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Showing posts 51 - 75 of 208, (reverse)
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 07/11/2005 09:02:27 PM · #51
Originally posted by Jewellian:
I must say the goal is working, I was out driving around with my wife tonight and I couldn't help bu notice the ways light was hiting the buildings, trees, cars, street signs.... everything. I saw examples of every kind of lighting we've talked about so far.


There ya go! As Wynn Bullock said, "Not form rock, not object rock, but the light that IS the rock."

Robt.
 07/11/2005 11:57:17 PM · #52
I am a bit late but finally chiming in.



I live in the southwest. New Mexico to be exact near the NM/CO/UT/AZ borders. High desert area...lots of varied types of scenery.
 07/12/2005 12:25:00 AM · #53
I'm in San Antonio TX. Sorry but the light was mostly gone by the time I got off work tonight and the onlything anywhere near flat at work is the parking lot.
 07/12/2005 12:41:27 AM · #54
I had the same problem chesire...anything that was flat was so fat you couldnt see any detail. Just went to a local lake. But maybe a light pole in a parking lot would work.
 07/12/2005 01:37:17 AM · #55
I will try and get exercise two done tomorrow mid morning. Can I do exercise one indoors with artificial lighting?
 07/12/2005 05:06:05 AM · #56

..... Sun Behind ............... 90 Degrees to sun ........... Facing sun

taken at 9:15am which is mid moning in the summer
 07/12/2005 07:18:15 AM · #57
Originally posted by TooCool:
I will try and get exercise two done tomorrow mid morning. Can I do exercise one indoors with artificial lighting?


Ummmm.... the principle we are working on here is "natural lighting", and the workshop is pretty much predicated on taking what God gives us and working with it. Certainly, the principles are the same in the sense that if you used a single light source and worked around it you'd get similar results, but it's hard to believe you have a studio big enough to walk around a sublect and shoot it from 3 directions without moving the light, LOL.

So, I'd say no on that. However, it's not like anyone's gonna get dinged for not "completing an assignment"; just seeing what others come up with and correlating that with what you start to see yourself as you move about your daily business is going to be useful.

Incidentally, one aspect of the seminar, at a later date, may be to use natural light in the studio. If you check my portfolio of challenge entries, you will find nearly all of my "object shots" are naturally lit studio shots, working with indirect light from a north skylight.

Robt.
 07/12/2005 07:59:50 AM · #58
Originally posted by bear_music:
Ummmm.... the principle we are working on here is "natural lighting",


Oh, duh.... I was just thinking back to my art class days and working with shadows...
 07/12/2005 02:34:08 PM · #59
I'd like to take a side track here for a second and address the issue of exclusivity in this mentorship group:

1. The core value of DPC (in my eyes at least) is education.
2. By its very nature, especially as it grows. DPC provides an extremely "diffuse" educational experience. More often than not, threads get diluted in many different directions, and it's difficult to navigate them cohesively.
3. This mentorship thing began just a few days ago as an experiment, and it appears to have taken off beyond all expectations.
4. From this, I deduce/assume that mentorship is answering widespread need/desire of the membership.

However, the mentorship process can only thrive in contained, smaller groups. While all can benefit from the work done and the principles explored, the benefit can be diffused if too many people are actively participating in the given group.

For this reason we ask that those not in the group be content (for now) to observe but not actively participate. In this way we can focus the group more precisely and develop our themes in a more structured way.

That said, I actively encourage everyone with an interest in this topic to observe and comment as they see fit through PM to me directly. If something is brought up that helps us get where we're trying to get, I will bring it into a thread and attribute the comment/suggestion to its originator.

If this mentorship concept stays strong, I'm sure it will be given a forum area of its own, and this will help to alleviate front-page congestion. In the meanwhile, to those of you who don't wish to see this thread on your front page, I suggest using the option to ignore the thread, which will handily disappear it for you.

Thanks for your patience as we develop this concept to the point where everyone will wonder how we ever got along without it :-)

Robt.
 07/12/2005 04:29:46 PM · #60
I will be heading out in about 1/2 hour and was wondering if we'll be given a new assigment today?
 07/12/2005 04:32:48 PM · #61
Nope, we're waiting for everyone to get a chance to weigh in here. I'm a little surprised we haven't heard from a number of people. We're about to discuss what we've been looking at, then we'll move on.

Robt.
 07/12/2005 04:35:05 PM · #62
ok - thanks Bear......will be back later this evening

and can anyone tell me why my "My Prints" is not showing up rightin my sig?

