Of Light And Texture Photo

Photographer’s Note

Just a little pause in my Knaresborough series…

Savvy photographers know dawn through mid-morning and late afternoon through dusk are prime times to shoot. During these times the light is softer and less apt to cause unwanted reflections, glare, and dark shadows where they are not wanted, such as on people's faces. Another reason for shooting at these times, especially in the afternoon and evening when the light is falling, is the enhanced detail and texture that can be found.

Notice the shadow of the gas vent's grid crossing the wall. In this light, the mild shadow is not distracting as shadow shrouded wall areas would be in bright light. Take note also of the soft shadow patterns following the wire of the mash.

Low-angle light skimming across surfaces reveals otherwise hidden textural qualities. It does this by adding shadow to areas of low relief and by not drowning details with reflections and glare.

BUT… sometimes, even at noon or early afternoon, it is possible to get an interesting and almost similar result – depends only on your creativity, angle of shooting, composition and a subject chosen.

An example is in front of you.

snuggleaphagus, nwoehnl, jbweasle, sarieyyupoglu, eza1701, dom_inik_m, seanf, MarekP, singuanti, sayzey, quantabeh, pamastro, weswang, RGatward, jmdaoudal, Michael_Gan, premels, alvaraalto has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

snuggleaphagus (4138) 2005-07-13 16:59

Fantastic long shadow. The texture on the wall is very cool too. I lik this composition there are so many geometrical elemts to it. The lines of the bricks the curves of the shadow and the actual lamp, and then the shadow divinding the photo in a very gentle but difining manner.

it takes an artist to see art in mundane objects, which you did in this photo.

colinb (1536) 2005-07-13 17:02

Great shot. Very good eye, finding a nice picture in an every day scene.

sarieyyupoglu (324) 2005-07-13 17:05

Hi Robert
good shadow...
nice red tones...
excellent composition...
fine light...

Ebbe (9571) 2005-07-13 17:05

Lovely in its simplicity Robert. Good textures. Quite some geometry with all these rectangels, verticals, horisontalls, circles and then the strong main diagonal. Pew, just noted the small diagonals now....

nwoehnl (120) 2005-07-13 17:18

Great photo, Robi - my take on the topic usually is that there is no such thing as good light or bad light - there is just light, and it is possible to take brilliant or bad photos at any time of day. This sure is a brilliant mid-day one, the graphism obtained from the gas vent's diagonal shadow as it registers on the brick wall sure is compelling. Fine cropping, excellent sharpness, and nice intrusive diagonals on the orderly horizontal and vertical brick pattern.

yesterday (9787) 2005-07-13 17:20 [Comment]

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jbweasle (9294) 2005-07-13 17:32

A wonderful composition with great colour and detail. Well done for making a good shot out of "nothing".

jjbach (9109) 2005-07-13 17:38

Wonderful colours, textures and details. I think it's a very original composition. Excellent work Robert!!

eza1701 (3343) 2005-07-13 18:56

Wonderful shot Robi, it has excellent sharp details and a great vibrant red colour. I love the way you have framed it with the light in the top right and the shadow moving diagonally to the bottom left.

Well seen,
Paul.

dom_inik_m (1707) 2005-07-13 19:08

Well, the title you chose said it all! And your photo proves it with some great eloquency and strong conviction. What could I add, after so many demonstrative and rewarding critics?
Splendid study in mesh and granulary, Robert. And as Norbert wrote, there's no good or bad light. There's only light you can tame and work with, according to what you want... or what you can do with it. So feel free to explore this nearly abstract direction and share your finds with us all... ;-)
I also think this picture might prove to be a nice addition to my theme, Exploring shapes and colours. But only if you think so too...
Take care!

MarekP (4744) 2005-07-13 20:27

Hi Robi,
Very interesting experiment with the high sun. I'd never expect so long shadow and so well revealed texture, but of course, it's natural if the subject is vertical :-) A clever idea, well seen and well executed!

