I knew I wouldn’t have the time to photograph the latest snow storm in a good location before the sun was high in the sky and/or when the wind knocked the snow off the tree branches the next morning so I chose to drive around area parking lots looking for subjects lit up by their artificial light. This is what I found. Using artificial light sources, stationary or the ones you bring with you, can provide good images. And chances are you will have the location to yourself as you photograph at night. I didn’t even need to leave my truck to take this picture! :^)
Just as color and tone can impart mood so can your choice of view point, lens selection, exposure, and other photographic choices. In this case photographing the same tree from a different perspective changes the feeling of how foggy the morning the was. The second image I chose to get closer, change my angle, and also photograph through the steamed up car window to shoot through creating a feeling of foreground fog. It’s always wise to think about what you want to say when you are composing your images and then use the tools at your disposal, in camera or with post processing, to best say it.
Fuji XE1, 18-55
Color and tone in an image can greatly effect the emotional response of viewers to your images. When processing be conscious of that and choose the tones and colors that impart the mood you want to convey. Here I show how a blue tone can give a somber feeling to this cemetary image. The exact same file processed with warm tones gives a different message and a more positive feel. Do you feel the sadness of the blue and the positive and perhaps more religious feeling of the warmer image? Does the blue tone impart more of a foggy morning feel to you?
Fuji XE1, 18-55
Shadows, pattern, texture, and color created by light coming through a window and onto drapery.
Shadows create the line and texture of this sport coat hanging up on a hanger.
The above images are of subjects that are nothing special. But that is exactly the point I want to make for viewers with this blog post. I occasionally force myself to find images in the most mundane, boring, and common locations. One exercise I occasionally do is to tell myself I have to take a couple photos from wherever I am sitting when I have a camera in my hand. Forcing myself to look for images, where I wouldn’t normally choose to, literally forces me to look for light, shadow, texture, and color. It may sound simple and these images are but later in the field or on assignment you find yourself looking harder and seeing things differently, and hopefully better, because of it. So the next time you are sitting in your home try forcing yourself to find a few images from where you sit. Then when you are in the field and you think there isn’t something to photograph do the same thing. I bet you find images, simple or not, that you would not have ordinarily.
I have always loved photographing trees and they have been a common subject in my landscape images. Sometimes however it’s time to try new things. These images were further test images taken with the Fuji XE1 w18-55. The above image is only possible because I used a R72 Infrared filter on the lens that blocks the visible light spectrum and only lets the infrared spectrum through to the sensor. The combination works really well on this camera and in black and white it turns foliage white and blue skies black. While there was little foliage in this winter woodlot scene the enhanced contrasts provided by infrared allowed the visual play on the smaller tree at right and the larger trees in the background. Converting a normal color image to black and white wouldn’t have had enough separation and tonal quality. I look forward to spring and the chance to be creative with more infrared images.
The image above was also a test shot to see how well the high ISO noise held up on the Fuji XE1. It’s image quality is superb up to ISO6400. This image was taken of trees lit by a nearby light source. A little post processing fun for mood results in this image. Both of these images are what I consider “making something out of nothing” images. There are also photos to be seen and taken if you know your equipment, are open to looking for images, willing to try new things, and also know what vision you want to express later through post processing.
The image below is the image I initially saw. But I’ve done the color sunset tree silhouette a ton of times. And when the cloud swirled around the left upper side of the tree I saw the opportunity to create a more moody image, above, by creating a b&w split tone. Same scene, same tree, but totally different moods and messages by knowing what I wanted to do in post processing.
I basically took these out my car window as I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures with my then brand new Fuji XE1 w/18-55. I have come to love that camera since and several images taken with it have been posted previously.
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Thanks Jim. Love the Fuji!
Dan, a very nice series of images . The post processing does add to the visual impact for several of the images. Our winter,other wise known as the brown period, requires a bit of artistic creativity.
How do you line the XE-1???
Jim