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put ,.

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I TRO UGI 0

D~fzJ1ZJlg E~jJfJSLtre

/:.!

\~'I-1

T I NE -_'I BY ~ EXPOS RE'?

THE PI OTOGRAPH IC TRIA -GLE
T lF liE Rf F TilE ~ , 1 NCLE:
T IE LIGII METER
r . (H.ru Cl EXP URE

14
6
.22

0 , Cl J A I IV 11 Y CORRECT NE.
. VE .
.I E ~ XPO "URE OPTI N

:..4

32

76
P .

'lNG

80

I IPL . _.G . I[011

IM "I .
M '1. JO
MAK

\~'HILE

8
88

ZOO_ III G

GR T

90

/~ u/11

92

l~

THE IMPORT - NCF F I II :

'I1lE IMPORTA CE 0 EXPO URE
fE .'ETUHT
FRONTLIGHT
El c I' FRO TLIGHT
.. IDE. I HT
B CKLIGH'f

9.
96
100
102
106
110
11 .

E -P

RE

r .

I.

89( REFLEC -- L
T l~

118

KY BROTHER
II . I E J
H I K BROTHERS cou .I
- JCHT . D LO\V~LIGHT PH T RAPHY
1

""} cil

~c/111 lflles

CLTlfl

Filt.ers

BL E PO UR A D A DWICHI ~G
L I 'L ~ V PO R
POL\RIZIN G FILT R
EUT L -D rrY J 'I ~- rER
GRADUATED 1 E TRAI I . Tl - I ILTER
D

Fil11 t l s. ryigit(Ll

JJtJ
1'8
I -

142
lt

] 18
"I 0

1.51
154

0
I

]22
126
128

OR

15

158
160

ago at one of n1y lillork hops _ I

re ponded v-rith a urpri .ing an "1'-l r to th .ft na- k d qu --t on ' Bryan how long hav you b n
hooting?'' Perhap it ,, a
. au I had been
w ithout sleep for several da . and oftenti1.n e I
think clearerwitthout tnu h .l p but I an w ed / :would
estirnate that l ve been hooting a little less l11an two weeks ..
most. N 'Clle . to . a . my ~eply got mnore than ju ..t a puzzl d look ar d n a w giggl ,.. I w nt on to 'plain that
ther .- 0 loubt r .. had a ame a lung over my . houl. e fo-r o1n. t irty-plu yea . l ut '\.Yh n t otnes down to
actual . hoot 'ng t me aetual. pre ing the , hutt :r
1 a e to co dan . po. u e- it ha. nd . d be n n ini~
mal. If _on av . rage I v rna- ~ all of m. "I o u , - at /2
th .. o r of a a ~ ar d ha a ag I 10 000
e po Mr - in that fm~ th in on y a I'v . I nt a grand
total of S 000 "'e ond . lit .ally hoot ng. TbaL . rough y
ight hours and th t mnut . . ultipl" d b . xa tl thii ty-the .. ar"' that' roug,hl el - v ~ n la andfi - hour!
hi.l thi . n1light not hav . b nth "nt - nd d m. anng
behind th original que tion;. it an t
.ting . on ideralion. B"' rn .~ interpretation of ho'-v long on ha b n
' sl ooting, profe ional port , photograph
ho
make n1o t of their . posure at l /500 ~ - ~ . ar m r
'(Obabie " irru term, of shooting tin1e. he san1e goes for
f~l ' hion photographer ., wlo rnore often than ot are -.tuck
at a fla h yndl-wronization. peed of l/250 s c.
v ral year

o, thi ju ' t goe to prove what I ve al,, ay known to

be true: hotographer who pend the bulk of their hootin lirne in the great outdoors (away frorn ports and fashion)~ ha, e the greate t amount of ~hooting ti~ne behind
the camera and are therefore the b t qualified to speak
about the joy of photoP'raphy. I hope you ve enjo)ed th.e
V\ ay I pla) ed 1'\'i th the e numh r
b cause pia i~1 with
nun1heli - and the '\>vay number relate to one another~
is '\\ hat exposure i - all about.
The numbers that I arn talkina about are d1e very
numbers that have perhaps, confused you for far too
long: shutter speedl (fron1 1/8000 sec. do'"' n to several

(from j72 .8 to jl32) and I 0 (film

p d). ~. o v ond r und 1 . tanding .po U!l' an make
you t . I 1il you n d a lid ru and a d gr in . alu lu . Four t :n y a r
ago when Under tanding
.Exposure wa fir . .t publi h d I n1ade it tny tnission to
d ~ pel the myth that und rstand g e1 po ure l a had. It
does t ave to 1 l a d at
~
ld I ow I nl . . . ing the
book to up1at and ~pand upon that information.
My ow love affai '\1 'th pi otograph. b ga 'n 970 ,
f e h out of high ... hool ~1\rhen 1ny o dest brother Bill, propo ~I use hi .ikon F and 50mtn 1 n top- otograph the
b autiful ount y in Willan U
a.J]e , Or gon ather
minute ), apertur

ar ..

than [[naking t I n-at d-ir -.. drawing of it tha I wa

do ng at th . tim . ith minimal in t uctio , I ad . d off
and hot two roll . f ~la . k~an ~ hit fiim o r-r th n - t
th day . la. lat ;. '"rith my b oth ' h pin i ..hom
dark oom "a ab o]ut - y m m - riz~ - d h th immedia. y of th - photograph c print an l I \\ra hook ..d.
bou~:;~ht mor film an hot ev- thing I could for the
..-.t . ight month wh n I Ina -~.. what prov d to be one of
th b t mi tak of m II . R aching into a bask to
h filn1 eount r of a lo al camera tor ,, I bought th e
roll of --outdated''' . gfachrom . 35mm film. pent the
TA~k nd pl tographing, and
h n I .ho .r d up at rn
brother~. darkroon1 he pointed out that the fillim vra not
black and ,,~lhit . but rather co]or lide filn .. I . asn't
thrill d to hav to mak the trip to th~ earn -ra stor to
have the film pro ..ed . bu~ rr1y brother onvin .ed me
that I hould be "au e ., you ne\ er know. . ou n1ight like
the colot . o, j u t ho\\ happy ' a I ith the colors?
Let',, ju 't a) thHt O\ er the . our e of these pa '" t thirty-two
y ars l'v hot 99 1 er -., nt of . ver1rthing in living olod
Color fihn moti' ated me o mu h that it was lhen that
1

tajfted '.vritin
ve11 thin down-aperture s : utter
peed and e'en ti~ne of day-for each expo<ure .. ] \'\r.a .
-oon addin ., note on lens choice. I devoured photoo-raphy book at the local Hbra11 - and it wa n t long before ]
began to develop a n1u h better under<tandin. u~and
appreciation- of apeitures and shutter speed alon~r

on ali u cm~ nbination f lh

tw . nd a 1 tr1 - l 'iff r r t lor filn1s \vith th - ir -}jff rent 'ra tru .; tu
and c 1 r l iase . I ,,. a b U :r a.h)
t nulltch a ~iv n filr 1 L~ ) a pa f ular
1bj L. _ lth ~h iL

with h in1pa _.t f I

& .

11

eem.ed a lona titn un~ n r If lL l 1 finaH r ach I] Lh

point \ l ere th n cpl f . po wr b an1. far nl( me
than ju t rLc 1 ~ ling a eon, ct . xpo ur-' with th right
ap 1~tur - right huLL r .:p L an l ri .ht fi1n1, I . ~ ul~ ] e )rJi tentlr- r re o d cr ..ati1 e . o ure ~expo
Lh at
re ult d in oT at- - tl pth f ii ld or that 1 n l 1 onl
on flower ut ~ f n ntir. fi ld in focu - or tl . l -un ye ~
th nolic n f z:,al oping h r e.
h ou ~rrl ul Lhi ] oo I di , u th int~ r la.ti .n hip
b t' en p rt ~r , -hutt eecl a d filtn th ~ l i ~an l
1

h
To

alwaJ
I

Lh ,r

th ~

n- at d
he'" rt of ev r_ ' ., l ) ur~ .
three el n1 nts 1:11 k u " hal I aU L i( n -

J ,

at 1. call the 1 hutog.ra1 hi triangle. i'an~ili izinu- _oure ".it] th , r latw )n I p an 1 th trian ' ~ will fi,. t
and for ,JTI L nable ) ou to Blake COIT t r u ur . f .
l110f con -i t l Ll ' rhi. - in turn , \1ill fr ' y . u to I arn th
ail of r r~-[ino- ~ Teativel ,. corTe t xp< ur un] r rn n
dill rent libhting itu tion . b1 addiLion, at t - h ar , f
th phot ~ rhi~ ' t1ia1gl i d1 - e po ur In l ; \ ithouit
it tnaki n 01 a onect po ure would r _,quir,- Lh ,:, niU
1 ...lit of a l yu~ e era a1 d a , ar ful e.'_, in ~ L rnrnin
Ii hi'. alu . 1\m d.. ... -ot n ed t know wh re to La~ e yo u
Ill L .r r a lin 0 Lo lJI t . u ~ e ful xpo. ur . ;H acllr~ . ~
th c prin try ] ue. . o that . ou ~ an 111
b ) )nrl irnplv r ,., r ling corre t ex1 o ur to l ""' n in r Lh art of
rnaki n(j r~ . . ati\ el- o T t x1 o. urcs.
I h 111 r - rn nti on of th ,, ord expo. u.r a t t1i '. 'e ar
in th . . h at -, ( f man - )hotorrra1 h . :r
r the y a , I
hav . . v~riLn -, ed thes anxi t. r aUaek. n -~ th y are often
1

nted; bt t lh , ood ! 1. \V ' i... thatlhe. e a 'i It ' ata k

a Lh
a. i L to lll l . Fvery antat n photoar 1,} r
, ha
a con n1on T u1 1: Lhe inabilit. to on i l nLly
1na - " .. ,H'T t exp . ur . JI. ~ n1. r h pe that, aft r ~ 1Jing thi bool .an l utC 1 g into Ira ti e th I a ic ~ rin '1J ~l
on expo 1u re, _r u'H hen e a kno\'\ l dg <. f , x1~ ur
that wiU p nan .n 1.-r alL r vc ur a pn a h to ~v .ry pi -
tur, -taking iLuati, n. our anxi ~ t_r nill b r~ pla - ~ I . ~ a
l r, 1 of o rllden r~ JU ~houc-h you n1ight n vera hi y, .
\\aT.t

I ng d in th - ,,,,r orl 1 of phot gr l hy

. .in e the fir t ecliti ~ n of nd r .tea .d ing E. po:ur . 1 l the
least of whieh i L~ a h . nt of th diwital ao-e., ,. iL 1 ~ .]
to l e aid th ' HlOI t mnu; eh~ ng , th Inorl th ) La r Lh
'o rnuch hu

'

"

an1e. \ ~ ry an1L a i till n L] ]no~ 1110 th n a iuhtproc t I o. \ iti a ln Lit on . nd and .a li~rht= I - ~ Live
l vic he i lL fihu r a di oit
hi a. the oth -r. The
~ roc . of light - t Iiuu through th 1 n- to r~ ~ ~c r J an
.inta e (I it on fln or diuita! 111 l~ ia) ~ . till h - . all .
nd th - r cord ~ ~ lnat.r. ~ -- ti 1 . all d. .:n -.. Kpo 11n~- .
\\Th ther .'' 'lJI l , ol film. or d.i .rital.' an all agr ( n
on thi 1b: th r ~. lway. . ~ hot -inT in(J" ofh ar l h .lp
u out wh n '"' 1 . w "t ri h[ r , but plea ~e n1 k 't ' ur
~oal t u -e ph t~ - n-gin ~ o t'\ulre nl/ a our la .t re ~ rt .
Do you r alJy -I j v .1 en li . .all of _,rour lei~ r titn - at
the con1putP-r ., ~r - tiuc.r ha I x o re ? L ,arn ~im g ho' Lo
Inal _ Ll , orr ... t .. po "ure in- a1ner 1 will a v ~' u 1 l of
tin1e .' ::t ~. d wh~
ul h . t u tnore tin1~ :
Fo n1an r, a l 1 ., th m.clerial n Lhi. 1 o k wiU be
~rand r Jw l tTit n~ , whi~
o.r oth . th .__ mat, ibl n1ay
. rv t .an affi n1aLi n of whaL i . 1lr -a ly known. l h Lher
you Lry
C! ll of th
u u tion , th mat ial '' il
hav a ~ rofou l a ~t on TOUr ~11 ility Lo ay 'W th ' . rtainty thdL . ou d kJw cwb t rour xpo tUe wiH }
I

I TROD

"110

,l

TV!h
w at. 1s
j

eant by ''E
xposure ,,')!'

7111
1r1

I menti n d in th i 1tro ]u Liou. j'w-ll a . it

\va l 00 y ar- ago and ju t e:s i I. \v a: in
1970 wh - n l11v 1d 111 fir t. . ./ { o:ure, tn Jay
c cry ~arnera-b .iL filtn or d.igi td- .
nol hit. 0 rn re than a ligh li r of hox \' / th a
len. . l. He ,nd an l r oht . en "iLi ' ~ fil.nl r a ' ligi Ia I :c. [' l
al th tl -,r (~ r]( L Th . an]e light nter t.h len the p -rLur , ') a 'l l :tfle r a ... rLain an1ou L < f tirn
leL x11.in - I by
huu- pcul) an i 1 age will ] - r .c r ~ d (on fihn o . di.-_
ital n1 dia). 'I his r - :or led irnacr ha. l . "'' tl eaHe ]- ._,
day n - .a n expn ur ' , an l it -.L.ill i . .
0 1 1 Lim J:, th .- wur l expo ure re r. lu a tini~ h ,d. li le
or rinl: "' \Vow thaf 'l ni :e xp(. Ul" r i\l ol.h~r titn - , it
r f s Lo the film or di 'ital anl: ... ' v, < nh cot a Lew
~

,-u ,:lcfl. Bttnwr oft nthan nol., IIL\\oTJ ro-ur r .f rs to th , anH Hint ~ and a ,t o ii 0 hl fctll ing n hoto . .~. :itiv . mat rid1 (eith r th . fi1nl r digiLd ai l) . 1\nd
i n1th.i: < m t f' . t i 1 on1es UI rno. t ft -H as part of t rue . ( n- a q tw."ti H )"\ e h ard lllOr , fle n than a \'" oth x:
;."H y Bry<-J n.. what hould rn) x J . ur , h~e? ~ (In other
ex~

a uld hit tl fi~rnh l ibit al rne lia

And HY an 'N is ahray. Lh S" rn -:

wods, how mu :h lirht

3.n

f(H

lW

n~J?

