Saturday, July 7, 2012

A Light Study

While Livie and I were at my parents', I had an idea. There's this gnarled, old, dead tree on their property, just outside the perimeter of the back yard fencing. It's been standing there for quite a long while. I was actually outside for a short time (a very, very short time, considering how hot and humid it was) on Wednesday, just admiring the scenery - the woods, the hillside, the stream at the very bottom of their property.

Anyway, I was looking at this old tree, and decided to take a photo of it in the harsh noontime sun, just because I had my iPhone with me and . . . well . . . I just could.


Well, later on in the afternoon, I was in the den downstairs (where it was MUCH cooler and more comfortable than anywhere upstairs), and realized it was about that "magic" time of day when the light starts looking a bit more golden, and shadows stretch about as far as they can go.

I suddenly decided I'd take another photo of that tree, just to see how different the photos would be at such different times of day.

Looks a lot softer, doesn't it?! This one was around 5:30 PM.

Anyway, that made me start thinking of my "Four Seasons" series on the University of Iowa campus.

(Here's the "Four Seasons 2011" series. And the Winter 2012 and Spring 2012 shots, with the remaining "Four Seasons 2012" shots obviously coming later this year.)

And that made me think I should take a couple more photos of that gnarled tree - a kind of "time of day" series.

So at dusk - or about 10 minutes before dusk (so I'd still have enough light for my smartphone's camera) - I went out and got the dusk shot.

This photo was taken around 8:45 PM. 

I'm not sure if it was due to the clouds, the diminishing light, or is it just me, or what, but it didn't seem to have such a drastic difference from that of the late afternoon shot compared to the noon shot. But there IS a bit of difference. Right?

Well, since I took the first photo at noon on Wednesday, I had to wait until Thursday to take the morning shot.

So this one was taken around 9:30 on Thursday morning.

Again, just a slight difference.

Okay, so not exactly what I was expecting when I first had the idea, but a fun experiment nevertheless.

7 comments:

Jill said...

I think you had a great idea and it's fun to see the subtle differences of that great old tree.

Michaele said...

This is a great way to study light and photography. The second shot was my favorite.

TexWisGirl said...

i always like trees in the golden hour - when the light comes in sideways and gives it plenty of opportunity to stand out. :)

Nancy said...

I like what you've done here, Sonya -- I have never shot two or more photos in different light as you have. Well done!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

I just read in a magazine that the 'magic hour' for taking pictures is the first hour after the sun comes up. Interesting experiment!

Spare Parts and Pics said...

That late day phone is amazing! Cool comparison.

Randy said...

Love it. I have a house that I wish I had the time to do a light study on.

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