Thanks,
Marek

john_c (24635) 2005-07-13 20:45

Hi Robert,
An impressive lesson on shadow, colour, and texture. I like the colours here and the angled shadow. Your note is very informative as well. Regards.
John

singuanti (15240) 2005-07-13 22:13

Hi Robi. The textures are fantastic and that's a side effect of the good sharpness. You did well with the light and shadows. Given the limited photographic material you sure were successful! Oh I just posted another horse shot. Rest assured they are cute and harmless! :) Nice shooting Robert!

poulinp (4464) 2005-07-13 23:13

Very sharp, nice texture, simple but effective. I like it!

chaity (1539) 2005-07-14 1:23

Hai Robert, I like this creative shot of yours. Very good POV with the shadow of this gas vent. Very well captured.

elturco99 (931) 2005-07-14 2:00

Very well timing, wonderful colors,
well done,

Aziz

AmiBe (6042) 2005-07-14 2:36

Hi Robert,
excellent graphical picture, color tones are very good.
I like the shadow diagonal.
Good eye !

drymd29 (448) 2005-07-14 2:49

Very good; not seeable in the icon, but when openend it is great.
A favorite for me.
Huub

MisterWhite (340) 2005-07-14 5:32

The simpelst shots often are the best. Certenly in this case. Well done! Great composition, light, texture, lines and detail.
The beautiful red also helps of course.

dkeus31 (26234) 2005-07-14 6:57

Hi Robert,
Nice colors, good amount of details and thanks for the lesson.

wilkinsonsg (8646) 2005-07-14 8:14

Very well set out note - and the photo backs it up :)

sayzey (2358) 2005-07-14 12:19

Interesting note about lighting and shadows, and also interesting how you have made something so creative out of something that woudl usually be so uninteresting... To the untrained eye at least.

Good use of shadow and the light available to create your effect, and the explination to support it is very good!

Well done!

quantabeh (5203) 2005-07-14 14:35

excellent composition and framing. the elongated shadow is impressive. The color of the wall really gives the whole picture a different tone.
nice piece of detail!

pamastro (7213) 2005-07-14 23:34

Very nicely spotted. The lighting is beautiful. It has that long early and late light look but the brightness of midday. The way the lighting falls across really brings out all the excellent textures of the wall. That and the very nice color and excellent composition really makes it appeal to me as a nice, simple, graphic image showing us light. Very well done all around on this one Robert.

Mrgud (0) 2005-07-15 10:32

Perfect shot Robi! :)) Sun is in just right angle and colors are fantastic! Congrat! :))

weswang (18223) 2005-07-15 17:13

Hi Robert, A very well taken picture with great details of the texture on the blocks of the wall. The long shadow diagonally across the picture is an eye catching feature. A well seen and well taken fun scene.

eleparc (24059) 2005-07-16 5:29

bravo Robert for this very graphic shot! i love the abstract touch! well done!!
Eric

RGatward (19747) 2005-07-17 3:38

How did I miss this one. Very much in Olli style, if you don't mind me saying. Very well seen, and well framed, well, you say it all in the last paragraph.

jmdaoudal (82) 2005-07-17 19:02

Very useful toknow what timeitss been caught.
A very good idea here and creative too. All is well balanced and the colors are excellent.
I like it
Jean Michel

mumek (17468) 2005-07-18 19:02

Good evening Robert!
Fantastic colours, texture of the wall and details.Very impressive work.Congratulations
regards
ziggy

dsidwell (9745) 2005-07-19 19:26

Simple and engaging photo, Robert! The colors and textures work their subtle ways, but the minimalist and graphic nature of the subject is very nice!

Michael_Gan (2772) 2005-07-22 5:26

Owwww... very well seen! Very beautiful minimalistic and abstract shot. Very well balanced composition, warm colours, good sharpness and a subject that creates a marvellous and delicate shadow. The wall is also great, showing us a combination of irregularities on the surface and very straight lines.

premels (2400) 2005-07-31 6:04

Hi Robert, You should teach photography. The way you talk about it is very lively and the examples you produce very demonstrative. The texture of that red cement is really great and that long shadow very impressive. Well seen.

ishai (4093) 2005-08-19 5:09

I love shadows and in this composition you captured the shadow and the air filter profile
The composition of this air filters shadow in an angle is very artistic but graphical too and is nice with the lines of the bricks

Well captured and presented

ishai

donluicu (23927) 2006-03-01 11:10

Hello robert
this is an excellent picture, with a real effort of compo..well done

loic

alvaraalto (5231) 2006-04-14 10:47

Hi Robi,
It’s amazing how light and shadow can play with each other. It gives a beautiful abstract presentation to something simple as a gas vent’s grid.
groet Rob

sebinho342 (18740) 2007-03-17 9:41

Hi Robert, this is good !
I like that kind of stuff, minimalist subject and compo, good play of light and shadow, texture, this has certainly a good impact on watcher.
I will try to do that kind of stuff next week in marocco
Have a good week end