south downs | alan frost photography

Changing light – an exercise

One of the ‘mini’ tasks we were set during the ‘People and Places’ course at West Dean College was to photograph the same scene at different times of the day to see how the light changed and how this would affect the final image. It’s a common thing to be asked to do but as I had never done it before I was keen to see the results and to try and learn something from them. I chose to photograph the River Lavant which runs through West Dean Gardens.

The first shot was taken at 4.40 pm. Keep in mind all these photos were taken at the beginning of August, so the sun was still quite high even at this time of day. Whist this a pleasant shot of the scene the quality of the light is very even and quite poor.

The second shot was taken on the same day but about two and a half hours later at 6.14pm, so the sun was now much lower. For me this image is a great improvement on the first but it’s still not what I might call a ‘keeper’.

The next morning I returned to the same position. The sky was generally overcast but there were breaks in the clouds. I just hoped the sun would break through. The third shot in this series was taken at 8.52am. It’s flat and there is no question in my mind that it’s the poorest of all the images. Here it is.

Two minutes later at 8.54am and the final shot was captured. The break in the cloud cover had materialised and the early morning sun did its magic on the scene. David Noton, a first class UK based landscape photographer often refers to ‘waiting for the light’….in fact he wrote a book with this line as its title. How very true this saying is to the world of photography. For me this is the best of the four but you may have different ideas, in which case do post a comment.

It was very definitely a worthwhile exercise and I would recommend it to any photographer. Time of day and the ever changing light are essential ingredients for a good image, particularly a landscape.
I could not complete this entry without an image in black and white. So I converted the last shot in Silver Efex Pro2. Is this the best of the bunch I ask?

Photo opportunities – always have a camera with you

So often when out and about, I see something and say to myself if only I had my camera with me. Every photographer will have uttered those words at some time and probably more than once! Well from now on I will try and avoid that mistake. I will also follow the saying which states – ‘the best camera, is the one you have with you’. How true is that! The next couple of images were taken on the way to somewhere else, with no intention whatsoever of releasing the shutter on the journey but on both occasions I did have a camera in the car.

The first is a shot of the late afternoon light on the South Downs in West Sussex between the villages of Amberley and Storrington. This was captured with the Olympus EM5 and 45mm 1.8 prime lens. Its not the best landscape photograph I have ever taken but I think its quite pleasing and I wouldn’t have it at all, if I hadn’t got the camera with me.

The second image is a sky scape taken on my way home from work. The dramatic clouds and light were crying out to be caught on camera. On this occasion the Olympus E-PL3 was in the car with nothing more than the standard kit lens and attached EVF (electronic viewfinder). An almost essential extra when in bright light.

Once downloaded into Lightroom on the computer at home, I wondered how well this image would convert to black and white. Well here is that version using my favourite ‘plug-in’ for Lightroom – Silver Efex Pro.

Which one do I prefer? Well I’m not sure, they both have their merits, I think its down to personal choice. If I had to come off the fence then the ‘black and white’ version would win the day. All I do know is that had the little Olympus E-PL3 not been in the car, there wouldn’t be a choice, as there wouldn’t be a photograph to look at!

The Olympus E-PL3 which started my love of the micro 4/3rds format.