Message edited by author 2005-07-12 16:39:36.
 07/12/2005 05:49:48 PM · #63
Unfortunately it was overcast here today, so there was absolutely NO directional light for me to work with.... :(
07/12/2005 05:53:44 PM · #64
Ditto. Michigan is quite dull today =*(
 07/12/2005 05:56:00 PM · #65
Originally posted by ShutterPug:
ok - thanks Bear......will be back later this evening

and can anyone tell me why my "My Prints" is not showing up rightin my sig?


heres yours
[url]//shutterpug.dpcprints.com/]My Prints[/url]

heres how it shouls be" [url= http......
notice the equal sign
 07/12/2005 07:10:51 PM · #66
rain/work/all week, if I get a chance, I will shoot ..uh.. a parking lot if the sun comes out. If not, move on, the sun will come out tomorrow, you can bet your bottom dollar.. [fades off humming Annie's theme]
 07/12/2005 07:57:53 PM · #67
Here's my assignment.

No post processing
No cropping
As is from camera

This is a 40x12 (about) flower bed in front of my office. Since it's not a big field, I left the rest for reference.


07/12/2005 10:22:11 PM · #68
Originally posted by xuan768:
Ditto. Michigan is quite dull today =*(


was pretty bright in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - another day in the 90's :-( I am really not a warm weather person - can't wait for winter to return!
 07/13/2005 09:58:46 AM · #69
It was overcast yesterday, and from the looks of it, looks like today is going to be overcast too :(
 07/13/2005 11:26:14 AM · #70
Originally posted by suprada:
It was overcast yesterday, and from the looks of it, looks like today is going to be overcast too :(


If you can't shoot these exercises right now, don't worry about it; others have done it and you can learn from those examples.

People, I want you to start thinking about what we've been doing, and we will discuss ok? Keep it to yourself for the moment, but start thinking. Tomorrow I'll open a discussion on this.

Robt.
 07/13/2005 12:41:47 PM · #71
Looks like I'm gonna have to participate from a discussion point of view still as the light here is very blah again. (Did I ever say I was in the center of Michigan?) It's also very windy. Looks like a storm may be comin' today...

I never thought of light as being vertical OR horizontal before this discussion started. I did know that the light that you had could accentuate or hide the textures and shape of your subject.

Edit to add: The sun just popped out for a moment but it's at a high noon orientation... UGGGHHH.

Message edited by author 2005-07-13 12:44:31.
 07/13/2005 11:23:19 PM · #72
Hey everybody. Sorry I haven't got to add anything to the group yet. We are still cleaning up from the remnants of the hurricane and flooding here in Atlanta. Besides, it has been raining everyday since Sat. evening. I'm going to be more active, just first things first with the water trying to come in the house. I'm just letting everyone know where I am.
Drew
 07/14/2005 12:08:18 AM · #73
In the industry that I work in, Natural sunlight is a preferred method to shoot under, but since natural light means going outside, that means less control of the surroundings, hence why we have stages.

Also, "available light" is a total differant concept in my department. It usually means 'any' available lights left on the shelves must be brought to set.

Nice thread.

Keep up the good work my northern brother.

Message edited by author 2005-07-14 00:11:48.
 07/14/2005 03:02:59 AM · #74


2:30 PM Another Rainy Day in Geogia, must be rainin all over the world..
 07/14/2005 02:39:26 PM · #75
Alright, what are we learning?

1. As TooCool correctly pointed out, light has a horizontal and a vertical component and both need to be taken into account.

2. Our first step towards becoming "better", or "complete", photographers is to learn to see the light. This is absolutely the sine qua non of our art, the one thing ALL fine photographers have in common. You need to be on intimate terms with light; she's your master, your lover, your enemy, and your slave. She's everything to you. Respect her, but handle her firmly. Know what you want, and set out to work with her to attain it.

3. No matter how well-framed/composed an image is, it cannot be all that it could be unless the light is optimal for what you are trying to convey. Every kind of light brings with it certain visual cues, creates certain visual moods. Backlight, raking light, strong light; these are our standard tools. It's tempting to say flat light is our enemy, because this is generally true, but it's not always the case. There are times when flat light works for you in an aesthetic sense, but for now I want you to avoid it like the plague. We will come back to it later.

4. Most people are used to dealing, at some level, with the horizontal component of light but very few realize how much the vertical component changes the equation. In the summertime especially, in some situations the light at high noon has a very strong "modelling component", as it essentially becomes VERTICALLY raking light. You can see this in some of the examples where there are trees and shadows.

5. Strong light and raking light are very closely related. In probably a majority of cases involving solid objects, raking light adds value to an image, so to speak, over strong light alone. It is usually the case that revealed texture enhances an image, and raking light is how we reveal texture.

*******************

Please think about this and discuss/question/comment on the exercises completed thus far. In the two exercises, which completed sets are most succesful in exemplifying these different qualities of light, for example?

*******************

NEXT ASSIGNMENT

Since we currentlyhave a "texture" challenge on the site, let's concentrate on using raking light effectively for our next exercise. Please be careful not to reveal your entry, of course, by not posting actual entries or outtakes that resemble your actual entry too closely. But get out there and try to find sweet textures and use the light to reveal these textures in all their glory ok?

Peace upon all, and good shooting!

Robt.


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