gn 1 g tl1e Filte .
f you have a am a with a depth-of-fi ld p . view
button u it a . ou position the gradual -d D
filter.
u lid th filter up or down ou can
clearly e
tl. what portio 1 of th ompo if on
-w~ill be ove d b th d n ity of the fib r.
ing the
preview button will guar.ant e perl ct alignt:n nt
evety ti1ne .
In the ituatio
rib d abo , a +- top gr-- uat d
D filter po ition d o that on) the sk) '"ra . ov r d J .th ND area would b th _olution. ou 1Nould t '"'r~u1t th
fi t r ove in . - anythin07 otl r than the bright - ky. O~n .
th "Iter ra i1 pla
align d o that th .
--tio
~ top right at the horizon li the COJ.Tect y expo ur
'"rould be redu ~. d r.y 4 .top -, an you could , hool Lh
nti e cene atf/22 f r ] /2 ' .
Ju -.t like ND fih r _ qrad Iat d Dr filt om. in
I- to 4- top variaf on . In add tion t.h . om - in } ar
clg and oft-edge typ r1 - nina that I ar ion Jf
th filter meet th D
tion vvith eith r an a nupt
han or a P;radual t - nsiLi n.
per. onal pr f
ne . i
th , oft edge.
I
whew! 1don't
1
know about
~ Jh
11me to spendl w1t1
your
family and ~l"iends.
mor~e
41," .
GRAD ATED
E . TRAL~ DE
ITY FI T RS 151
ISO
illim cam, ras of r man . om I ination of filrn
hoi and d.iff. r nt I ~ O~ SO .2 - , -o., 64 00
160 200- 400,. and o on}. Digital cam ras
gjv - o-1 at lli a t thr
hoi in T
tting .. -12.5 - 200, or 400-and if it a m r ophi ti -at , I digi lla~ an1era, ou tnay fin _ that it ot-I :1 ,
1 0 BOO an . l ' 1600 .a well. I' ' of 400, 8 0, n up
ar~ - :r ferred to ~ . - fast . :peed; I - ' of 100 12 -_~ ] 60 or
200 .a r Jre rr d to a medium speed and I -0 of 25, .-0
and 64 are referr d to a - slo"lo. peed.
"'o why a I tb [ ... - hoi , - . Why not j u t " lect one
and tay with it?'
lot of hooter .o ju t tl at my elf
incl d d. I u . l
] 0 a good 99 per , nt of th time
whe u ing my film - an1~ ra~ an " hen hootin:g '"r] 1h my
r ikon DI lllse I 125 ( hkon doe n t offer I - 00
on their Dl -_).There' an array of ubje -t matter that can
ucce fuUy be rend red vlith a n1ediun1 l - like I 0
lOO~flrom famil . outings, to outdoor sport at ' chool to
flow r~ in th ba kyard to mountaintop "\vildflowe ., to
your pet cat to "\1\ri ld lllion. in the Kalaha1i De. e11.
Jthough thi - hook has e rplored night and lo'\\7 ~light
photogJa hy h do so on th a -umption that you 1 h .
hooting \ \rith I 0~ - 00 to 1 0 200. Ho,l\rever if ou'r
. hooting at night or in Io,v r glht and you don't Vr.7ant to US
a tripod - u . can certainly opt for loading up a h gh-. p d I.. 0 800 or ISO 1600 . ~ m. or simply ., tch the
I 0 . etting on you d.gitam came - ~ The purpo ~ e of these
high- p d I 0. - t1N'"ofold: to f _z . action and to shoot
in lov~r light.
I
1 -
lik~ ~
1.
01
A possible lesson to a ke
a1way from this is this: ~f you're
sh oofng dig1itolly ~an d are not
absolutely sure you onlly need
0 1 black-and-white imog1
e,. shoot
in collor mode. You can always
conver~ a coi<Or file to bllack
and white, but you can't
cha111ge black and white into
color, and you may miss a
g ood collor oppor~unity, as I
did lhere .
C>
'
' 1
'
hile on assignment at
Busch Gordlens in
Tompo Bay, Florida,
158 FILM V . DT
TT. L
my
camera~
1/250 sec.]
