{"id":649,"date":"2007-12-01T00:42:25","date_gmt":"2007-11-30T15:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2007-12-01\/649"},"modified":"2007-12-01T00:42:25","modified_gmt":"2007-11-30T15:42:25","slug":"making-the-best-of-bright-light-in-fall-color-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2007-12-01\/649","title":{"rendered":"Making the Best of Bright Light in Fall-Color Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f\/9, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a><\/span>\nCrisp and Clear, Blazing Sunshine<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Every day this week I've really enjoyed each morning's trip to drop\nAnthony off at school, as the cornucopia of rich colors along the way are\nmentally enriching, spiritually uplifting. They give me yet another reason\nto count my blessings to be able to live where I do.<\/span> And this, mind you,\nis while it's been a depressingly overcast and hazy<\/a> week.<\/p>\n\n

So, consider what it was like in the brilliant and crisp sunshine that\ngreeted Kyoto today. It was simply<\/span> glorious<\/i>. Words or pictures can\nnever do it justice.<\/p>\n\n

Today was the epitome of a perfect autumn day at the peak of Kyoto's\nfall colors. It was cool<\/span> but not cold, few clouds, and blindingly bright\nsun that somehow seemed about 10% brighter than on a normal<\/span> clear sunny day. The timing<\/span> was perfect. The colors<\/span> on the mountains are still a work<\/span> in\nprogress, but here in town, the colors are at their peak. Some trees have\nnot yet started to turn, and some have mostly shed their leaves, but many\ntypes of trees are deeply blushing with every fall color nature can cook\nup.<\/p>\n\n

The picture above, which I took from our front door this morning, shows\na lot<\/span> of bare branches at the bottom. Those are cherry trees, which are in\nthe aforementioned “have mostly shed their leaves” group that are a bit<\/span>\nahead of the rest of the pack. Color-wise, cherry trees have been doing\nmuch of the heavy-lifting for the past couple of weeks, but now the show\nmoves on to the main event.<\/p>\n\n

(Perhaps cherry trees need to rest early, to prepare for their\ncherry-blossom curtain call; compare the shot above with these blossom-laden shots<\/a> from\nlast spring.)<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 98mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a><\/span>\nHeavy Sunlight, Heavy Contrast<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

As wonderful a scenario it makes for enjoying the fall colors, the\nblinding sunshine adds real challenges to photographing<\/b> those\ncolors. Compared to a digital<\/span> camera, the eyes are phenomenally<\/i>\nbetter at coping with the high-contrast situations bright sunlight creates,\nso the photographer has to be creative to eek out a pleasing<\/span> shot.<\/p>\n\n

The first picture above – the main gate of the Heian Shrine, with\na great<\/span> blue heron flying by (perhaps Aotan the Heron<\/a>?) –\nbenefits from the stark lighting, but the second shot is diminished by it. It's just too<\/span> contrasty. The bright<\/span> light actually seems to have muted the\ncolors, which felt more vibrant than this picture shows. (Sadly, if you're\nusing Internet Explorer or Firefox, you're likely seeing even more muted\ncolors, because those browsers aren't color managed, so color rendering is\nleft to chance.) <\/p>\n\n

So, What's a Good<\/span> Photographer to Do?<\/b><\/p>\n\n

I don't know what a skilled photographer would do in these situations,\nalthough it's on my list to ask should I ever<\/span> meet one. For my own<\/span> part,\nI've come up with a few<\/span> ideas that sometimes lead to pleasant results. I spent<\/span> an hour this morning on a short<\/span> walk to try them out....<\/p>\n\n

Defocus shadows<\/b> – compose such that shadows are in the background, and are out of focus.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 90mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1500 sec, f\/3.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a><\/span>\nOut-of-Focus Shadows are Less Distracting<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Shoot in the shade<\/b> — it's pretty obvious, but I should<\/span> mention it.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 22mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a><\/span>\nRickshaw Parked in the Shade<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 150mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f\/4.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a><\/span>\n“Shade” Doesn't Mean “Bland”<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Go full-on sun<\/b> – put the sun behind you and the shadows out\nof frame. “No shadows” means no harsh contrast.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nD200 + 1.7×TC + 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1500 sec, f\/4.8, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a><\/span>\nBland<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

