This exercise in the OCA’s Art of Photography course (light module) is an examination of how a low sunlight lit object can be captured in a variety of ways to draw out different elements of the object being photographed.
The object chosen was a large Spanish Armada cannon that is located on the sea front of Strandhill, a small seaside village in Sligo on the west coast of Ireland. The images were made in early January at about 2pm with a bright sun quite low in the sky. All were shot on daylight white balance setting. The main considerations in making the images from the perspective of exposure were a) to as far as possible avoid blown highlights in both the sky and the sea when side on to the sunlight and b) managing the exposure of the sky when exposing into the sun when it was hidden behind the cannon. In managing these two issues I was also conscious of the need to use the strong lines of the cannon in a way that brought dynamism to the images. Almost 100 images were made incorporating different angles and bracketing from which four have been selected to illustrate the points required in the exercise. Each of the learning points is given below together with the relevant image and a short commentary.
Side lighting
The aim here was to address that part of the cannon in sunlight and that in shade by side lighting ensuring that there was an appropriate exposure. The choice of angle gives dynamism to the image while the strong shadow gives a sense of depth, reinforced by the upward trajectory of the cannon barrel.
Back Lighting
This image showing the cannon backlit was awkward to complete and required several attempts to get a correct positioning of the sun, correct exposure of the sky and the silhouette where I wished it to be. The image works reasonably well insofar as the strong outlines of the cannon are shown against a textured sky. Unfortunately the roof lines to the left of the image detract somewhat and cropping them out would have reduced the image size significantly.
Edge Lighting
The aim was to show the lighting of edges of the cannon and supporting structure without showing the sun itself. This works insofar as the left hand edges of the cannon and carriage are clearly sidelit by the sunlight.
Frontal Lighting
The frontally lit image is the least satisfactory as it is flat and lacks a sense of energy. It would have been possible to include more of the cannon in the image but there would have been significant shadow interference from myself as the photographer.
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