'

,.. 'our cxposur -h nJl(l b -

C(rr

t! '

appear t. . be flipp:t 1t~ it reaH. '

i the an ""' wc . A. eonecl. exp ur r .c.~Uy i. hat eY r ...

J\]du IJnh

111

an .. w

nnat -ur and pr f i( nCJl all hop . to ace Jrni_li h with

. id1 r hi l r h r 'tJncra.
I - p until ab ul 19~ S.., h f n1an _, auto .X( o u ~ <:tnl
er '"' aniv , ] , n tJ u~ : : ~11 , ver_'- pl oL Jgra h r had I .
cho ln th a apcrl.u r~ n 1 hutt r 1e J. _d at ,, h<~ n
COlT et_ wou Id -,cord a on L exposure . Th
-.hni : ,: in
crp ture an " huucr . :1 ~ " l vve e dir d.,r 1nf1uenc .d h. the filn1 '.. T ,0 ( peed or -n -.i ti vit. r t , ]ioh . . .1( t p hotogr.cq her' -. 1o:u re. \V ull be ba. ,} on th aval thl '"'
natural li ht. J\11d wh _,n the a ra.ilahl - ie:ht wa. n t
-nott"h, th y d rc ~ ort t t. in/ il . h or a tri1 1
oday, n o L 'i:Hll , x.~ ,_., ith r 1rn or ligital, ar ,
qui pp l w.lh ~ . ) lTI u ~ h C.: ll L Hll t. on th .r Jl"Olll l SP. to do
it all for / u . allov~r ing photog a he~r t unecn trat
. ol 1 , on \vhat lht-v ,,,ri h to ~hoot. ~ Ju t k -! , lh i dial
h re t l p u u-1 fir ' i:: way' . The "'.U11 ra 'v.ill d{ f"V r .,. r_
1th in(.r .L ;; say; t.l ,
thu ~ ia tic al mnan al llh(~ , n -ra . ~ h 1. h~, if that W re ( n lv t ue. 01 v' u::;ly, mo. t.if not all- >f you wl
ouoht
thi. ho k have ad -it-all<
f r- ;, u -atHLn.t.. ... r t ... r ll till find vou
.... lf htJIId li e L.
...
Jnfu <::- :l and fru s tr te l bv :1 o ur .. \Vl i that'? It'~.
] e :au your d)-it-c. 11- or~_ ou an1 ra i not mivin ' ) Lo

ahat 1 r tnis ., n1d/ r . ou ha, e f.inaH .r aelt .. 1 1he I int

at ,vh h \ ( U \\' ' U .t t , o n ~ i ~ t nLl - r d e rrP.ct (- h Lo~ra]. hi CXJH ~ ur __

he, do-i't-aU camera often

fa lls slhort of its promise,
yielding disappointing
resul ts (opposite)., Use your
camera's manual setfngs
(this page}, or at the very
least/ know how lig ht ~and
dark 'in te1
ract on film or digital media so that you con be
assured of getting it right
even when you a re in autoexposure mode. t( Note: To
determine the successful
expo sure~ I moved in dose to
the subject o nd took a meter
reading off his face; I then
backed up to reframe 01nd
rna ke th e ~exposure.)
[Both photos: 35- 70mm lens
at 35mm. Opposite: f/5.6
for 1/500 s,ec. in program
mode. This page:: f/ 5 . 6 for
1/90 sec. in manual mode]

Se ng and Using You Camera on Manual

1

~ nO\\

of no other way
o -i L nLlY
make COITect
posur than to
learn how to hoot a fullv tn~nual
, pos tu~e_ On~e you
1 aru l ho\ to
hoot in 1nanual , ., po ur n1od , (if
really terribly ea y), .roull beLL _.r uud .rstan l th out,. .on1 , f ol r ~- p , ures
when you hoo. ~ l
out in , 1nj- o1r
full autoexpo ur n1o l .
~1ith "our an1 , a and 1 - i f ~or t )f
.you . t .,, ur a 1, ra dial to 1\1 or manual If yo r
on how to el. vo r
ean1 sa t 111a ual ~ posur tnod ~ rea
th n1 lll l!) G . . t ''Olll on to .1 as your
uhj '"'ct nd o-o t a l ad) part 01 your
) ar I r a n - ighboorh od pad or i it"
J'

'

an O\ I ~ l day~ a y rh r in th ) ard or
J ail wil -~o. R . gar
u OUI" ("alller
nd r gardl , of \\rhat 1 n yo1 re
u. inO', tyorln. 1 inTtothenunlb .r 5.6 (jlS.6). lac . your ubjec up
aoain. t t h l
r 001 ix- to ei ht-

n .

foot ~ h ul h xy.
vie" jnd .r an l

o'"'~

look throu h th

cu on . our ~ bject.
flj _t yo 1 . h tte pe d until th
e Tn r ,_ ight m , l r indic t , a co1 . ct
po ILU'e in your vi wfint er a d
t k th ph togra h. You v j 1 t n1ad a
rn nual oi ct po ure!
Op rat! )' in n1anual xpo --u e n1od
i. n1pov\ ing
n1ak
not of thi
rn Inorabl da I

B
1

X' I

ir.J
I ." J,

S l"l")) r,
')
f' J
L

l~ ..-

The Photographic Triangle

h la t thino- I want you to d , i, for v r 1ea

,vbeth r that p , r wa orrect o1 not an th y till

your camera ap . tur at j75.6 and impl r are toda - v n f ou JY us1ng a lig:ital "am ra. I r f r
adju. t our huUer p . d for th - light fall" g to th m a the 1 hot, ~graphi triangle.
Lo at, th button whee or dial on our am ra or
on your subject u .til th , vi wfi d r indicate
a 01 1ect exposure. B for ou for -e a ' ead lens that ontr 1 he a erture. H ou r, u in o- an older
lith your n ,.vound ease 1n , Uing rna 1ual exposure
ca era and I n. . the a1~ erture control i a ring that ou
you n d to learn some basic con , , aJJout exposure.
tur on 1th n t elf. hether . ou pu h butt IJ tur a
ou ll ,. , a ri . of
oorre t exposure i a . in1pl otnbination of thre ,.~;rh ,1 or rotate a rin on the len
o1ning up in the 'iewfind or , n the ), n ,
important factors: ape11ur - shutter . p -ed, and ISO. numb r
ino the beginning of photogra ~ hy th se an1e thre . it If. Of aU f t numbers ou 11 , tak _ t of S.6
8 11 16., and ma be e -en a 22. Of ou
h ting ith
facto ha -e alwa . been at th . art of ery eXJJOsur
~

1~6

DEF.I l G E . . . PO ,. R

a fi d-z nl-1
digit I an ra you rnay find that your a a ap rtur o }71.4 the ian1 . ter of the actual len
ap rtur d n'l g . ~ a l or n1ayh 11. , [ach on f the op ning '\\1ould b . 3.S.711101. Here 50 (1 n - focal L .- gth)
num r
n~ _'1 ond t .a p ~ ifw op ~i ng in your ] n
divided b l. (stop) equal 35.7 ( ian . t r of
s op nand th -_
I -ning alh call .f- to . a in photo~raph- ing). h \d t tnakes rny head spin ju m: t
.in<Y abuuiL
i~ t~ 111. th
c d f/4.- t :
..6 i f/5.' and c on.
all that. Than goodne thi - 11ct very ittle _if an; thing
Th p im r fun ti
th
1 n op nin i to control to do with achie~ ing a orre t expo ur .
th v lum f 1 ght th<, r a
the .fibn or di . ital n1 di
Tnt stingly enough a h ti111e ou d eend frotn on
during an . p - ur~ . h - ..rnaller t . f- top numb r, the ap rtur op ning to th next . or stop do .n ucl a fron
larger th, I n p ning th l~arger Lhef- top th smaller jl _ to j/5.6 the volume of light ent ring th n - i - ut in
th I n p n"ng.
a . Lik ,,vi .e .- if you change frotn an ap rtur op ning of
or th t hni 1 min ; d ouL l here an.f top i
frae - jl tofl8- th volume of li q-ht nte1-ing tl l
doubl - ..
l. o that ndi al
th diameter of th aperture. The f. Each hal ing or doullinll' of liaht i r f 1. d t , a a full
tan for th fo ai len th of th 1 n ~ the lash (f) means stop. hi i impottant to note n man_ ' am ras toda
d v.ided by, and the nun1b r repre ~ ent the .top in use. offer not only full top but al o tl al ~ ilit r t . t th .
or ampl - if ou '\\rere h otin v~rith a 50mm 1 ns S e- t ap rtur Ito one-third top i . . f/4 fl .5 jl" fl .6,f/6. I

hile teaching1a photo

worlkshop in Duboi, I

photographed the
daug1hter of one o,f my students . Since depth of fielld
was not o big concern for
thi s composirioni I chos~e a
#Who cares?IJ aperture of
f/ 1 1 (see poge 56 for more
on this type of ~a pe.rtu re).
Handholding my c ameral, I

adjusted the

shuHer

speed

until the camera's Illig ht meter

ndicated 1/250 sec. a1s the
correct exposure.

1
[80- 200mm lens, f/5.6 for
1/250 sec.]

uts ide the town of

Charja in the United

Arab Emirates I com~e

1

upon several men en9'aged

in a

card game. Althoug1h

the game itself proved in ter:..

esting to photograph/ I wantedi more than anything, to

18 D .PI N~ -

I XPO.. RE

make a portratit o f this porficullar g1entleman. W 'ith an

aperture of f/4, I knew I'd
be able to g1et a "selectively
focused~~ image of just him
while the motn in the background remained an out-of:focusyet im portatnt com-

positional element. As I
fr01med the imag1e1 I ad'justed
the shutter speed until 1/250
sec. wos ind1cated as the
corred ~exposun:~.

[80- 200mm lens,

1/250 sec.]

f/ 4

for

f/7.] f/8,fl . j7 0 j711 and o on. ( he und . dined nLunr r - nt t ori inal basi top whil th th r
ar th . n
r on -third option ometiln1es availall .)
O\ 1 t. turn to ~ hutt r sp . d. D p . nding on 'the
1nak a - d mod I our ccun ra n1a offi r shutte p ed
from a blazingl fc t 1/8000 c. all th wa} do \rn to 30
ond . T - butter ~ . peed co trol the aJ:nounl of 1tin1 ,
that th
urn of li ht corn1no- th1rou.~ h th
~ d terrniined by th ap rture) i al lov .ed ~o tay on th filn1 or
igit m~ dia in the . arn ra. The .arne hal vi g and doubl. ng pr iple that app ies to 11 eitur al ~ ap : li .- to
I

h tt r sp -ed.
I t m - "plain. et the b utter pe d control n your
am -ra to 500. Thi nu nber d note -. a fraction-S
1 pr . nt . l/50
ee. O\\ change -r om . 00 to .2 50
again t
repre nt /2.50 ' e .. Fron1 1/250 ~ rou go
to /125, 1/60 1/30 1/1 - and o n. Th d I' you
hang fron11 1/30 sec. to l/60 e . (de r a itng th lt ime
th . ight sta on the filnlidigital m dia) or f urn 1/60
to ll' 0 e . (in a ing th tim h light ta.. . n the
fihn/digital rnedia ou
hift .d a full . .to . gain thi .
i i1nportant to note sine n any . am 1 . toda a of r
the ability to set ~h hutt r p d t
n -third tell
/500 ec. l/400 s~- .,1 l/320 .., 1/250
. 1/200
..ec. l/160 ec. l/12 -c. - 1/l
. . 1/80 ~ "., l/60
sec. and ~ o on. ( gain Ll 1 und tlin d numb :r; Iepres.ent lhe origina . basi top ' hil th oth r ~- a1re the
ne~~ r one-third option
on1 tim a ailabl .) Cameras
that offer on ~thh~ I _t . I lf fl. .-t the am +a indu .try
atten1pts to mak it a i r for you o h ,, -'peifect
e po u:re . Bu .. youll l i -all'n lat 1r on its me that one
alwa .rant a p f- t .- o ur .
The finall g f th tritang1 i- 1 . heth -r" ou hoot
'\rith film or u a digital an1 ra ou hoic of I 0 h
a dir~ . t in1pa n 1th mbinat on of ap rtur
and
b utt r p d ou an u . t o important 1Lhat it "valrant its own di.
o .and ex r -ise . o take a look at
lh next pag .
1

EXERCIS~

: Understandi g the ffect of ISO on

b tL r un ]er. tand t
ff -ct of 1 0 n pour .- think of th I 0 s a orker b . If m
am ra i et fo. I 0 100 have in effect I 00
V\ro *k - ~: and if your earn ra i -_ et lor l ~O 2'0 0 rou
ha -200 worker b
. The job of the .. e ' orker bee i
t gad r the light that con} s through th 1 n and
Inak a in .aue. lf both of us et our lens at he . an1

,JflC

10U

hv, a m n

Exp~ osu

\\orker l e . at I

O~

200

than I do at I

. l 0.
ow o thi r lat t hutt r ! e d?
t-s
tun
L
photo in , u - n i of a lon floll\'e , ta . n on an
over ast d -Y- . m m~ , - that your (,a1ne a i set to I ,0
200 and min o
100 both wi h an aperttrr of

f/5.6. o '"rh n ' u adju t - ur hutte sp ed for a orap ~ r iure of .f/5.6 meaning that the arne olun ~ of r et ~ .,. po.. ur
/250 . i . ind:i ated as ' corre t hut
l"ght ~ill I e 011nin throuuh our len 5 - ' \r ho Vrl i l wh n 1 adj , t m_r huu . r . eed for a correct expo ur
r,-, or l the im.aue ibe quic e ,L ou or n1 ? ou \/11
1/12- se .- a long, r expo ure- i indicated. 1 i. i ,
1

