Falls

Another image from my trip down Tucquan Glen. I've worked on this composition during the summer time. But never really like the results, for some reason the final results never pleased me. Mostly because of the lack of color around the rocks. Nothing is wrong with the scene even during the summer. I do like this scene with the element of snow in the image. Hope you enjoy.

Nick

Tucquan Glen, revisited

I've tried making it down to Tucquan for the last couple of weeks. One of the problems has been parking another is that the snow is at least knee deep on the trails. With the snow melting a little bit I was able to park but had to spend 45 minutes to dig myself out. With hip waiter's on I trudged through the creek. It was definitely wroth the trip. I've got two season's of this scene and will be getting a spring and summer shot in time. Hope you enjoy

Nick

Red Reflections

With the temps about to climb back up into the 40s in the next couple of days. I made sure to take full advantage of last nights snowfall. I spent the morning in Lancaster County Park. With the snow on the trees and the calmness of the Conestoga River really enhanced my favorite covered bridge in the county.
Hope you enjoy
Nick

Light: Quantity & Quality

"Learning to capture Light will make

extraordinary images from ordinary subjects." -Ed Heaton

Hopefully Ed you don't mind me using your quote for my next little segment. This month it's all about lighting. This is subject that I'll admit that I'm no expert in, I take away when I should add and add when I should take away. To understand Light you have to understand that it falls into two categories: Quantity & Quality.

Quantity has to do with exposure, or intensity of illumination. We control that with aperture, (the amount we let in) and shutter the speed that we record the light. Quality is the mood of the light, warm or cool, harsh or soft.

We used to have to use a gray scale card to measure light. Some still use a hand held meter, but thanks to the digital age most of it is taken care of in camera. But a helpful hint, something I'm doing alittle more is to carry an 18%gray card with me to get a better reading. Because even with all of the camera technology they can still miss true light.

Quality is measured with the way the light comes in: Side lighting, Front lighting and Back ligthing. On a bright sunny afternoon it's a harsh light with no shadows, but morning and late afternoon there are long shadows and warmth. Cloudy days give a soft diffused light which is perfect for a long shutter. And just because the sun goes down doesn't mean you have to stop shooting. If you live in a city there are endless possibilities of night shots. The images above are images I used for side lighting with shadows. I like to keep the light on the side for the shadows. To me they add an extra dimension.

Hope you enjoy

Nick