I am more a Sally Mann person rather than a Michael Schmidt. I do not want brutal totalitarian honesty in my images, as if they have been shot under the glare of Guantanamo lights, I prefer subtlety, nuance, as Sally Mann states "feelings".
I live on a small island, therefore wide stretching vistas of land are limited, however the sea provides an ever changing blank canvas and seeing how the light plays across it and the beauty it creates has stopped me in my tracks on many an occasion. This is my first thought when I think of daylight.
A spotlight
Showers and thick rain clouds were passing across the island, however there were breaks in the clouds, allowing the sun to break through like a focused spotlight. Drawing the eye and attention to a specific part of the scene, before moving on. The attention it provided was fleeting, continually disappearing and reappearing elsewhere. No one part of the sea getting too much of its focus during that period. An image continually, constantly changing.
I live on a small island, therefore wide stretching vistas of land are limited, however the sea provides an ever changing blank canvas and seeing how the light plays across it and the beauty it creates has stopped me in my tracks on many an occasion. This is my first thought when I think of daylight.
A spotlight
Showers and thick rain clouds were passing across the island, however there were breaks in the clouds, allowing the sun to break through like a focused spotlight. Drawing the eye and attention to a specific part of the scene, before moving on. The attention it provided was fleeting, continually disappearing and reappearing elsewhere. No one part of the sea getting too much of its focus during that period. An image continually, constantly changing.
A neutraliser
I had hoped for another day of sharp spotlight sun dancing across the water in between dark brooding clouds. However this time the showers and sunshine came in the form of a blanket of grey cloud. The light as flat as can be. No shadows. Just a grey lightbox illuminating the world. Some variation in the grey tone but not much. It lead to a muted feel and muted colours. The soft flatness of the moss, heather, wind buffeted wildflowers, enhanced.
I had hoped for another day of sharp spotlight sun dancing across the water in between dark brooding clouds. However this time the showers and sunshine came in the form of a blanket of grey cloud. The light as flat as can be. No shadows. Just a grey lightbox illuminating the world. Some variation in the grey tone but not much. It lead to a muted feel and muted colours. The soft flatness of the moss, heather, wind buffeted wildflowers, enhanced.
Takeaways - 6 October
I am cognisant that I have not yet fulfilled the brief of this exercise. All of the above images were taken in aperture priority mode rather than manual mode. My hazy plan for the day had been to sit on the beach, camera and tripod in situ and start to experiment with manual mode, with the light kindly presented a show on the water. On this occasion nature did not play ball. I shall return.
I am also mindful that I have focused purely on one very niche aspect of daylight, how it appears across a large vista. I have not explored shadows, light on a smaller scale. If the sun is strong, at a certain time of the day it throughs the below shadow on my wall. This varies throughout the year dependent on the height of the sun in the sky and the weather. An OCA exemplar, of a student photographing how the light in their kitchen played throughout the day rings in my mind. Maybe something to explore.
I am cognisant that I have not yet fulfilled the brief of this exercise. All of the above images were taken in aperture priority mode rather than manual mode. My hazy plan for the day had been to sit on the beach, camera and tripod in situ and start to experiment with manual mode, with the light kindly presented a show on the water. On this occasion nature did not play ball. I shall return.
I am also mindful that I have focused purely on one very niche aspect of daylight, how it appears across a large vista. I have not explored shadows, light on a smaller scale. If the sun is strong, at a certain time of the day it throughs the below shadow on my wall. This varies throughout the year dependent on the height of the sun in the sky and the weather. An OCA exemplar, of a student photographing how the light in their kitchen played throughout the day rings in my mind. Maybe something to explore.