I ecau e our .2 00 work r be s n d only half a - mu h {IT ou wa nt you .an leave the canrt a in the automal.time a n1 l 00 work r b
to mak tl iinag .
i apettur ~p iority n1ode for hi
.r i e, too). rit
ince thi i ucb an i nporLant patt of nd . andO\ n th 1
t ._hutter pee l. Then chang vour ii~m
ing e: po ure I wan ' ou to rut the book town o . a~ ain, his tin1 to I .0 JQO l aYing lt h - ap rt r at jl8
moment and get out _rour , arn ra, as '"'r H w a p .D.d and on e aga n point th aLl a al th arn . ul j t.
pciper. S t the fihn p d dial tr I 0 200- l th
hether .ou r in n1anual n1od . or auto-a rtur -pri r~
if .. ou have a roll of filrn in ,our fi] rn a1n -a tl at i ., nol it . mode you Use that JOUr 1ght m L r i in i a ing a
ISO 200. (Don forg L to - t the I
. a _ t th . orr t (liff r nt shutter pe d for a orr ct x o ur . n
nu.mbei v1.rh n V{e r don h r . 01 , t your a.p rture a. 1in, \\ ite ~own thi- hutt r p d. nd fi aU'.
t p a] ov .
p nina tof/8 and ' ith th am 1a p int -d al ome- change the I' 0 ' t 800 a d r p at d
thinu thai w , ill -n1.inal -d., a ju . .t . , ur . ut e - 'peed
What h1ve you noti . d? h n -o ~ ~ chang fiom I 0
until a con-eet po"'ur ~ indi ~at d in th viewfinder.
00 to I ~ 0 200 your .. uU r. p I chang : fr 11 I 2~
see. to 1/250 e . or p : a1 ' orn Li inu; lik fr m 1/ 60
e . to l/320 , e .. Th . huu r 1 d, are x. mpl ..
of ou e and not k:nov ing 1~ hat y~ ur , uhje t "\-\fa. t s
difficult at b t to d t 1min - y ur a lual hutt r pe d . .
but on thinet i c Itain: a h butt r 'P d i o ' to
if L , ~ a tl half . n1 h w lh n l efore it.
Wh n ou inc1 a. .. h n : mb
f \"orker 1 s (the
I '0 ) f om 100 to 2 0 , y .u , ullh tim n e ~ aryr to g t
th job on in h~ If. (If nl. th - r al )f\ 0Jd d wotk d r e
that.) hi i ' .hat .ur . hutt -r p d wa - t Bing 01 :
Going from 1/121/250 - . i half a - lo g an
posur - tin1~ . V.,l .. y
t the 1 ~O to .QQ . ou w nt
fron1 1/12
~ .-pa._ ing b ' /2-o e . - nd e d d
up at I 00 c . Ju t .- ~ a h halvin-' of the s uu r
. p cl . call d 1 top a h h~ncre fTom I ~ 0 100 to
0 2 t I.. . 4DO i 1 .id ~ed a 1-top increas (an
in f '~'~' ork r bee. ).
u an Jo ~ hi am
ju t a asil r b. l avi g th hul.ter
, constant for in tance at 1/12.5
........""' an . adjlu :tirmg th ap rtui until a conect - po ure
i indi . at - d in th . viewfind r: or. if you hoo to t:t
in uto xpo ure n1od
el t hutter--pt orit r ,~ t a
h tt r p ed of l/125 . e .. and the aJnera '" n et the
l ' t ape1tu Jr foT 0 .
1

..

-C

'

record exacting
sharpness ~rom front

to back, I used a
smalll lens. opening. I

sky
which indicated a 1/15
metered off the lbl ue

1.

sec. exposure, and then

recompos:e d.

[135mm lens, f/32 for

1I 115 sec.]

The Heart of the Triangle: The Light Meter

it' . tim t i1 t-- d
u t v a t I , aU
th h art ,f f I ot gra hi -. Lrian al : the
light ~11 ter. ~t h h a t o v 11 expo ure
i -.
light 01 t r \\rhi h is apr d. -ianed to rea -t to an)
no m.
.-..r J ight or dim that li ,ht -ourc
o\ -

light sourc 1 1ay b .

Ba ed on th
arnpl on th pre' iou pave t e cam~
ra" ]1 O'ht m t, r kn l thai lh aperture 'as et to.fl. -.6and it a] o kn \'lr that th . ISO ,,, a et to 200. sa result,
i1 rea t d and dir t cl rou Lo a lj'u "t th shutter sp d,
and l:h n it incH at l - th vie\-\rfin ler that . ro t bad
r a hed th , 1:~. . t huu r pe d. It th ight 1 1 t r that
i ulti 11at 1 b hi d th cal ulati n of ev I :r COlT ct
photogra1 -h i -po. u .
Io t th; idea in tone let rn offer this final illu b t tion: hnag ne rour len op nino auain ayfl -.6, i th
an1e diarn -te a "' our kit hen fauc -t opening. - U\'\
i}n gin th1t your fa ucet handle i. your huu. I
d
dial and that '\'\raitino in the i1 k h lo aT 20 \ rork r
b ,
ach vrtith their (H\H1 en1pty bu lli c-t. Tl
al r eornitl th ol gh the fau .et wjll b the 1gl t. It _
. Lh joh of th
can era s hcrht meter to ind 1. a ho \r I ng th fau t lay
ope in ord 1 to fill u all i h bu k t J th waiting
'\Or er b e 1 lo,.v. Th li . t 1 t -r k
. that ther are

sing the b r idge

leovingl ~he harbor in
omburg, Germany, I
spoHed this great shot in my
re arview mirror.

I immed iate-

ly pulled off to the side of the

highway and set up my tr'-

pod.

Since

I knew I wonted

to exploit the motion of the

traffc flowing across the
bridge, I chose a shutter
speed of B seconds.. With
my camera pointed o the
sunset

as a correct exposure and

then recomposed the scene.

I was so pleased with the
result that .I forg1ot my
previous anger at receiving
a tkket for '~parking allong1a
highway when there clearly
was 11 o em er.g en cy.n The
$85 fine was welll worth itJ
s~ nce this. image has ea1rned
more than $.4,000 in stock
photo soles over the pa1st
s-everal yeo rs.

sky I ad justed my
1.

aperture until the camera's.

light meter indicated f/ 1 1

[300m m lens,
8 s-econds]

f/ 111 For

200 ~ror ' er b ~ anl that ~- h p ing of th l u t i

}75.6. So ~ ith thi infonnaf on th am ra - 1iocht m t r
a now t ll you ho . lon to , av th iau t op n n -I
as un1in~ _ ou turn on th fau - ~ for th
tly i icated an1ount of ti 111 .rot ,,~ ; n r o_r1 orr t p . ur -.
n effect ea. h l\rork b .- bu k t i fi]] d with th xa t ainount f ,~,.rat n - ~- ary ILo r or~ a on ph, ~
tographi
.po ur .

\\lhat h tf p n if t ''rater (tl e lig~1t) is a ow d to Ho\1\

Jonaer than th . ligl t 1net r a . The bu ke l:J< on ,
o elrfill d 'With wat (t o muc ioht). In phot( r apl i
t nn . thi.- ik ~aU . 1 a1 m~ er xpo ure. H 'ou v,- v, r tak n
a 1 over p , ed i1na0 , . ou'v
ncloubtedl r on1n1 n L d
that the color Look ' wa .h . out..' Convers l . '\vhat happen if tb . "\! at r (th light) eon i through th fau . t i
not aJ.low d to flow a. long a d1 i aht 111 t . a) ,? h
nuL nough liaht). In photo uc t cret but a ~- r di
graphi len11 , Lh - i. an unclerexposu,~e . If ou ve ev r
Lak~en .ant 1der . po
~ oto . ou e found ':' ou elf aying [f hard to . 1\rhat thet in , i o dru-~

!-laving no 'il l a.n1 d ho' im pi, Lh 1 a. i o n pt of

,. o ur is- i it afe Lo ay yo , an rd p r c t , . pour s verv tilne. . ot quit, but ou-r
I r than you

'" r ' hen you ta.Ited r adin . thi } ,I I' u can ,

tain] ay Lhat you und . tand h \ at xpo ur . .: i n1ad .
nd ou nol under tand the r la o hip h Jv n .ft p . huLL, r p d and I
r n o t pi, l 1 ~ takinu o po tunitie . r 1 on the on } - . ap , rtur - ho
, ~r th oru~ b t .butter peed hoi, . ~That . the r neb t
apertur ? The on.e be t . butter pe d . , arnino to .e
t
n1ultitul o reati B , pour that exi t i "' a 6'ant
1 apt , ard photo Td , hie maturit. .

Six Correct Exposures vs. One Creatively Correct One

t not uncommo to ear at l a t on stud t in

n1.y on-lo ation ork ~ ~ op .ay to n1
'~!hat ~ ~
ference do s it make \ hJi, h combination of ap r~
t r, a1 d
uuer sp d I u e. If m lliight m t r
indicat s corre t expo ur, I n1 iaking th hotr
Perhaps ) ou ar like thi .. ~ too. hethe you hoot it pr .
. ratn tnod ~~ shutter-! riority n1o 1 ap - t -J ~ rori iL''
1:nod o Vr n manu.a l n1od you tnay tl it k that a long
as th light n1et r inli at . that v~ ,. th. ng . oka . th - n it
tnu t b o a . to oot.
Th . troubl i that th. kin flo i a
a out a
Int h , n a. d . r hunt r who fir off th - rifl at
anything dv:tt rno- . s. I bey may v . nt _ally g tad , r,. but
at '"' 1aVl. co 'I? H you ~ ant to h t only '~ IT ~t . o. ur~
of anything and v r_-rthing b m gu - L
Evei tuall } ou n1ight ev n r rd a r ti 1 I , ~I . t
-. po ur . But l'n1 a uming hat m , t . f ~~- f\ 7h . b ught
this book ar tir~ d of th hotO'UJl a a h and a t t~ ,
1 ar 1 ho , to consi.slentl r r , ord r ativ ty OITect e 'PO:)Ure ~ ever ' tin ,. .
. o t pi,tur -takino- situation. hav at 1 t i po i] 1 ombinaL o . of/- 'Lo l . and .. hu ~ t 1. . p ~I L that '"'ill
ll r ult in a .rr - 't expo ur . e , nor1nall r_ ju t one of
th - - orn, ri naiLi n . of/- t )I . In 1 . hut r . p -d ' i ' t I e
, at ~ y rr t .p o u r .
v alr ad y l arn l ev ry o T el xpo ure i.
~ thing 1nore than th
uanti ti val of an apettui'e
a 1d ~ utt r p
I \ orking togeth r within th confine of
a p t rmin d [ . But a cr atirel r eorr c t x o ure
alw~a
r li . on the one j=- top o the one .h ut.te.r .speed
that ,rn pro luGe the de ire ~ posu ~e.
. t prr tend for a momr nt th t . ou' re at the be a h
takino- pi tures of the pow rful su f era hino- again t th

'I

1.

l,1

"

1
-

ro k . our :- u in.o- a filn1 . p d I 0 00 a d , Jl ar rtur off/4. ~t T dju. ting , ur. hun

p~ ,
ou o-et a
o.tr~ ,.IL expo 1e ( i nd~~ at d in th
rfind ) of 1/SOO
... T~i is just on of rour rp Ul pti n ! h r are
oLI r con1hinat n o~ . 1 rt .. if;_ t p ) a d hotter
ed } ou an u. e an" I . .til rr . 0 d a o rre L expo ure. If
. ou ut the 1 n op nina in h th n aperture of.f/5.6
(/7 L< f/5.' ) yo II n , I to in r~ - - a th hutte:r p I a
fuH top (t~ 1/250
to r - o d a orre t xpo ure. If
youu ana~ 1t 1reofjl8 gain uu-. gthel . n ope1]in .
h half -~ou ll n d to in r . - t
hutter spee . 1 ain b
a ftwll op (to 1/125 e .). Co f uin . in thi 111ann r
~ uld al 0 r oduc th foUowing pairin(Y of ,ap Iture '
a d huu r p , l to hi, a correct expo ure:fll 1 at
l/60 ..f/16 at ] /30 , c. a d finall) .f722 at IllS . .
That ix po ibl orr t r osur for the e n
i
, ibl on1bi na n of ap - tur an l butter p cl th t
'WiH all re 'ult in , xa ly th a 1
po ure. ' nd I \ rant
to Lre ~h '"'' ord tn - m an the , an1e' i1 1. t, nn .
of ruantitative value o
~ C~e :trl)- a pictur of era . hin
~ urf tak n u in ..f/ _
. at /500 . ec. would capture a tion~
top~ i1 1. detail of th strf a it hit the rock ; a on t
expo uie of that 1rf usinl)' f/22 aL I/15 ec . . on th _. oth r
han l ' ould captur~ 1. ss ar "tion- to pino detail and
~ ho\ the urf as a far n1or~ fluid ,a nd wi py .on1 \1\rhat
I

'

anaeli elernenL

Thi
r -ativ a proa h towar . .xpo ur will r a ,
ountl s r ,, ard if' ou g t in 1th habit of .I', "
ne and d te nng' hat on1bination of ap rt11li" an
butter o cl ' ill r d I the 1 10 'It clynami an
ati
po u ~ - fo that uJ jr t. The ehoi in e po. r - i
alway . rour
o ,:,;rh not mak it th n t ~ tiv po. u po. , ~ bl :
.'J

hooting a Ferris wheel ot

dusk presents an oppor~
tunity to show the vast
difference between three
qua1ntii't aiively iderrdica II expo~
sures (opposite and on the

:.. . DEFI I

Nlikon lf 5 mounted on a tri~

pod. The top image was
taken at f/8 for 1/4 s.ec.,
the one below was shot at
f/11 for 1/2 s.ec.l and rhe
orne on parge 26 was at

following two pages)-the

difference is in their creative

f/16 for 1 second.

exposure value .. I ma1de oil

three of these photographs
on Kodak E1OOS slide-film
w'ith my 20mm lens and

[Opposif.e, lop: 20mm lerns,

f/8 ~for 1/4 sec. ~Opposi e,

bottom: 20mm lens,

1/2 sec.]

f/ 1 1 for

rn e~ercise such as this

is triJIIy eye-opening ..

