Colored Lights

It's fun to shoot Christmas lights way out of focus (on a tripod, of course). I really like how the colored circles have the same pattern on each one.

The tree lights are reflected in a glass jar on the right and there's a framed picture behind it (on the left) where they're also reflected. Love the colors!

159/365 patio lights

110/365 more speedlite practice

You know when you have a Speedlite to play with, you take pictures of just about anything.

Or maybe that's just me.

4/365 another shadow

While it wasn't my intention to continue along the shadow theme, here I am anyway. Something I've noticed is that when I look at a scene with shadows, I'm not always cognizant of the contrast shadows cause. Like many scenarios in life, our brain adjusts certain things our eyes see.

When I saw my cat sitting in the window with her catnip squirrel, I was only vaguely aware of the shadow. It wasn't until I took the shot and looked at it on the screen that I realized how much it darkened the top portion of my cat.

So what do you do when you have a strong shadow like that? You could set your exposure for the darker portion, but in this particular shot, it would blow out the lighter areas. I did try a layer mask to balance it out a little more, but it actually looked worse. For the image below, I added an adjustment layer in which I lightened up the entire picture, bringing some of the detail back in the dark portion (although the lower area is rather pale).

Another option would be shooting in RAW and making adjustments in your post processing. Because I haven't used RAW (yet), I can't tell you more than this. I could also have raised the shades to remove the shadow altogether.

The other issue with this particular shot is that the shadow formed a very distinct line that will never be entirely eliminated. Just another reason to pay attention to the lighting and make the right choices before you take the shot. The more aware you are, the better photos you'll create.

3/365 sunlight or shade

Sunlight is a beautiful and wonderful thing. So are trees, of which we have many. Although in photographs, it can have some less than stellar effects. There may be times that you want some lovely, dappled light sprinkled over an image. But if you're photographing people, particularly their faces, that's not often the look you want. In this case, the shadow of my nose slightly resembles a duck bill. Not exactly the image I was going for.

Shade, however cold in Colorado in the winter, produces much better and consistently lighted portraits. In this case, it also offered a fun reflection in my glasses - namely the tripod, snow, and our sidewalk.

So pay attention to the light, how it falls on your subject, and especially the shadows. And if you want a duck-billed nose shadow, great, go for it. But at least know what you're getting before you take your images off your camera.

1/365 sparkle

1/125 sec
f/8.0
ISO 400
50mm

I think that for January, my theme will be light. I want to focus more upon lighting and consider how I want it to be portrayed in my images through the camera settings.

The sun was beginning to set this afternoon and I just love how this candle holder captures the light - whether via candle flame or sunshine.

361-365 50mm lens play

360-365 tree reflection

347-365 dsi in the dark

This is the view inside the van while I'm outside shooting Christmas lights. I guess one has to find something to do when his mother pulls over to take pictures.

345-365 wrapped trees

342-365 floor lights

336-365 zoom zoom

Sitting on the side of a busy street at dusk.

323-365* I spy - candle

I've had such a time keeping up that I almost forgot all about posting this for the I Spy meme.

319-365 lovely lighting

I just love the decor at The Old Spaghetti Factory. This one is in an old train depot in downtown Denver.

266-365 stop

264-365 night lights

205-365 night lights

150-365 orange light

streaming light

This is sunlight filtering down through steam from a jaunt on the Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad last weekend.

thematic photographic: bright

The theme at Carmi's Thematic Photographic this week is Bright. These were shot at my neices' Christmas program. Normally, it's at night, but since it was during the day, the sun illuminated the cross from outside quite nicely.