Outdoors at Night

This study really helped to show what can be done with artificial light at night time. There were instances where the light came out a completely different colour to what I could actually see and this meant that I could get quite creative with how I wanted the photo to appear. The only issue is that sometimes it could be quite random and hard to predict, but that’s what I loved about these photos!

1/3 sec, f/4.8, ISO 200

0.77 sec, f/4.8, ISO 200

You can see that with the first two photos the, slight change in exposure time means the difference between a very orange looking image and a much cooler blue one. What I could actually see was probably more in between the two tones, but I felt that both had good qualities. The orange image seemed to set off the colours of the lights very well as contrasting colours, but the blue one complements the overall hue and as it was a fairly chilly evening seems to get this message across.

In this shot taken in Guildford town centre you can see that the bright fluorescent lighting looks very unnatural, they cast a very clinical look over the street making the scene appear industrial with the stark shadows and reflections on the glass buildings. 

 

 

 

 

 

1/15 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

1/100 sec, f/5, ISO 1250

1/8 secs

f/5

ISO 2500

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two city shots were taken in Melbourne, Australia. As I was shooting handheld I found I had to boost the ISO quite high to be able to use an exposure time that was quick enough to produce a shot without any blur as I didn’t have my tripod with me. The issue with shooting handheld is that you can’t use longer shutter speeds, and as seen in previous exercises higher ISO settings can make an image look grainy. Fortunately in both pictures above I was able to rest the camera on a bridge to help steady the shot so I could use a slightly longer exposure than I would have if I was just shooting by hand. I have also noticed that even though both images are very pleasing to look at, the one taken just after dusk retains more details in the outline of the buildings as there is still a small hint of colour in the sky as the sun sets. It was much harder to find the correct settings to make sure the dark buildings stood out on the pitch black sky of the second image, and I feel it may have lost some quality as the ISO had to be set much higher.

The above images were taken at ISO 2000, again for the handheld reasons, with an F stop of 3.5, but the first was taken at 1/60 sec and the second at 1/40 sec. Again you can see the difference in exposure times changes the colour of the lighting as more light passes through the camera. Also the cathedral was up lit by halogen lighting and you can see that it casts an eerie glow on the architecture, the spire at the rear is highlighted by them very well and the shadows in it become deeper giving vibrant definition to its shape, but it also changes the tones in colour of the brickwork and almost over exposes them. This could cause some problems and my need careful light metering to make sure the highlights don’t become washed out.

I next went out onto some of my local roads to play around with long exposures. As I had recently got my head around metering I was able to use this to my advantage to get shots that held details in the shadows and highlights and were true to the colours I could see in real life, without spending ages messing around with settings and not really understanding what I was achieving. Now I can see exactly how metering helps to determine the correct settings to use for a scene, allowing me to go ahead and over or under compensate with exposure for my desired effect.

 

2.5 sec, f/14, ISO 200

10 sec, f/36, ISO 200

I own a tripod but didn’t really find an awful lot of use for it until now. Now I can think of a hundred different things I want to use it for in the future! Because the tripod kept the camera dead still I was able to set the exposures to well over a second without incurring any blurriness to the composition. By using the light meter in my camera set to centre weight and aiming at the mid tones in the frame I took a reading and set my camera up accordingly. What I found with this is that was ok when cars were not passing below me, but the reading was out when they were as there lights obviously affected the cameras sensors. By taking a few more readings as the cars were passing I was able to take the first shot above where the tones appear as realistic as possible, and yet the longer shutter speed allowed for some light trails from the cars to appear. So taking this to an extreme and seeing how long I could make the trails I got the second photograph where I used a very long exposure of 10 seconds but the F stop had to be smaller to compensate for the amount of light the shutter speed would let into the camera. The ISO was set for just 200 for all of these, which is why a tripod is a definite must for this kind of shoot so quality is not lost. I also quite like the effect it has had on the street lamps, but if I had wanted an image that didn’t include this effect I would have had to use filters.

 

4 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200

 

4 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200

With these next two photographs, I used the same settings but tried panning with the vehicle as it passed to see what would happen. It achieved some interesting effects! There are many uncontrollable elements to shooting moving objects, such as the speed they travel at, the speed in which you are panning at and in turn this can mean that the aperture and shutter speed you are using may not quite be the right ones. I found it interesting the patterns that emerged whilst panning with the cars as it really did depend on how quickly I followed their movement.