The next time you heaJd

out to the amusement park

you probably wo rl''t hesitate

to use the slower shutter
speeds, since as th~s example shows/ of the ~hree "identic01111 exposures, the one
with the sloweS"t shuHer

speed is the most crea tive

a nd 'interesting.

[20m m lens, f/16 for

1 second]

26 DEFI I

~.

rpo.

th my oamera and
Nikkor 80-400mm
zoom lens mount,ed
on a tr~pod and the lens set

to 300mm, I shot tihe first

photogr(lph 1[ahoveJ at f/4
For 1/11000 sec. The second
photograph (opposif,e, top}

was f/8 for 1/250 sec., and

the

third

photograph (opp~

si te , bO'Hom) wa s f/ 16 for
1/60 sec. AU three exposures are exadly the sa1me in
terms of qua1ntrntaHve value,
but qu~te different ~n ~he
11

arena of Creat'ive II exposur,e. Note how at the wide

open aperture of f/4 1 the
sunflower is isolated~i n
effect, Ws a1U alone but a1t

T, CRE A IVE E PO

f/16 due to tihe incn~a1 se in

1

depth of field, H has quite a

. f company.
bdo

[Alii pho~os: 80~400mm

zoom lens ot 300mm.

Albove:

f/4

for 1/ 1000 se c.

Opposite, top:: f/8

For

1/250 sec. OpposHe, bottom: f/16 for 1/60 sec.]

RE , . , . 0 E CRE TI

EXERC SE: Seei g

e C eatve. y Co ect E po ur

ne l th b ,t l -, -. on I k o ,.r v I. r
ling.
ot urpri ingl ', iL will) -ad -: ou fur her to th
1vorl of , r . . ativ J ' f!OtT - t ' . pn ur - . Ch o . a
stationaT_ . ubj, it uch a a flow r, or ha a fri d
tand for a portra~t. l o hoo: a rno' ing ubj, cL su h

wat rlaH or a h il d o a ' ing. pc . ibl pho~o~

graph on ar o erc:ast ay a d I oo
om o ition tha
r pout the k. o haL it i not part of Lh '-' c , r 1
i th o r cam ra a d ]en n1o u -' t I o a ti i p d . t
the amera 'o rn nual po ur. mo{ .
t - d t

1.

wa ves, diff,e re nt
eHect-all because of a
cha1nge in exposure. The
camera and lens were the
same for both im,a ges, but
for the imogre at right I chose
o shutter speed of 1I 500
sec. ito fn:~eze the action of
the wa1ve. lln do"ngr so, I
knew ~'d end up with a la~rgre
liens opening, namely
bec,ause I wa1s. using ISO 50.
Sure enough, as I odj1
usted
my opertu re whi Ie ita king a
meter readiingr off ~he distant
hori~on a1nd blue sky, I ~got
f/4 os a correct exposure. II

3U l EFl 1

. ~X PO

RE

b ing in manual mod a.. thi is here ou'll n w be

ndina all of your ' quality ti1n .
o"\1\r . et ur apertur "'d op n-th t will b th tnall t nu1nber on
rour 1 n - uch . f/2 .f/2.8 f/3 ..5 orf/ . ]Jo } our be t
t fill th f arn l 'th your . ubJ - - b , it the flo\\ler ot
th portrait- adjt . ,t youi . hut
pe d until _co1T t
, po ur i di at d in th vi ' "in r), and th n
. out o
ra 1 .
o\>\r ch ng, yorn I -rtu o 1 . -. top ( ~or , am1l ,
fronl fl to fl .6) r a lju t . our hutt T p d n top

then recomposed and took

the shot..
IFor the 1image above, I
wonted the angry surf to
have a softer and more surreal quaiHy. So, I set the
aperture to fl32t knowing
thot this would force me to
use a much slower shutter
speed [1
s,ec.} since the

18

aperh.Jre opening had been

reduced considerably.

[Both photos: 80-200mm

liens at 200mm. Right: f/4
for 1I 500 sec. Above: fl3~ 2
for

1IB sec.]

( . the imag on page 28 nd -9.)

or rai pi ....". .....
u ome dist a ting 1 ;JTI , nt . th ba kground too.
wh n you u e tho bigger f._ t p nun1b r .
d what about. that \'l t rfaH hot for eX' m I ?
That bh_u Ted 'oUon-cand en: ' t d n t appear until
. ou u e ape1tu . off/1
r./722. n i n t that mot onfll d pho 'ograph of )Ur hild n a in . reall ornething? It . fu ny
at the fa f .
hutter . p eds
motion i froz n b . I. at t
lo r butter . p ed ,

reet x po UTe, and hoot ODf, frarne.

h n , hang t . e ape1tur fromf/ .6 to f/8 and o on

Lo

aw ntain a

CO

ach time r men1bering to chang ,. th

ord r to keep the ex o ur

write do, n the aperbur

IJutt -

d in

ct. 1~ or a h . po ure
and . huUer . I d u d.

COlT

D pen in o 1 ) our len you ill hav n l

than s1 ,.

ditler nt ap rture/ hutt . pe d c m- nat on~ and

even though each and v 1
xpo ure
actly th
am. in te ms of it quant tali v al u y u hould certa'nly notice a dif ren th ov raH d .finition and
hru:')Jness of the i1nag ~
onee lon flo\ r is reaU. '
nly alon in a ' fram it g , lo t in a ea of
background when ou u
a rtur. ofj716 andf/22:.

figure in notion look gho. tli . ook aL your not, sand

de ide whi
orrJb.ination f ap -1ure and . hutle1
. peed r ult
in lh mot crea.tivel r correct po. ur,
for ' OU .

II .

j_ J

'

7 '.

rNE

RE TTV LY CO KH E ./ J

E 1

Seven Creative Exposure Options

ry pi tUJr -laking op ortun t allo'
for no l . than si pos. H le ap rtur a d hutt r . p d con1bina1 on. , ho,N" do you d t rmi n ~
v hich eombination is the be t'? 'ou 1nu t
in

f t and foremost if) ou l\1' nt t~ inlpl. make a.n ~ p . ure or if you '\'\rant to nruak~ a r ati
'

~id

, . po. ur . . "\~{ just avt . ou ca 1. mak man_ difier nt

. . p0. _res o[ a given C He but 0 llY One Of mayh tl\10

a th

ativ

po

s.

. con1ponent of ~ oll r, - fi hn p
d s utt r p ed,, and pertu- - t ge
v n cl iff r . nt t rp . f xpo tiT s an, I in - of thw::;;:,c
~oinpon nt , it'
t r th ap 1 Ltu or the hutt r p d
that _ mo 1: oft n ~ . hi d1 .. u e s of a realv
pour, ,, lll tart th r : n all a1 erture if/ 6,_{/22 an 1}73.2)
are th er ativ fl r , ~
hin l what I call .tor telling
expo t re [option - in ag that . huw great depth of
field (. pa ~ . 3,6--4 7 r horough diseu ion of d,-pth
of fi ld). LaTrr ap tu . (f/2.8, f/4 a d f/5.6) ar th
, reativ for e h hind what ] , aU . ingular~thetne or isolation .: po ur [option 2]~i n1 1g that hov~r ha- lo,~\
lepLh of field. 'fh m "ddl f-th - road aperture.. (//8 a d
.flll are v.rhat 1 . all ' ho ares-? .- . .po ur - [option .3]those n '~ hieh depth of fi ld i of no , one rn. ~Apertu
i al o the elem nl n los -up or m.a ro photograph r
that hovr.rcases p ular highlight-, itho out-of-focu
ireular or hexa onal hall . [o Lion 4 ].
F.a t shutter .pe d_ (1 /250
. . - /500
c.. a d
l/10 0 s . ar the , r ati fo1
po uies that
freeze action option . J whHe sl
utt . - pe Jd (I/60
e ~.. l /30 ec. and ] f ] 5 e c..) ar th b h"ndpanning [opt"o 61. The supe I v
(1/4 ,
/2 se ., and 1 , econ ar th r, ti e for,
b ~ ind
posur
thait implJ motion [o ~ ti ~ n ....]. '11:
'1-aclon n1ake up a total of . even er ativ x o. u1 ~ tool
to eall UJ on lvhen reach l 'fll for your goal of . . -hi . :i ng th .
ou

an

~ r ak

tJl"

~hr

down th

I.

on ~ mo t cr ati' e exposur .. Th ne . t t\''lO . hapl Ar La

a clo . r lo - at ape1ture and hutter p ed re pectiv l
a l h y p rtain to aU v n of the e ituaf n ..

32

r. ".

la~ncing quickly 01t thes~e

seven images of my
fother, it may not reg ister that each ~s 0 1 bit different
from the prev'ous one. But
nO"te the difference in the

background, which bacomes

graduqlly more defined in
each one eventually creating a striking difference
befween the first image a1nd
the last one.
Each of these images is
the same in 'Jqu01ntito~ive
v~aluef" but each one is d ifferent n terms of its ~overa U

EVb

depth of Fiel.d. The type of

backg1
rou nd you want-out
of focus or dearly definedwillll ultimately determine
which of these seven imog1es
is the 11 corr~ect/1 one for you.

[Al l photos: 35- 70mm liens

~ot 35mm . First row, left to
right: f/2. 8 For 1I 1000 sec.,
f/4 fO'r 1/500 sec. f/5 .6
for 1/250 sec. Second row
left to right: f/8 for 1/125
sec., f/ 111 for 1/60 sec.,
f/ 16 for 1/30 s~ec. Left:
f/22 for 1/15 s~ec .]
1

RE TIVE E.i PO

.33

'

'

'

- ~-

'

..

'

..

'
, .~

..
..

'

'

<

...

'

"

..

''

'

'

'

..

-
'
'

ap ;. rtur i , l "h .l ,;; lo a 1 in. id . t

1 n .. - L o kn \1\' 11 a th , 'ia hra~rn1 hi. hole
ri
i ix ov rlap g
i fo:n n ,d b. r a
Ill ~ La] bl~ ~ d . . D p
-ling on ) ou am, ra
' 0 ~ ith r 1 [V k ap tur ad ju.-trnenl on tl e
l n " or .-' u pu h hutt n. t JTn dial on yo 1 "<:Un - ra.
rou do lhi .. th, ~ iz . f th boll in th le
eith :r

d - a , 01 :i er ase . . Th. turn alln,N more light o:r

1 : . lighL Ito pa thr ugh th l n an onto t . e film or
cli 6ital n1 lia .
r all 1 n
the , tuall t a ~ ertuT nu uber-eith r
1. - 2 . or 4 dep nding o the lens ~efl t the
\t'itri i t
1 nin-ur an , ~ y _iH ah\ray adn1it th o-reat
Inour t f lio-hL. \Vh nev r you et a len at it
maUe .t
num] ' r..-d a~ , rlure (o f-. top) ou are . hooti. t; ~wide
'I n." fh n _r( u . hift: finn1 a n1all ap tur nurnl er t
a l rg
~ n . , )U ar, r clueing the iz o th op ning an 1
-' t, i p 1g l h n 0''\rn. ' Th at?"e t ap rt re number are usuallil . 6 22 r
32 . , r 11 '~ .ith a fi , d~len ligita1 can ra '.
rfhy -w, ttl l .iou ,,,,ant to be a] 1 to cha ge Lh iz of
th - l n o . enllina . W 11 for year th onu11un . choo~l of
th ughl ha he n that s ce lllight l vel vary f ,( ~ n1 b 1 ~ oht
t lark ' Oll "\! ant to control the flo-w of r hL r :..a hi n th .
fln . A.nd of eours th w:ty to Jo thi i , ~ i nr ly h_, rnal. ing th h le (the ap rtu r , tnall r lru~:, . hi o ric
.--ugg t dl,ruat '~ hen ~ ou'r hoc tino' om c . unny dav on tl1
,, hit an y ~ , a h of th
aribb a
u houlcl t , '1
t . len (10"\ -n Ina ing ILh h ,l
r llall. ow~ ' . ,Q
.1

''

n ur dull th brio~htn
, f th ~a ul d.dn t ~'ill u
a ho], in th fHnL Th i . an1
g c1 o in1pli
thb .'~
,,d1en rou'' i a , i1nl lit 1ft urt nth- ntu11. , ath ch~aL.
- t the ap ,rlur vid - p . n o that a r 1uch
] igl t a I o ibl ." can pru . thr u crh th len . and onto I he
fihn/ r iLal ITl dia.
lth ugh Lh , J[ , on1m -ndation are ' reU~inl . nio . d, I -ould r ol d1 agr
ith then1 tnore. T y el up
th un u 1 , ti , o ph t graph Or' in on i t 1t r ult .
~1h. . B, , au th y , i v tli , o- . i leratllion to a far more
it 1 o ta L fun --ti )11 of p -rlu . : it ahi]it_ lo d tern1in
pth f fi,1 L
ju t' hat i lepth off .ld? If th r , a of ha.r n . .
(from n a1L far) within ' photogJaph. A you v In lo ~ ~1 t-ly n ti d ~~h - n ]o king at nagazine cal, 1 dar'"". gr "' ti g ,aid . or ]arw 1j t1 r, b ok- o1n phot. gra , b contain a gr, at l al ( f h rpn . ou Ini, ht , n1y. tifi ~ d y
t
t hniD u pro iona] p otograph r u ~o r ec r I
tr tn harrn ... throughout :Jtn i1nag - ' ,r ' am I ~.
f n1 th flo"' lll. in th imtn diate for ~ound to th di tant m u tair s 1 yond. ~Th n you t11r t a hi v ov rall
. harp , -in a otnpo ition like thi - . , u t ay fi , Lhat
wh n you focu . on tl or o-roun ] flo,~t r Lh . a. km untain
'O out of focu .. :' and -wh _, ., ' u o 1 on
0~rou
th nountain . the flo , r, r o-o out of fo u. r v had rno e
than one tudent ay to n o er th y
'' ' i h I ha I
on . , ,f tho e prof : - .o 1al' camera hat w, Id allo\\ rn to
g t x~ ctin , h 11 1Jn , f10n1 front t
~ k:
J y ant
b li ., it '\,\rh n I t 11th m that th y l , a v , o! ~ .' .r ju t
\,'\rou]d ,

.>J

'

he choice in back~grou nds con always be

to

yours/ i.f you now how

control the area of sharp-

ness. This is especio lly true

when using OI telephoto lens.
I made the image ot left ~a1 t
f/32 1 assuring1not only that
the br~a1 nch would be in

sharp foousl but that the

backgound w~ould also be
more defined than it is oppo-

site due o the added depth

of field tihat sma II lens openings provide. I much prefer

the less defined background.

