Lighting Depth

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This is once again opportunistic photography: at the Gumeracha Medieval Fair in May, 2009, I snapped some close-ups of the armoured horsemen after their display. The jousting area was set up at the base of a steep hill, which created a shadowed background in the late afternoon, while the foreground remained sunlit, and here the backlighting does interesting things with both armour and the foliage closest the POV. This is a complicated lighting situation and taking advantage of it for striking composition makes the lighting the key element of this 'personalised hardware' shot. Sharpened only. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic, telephoto. Image by Mike.

A Painted Forest

The play of light, shade, colour and backlight here create an image with its own validity divorced from the landscape in which it was observed. There is something of the tonal quality of the paintings of the 18th century French master Fragonard in this, in which the light in the trees is the theme and subject, and the aesthetic of the moment is very much a 'leightmotif' as characterised the art of the Rennaissance. This picture was taken as a high telephoto close-up on a group of trees at Loftier Gardens in April, 2009, and the image was sharpened and contrast- and colour-balanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Autumn Glory

There's nothing like autumn in a deciduous wood, the colours are wonderful to the eye and the soul. This is a telephoto close-in on a patch of luminosity created by the backlighting of a fall tree, direct sunlight shining through red and gold leaves to silhouette the trunk and boughs. Things like this tend to jump out of a landscape to a photographer's eye, and draw the camera like a magnet. Sharpened and contrast-balanced; Loftier Gardens, April, 2009. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Light Through Quartz and Feathers

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Australian seagulls are small grey and white birds that are seriously human-habituated. They beg for food whenever they see a human, and will always tidy up fast food abandoned on the sea front. I took this shot not long before sundown in the spring of 2007, and the low-angle, short-frequency light has created some interesting effects. The point that draws the eye is the sun shining through the wind-ruffled feather, then the refraction through quartz grains in the sand, while overall the play of short-frequency light in the highlights and long-frequency in the shadows creates an almost painting-like texture. Sharpened and colour-enhanced for publication. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Natural Backlight

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Sometimes a great shot just walks into your lens: this was a shot begging to be taken. A cool, sunny Sunday afternoon in Greenwich Park, east London, with the low sun of early December (2007) backlighting the trees in their rich colours. The mounted Police were on patrol and I waited for pedestrians to clear the frame, lined up a patch of sunshine, cranked in plenty of optical zoon and let the horses walk into my viewfinder. The shadows flow directly toward the viewer while the sun makes the yellow leaves shine as if luminous. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Photo by Mike.

Fountains of Light

This shot was an exercise in patience. The harsh lighting conditions are the result of afternoon sun (the clock in the background says 1.45) shining directly through a very powerful water jet with the shadow side of buildings creating the dark background. The fountain is one of several in Trafalgar Square, London, photographed in early December, 2006 (the sun is very low in the English sky in December). You can see there's some elevation in the POV, the picture was taken with telephoto from across the square on the steps of the National Gallery. Patience involved framing the sprays and then waiting for the endless coming and going of tourists to create as un-cluttered an image as possible. Note also the sunglare creating halos of the fine droplets of spray drifting into the lens. Fuji FinePix S5600, 200ASA, full auto. Image by Mike.