Comments on: The Color of Light https://www.birdsasart-blog.com/baa/2013/09/12/the-color-of-light/ The blog of bird photographer Arthur Morris Sun, 15 Sep 2013 17:25:35 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8 By: Richard Lethbridge https://www.birdsasart-blog.com/baa/2013/09/12/the-color-of-light/comment-page-1/#comment-611093 Sun, 15 Sep 2013 17:25:35 +0000 http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/?p=16068#comment-611093 1) The brightness of the subject caused the meter to underexpose
2) The shaded image needed more exposure. Why *2 1\3 stops? Could it be because
predominately blue light in

1) The bright subject caused the meter to underexpose.
2) Could it be because the meter is more sensitive to the predominately blue light
in the shade, thereby increasing the meter’s tendency to underexpose.
3) 3 stops. 1/40s vs 1/320s
4) To avoid camera shake with 1/40s.
5) More natural. The first is a bit too extreme, though very striking.

]]> By: Russ Norwood https://www.birdsasart-blog.com/baa/2013/09/12/the-color-of-light/comment-page-1/#comment-610078 Fri, 13 Sep 2013 14:51:58 +0000 http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/?p=16068#comment-610078 Why + 2/3 stop for image one: You were confronted with a bright subject against a bright background and the camera’s exposure system attempted to average the scene to a neutral middle-gray exposure, underexposing the scene by 2/3 stops. (Most light metering systems work on luminance rather than color and attempt to expose as if the scene was an 18% gray card.)

Why + 2 1/3 stops for image two: You were still confronted with the same bright background, but your diffuser effectively reduced the brightness of your subject while softening the lighting without changing the brightness of the background. In the first shot, the bright subject effectively limited the amount of exposure compensation you could apply without overexposing the subject. In this case, the relatively “darker” subject shaded by the diffuser gave you more latitude and so you increased exposure even more to brighten it. The result gave you a truer representation of the background illumination, too.

Why the 2-second timer on the second shot: at 1/40 of a second even the slightest vibration will tend to introduce softness — even from a careful press of the shutter. Setting the timer allowed the entire system to settle down, reducing vibrations at the moment of exposure.

I like image 2 for the additional detail and reduction in apparent contrast, an approach that seems to me to better suit the subject. But both are lovely.

Russ

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