[Both photos: 80-400mm
lens ~at 400mm. Left: f/32 for
1/30 sec. Opposite: f/ 5 .6
for 11/1 000 sec.]

P~I ' T

RE

hav. Lo u.. ~ pth of fi ld t . th ir a Jvantag . ik ,,vi. ,

.0 'U li aht-vvill ' plaU r' ,a. T ) .. th
iln.1 or s~ n -or. ln
; p ure. of ion flov- 1 again"La la k r u d of ( ut- f~ eff. t th . un JCU , i 1g t r or , a. ut-ci-fo t hlc I . .
m-.IJ ' o] n. and hap e. 0ik Lhe on 1 1 ag"' 29) a1 th . blu1 a d ] hp .
die t re uh o ereativ u of de1 tl. f fj, 11.
on , r 1)'; h n thi b rne ohj e t i . .. hot e:n I ,} d at
J hat x t]~ influ n d . pth f fi l. .' veral f ~ a v, 1 r alll -_n , p I 6 - t h . . jl 2 - th 1la.Jt of li o-) t
tm ome into pla:: th fo alll no-th tl 1 - , the di . .~ enterinO' th l ~ i r ~u d on. ,j rah] . I h r ulLin a
imag --ontain a at r ar a of . harpne a1 d d tai]
tan e l hv n ou and th - Sltbject ' OU' ant to fo u o
be 1u th li ht H -n 't plau r a ro tl1 fbu plan .
an th p ture - u
,- L I f ,el . tT ngly that of th -s
L~ r e e], n1 nt . ap r u i lh n1o t imp t'3.l L.
(or , n or I u in t ",d' c . , onfin d to n n1 II r
ninu
th 1 . u h t h I n . Tn gin u . n ~o a tmn ]
In th or a len i ~. 1 , to oc u. on o~ ~y one ol j ct at
m. U J 'no- and po ing a on -;:;aU n em
a Li1ne~ a for .all th oth r ul )j ct in y r on1po ition,
par 1 i .
th,e fa1tl r a' cty th J a fro1 1 the in-f u ubj ct~ of painl lh )urrl11 it :nt an tnpt buck t.
wh the it b in fron u ur b hi n I it- the In ore out of p.r
s L pourin5 one-ue: lon can of paint inL~o lt h
fo u they ~ iU b .... . i1 -. thi theo1 i . ba .e d on vie rir g
an1 e1 ilpl.y bu k t with ut th aid f Ll funn el.
a ..1ve1 cen thr u h th ]clr<:re. t l
op ninO' it . \ita] \i\Tit ulllhe funn 1 th Tint g r ~ into th ] u k, L , uickT~ b 1t "'t al o ' latt
lll Qfl , h bucket id
3 ' W n.
that you ar pr iat ilh irnport~ l1 of uncle] . tand.in 0"
.i d a fun nd th t an ~ r of - aint t , th bu k t i._
ap rtlrr el c f
Of '( ur e~ th - Hoht jrefle ting , ff a
ubj.- l rnake a m g on H1n1 or digital n1 dia , but .l n rand 111., r conlain . L
th ho ' n a ;r t . ~ tat ho .;..r ' reB thi ii 1ag i
"""""""'I ing hi.. in 1 ain ~ ) ou an . e that w 1 liD"hL i
all, ,v d Lo ~. ~ tlr ouo}~ n1.a- op nina in l n ~ a larO' r
fonn l on lil11. pli alli 1 '1."\\f tate that h 11all x t11
. - ~ - a f haq)n . and d tail .al"\1\ra-, 1 . ul r.. D,
1thi' me Jl
op 1ino- of a11: gi . n 1-tl' ,Jar ej:stop nurnh ~ -16, :...2
h t - u hou] l alway miv 1lo hoot n at ,j Lure
or 32), the rrr at r th ar a of . ha p- e . or d tail in th ,
finit l)
ph l \Xlhen u. lO' a1 Itur
at or n ar id op 11 i t a I f 111 an l pi U r l-"U d m_, ?
rnall rj-.Loo numnl ~-2.8 ~ ,or 5.6) onl. r the ight n t T
uhje t Jnatter .a n l th l-pLh ol t '""' ar a f harp~
ou want to , ' or l wiU d L rnrni n ,, I i h a rtur
that fall on th f , u . d . u j t ,rill be rend r d n fil rn
a '"'l arp- ; all th
Lher liO'ht Ll
..,n - Lh oult -of h ~ to u e- and it lift 1'. 11 irna u to imna6 .
I

to ytel ing Apertu e

h r ar - th pi t ur -ta1 in: , ituation , for . ou don't . _. the ], n -. aL all _1 ut rath r pr , t the Co u -.
1 hi ch ) our aU ntion h ap t ure hoic -
ia rth di ta
. '"'tting .
p r an1otu1L Th fir.t i , "!Nhat I all a toryTl.. I' wa a t1n1.' wh .. n mo -t photoo-rapi r~
ed in.tellin on1 iti, n. Thi i in 1 J an imag g] -fo "al-l ngth 1..- s in t ado ' z, m impl_- ) """"~
c 1 a in1pli , L
, 11. a tOI) . .And thev w r har 1. dditionall. r . U in 1 -fo al~]enoth
]i e an) o-ood . to11r, th r ': a h , gi. nn t ~ g (th foreu:round len ,e . had~and stwH .0 mla VI "hat i can d . I d pthubj t , a n1idd1e (th n1i ddl ground u bj . t) and an of -fiell a}, . hi. depth-of~fi ld ale make. it v r
nd (the hac ground u~j , ~. . uch an imag Inight on ~ ea . to . r , t y Ull." foc u fu- a gi r
b for } ou
tai Jl, alk of lvh . at (the for gr un ~/heoi ning) h at .. r
and it offi r tr n1 nd Ju a ura
that ou''ll et the
t inl oduoe a faim- ou . ifty loa h nLL r d f t a''\ray (the ar . a of . harpn, that vo d ir i y~ u r i1nag . But "\1\ ith
n1ajn u _j t in th 1111id Ue o-- ou dhn i<ldl )- "' hi .h tand
th prolifera tion of hi >h- _ualit r z~ In 1 n e . n1ost phoagain . a ) ackdrop of ,~vhi t puff., e1ou a l J lu . ky to aph r hav, abandon d jngl - a l-l .nrrth l n
in
tl Ia k aou nd/ . n l .
fa o of zoorr1 1 n. , . The trad - f f u1 , i L ~ at "\'\7 e
1i n ed an1ateur an l prof ional a 1 n1o t ar~ - then ru ning around \ i l h 1
that Ion't have
ft, up n the wid ~an.rr1e .zoo1n len
u h ru th
d p( 1t-of-field al - .
- 11n 28mt:n ., 24nlm and 20mn1 ' o all n~ Lh ~ t
Lo t
'
th .i to yt l ing eon po ition .. 'On of th 1 rimary r a\ Ie-. n.g1e zoo 1 . 1av l ecotne o popular i that
th _, ft n ne Jttlp l 00 per t of th rang f fo . . al
1 nbth that a photographer "'ould u e "\I\ hen h ot ng tor.rt lling i m.aoeJry it. . 17~3.S inm .
t OIL titTH... happ n that a toryteUino- n11 o. ition
n ed to h hot with a noel rate telephoto 75- 120tnin) o.
''1ilh t :r ''norm.ar'' fo .al lengths ( 5--601nrr1) but r g rd1e oft
ns ~oi - thr i .o , con .tantvr. h nm kit (T
a to rt , Uin oc com
itio tll: a mall l n open ~ng th
biug tj:, t p nurnb"'r ) i. t , rul.J
On you tawt ocu ing y ur .a u n tion on toI) t -Uin 0"
on1po ition . yo ma)r find Y' ur lf a in a a perp , xin
que tion: '"'h re th h k i you >CU '? When you focu
on th tor {!lo~ n tclk f \\if h at, for i an1ple th - . d
barn 1nd sk} go out f f u and "'rh . n . ou fo u. on th
ed I run and . k) th . for gr un 1 "".rh ..a l . talk o out of
f;o u . Th ~ so] 1tion to thi
tn.m on dil - 1m a i , .i mp1 :
1\

.1

Oc

OTE: Son1e of .you Inav

., O\Vn 011 of those ne1v

SLR (single-len - fl ) or fix d-l n. digital

can1era that of ran auto-depl.h -of-field ._cale
. etup; Canon one exa1n )1 - ith Llt ca1 1 ra ,
. ou can a utofoeus ) our foreground, auLofoeu. the
J a kground, and the ean1era "\\ill th n b p on.l_r if
you r nge of l pth of fie1d is greater than th ~ a1 rtur .hoice can offer. \\fow! O\\' that s \t\ hat I ea.H a
v =-ry. v ;ry e )()1 invention! If th ca1nera .hould 1 p
cha1 -- are good that you're focusin()" on too clo. of
a for .g ro 1nd, o n ov back a bit and ocu again.
T

38 APER.l

1. ~ .

ut \ ha -,
hav ar distance etting~ . . Th , li ~
tan
ttino- a r ~ in1ilar to th d pth-of-field ale in
that lhey allow .rou to preset th d pth of fiell before you
take }our hot. nd, . inc . e ':)' , tor) teHing con1po ition

re lies o l th . maximum d pth of fi ld y u , uld firt

choose to s t our aperture tof/22 1n ] th al gn th . i tance above 01 1r d.i tan ~e-.._ . . , ttino- mark u t
focallli -.1gth will d t rn1in ' r],j, h , i. tan

hen photograph a
scene like this, I
know I need to use
great de pth of field to
ochi~ev~ e sharpness throughout. I also call upon my
wide-angle-lens, in this case
my 20-35mm zoom. I set
my aperture to f/22 for maximum depth of fi eld and preset my focus so thot the d [.s,.
ta nc,e of 'two feet is o ligned
d i r~ ectly above the center
mark near the fron t of the
lens. And as ~ learned long1
ago, when l look through the
viewfinder, the scene before
me is anything but sharp .
This is because the viewfinders of all modern.,day cam'eras a1Uow for wide open
viewing1, mean ing1tlho1t even

though my aperture is f/22 ,

the image in my vi~ ewHnder
is showing me the scene ot a
wide open aperture (oppositeL in this case f/2. 8. The
lens won't stop down to th e
pi ctu re-taki ng aperture of
f/22 until 1press the shutter

release. At that point, the,

shorpness willl record on film
( ri~ghtj1 . I obtoined the de.sired

depth of field not by refocusing the lens, but by combining a storytellli ng wide-anglle
lens with a storytell ing1~ aper
ture and w i~h the focus preset via the distance scale.
[Both photos: 20- 35 mm
lens at 20mm, f/22 fo r
1/30 s.ec.]
.

T, RYTf.U I

AP .RT RE

rom fore~g1 round flowers to

background mountains,
the depth of fielld in this
im~a1 ge is extreme. I was set~
Hng up my camera and lens
to get a storytell"ng image of
flowers ond mountawns, and
had o1lready shot sever01l
frames, when my doug hter
Sophi'e came running up
from the hill below me. It

1-0

I EH.I

HF.

..

was ~a1 photo op I couldn't

pass up. With my aperture
set to f/ 16 and my 1focus
already preset fo r maximum
depth of field, I shot this
frontlit scene in aperture-priority exposure mode, firing
oR several frames.
[35- 7 0mm lens a t 35mm,

f/1 6 for l/60 sec.]

was in P'ortlandl Maine, ~o

speo k to a photography
'91roup sever01l years ago
when I mo1de this image. My
schedule was su-ch that I had
some time in the early morning! to get in some shooting /
and high on my list wa1s the
Portland Heod Lig1hthouse.

With a temperorure of -14

degrees, it's easy to understand why I hod to muster all
the couroge I cou'ld to leove
my wa1rm bed and go shoot.
On a rriving at the lighthouse, I wa~sn't at all surpri.s.ed to see that I was the
onll1y ~~idi1 ot" out and about
with his camera.

As the sunrise came over

~h e horizon, I quickly decided to use the foreground
fence to create depth and
sca le/ as well as to frame the
distant !lighthouse. W 'ith my
lens ond camera mounted on
a tripod,

f/2 2

II

set the aperture to

01nd pre set the focus

via the depth-of-Held scale.

Of course, this imag.e

~appeared a bit

fuzzy when I

looked through the viewf1indler, but I rem in dedi myself that

I was looking tlh rough the
viewfinder a1t a wide open
aperture and thal't once I
pressed ~he shutter re lease,
the lens would stop down to

f/22

transforming

the fuzzi-

to sharpness. I then
adjusted my shutter speed
ness

until a COIT,e d exposure was

indicated in the view-finder.

(Note: To take

my meter
read ing, I first tilted the cam-

era down to excllude the distant sunrise, 'a111d then I

adjusted my shutter spe,ed
until 1/60 sec. was i nd i ca~ t
ed a.s the conect exposure
for the very, ve ry low light
cascadi ng1acros.s the snow. I
then recomposed lhe scene
as it is here and fired away.)