30 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200

This was my favourite and most surprising of the photos I took by the roadside. I decided that I wanted to use the longest shutter speed available to me and see what would happen, expecting that the image would just be a completely over exposed mess in which not much would be visible. I was a little shocked when the camera finally clicked shut and revealed this! It was pitch black with no street lighting along this road, and I’m so pleased with the effect of the red streaking through to orange then white as the car moved along the road. I really couldn’t have predicted this outcome, but it has taught me a lot about how the camera processes light whilst using longer exposures, and the way that it can produce details even the shadiest areas even when no light is available. This has given me new scope for ideas in the future, and i can’t wait to experiment some more!

Tungsten and Fluorescent Lighting

Again I was asked to use different white balance settings to compare the results but this time while artificial lighting was present. My first shots compare tungsten lighting inside and how it looks against normal lighting from outside. The shots were taken when the light levels were approximately he same inside and out.

1/20 sec, f/3.5 ISO 200 white balance auto

1/20 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200, white balance daylight

1/20 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200, white balance tungsten

With the white balance set to auto, the camera deals with the light outside the window very well, but inside the orange glow from the tungsten lighting reflects sharply in the purple room. Also the bedding in the room is satin so this is reflecting the light too so there is a mix of harsh uneven purple and orange tones.

The daylight setting is a little better and has balanced out the tones more evenly outside and in, but is not a true representative of either.

The tungsten setting makes the inside of the room appear the correct colours,  but outside is now far too blue in colour as the camera is dealing with the orange hues inside, so the blue tones outside are heightened. This is interesting to note again that the cool and warm colours in a scene have to be dealt with separately or compromised over to get something in between. I guess this is where a lot of people turn to photo shop and merge two images together to get the correct balance of colour temperature from sky and foreground etc.

There were similar differences with fluorescent lighting in which the colour temperature is affected by the white balance settings:

1/30 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200, white balance auto

1/30 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200, white balance fluorescent

1/30 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200, white balance fluorescent 2

Again the colour tones range from cooler to warmer as the fluorescent white balance setting will compensate for the blue tones to the lighting on the shop floor, making this image appear more orange. Initially this was the image that looked closest to real life, but after viewing them on my laptop its actually the fluorescent 2 white balance setting that looks a much better overall colour as the white seem purer and less yellow than in the auto white balance setting shot.

it is very apparent that although sometimes these settings will help soften certain hues of colours in light that you may not want in the image, some times they can be used in an opposite way to enhance and change the overall feel of the photograph.

Variety with a Low Sun

These shots were taken just to experiment with low sunlight and see what effects and images I could produce with the sun from different angles etc.

The sun reflecting directly off the clock in Guildford makes it look particularly golden, and the orange glow on the white buildings casts interesting deep shadows over the architecture.

I like the tones in the sky that has silhouetted the trees in front of it. I wish I had used different setting so that I could have captured a deeper shade of orange to intensify the image.

This is a particularly cute shot, and the highlight of the low sun down the edge of Holly’s head and body really accentuates her shape.

Again the low sun cast sideways on this koala in Melbourne creates deep shadows and strong highlights which really shows off its cuddly shape. The orange tones in the tree are amplified and makes the image feel more authentically Australian.

This is a personal favourite of my shots taken in Melbourne city whilst on my holiday. It had been raining but the sun came out at the last moment of the day and shone directly down the street. It highlights the shapes of the skyscrapers  and adds interesting reflections to the water on the road. The lights from the vehicles also have added interest to the reflections which are picking up the oranges from the low sun in the horizon. Again I wish I had been able to pick up deeper colours to make it feel more dramatic, but it will take some more practice!

Light Through the Day

I spent the entire day today just going into the garden every hour to take photos of the light and how it fell creating different shadows and changed in colour over the time period. My aim was to look at how and when the light changed in colour and intensity an in turn what this meant to the over all feel of the images. Here is the day in photos below:

9am

1/50 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

10am

1/200 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

As with the judging colour temperature exercise, you can see that first two images taken early morning have a cooler blue look to them due to the time of day. 

11am

1/200 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

12pm

1/160 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

1pm

1/160 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

2pm

1/200 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

Between the hours of 11 and 2, the light stays at a very neutral colour, the tones of shadows and highlights stays roughly the same throughout and even the shutter settings used don’t have to be altered much during this period as lighting conditions stay constant.

3pm

1/160 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

4pm

1/160 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

4.30pm

1/125 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

You can see that more golden tones are seeping in as the light gets lower to the horizon. The depth of the shadows has changed and are a little lighter.

5pm

1/80 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

5.15pm

1/50 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

5.30pm

1/50 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

Now the sky has begun to turn to a more violet shade as the sun gets even lower, and the over all tone of the image is becoming darker in the shady foreground. Also the shutter speed as been reduced dramatically over the past half an hour as opposed to how often it changed during the middle of the day.

