The past few days in Southeast Texas haven’t been the prettiest. The last time we had good sunshine was on the morning of 2 February. The sky was clear in the morning and had ceilings by 1:00 pm. Since then it’s been one long overcast day.
It’s funny how, in course of doing something, pick up fragmented pieces of information here and there, but sometimes we can’t seem to tie it all together in order to apply those pieces of information to real world problems. That’s what I was like when I started photographing. I would read articles in “Popular Photography” and see terms like depth-of-field, sunny 16 rule, power position, etc. I would find out the meaning behind these foreign terms and then try to apply them only to get negligibly better results. When I first enrolled in a photography course, I learned one concept that tied everything together – that concept was the light meter.
Ok, now that you’ve stopped laughing, I can explain. I never knew the purpose behind the little number line at the bottom of my viewfinder (as you know, I shoot a Canon DSLR). I knew that a smaller aperture number meant there was a bigger opening and knew how shutter speeds worked… but I could find a way to tie the concept together. I was shooting in shutter-priority mode to sometimes pretty bad results, sometimes pretty good results. My teacher explained the concept of the light meter and the lightbulb in my head went to full output.
I finally understood the relationship between the aperture and shutter speed and how the light meter would help me select the correct values to take the shot. I was elated after class. I was so elated that I went to CVS, bought 2 rolls of Kodak Tri-X 400, and shot the first roll in less that 30 minutes after getting home.
The same thing is starting to happen now with light. In my previous photo class, which was all black-and-white, we concentrated on mastering light and shadow in the picture. In color, light takes on a new dimension in that it will affect how your colors look when the light hits the film. With the addition of color as a new dependent variable, new depths can be achieved with the photograph.
That’s not to say I’m a master of light and shadow. I have a lot to learn in all portions of photography. If it were up to me I would add a third class to my school’s photography program. I can suggest it, but ultimately I don’t control how my state taxes are spent in the colleges.
To illustrate my point about light affecting color, consider the photographs below:
Both of these photos were taken from the same vantage point just a few minutes apart. The sky was heavy overcast. The clouds dispersed the light and made it very even all over the picture. The colors are still there, but not as vibrant as they could be if the sun was out. Now when the sun is out…
This was taken three days earlier in Waller County, TX, just west of the Harris County line. The clouds, which were a beautiful blend of altocumulus castellanus (which was surprising on a day like this as it indicates atmospheric instability) and cirrus clouds, are scattered letting in all kinds of light. The sunlight is letting the colors really pop and providing tonal range within the same colors. In the photos above, you can see that tonal range within the same color is absent.
I clearly have a lot to learn, but after developing these rolls and scanning them in I came out with a new appreciation of how lighting affects colors. I have 4 more rolls at the lab right now that were shot in overcast. I’m sure they will look good, but I’m really waiting for the sun to come out again.