[20mm lens, f/22 for

1/60

sec.]

re storytell ing compositions limited to the use

wide-angle lenses?
Absollutely not, but the wideangle f.ocal lengths are most
often called upon becouse of
their ability to encompass the

wide and sweeping l andscapes-and, of course 1. for

their ability to render g1r,eat
depth of field.
There a1re c.erta inly other
compositions fo r which you
USe your telephoto liens and
also want to ma1ke the entire
composition sha~rp. In these
cases~ I oken tell my students

I
I!

li

'

. 2 A P'EH'f . RE

to simply focus one third of

the way into the scene, and
of course, set the lens to the
smallest l~ens opening. ThenJ
simply fire away. For example1. most shooters aren't
i ncllirted to think of the wideangle liens as a close-up lens,
but if they d id, their images
would improve ten fo ld.
When shooting wide and
sweeping sc-enes, the tenden-

cy i1s 'to step back to get

more stuff in ~he picture.
From now On, try to get in
the habit of stepping closer- dloser to foreground

flowers~ closer to foreg1round

trees} c oser to foregwound

rocks, and S:O 011 . A pool side

SQene is one such opportun ity to g~et close with your
wde-angle lens .. In the top
example below, there's O lot
of stuff in the scene, and the
opportunity to exploit foreground co lor ond shape has
been missed. But by simply
moving closer [lbottom) 1 the
result is a much more graphic and collor-filled image.

[Both photos: 20-35mm

f/1 6 for 1/125 sec.]

roa1d by its Very nature

acts as 0 1 powerful Iine
tho t can l,ead ~he eye
into 0 1 scene. After p'UIIing
o 11 to the s houllder of fh is
rood, I set up my camera
and 75-300rmm lens on a
tripod. I set my foe all Ieng~h
to 13Omm and my a perture

to f/32, and then focused

c1

l,eaves, I ad'justed the shuH,er

speed until 0 1 ~2/3 exposure

wos irndioated-1 /25 sec..

i'nstead of the recommended
1/~

5 sec. 1[See page 12.6

for morre on this. )1 I then
reco m po.sed to g~et the scene
here and fired oH severral
fr.ames. Presto.! It's sharp~y in
focus tlhroughout

third of the way into the

scene. With my oamera

[7 5- 3.00mm lens at 130mml

pointed upw01rdl to ~he g reern

f/32 for 1/25 sec.]

l'O .HY'J ELLI NG . PEIR.TURE 43

love skies, ~and no lens is

more capable of capturing
their 'g1rondeur tha111 the
wide ong1le. The vill ag~e of
Poui miss~on, surrounded by
kJrv~fmder fields in Provence,
France, and resting peaoefu lly under a sweeping sky
offers a perfe.d exam pie. If

~.

AP'ERT , RE

you choose a low viewpoint

(above) and shoot up, make
it a point to incorporate
some much-needed foreground; th is will creote on
ima9'e with great depth.
Before you pick up .and
move on, consider laying on
your back at the edge of the

foregrround elements (in this

case~ rows of lavender) and
focusi'ng your ~attention on a
dump of folliagc combining1
them with the sky (opposite).

[Both phoios.: 20- 35mm

lens at 20mm, f/ 16 for

1/60 sec.]

'

Zoo

Con e s 011s for Fi ed- L

0]) ~npus
nlax- 1 ikon, on o
anon fixed-lens
digiLalli can era _you n , doubl are awar tl at
th foe all 1 gLh of ) our zoo1n l
doe not one pond
to th fo ~ai-le u;th number. for a 35mn1 L ' camera.
th r yott -hoot "\Vith a

I\~inoha

our arr1 ra n a de -riJ , th zoom l ns a ""'- 2lmn

'- 72tnm.' or 9. '~-48.- m.nw.
1 ad in followi1 .g along in th". hook ' hen I disu -.id -angle I. n , or t, 1 photo len e - tak note of
ho;, your len, tran ~ lat - it a . gle of view into 35n1IU
t rrn . I he 7-21 min I, n. i qui valent to a 38-1 5n1tn
Z0Ufl1 l n . . h
9-72m~D l n ' is e ruivalent to H
35-280n1m zo In 1 n..
d th 9 .""'-48.5 nm len i
,- q wival n1t to a 38- 190min zoon1len .
I oLice that no.~ t fi d-l n di ital earn eras don. t
ha v a foe I 1 ngth that of rs a -eater angle of vi . w
than th . 2 degr
o th mo l rate 35rnm '\1\ de-t5lngl
1 n u d hy I R am ra O\vner . It' mod rat:e angl
of vie"v that Ido rn , 'I at, po1,\re1f - ;to ~..rtelling conJpo - ~Lion . beca _. it it 1pl~ not a wide enough angl .
'o \t\ hen thinking about depth of field ke p in mind
1.ha1t our vdd I
hoic i - 35tnm, an . that i t
number yo . h uld k ep in tnind '\rh pre ettin(!r ) our
1 n . for n1 xi11um d plh of field. ( ee page
fo 'll ing ~ r na imum de1 th of field.)

Fix d-L ns Digital Cat:neras and Depth of F. ld.

Your fi _, -1 -n digi~a1l atn ra is hopele , I p)a, u I
with an u cannv al ,]lity to render a tr rn ndou
amount of d pth of field eve '{hen ou et vouT -n .
to.fl2.8- n a rture of.f/2.8 i equi alent to an ap r~
tur op -nng of./711 on an SLR earn ra! nd, ,rh"
yo 1 r at f/4. you're abl to 1 co1~d a d pth of fi { ,
qu 1 a1 .l to }716. . t .f/5.6 you'JJre q ival nl to f/22.
1 fl . y u re equi' ~ 1 nt to/732, an l if you 1.
goe
oj711 - rou're at a 1.1vhoppingjl64~ "fl1o e of u l ho u
LR. can only drean1 of t ~ e v.a t l p h of fi ld that
would re ult frmn apetture like f/64.
One ~l(lded l enefit of htn in!! 1p 1tur that r ncler
u h great derth of field i in th .. a~, a of , - po ur
lime . For exan1ple if I "' . r hoot ng a , tor) t ll i ng
compo -ition '~ ith tny -LR and 35J:nn1 ''\'i.d, -angl 1 n
I \,\ ould us f722 for maxin1urn d pth of fie d .
Cornbin d '1rith an I 0 of 100 and a uming l'rn , hoo' inD' a id ~ it seene in lat -aft 111oon lig t ['d u a
hu ter . p d of around l/30 - . ith thi -low a
hotter . p ed- I l n1ore than lik 1 u e a tr~ od. ou,
on the od er hand ,ould .hoo
to hoot t
am
1

~:~.. 1{'1

U RE

sc ne at an ap Lur of jl::.
qui ,r alent in d o~th o'
field to n1 _rf/ _: and uh .. equ ntly rou '" ould be able
to u ," a hutt I
d that. four to . fa ter- a blaz~
i.ng 1/500 se . 7h( ne t a tripod at that peed .
Lik . ."' , '"rh -n hoot] ng 1, , , -up of flo,vei - or of
delMdrop on a blade of gra. . (a -u1nina you ha re a
elo e-up/tna r feature .ou , an hoot at ./78 or }711
(equiva , nt uf }7 2 or f/64) and on e a ai. r cord
orne ar az g har n, , .n d tail that -.I R . can
only d a.1n of. nd a V ry LR u er k1 oV\rs, \i hen
photographina \i\ i th a 1na o ), n at .f/3.2 w ~ alway
u inO' our Lri od . in . h tt r pe d ar oft -n t o
slo\! to aC-ly andh ~( th cam ra and l :r -. Bult her
again ,, ith our a 11ur, atf/8 an.f/3,2 equival nt) you
can p 10L gra h the , In 1 V\rdrop at rnu h fast r hutt p I -n1ore , ft n than not w-ithout th 11 ed or
a tr.pod.
o.. i lt h r a do,vn. de to the e fi d~zoom-1 . n
d,gital ~an1era .. oth r t an the ab enc of a true ""rideangl - l n . e ~ th : ou an t be earl) a u c ful \i h n ho ting ingular- thenu~/isola.tio.l , orlpoiLion
e pag .
-55) a LR hooter an. Ev n
wid your ] , n.- - t to t
telepl1oto len lh, an ,,rith
. our apertur ' ,;yJ l op n, y u n truggl v~rith 1110 t
au mpt tc :r en l a ba kg-round hat r 111ain n1ut d
and out of focu . R mem r. v n v de op n- at j72.8
fc r xarn ~le-. ou till ha' e a d pth of fi ld equ i val nt
to f/11 on an .R. he1 ar a e ori cotnin ont
th .. 1n.ark t that an help in im s like thi (au~ i lary
len s clo. e-UJ flt r , an I uch , but b) th tirne ou
add i.t a~l u
rou reHlize that .rou ould ha
p - It
ahout th a1n an1ount of n1one for an I
t m.
nd finall n1o t fixed-zoom-1 n di~ 1l an1, ra
do not ha r a } kin l of di tanc, n1arkin u - on th 1 n
o } ou ,, on't 1 e ah]e to n1anuall) -et the fo u r Inaxi 111um f, pth of fiel a I e des( I; bed f(n th , _LR
u e1 . n t ad ou 11 hav, to r,-1 on e irnatinb our
fo u- d di ru., . '"hen hootin torfi lli 1g orapo ,i tion . To n1ake it a eas a po ib] do th - folio i g:
'V;Tith you len - et tofl8 orj711 and at th 1\rid 1 fo al
l ngth ('""'-9tntn) fo u on otn thin ~ th _ n that
fi f t frotn the camera.. h n adju t your hu Lte r
, p , d until a , orre t po ure i in, ~ at d ,a,nd , imp]y
hoot! 'en thou h obj , t i.n th vi '~ finder will
ap ~ ear out of f~ocus '\1 hen you do hi , ,, u 11 quick] y , e
on . our an1 as di I lc1y
r
thaL tho ~,
am,
object - record in hi:up o 11 after ' .u pr lhe .. hu t r rel ~ e.
1

46 iH

igita Ca eras
,

1_

_c

ormaUy, a scene like

~his

one in Old lyon

woui1d find me reach~
ing for my Nikon F5 or
Dl1X and tripod, but I hod
chosen to trav~e ll light on
this pa1rticular evening with
my Nikon Coolpix 5700.
Fortunately, l~ ke most digital
point-01nd-shoot cameras/
the Nikon Coolp'x offers. up
some ~remendous depth of
fi elld .even when I use an
a1perture of f/4. (~he equ irva~
J

l~ent a,f: f/16 on a 35mm

c~amera).

Si nee I didn't

have a tripod, I was g rate-

ful for the depth of f'eld the

Coolpix affords me while
stil l allowing me to shoot at

safe hcmd holding shutter

speeds. With my lens set to
60mm (rougthly 200mm ~ n
35mm terms}1and my aperrure at f/4 1 I adjust~ed my

sh uHer speed to 1/30 sec..

Usi'ng t'he Nikon
Coolpit x m~ay beg ~he que~
tion, "Why not 'just use this
camera ~all the time, especia lly since it seems to elitminate ~he need for a tri&
pod?u There are sever01l
reosons, the most important
being that the file size Is
much too small For my commercial clients.

[Nikon Coolpix 5700 at

60mm,

f/ 4

for

1/30 sec.]

"'fO HY I ELLi NG APERT RE.

4~

Singular-Theme Apertures
he , cond p ttu, ~lakin~- ituatio

r hi, l
~ hen mbin
l! ith lai"
1 ns openin.o- ffl '.8 fl or
c1ttention to aperture cho], e i pm"amou- 1l .f75. ) a hallo ,_.1 d th of fi . ld re_ult . por rait , ither
i , "\'\hen 1n king \'\ hat I caU a ingu.lar-th.eme o1 eanclid or pn ed i a wood ca didat, for a , 1 hot o.mi. ola.tion compo ition. H , harpn i._
o. i tion. a i a fl ."\er a d an ' other ubject ' OU d llij k
le1iberat I ]in1ited to a i gl an~a in the to . ing out frotn at ot n i e bu y , 1 . . fb n . ou
fran1e l a' in a 1 ot er ol ~ect -bo h front of ru1d. I lib t l} eek out to selectivel focu on o-~ -. o-iven
behind the focused obj , t out-o ~fo u ton ~ an
. uhj -- the bluriJ background an l/or foi gr, un an
hap . This effect is a direct re ult o th ap rtur hoi .
all f rther attention to the in-fo u u ~ , L hi i a
ince d1e teleph01Lo len h.a a l1aJ].", V.f angl of v]e,,.r . tandw . -'vi uallaw often refeiTed to a , visua.l weight:
a.n 1 an in her dy shallo, depth of fi lcl it' oft . n h
" hat rer i _in fo u s under .toad b th ,
and brain
len of hoice fo the e t_. p of photog.rap 1ic ituatiton. ' to b of greate thnost importan e.
.........L ...

01

iUing at the campfire, I

was visited by a lone
Cla1rk's Nuicracker, or
IJCamp Robber" as some

campers like to c:a1ll ~h ese

bii ds-and for good r~eason,
too, as they're very hrave
and con carry off sma1ll

items. SeHi ng my foc01ll length

t<o 300mm. I was oble to
limit the composition to the
top of the tr~ee and the bird .
Since my dis.tance ~o th e bird
was relatively dose ~and
since t1he backg round trees
were tw~e nty feet or so
behind thi1s one, the bird was
clearly isola't,ed. An 01perture
of f/5.6 kept th e bird isolatr
-

ed

from the

background.

[75-300mf11 llens. at 300mm,

f/5. 6 for 1/500 sec.]

lone grape cluster showcased aga inst an out-of~

focus vi liege places the
compositional e~ mphasis on
the grapes. Nadng the visuail

weight on the grapes was

only possible via the r'ig1ht
aperture choice. With my
camera and 35~70m m lens
on a tripod, and the l~ ens se"t
to 35m m1 I was able to

encompass a moderately
wide and sweepmng v1ision
of the s urround ~ ng vineyard
and village in Beaujolais,
France. M oving in dose/ I
focused on the Ilion e cluster of
grapes, set the operture to

f! 4., and then adjusted the

shutter sp,eed.

[35-70rnm 1ens at 35m m,

f/4 for 11/250 sec..]
1

Butlou. I ~h re an
too] on the eamera ~hat can help d t rmin th be t ap rture ehoice for ingullim. . theln . , on1po ition ? y;
th .
i : the d pth-of-field pr ;, I unon. U\\fev r thi.. button i n t found on
cam :ra.
nd unfor'tunat ly v
vvhen it s present; it i often tb mo :t mi under tood ~ a
tur on the camera.