Index
a 'I i n. ,
f'f'
fih
mol ion
Jl rl u :3~1-69
24
n a1 .a. m tering;
.l'r S7~
126-12
oul- f-J. u . 3
i ~n I tion - in<>dar-t J - m
48--5-
37. 48 _).,
p.-nn:in~
and . .81
. harpn . 3. ;;, 1. :-l9, 10
b]a k . lj d:-; m l
.ogPn jlan ! , 72
rin~.
11.
92- 13
! a klighL, ll 0-1 1:
k ,[ [ioht '9~ 9
fronl.li bt, 10 \-10.
ni!!:htllow-li~r[ ~- 28- L~S, 1..
ere a l ontl i ahI. ]_ 02~ 1 5
I fl 'ldl '
f. Ll8
-1~
. 1 ~
'?'4~31. '9 4
ur , l 3H-139. 14~0
.r
1
min ~ a~r mpc.t.: i ~ io11. 146
1 fl. l d-1igh rt 1nt kl'. 114, 1
~. a:nd,,-j
hing, ~ l, l41
ha ]ow. i ~ li hti:n,o- and. lO(i.
::Jhutt - tii) .cd 7 1- 'l
oL
li~h l.
.n,
., L r or liuh_96
ret l i v J ~ ,., rr .ct x p m
ni 1i1 ] rrlur :J
- tl-::J
1 cl]nu-.
a klight U0- 11 . .
~.
156
nd. lli ~ ~
0 . uinw. an I ]_ - . ]5.;1~]
macro. 64
pro and co 1 - , [ 15di tan e - ll i ll'lg._, 38. 39
dou ] ~xpo;u, .. 140. 141
a. 11 I ~1 ang n 96 9
. irl Hg 1t. 1 - lCD ltl
unhght, work]ug in, 1 14 -14.:-
hlt~ :k -and-
h u. -
:.s
Ill -:mtlll
1(
mode ' 1
' .3(
-;
'-
kv
melerin r 1:.c:..-l ~5. 12
mo n n .. 1: 2- l. 3, 141
wde-m gl [ n -.
3
1
: ~ uusel
Ll 1 g\-lht -1 11 ( L m
ir g 114
I r.un -i a c111l ~ ubj t. a kl iL 113
tip d. 1=~4
-213 p ur 12
1
u nd r x . .uf
23
,. j wfin I r. in aliTe
in. 3' I 1
vi u .I ' ei ''}ll. H
]
1
,1 1\\,. 26
. ee also moti 11
. id..~li ~1t. H
I 9,l l
-i1h u tte. , J 11ha kh o-bt.l 0.11 1
ingle-[1 ;d- 1nth I n.s. - H
~ ingula - tllP.m ,, mpo it1onl_ 12. '-16. <+o-.
11JI1 '
lw, , 2
IJ .-
. n_'J
II
11.6, 64.68
ma ru p olo r
- 'lli ng
~3-
lim of la_' 9 , 9
]i h.t mPif': 11, 9 1. 11 0
rna r
xp ur
r .ti\'' .!y one t, 24-33, :J~1
, J, !]ned. l4, :.4
li all l met - and . .22- 2.3
manual m I _, l ;-.. .'30
pho ogn11 hie Lriang] onc:"'pl f. 1 L 16-21
unnyfll ) Rul, n .
).1 . m m t r. l ight m L r
xl ,n~ i n tuh , 3 & 1 6 1, 6R. 1 6
wh ile s.u -
who
wid -an~ [
L,
k 46. - 3. 106
\.vide-antrl zo m, ~ 8. 9
witl op n sho ti.n1r_30. 36, 68
\\~inder. 79
h tin 0 154-15
ZIJnm
ure. 2. . ]_'
f"ilm
v~. din-~tai
~.
l"ght.-, oR-69
lepth
I ack , round
. olmful 32
clelib Td .
l'
H\ E
13!:J I <I )
en ~ ,
1 " . 11
<'16. 64, 6
impl in~ motio 1
\ rj I al ~~ ' ' ~9'
o.-
ISBN: 0-8174-6300-3~
WHOTO BOOK
--o Broad,, a
n r\\ll!V.wal
omrupliU.oom
10 03
Co er de i n b . Bob Fillie
Gr.aphmti _De ign Inc.