Tag: flowers

Quality of Light

by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction
copyright Karen Ulvestad
This photo was shot indoors under tungsten/incandescent light. The background was a window, backlight with daylight. I shot this with my camera set on incandescent WB.

The quality of light will affect the colors in a photograph.  Our eyes adapt to the light without us knowing it.  We see sunlight and artificial light as similar, when they are very different on the color spectrum.

Our cameras are programmed to see light as daylight.  In the film world, we needed to purchase daylight film or tungsten film.  It depended on our needs.  So, what is the difference?

Put simply, tungsten/incandescent film or setting on the camera color correct the photograph for this artificial light.  Used in daylight, it turns the photograph a beautiful blue.  Under tungsten/incandescent light, it color correct the photograph to the colors our eyes see.  By the same idea, daylight film or setting on the camera sees tungsten/incandescent light with a yellow-orange cast.

Our digital cameras allow us to shoot on AUTO or select a White Balance (WB).  By knowing how the settings will affect the photograph, the photographer can enhance the colors in their images.

More later. . .Karen

Spring on the West Coast

by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction

March is a wonderful time to photograph the change of seasons.  Here on the West Coast of the US, our weather changes between rain, sun, and hail.  Bulbs start to poke out of the soil in February, and the daffodils are blooming.

copyright Karen Ulvestad

In April, the Skagit Valley holds its annual Tulip Festival.  The photo above was taken in the afternoon, on a sunny April day.  The use of color and perspective make for interesting floral photographic images.

This one was taken from below (on the ground) looking up towards the sky.  I held my camera on the ground, pointing it up, with a wide-angle lens set at 17mm (full frame sensor).  I wanted to focus on the idea of color, and the concept of being unique in the crowd.

Below is a shot of the fields with a sense of the surroundings.

copyright Karen Ulvestad

In this image, I used a wide-angle lens set at 17mm (full frame sensor), set the horizon line low in the frame, and used the primary colors to define the photograph.  My depth of field was F13.

For more information about garden photography, attend my class this Saturday at Coupeville on Whidbey Island.  It’s the WSU Master Gardeners extended learning workshops for gardeners of all ages.

More later. . .Karen