The purpose of thi button i . ." mpl : when th button

i depress d the len . top do \'11 to what r ap rture
ou ve seieeled off rinu ou a pr . i \1\r of th O rall
depth of fi ld ) ou can exp ct in r tu final i mag . Th
enable you to n1c11ke any n al) a pert re a J_ju tment , therehy oorrectinrr an ltan f in orr t" o
unvvanted depth of fiel, befor r ,ording th po. ur .

The De}lllt-of:...Field Pr vi '

an

11 .

s ertng
imp a t e depth-of-field pre ie\1\. button is
t u
it 'nitiall confu .e many photographers.
t pi al con1ment hear from students in 1ny
"'ork hop i I pr ss t an everything just get dru:k. ''
'Ov r omng thi . di traction i n t at all diffi uh it just
take pra fee. H you1 ~amera does indeed ha e a
dep h-of-fi ld pr rie1N button h) this exer, ise: First,
et our ap . rture to the . tnallest nun1her--172.8 .f/3,.5,
or }74 for ample. . ith a 70mm or longer lens focus
on an obj e t close to you, leaving enough room around
the obj ct that an unfocused background is visibl in
the compo ition. Then, depress the depth-of field pr view button hile looking through the vievrfind r.

50 A PEH T

RE

t n

othing will happen. But no change the aperture from

w-id p
tof/8 and tak a look especially at the outof..fo u background. ou n . doubt noticed the
i
tnd r getting dark r but did you also notice ho"',;
th ba kcrround became tnore defined? H not, t th
ap rtur to j7 ~ 6 and depre the button again paying
p ial attention to the ba kground. Yes I kno,~v the
i wfind J' got
n darker but that once-blurry backgroun ' i quite d fined~ i n t it?
Ea h in1e th 'en openin (the aperture) get . nlall:r o ject. in front of and behind hate' er )rou foe on
'vill h o1ne more defined- - in other \\ ord._ .,' the a ea of
har ne. (th depth of field) is t nded.
I

ow head outside with a telephoto len say a

200mm ancl et your ape1ture to f/16 .. Frame up a
flo ~rer or a portrait. Once you focu on your subject
depress the depth-of~field preview button. Thing will
become quite a bit darker in your vie-wfinder sine
you ve .topped down the ape1ture, but 1nore importanth., take note of how much more defined the ar as
both in front of and behind the .ubject be com . H ou
want to tone down all that bu
tuff arou1d th ubject . et the ape11ure to f/5.6. The background ""rill h
le . defined. 0 ed) busy composition that ar m ant
to conve a singular theme can ea il b fi d ith
the aid of the depth-of-field preview button.
~

n the first example at f/22

(~opposiie), note how busy
the image is (md how the
main Aower is not albne.
Fortunately, I was alblle to see
this when I depress,ed my
depth-of-field previ,ew buttOn 1
and at that point, moved
down toward the smallller
a1pertur,e numbers alii the
while l.ooking1through the
vie wfinder whUe keeping the
depth-of-fielld preview button
depressed. Thi1s aU.owed me

to se.e the onc~busy background slowil1y fade to, blurry

tones, resultingl in a IaneHower composition (above}
at a1n ape1
rture of f/5 .6. The

soft ,and muted colors of the

out-of-Focus ba1ckgrou nd
serv~e to emplhasi.z,e ~he
wmportalnce of the single

Rower i~rn the photograph.

Cl1earjy I wanted allll the
a'l'~ention on this lone Hower,
and the one sure way to
1

achieve this is to use a lorg,e

l~ens opening. A Iorge l~e n s.
opening, esped~ally when
combi~rned with 0 1 telephoto
lens, rende1rs shal11bw depfh

of fielld.
[Both photos: 7 5- 300mm
lens at 280mm . Opposite:

f/22 for 1/30 sec . .Abov.e:

f/5 .6 f.or 1/500 .sec.]

ING LAR- 1HF- MIf. .PI HT . R , 51

o e of you without a depth-of-field preview button rna~ r fe -1 our mi - ing

out on a valuable tooL Well you are but there are two olutions: H ou insist
on having a depth-of-field preview button you can buy a new cam. ra (hop -fully the - an1e make as your current one so that you don't ha Lo buy all n ' l nses too) . Or._there s the le --expenive approach: B for hooting a ingular-lh n1
or i .alation image and -..-.hile . till looking through the vie\vfind r turn our l n on
quruter of a turn or so (a. - if you we e going tore nov it from Lh am ra bod~ l ut
don't actually retnove it). When ou do thi
ou 11 ,- the actual d pth of fi Jd that
the cho .en ape ture ' ill I nder. (fh vi lmnd r 'Will al -o b come dark r in the
satne 'va it doe when pre ng an actual d pth-of-field pr vi w button . )
Thi. i th poor man's d pth-of-fi - ld pr i - button. t this point rake not of
how much tuff eom into play b hind and in front of the subje t ou'r trying to
isolate. If ou re af fied' th th wa th background i h -ing r ndered clic . the
len back on and fir a-\ a .. If not and you\ ant a l s -defin d ba kground
en
up th 1-n to th -n ~ t /~stop (for . ampl from f/5.6 t f/4), and then execute the
quarter 1-ns urn again and tak anoth r look.

endeiirng1colorful backgrounds is orn e!asy

!If'
'~
propos111ton,
tlf
you com -

bine the use of a tellephoto

l~ens, a large liens opening,
and a colorful! background
subject. Take a look a"t this
portrait.. I us,ed a telepho:to

5... A 'ER

RE

depth of
fi.eld to render the back,g round an arrea of colorful
muted tones . The womarn
liens and shallow

was about lien feet from the

background/ whkh wos ~a
large colorfull pieoe of fobric

that Ill had my assi sliont hold

beh ~ nd her. I made the shot

in aperture-pri'o rity ar11.1tomati'c

mode, letting the carmer,a 1 S
light meter set the expnsure
for me.

[7 5-300mm lens at
200mm, f/5 .6]

lthough not often oalled

u1
pon to create sing1 ullair~
theme images, the widearng le l~ens. con also be a useful tool for isolloti ng sub-

jecfs- if you combine the

dose-focusing abil'ities of the
lens with 011 isolating a periure, suc:h as .f/2 .8 o r f/4.

Here,. due to a large lens

open ing1, the depth of fi eld is
severely li mi'ted, keeping th e
visual weight of the image
where I want~ed it-on the
freshly picked bouquet.
.

[35- 70mml lens at 35mm,

f/2.8 at 1/1 000 sec.J
1

. - II - IE

PER fU f E. 53

cenes like this will make

you w~sh for extra fillm,
or extra batteries 01nd
Hash cards in the cose of
digital. There's so much photog raph k o pportl!JI n ity i 11 a

sta1 r~ed s:eeking out

~he nume1
rous lo ne flower
opportunifi,es. N~eed ll ess "to
soy, i~ was a v~ Sill(]l feast,
and ~he image on the facing
poge was ~ust one of the

Helld of wildflowers,

many si ng1ular-theme images

I got that day.

not the

leost of which is ~he opportunity to isoloha. After .spending

some time photographing the
multitude of random patierns
in the field with my
35-70mm lens (above), I
switched to my 75- 300mm

54

I I:. RTUR

lens and

[Above: 3..5- 70mm lens

at 50mm, f/1 1 for 1/30
sec. Opposite: 75-300mm
lens ot 300mm, f/5 .6 f,or

1/12.5 sec.]

''Who Cares?" Apertures

f its not a sr.or) telling opportunit - and its not a.
ingular-theme/ilso]ation opportunity does it really
mattet \vhat aperture )OU use? e and no. Let nte
explain. Th world i - fiHed with Who cares? '
oon1po Tllon : Who .a res what aperture I u -e
when shootin~g a podrait against a tone ,rvall?'
ho
ea1re ' hat apeil:tuie I u e " hen shooting .autun1n leave
on the forest floor?' Or, put another way W11o , ares
what aperture I u e lvh.en everythinu in 11:n fran1e is at the
-. a1ne focused di .t ance.
In the stol) ' eling and singula :..the~ne/iso]ation - ec~
tions, not one of the in1age . was made with a n ape~:ture of
f/8 or f/1 . That's ce1tainly not because I don t ever use
t ese ape tures; I use hem a lot actually but only when
depth of field i not a eon ern. B-oth f/8 andjl I aJre wh at
I r f . r to as middl -of-the-road aperture.. the_. a ~el tel
a . to~ (re dering a 1 d e visual infor1nation within a
gJI", at d pth n sha p focus), and th y rarely isolate (ren,d -ring onl a rmilt -d electi e antount of vi ual infor=
rnat on in - ha p fo us) .
Pr t - d f()r a moment that you find yourself "\valk.ng
along a h a h. You con1 upon a.lon s a h ll ash d up
on th . mooth - and. ou then ra . e ou crunera and
.28-SOmnm 1.-n to rour e. , t the local I - gtl to SO~:nm
look straight. do1Nn and it hen . implr set th apertu to
f/8 or Jill. In thi in :tance both d . Ion -- -a hell and
th- sand ar at th am, focu d dL 1tane . so you could
photograph thi
. n alt an ap rtur. This approach of
, not caring"' about what ap rhu . ou u e appli s to an
e mpo ilion h r th uhj, ct ar ait Lh - run ocal distan . Hnw ver, rath r !t han rando1nl . hoo , an ap r~
tu~:e, a . .om - hoot r, do I r , omm .- nd that ou u ,- crit~
ic.al aperture. hi i -- .-in1ply ' hi, "h . ~- r ap rtur - yi lcl

the optimum in1ag sl arpn .~ . and '.ontra t. p Itu_r -.

from.j78 to ftll ar, oft 1 th harp ~ t and of. r th g-r att contrast in xpo ur .
ro under tand \ hy apertur - h l Vil e ' n f/8 and f/1
ar o harp yo n -e , to kno\ a li uie bit al out lens
-on tru ti( n and th ,l\ra ., l:wght nt, r. . a lliens... o ""t l n -
ar on tru. te . ol Hipti.eaH y shaped gla elern nt .
lmagin tor a -rnorn nt t at within the , ntral ar, a of
d1
-Ui ti, al l 01 ~ nt i. a ma~u;_n t-whi h is . ft, n
alled the ' w et pot' -d ign d to galth r a sp -ifi
amount of light an :1 th n funnel it through to the '"raiting film. rh approximate diarn t er of this ' l e l pot is
qui va1 ent to th d:i arneter fl8-j7] ] . o, for example_
'\1\rhen the light enter , a len through a '; ide open aperture u h a j72 .8. the amount
hght ex e d the area
of the , 1eet pot and in turn . catt rs a :ros - the enti r .
I

of

56

A. PE~~]

U H.E

lliptical rang and ' ventuallliy onto the film. The eff c t
i . . imilar to . our.in:g 1nilk onto an ps.jd, -dov n bowl::
only a ]i ttl milk r, 1 11aj n . on the enter l hi le mo ' ot'
the milk , :ill . o~f to th i
Du t . tb .. .att r ing f
th ] ight a "'ri ~ op n a , rtur do n l provid th kind
of l_
u -t - dg ...har~ ,n ,~ . that ap Jrt r . of f/8 to fl I
can. Wh n lio-ht pa s th~ougl1 ap J1ur of.f78 toj7ll
it i . -ont'in ~j to th _v.r t . pot on th el ipti al _gla .
o, who ca.r.es ''rhat aperture . ou u e '~ hen . hooting
on1posi tion "\vh r d pth of fi ld on e rn . are tninimal
at b t? _ou - hould! And , iron cally you should u.
''V_ho , re . apertuJre. (jl-8-jll I), if you lvant C[ itical
- harpne; and great -ontia t.
1

..

n incoming storm from

the west lit
.,.......,..r ning

by

the early-

fnrontlight was

reason e nough to stop my

ca r and shoot this lone farm~
house. I used a critical alperture of f(B, pointed the camero down toward the g1reen
pasture, a nd adjusted my

_shutter speed untill a -2/3

was ind cated. (See pag~e
126 for more on metering
green.) ~hen recompos:ed
1

11

and tilted the ca1mera up

towa:rd rhe threaten in g sky
beFore f1iriing1off several
frames. uwho Ciare..s/t what
aperture you use when shoot~
ing1landscap,es such as this?
After olt everything was at
the same focal distance
(infinity) . But critical apertures matter.

[35-70mm lens at 35mm

f/8 for 1/60 sec.]

~ WHO

C RE ?" APERT RE' . 57"

II

ho caresu w hat aperture you use when

shooting

0 1 portrait

o.go inst a wall? With my

camera and 80-200mm lens

mounted on o tripod, and
my foca1l leng1th set to
135m m, I choS:e a critical
aperture of f/B and ~hen
adjusted my shutter speed.
[80-200mm liens at 135mm.,

.f/8 for 1/ 125 sec..]

58 APELl'fl HE

hen everything 'in a

scene 1s a ; t nilL e sa me

opportun ity to use my crilicol

focal distance f rom

the lens, depth of field is of

aper tures. Whern shoot1

i ng1
this colorful wallll outsii de a1
pizza shop i 11 A ix en

no gweat Qoncern (~~ Who

1
cares?'' ) . However, this type
of sitU'oti on provides a great

Provence, Fro nee, I hand held

my camera1ond 35- 70mm
lens, a n.d set the aperture to

111

f/8. (I odj us ted the shutter

speed until 1/1125 sec. indicated a correct exposure in
the v'i ewfiinder.)

[35- 70mm lens at 70mm,

f/8 for 1I 125 sec .]

~vlH

ARE ? .. tPERT URE

graphk pattern of line

and color surrounds my

beautiful wife.

~~Who

cares" what aperture I use ,

since my point of view ~rom
above puts everyth ing1art the
same focal distance? WUh a
focal length of 35mm, I set

the

aperturre to

f/ 11 and

shot i'n aperture-prior"fy

modle/ allowing the camera
to set the exposure for the
mid=a fternoon frontllight.

[35- 70mm lens a~ 35mm,

f/11

60

for

1/250 sec.]