5.45pm

1/25 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

6pm

1/2 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

6pm

1/20 sec

f/8

ISO 200

 

In the last few photos the light becomes a much more intense blue/violet over the whole frame very quickly. Light changes very rapidly in its last few moments so there is scope to get so very interesting colourful shots. The second 6pm shot was actually what my cameras light meter suggested would be the correct reading for the scene, but I think it was recording the colour of the sky more than the foreground which has produced the very inky blue colour all over. This obviously shows I should take more readings before shooting to get it as accurate as possible!

Judging Colour Temperature

So for this exercise I had to look at what time of the day does to the colour of the light in a photograph. I took three shots all with the white balance set to daylight and compared the tones of the light in each image. By choosing a subject without a strong colour it was easier to determine the effect the light would have.

1/400 sec, f/9, ISO 200 Sunlight

1/15 sec, f/9, ISO 200 Shadow

 

1/320 sec, f/9, ISO 200

As you can see in the above shots it is very clear that there is a range from blue light in the shade, neutral or white light in the sunlit photo, through to deeper oranges in the sunset image. It makes it very clear to me that being able to tell what colour the light is can make a strong impact on the outcome of the photograph. The results above seem  to be much deeper in intensity of their colours than I remember them being at the time. This is due to our eyes being able to continuously adapt to the lighting conditions around us where as the camera is not quite so advanced. It’s useful to know what kind of hue certain times of the day and the amount of light will produce in my work.

I took a similar situation to the one above and used the three different kinds of light, but this time changed the white balance on my camera so that it was set to daylight, shade and the auto settings. Here are my results to compare:

Sunlight – white balance daylight

1/500 sec

f/9

ISO 200

Sunlight – white balance shade

1/500 sec

f/9

ISO 200

Sunlight – white balance auto

1/500 sec

f/9

ISO 200

In the sunlight, there is a definite difference from auto and daylight white balance settings from the shade setting. With the shade white balance setting turned on it gives a much more orange tone to the image making it appear warmer as though the sun were lower in the sky when it was taken around 11am. The differences between auto and daylight settings are a little more subtle, but I fell that the auto setting has over compensated which has resulted in a few of the highlights on the pages of the book being over exposed and too bright. The day light setting worked very well as it reproduced the bright midmorning sun without loosing detail in highlights or shadow. I think that afterward the auto setting is the photo that actually appears to look more like it was the one taken in daylight as the slight over exposure sends messages that the sun would have been very bright and high in the sky.

Shadow – white balance daylight

1/60 sec

f/9

ISO 200

Shadow – white balance shade

1/60 sec

f/9

ISO 200

Shadow – white balance auto

1/60 sec

f/9

ISO 200

In the shade, the daylight white balance setting makes the photo appear quite blue and cold, but the shade setting again as it is intended too has reproduced colours very true to the real thing as it has still retained the soft colours of the page without making them feel like they are being too strongly lit like the daylight setting has done. The auto setting is very close to the shade setting again but seems to have over exposed the image a little in favour of letting a little more light into the image. On reflection, the settings were very good at reproducing the exact colours that appeared at the time, but I much prefer the look of the daylight setting after I have viewed the shots together as the blue hue of the image makes it feel more in shadow than the original shade setting photo does.

Sunset – white balance daylight

1/500 sec

f/9

ISO 200

Sunset – white balance shade

1/500 sec

f/9

ISO 200

Sunset – white balance auto

1/500 sec

f/9

ISO 200

With these images its very easy to see that the shade setting produces the most orange looking tones. I’ve realised now that this is most likely due to the fact that when in the shade there are usually a lot of blue tones, so the camera has reduced the amount of blue light so that it balances the red and orange hues. The auto setting has lost any of the tones that originally were there so it looses the effect of being taken at sunset. The daylight setting was the most true in colour, but again after looking at the images it is a different setting that makes it appear as though it is taken as the sun is coming down.

The photo that looks as though it is in strong neutral daylight is the one taken with auto white balance, the one that looks as though it is in shade is the one with daylight settings used and the one taken looking most like it is at dusk is using the shade settings. As I have already describe this is because the camera assumes when you are in shade or daylight there will be more blue or orange tones respectively, so it doesn’t allow as many of those tones to be included in the final image, and that changes the over all colour temperature of the shot. If I am looking to enhance the idea of shade and light close to the horizon it may be better for me to use the opposite setting to what would normally be recommended.