These cherry-tree leaves appear bland in the photo because... they\nwere<\/i> bland. I'm not even<\/span> sure why I took<\/span> a picture<\/span> of them; perhaps\nit was out of sympathy....<\/p>\n\n\n

Backlight<\/b> – shoot from behind, letting the sun show through<\/i> the leaves.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nD200 + 1.7×TC + 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f\/8, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a><\/span>\nBacklit, Semi-Transparent Redness<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

(The same technique was used in the last of the fall-foliage desktop\nbackgrounds<\/a> that I posted<\/span> last week.)<\/p>\n\n

If you look at the larger version of the picture above, you can see the\ncrisp, clear veins in the leaf. You can also<\/span> notice an almost glowing white\nedge around the leaves, which, if you're into digital imaging, you might\nthink is a sign<\/span> that way too much sharpening was applied during\npost-processing. Indeed, one often sees such a “glowing edge” effect when\nsharpening has been overdone, either by an over-eager amateur, or\npurposefully as an artistic tool, as I did<\/span> in the lead image of my First Taste of Kyoto's\nAutumn<\/a> post.<\/p>\n\n

In this case, though, the “glow” is natural (the image has had no extra\nsharpening added in post processing), as light escapes from the\nedges<\/i> of the brightly-backlit leaf.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nD200 + 1.7×TC + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f\/6.3, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a><\/span>\nBacklighting, but more Subtle<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Embrace the Contrast<\/b> – make the high contrast part of the composition.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 55mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a><\/span>\nThis Looks Better When It Fills Your Screen<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

This is of a similar ilk to the second of the bonanza\ndesktops<\/a> that I took<\/span> at a different<\/span> location, but in today's shot I\nmade<\/span> sure to keep the sun out of frame (to make some people<\/a> happy. )<\/p>\n\n

Look for low-contrast shadow<\/b> – mild shadow makes direct sunlight feel softer.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nD200 + 1.7×TC +70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f\/8, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a><\/span>\nBed of Ginkgo Leaves<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Shadows that can be filled in by other light (such as from the wide\nexpanse of sky) are softer, and make for wonderful photography, especially\nwhen punctuated by soft areas of direct sun.<\/p>\n\n

When I got<\/span> home from dropping Anthony off at\nschool this morning, I just could<\/span> not resist going out for a short<\/span> walk\n– I went<\/span> less than a quarter<\/span> mile in one direction, and returned\n– to take a few<\/span> shots.<\/p>\n\n

Of course, today's time budget had nothing reserved for this, so again,\nthis is a good<\/span> example of why I hate<\/span> living here<\/a>...\nKyoto just doesn't let me get anything done!<\/p>\n\n

I'd earlier decided not to post any more fall-foliage pictures this year\nbecause most of the hemisphere is already well past the season, so I assume<\/span>\ninterest is waning. And truth<\/span> be told, I have so<\/span> many great shots from the\npast couple weeks that I wouldn't<\/span> even begin to know where to start in\nposting them. I figure<\/span> I'll save them for next September, when I can<\/span> then\nmatch the growing “getting into the fall spirit” feelings with\nan increase in related posts. Anyway, today's post is not a fall<\/span>-foliage\npost, but, rather, a photo<\/span>-technique post. Yeah, that's it, a\nphoto<\/span>-technique post.<\/p>\n\n

Speaking of fall colors, chatting with the 70-year-old taxi driver\ntaking me to the station yesterday (on my way to visit my friend Ram<\/a> in Tokyo),\nhe lamented that the colors have been getting worse over the years,\nparticularly over the last three to four. He said that<\/span> this year is just\npathetic. Fumie's mom has echoed the same sentiments. All I can<\/span> say is that\nif this<\/i> is pathetic, I can not<\/span> possibly imagine what a “good” season\nwould be like.....<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every day this week I've really enjoyed each morning's trip to drop Anthony off at school, as the cornucopia of rich colors along the way are mentally enriching, spiritually uplifting. They give me yet another reason to count my blessings to be able to live where I do. And this, mind you, is while it's been a depressingly overcast and hazy week.<\/p>

So, consider what it was like in the brilliant and crisp sunshine that greeted Kyoto today. It was simply glorious. Words or pictures can never do it justice.<\/p>

Today was the epitome of a perfect autumn day at [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,14,2,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}