Shadows and Highlights - not always a problem.
13th August 2022
Shadows and highlights can sometimes be a big problem for a photographer. However, other times they can work in their favour and I outlined a method I use for deliberately underexposing an image to create drama in a previous blog featuring a Little Egret. By underexposing the image the already dark background took on a black appearance and with a White bird like the Egret it accentuated the subject because of its bright plumage.
Yesterday I saw a Woodpigeon fly under some dense overhanging Willows on the River Usk in an effort to escape the relentless sun. A huge slice of luck for me was the sheer coincidence of beams of sunlight shining through a gap in the Willows that were illuminating the Pigeon. This allowed me to again underexpose the scene, thereby darkening the background. I was able to do this with the Egret because it was a snowy white bird and it could take the underexposure. However, I needed the sunbeams to do the same thing with the Pigeon otherwise it would have darkened the subject too much.
Sometimes you have to take advantage of your lucky breaks
Yesterday I saw a Woodpigeon fly under some dense overhanging Willows on the River Usk in an effort to escape the relentless sun. A huge slice of luck for me was the sheer coincidence of beams of sunlight shining through a gap in the Willows that were illuminating the Pigeon. This allowed me to again underexpose the scene, thereby darkening the background. I was able to do this with the Egret because it was a snowy white bird and it could take the underexposure. However, I needed the sunbeams to do the same thing with the Pigeon otherwise it would have darkened the subject too much.
Sometimes you have to take advantage of your lucky breaks