PF~ RI

RE

Aperture and Macro Photography

lo -up,. or macro, photo raphy continue to
-njo) o-r at popularit) with both amateurs
and rof ionals.. Thile uch ob iou ubj ~. " Its a -tlo"\1\r rs, and butterflies cutd ot . r
in c I. a ,e id . a I for beautiful lo .e -up
i1nag
don-t ov rl .k th n any other c ose-up oppo tunitie that a\! a:it in jun~ yard and parking lot . In rny
oui e lv n ti - d no e and more that n1y tud nt
ar tu ning th ir macro gear toward the ab .tJa t a d
industTial \ orl and coming away with son1e truly eomp lling 1 s e-up .
h =n it om ; to wo king at: such clo proximit to
our -ubjec t, you.'ll . oon di cove that many of th am
J

prin ipl- ab u ap ture in the big i\Tor1d app . r quail r to th .. .m.a ll wo lcl of the c ose-up. For in .tan ;
althou~h the ltVorld i 1naUer - much, much tnall r '"n
om a .- rou till 1nu t decide if ou " ant gr at
d pth of field (on to h o inches of . harpn , , in the
macr ' ~-I d) o 1 mited depth of fieid (one quart ~ r of an
in h). r mayh your .ul ject is a clo e-up that fall into
. ho ea ~e ? - aperture category:.
There are differen ,e .. between regular and ma ro ~ hot graph ho~v ver.
hen ou shoot close-ups it" - not at
aJl uncommon to find yourself on your hell sup . rting
your am ra and I, ns v_ith a teady pai of lbow - a
mall b an bag or a tripod ' ith legs lev l to th g1ound.
Th .]ight .t hift in point of - i w can chang th fo u . .
point d ""amatieally. And, s nee the clo --up\ odd i mag~
th

nifi d
en the li htest breeze -will test your pati n e'"rhat you feel a , a 5 1nph breeze appear a a 50 mph
gu - in )'Our ievvfinder.
n addition ince depth of field .al?Jva d r a e .as
you focu cio ~ er and closer to your _ubj t, th depth of
fj 1d in macro photography i e tr m ly halJo'"' The
d pth of field in elose~up photogJ"aphy x 1t n one-fourth
in front of and one-half be ond the focus d , u ~e .t vr~hile
ill regular photograph . the dep h of fi 1 i . i _;hibut d
on ~third in front of and nvo-third b ~ "" ond the ubject.
e dle to ay critical focusing and .a gain a .tead pair
of elbo'\ . a bean bag or a n-ipod ar ,~ . ntial in r co ding exacti~O" harpness '"'hen shooting lo . -up..

av.e you ever noticed

thart the macro feature
on youli zoom lens will
oftentimes just stop short of
focusing really close'? The
solution to this dillem ma is
extension tubes. Normalllry
sold in sets of three 1 these
hollbw meta I tubes Fit
be-tween your oormera and
lens a Illowing the lens to
focus even closer. As you
can see in ~he first example
here (opposite J, my
75-300mm lens with macro
I

-.

falls short of offering a true

close-up of the buH'erfly.

To ~get cllloser and oHain
exacting sharpness (right:), I
did the foiUowing: With my
camera and lens mounted 0111
tri pod, I chose orn aperture

of f/5. 6 to keep dept\h of

field limited and ard justedl my
shutt,er speed untill 1/1 000
sec. indicated a oorr~ect
exposure in the eorly..,morning light I then a dded a
12m m ex tens ion u be a 111 d
was ablle to move in and
focus really dos~e . . filling the
frame wi th the buHerfly and
lone Flower supporting it
Since depth of field dimin ishes the closer you focus, I was
carefu I to choos~e o v~ew
poin"t' tha't placed the side of
th~e butterflly parallel to me. I
then adjusted the shutter

speed unhl 1/60 sec. i ndicoted a correct exposu rre.

[Opposite page: 7 5-300m m
lens at 75mml f/5.6 for
1/100 sec. Right: 75-3.00mm
len.s at 300mm, 12mm
extens.i on ~ube, f/5 .6 f,o r
1/60 sec.]

10 MACRO PHOTOGR

~Pfn

63

y plod 11'9' thw

s lone feahher on a rock, I creo1ted a
com posi ~ion that offered
o grea~ t excuse to break out
my macro l~ens for some really close-up photog1raphy.

With my aper~ure set to

engaged, I then fired off

f/22, I a1dljus~ed the slhuffier

speed until l I 15 sec.. i ndi-

several shots.

cat:e d a correct exposure in

I(!_
.

- d
tne
oamera
v1
1ew f1ndlerl- an
wwfh the COime ra's self-timer

[Nikkor M.icro 70- 180mm

lens at 180mm, f/22 for
11/15 sec.]

Mac ~o Accessories a11d the Ad antage of Fixed-Lens Digita

are va iou photographic accessorie available to 11ak clo =up photography possihl . or

0
. .......... ""-Lo

aU of tl SLR shooter ,. you have macro 1 n .

or zoon1 len
w i Lh a 1na ro or clo e-focu featur a
1 -ell as ext en ion tubes, macio converters and clo e'

up filter , "tvhich are a l ~ signed to g t you up clo . .

and per ,onal.
For those of you u. ing a fxed-lens digital cam " a,
you ean also u , e]o 'e-up filte1 OT in son1e cas ) ur
cmnera n1at1ufacLuret' may offeT a n1acvo/close~up l n
that sere" s nto the iont of your ens. For fi l-Ien
d gitlftl hoot 1 ~ the 'wo ld of c] ose up photography
offers clo en Lhat 35mm SLR ca. nera u ers can onl v
d .jean1 of.
xp1ain ,d o page 6 f/1] on a fixedns di.Q"1tal i eq ivai t to .fl6 on a 35mnl .LJ .
Thars one h ck of a lot of epth of field at our i .po:<;ll. And if Lruth be told all of us 35Inn1 SLR earn~
era u ers film or digital-are enviou . of) ou and " our
'

64 _PERT Rf.

ti ~ed-lens digital for this rea on, if for thi. rea on onl) .
,,
I ha"re a macro len thaL ean go to f/32 but to go
on top further to f/64 . . . oh, that \\rould be so njce ..
It ould tnake such a differ nee in much of n1v closeup \ork.
Granted, shutter p d: are alr ad
ln~N enouo-h

'"rh n I hoot atf/32, hut v n

o, I '-'lOtdd patiently

\>\

ait

hours if nee, ssary for th breeze to . top just so that I

cou d use anf/64. And h r ,, anoth r bit of good fortun fo;r thos, fixed -len digital , hoot
who have an
jl ' l apeittue: not only lo you get to IieCof>d sou1e amazing depth of fiel~ ~ but . ou can do . o at re1atively fa t
huuer speeds; since your ape1ture r nain atf/11 even
though it render
pth of field ,-qui valent to )764! If
you;ve ev r \\r~nte 1 an xcu e to . hoot 01ne amazin"rr
lo e-ups this i .. eer ainly a uoo.d one. 11 t . at ren1ains
s to eh:~rmine wh th r your len. (l)ffer a close-focu
featu re or a close-up 1 r ~ atta hrn nl. I ur hope o!

rni ng your 01tfention to

the industrial wor~d can
lead ~o some exciti ng dis-

coveries.

This point-chipped,

rusty door is a perfect exa m-

ple. With a subject li'ke this/

rake your pick from the VariOUS

abstract shapes~

(lind

then move in r~eaUy close. Irs

a1lmo.st an a erial view of a
dis.tan~ blue lake framed by
the massive outcroppi ngs of

sa1n dstone rocks. With my

camera a1nd lens mounted 0111
tr~podl II used an a perture of
f/116 .. Since there was an
ov,e rcas~ sky, l1 chose to shoot
in (lperture-pr~oriiy mode,

allowing the comero1to set

the exposure for me.

[IBoth 'images: Nikk01r Micro

70- 180mm lens, f/ 16 f or

1/8 sec.]

ust how close ca1n you

get to your subjects?

W 'ith the aid of 'a sma1ll

extension tube on a wi de~

01119 le l1ensl you con get really dose. This is actually a
ros:e. I used a 35-70mm
l~ens, a tripod / and a smal l
12mm extension tube , and

wos soon lost in a wo rld of

sensuality, curvili near lines,

66 APER

HiE

Since I wa11ted to
soher shapes and
hues of the rose in a highly
cha rg1ed sensua l! way, it
01nd tones.
render the

was critical that I use a

larg-e lens opening - in this
case, f/4- nofr a sma1ll one.

[35-70mm lens at 35mm,

12mm extension tube, f/4
for 1/60 sec.]

o you n~eed an e~cuse to

ke up early? Here it
is: early morni1ng is the

best time to get lost in Helds

and meadows covered with
dew. W ith my 35-70mm
lens in 35mm ma cro/dose..
focus mode, I c:a me upon a
blade of g1rass with not one
but two dewdrops hangi1ng
on it. To gi've these dewdrops a sense of place, I set
my aperture to f/22 and
was a ble to 1render them in
sharp detaJi'l while at the
sam~e time including the outof-focus shape of a distant
tree in the background. For a
di"fferent macro look- tlhe
iwo drops a ll by th emse l ves~,! switched to my
M icro-N'ikkor '70- 1~ 80mm

l.ens. With my camera resti ng

on a small beanbag support,
I was a blle to sharply render
the
lone dewd rops and
the upside-down fish-eye
reflections. (of the tree and
field beyond) that w here
ww~hin each drop. I used a
cablle release to trip ~he sh1utter and shot a few exposures
in between the v~ery lig ht
breeze blowing ~hroug lh the
meadow. C rawl ing around
this field in my n.Jin pa111ts

mo

proved to be a ogood idea.

Above: 35- 70mm liens at
35 mm (macro/dose-up

mode}l, f/22 for 1/8 sec.

Opposite: M"cro-Nikkor
70-1 BOmm lens at 1S.Om m,
f/32 for 1/4 sec . ]

Aperture and Specular Highlights

ou 've un dou bted~y

-hare uf
mn.ovi
hot on
\ \r 11-iHum.i nated ..tr
t . Di J you noli
that '"rh, n th amn r . f~oc u ed in elo .e on
th l~ara l r
the ba -kg1-ound lighu
appear as out-of-fo u cir -lie or hexagon . of olor . I ike
th . dea of vi ual w, ight thi i , anoth . r opti_, al phenomn~
enon: in . lo. e~up photography any out=of-focu pot of
light app aring in ide the vie\vfind r "\1Vill r cord on fi m
or digital media in the hape of the aperltur in us .
dditi.onally the di tan e het'\\reen the main subj ct and
th background light deteimine , ju t how la:rge and diffu d th . out--of. .focu spot .
b . Th .pots are al o
ca ed specular highlights.
To produce a. background of out--of-focu , circles ou
mu sl use a w"de-open aperture . This i the onl aperture
that is 100 pereent circular n hape . . . n other apertures
are hexagonal _ o. hether you're using a macro lens (for
1.\,.h.ich a l\ride-open aperture may bef/2.5 orf/4) or a 11telephoto zoom vrrith the --macro - etting or extension tube
on your 35-70mm .zoom ("\l\7 hen ' ide open i .f /3 ..5 or
f/5 .6 you rn ust ph ysicall set the aperture to the \'\rideopen setting if ou ant to record cir .ular h a ~ e .
H you have a fondness for hexagonal hape ., imply
u .e any aperture except 1 ide open. The oon er you put
yourself in po ition to explore and exploit the e out-offo u hape ., the ooner ) ou can begin to record colopositi.ons of gre at gr.aphie syrnboli m..
Finall don't forO'et to photograph the sun. I've aiTived
in . ountless meadow at da:wn or jt1st before su nset and
focu d 1ny . lo-e-up equiptn ent on a sin ..le of blade of
grass or seed he ad . framing it against a large and loom-in -, out~of~focus ''ba_ll ' of light. W hat I record ed 'Was of
course not: the actual sun itself but rather a circular
record of its di . taut rays of light.
n . our
thalt o n ta~ n n~gl t n

wn

68 AJPERT R

J.

.,
~-

l
raJ a . t ~i ng of Clflr t na: tree light and n a
dark roon1, plug then1 n. ro1n across lhe
roon1, look at the 1 ghts through } our close-up
len (either an atcLual rnacro le n at zoorr1 len v\iith a
macro/ clo e-foc us setting or a hort telephoto len
v/th an tension tub ). No'v place . our hand oul in
fronr of the lights and ocu ~ . our amera on your
hand until iL s sharp. ou hould ee a host of out-offocu hape of light behind your han .
~ gain, to record the
out-of~o u
hapes as
circles you mttst u e a '";ide-open ape1:ture (the
n1aHest aperture nun1her . 'fo record these shapes
a hexagon , c on ider hooting at .f/8 or.f/11. If ) our
camera ha a depth-of-field preview button, pre sit
onee you ' e set the aperture to .f/8 oTj/1] , and note
how tl1e hapes change f1.on1 circles to hexagons.
ow that ) ou ve practiced on Christ1nas tree
]i . ht , -c on ider puttin thi technique to '''ork at any
time of veaT. Theater Inarquees building li crhts and
even ca1 head- and taillights can he rendered as outof-focus spots of light. Sin1plv look at any of these
subjects with ) our close-up equ ipment fiorn a distance of ten to tvventy feet and enj ov the 1 ght s ow.
Far those shooting wit fihn catneras these specular
highlights can be great e]ei :H~ nts Vrlhe shoot ng double e posures of city scenes at dusk or nighL tin1e.
Shoot. the a. version of the scene in focus, and then
another ou t of focus.

e sun Is going down

01nd you're just wra ppi ng
up a1t11other a1hernoon
clnse-IJp shoot, but before
tiJrning in, why not take a
look at the setting1sun? With
my Micro-Nikkor 105mm set
to wide open, f/ 4, I ~ramed
the lone datndelion seed
head against the remnatnts Qf
a setfing sun. The lar~g1 e 1 outof~focus specular highlmg ht
fi Ued my viewfinder nicely.
Titling ~he cam,e ra upward

a 111 d meteri n.g the sky above

this ball of light, I odjusf,ed
the shutter speed to 1/500
sec. and then recompos-ed .
[1 05mm micro l~ens,

f/4 for

1/500 sec.]
y brother Jlim promised me but one day
off~ slave driver that
he itS1 if I would help him
builld his new home tihis past

w itnier in Kodiak, Alaslk a.

When my day off 01rrived 1 I
bolted out the door at dawn
ond into the ardic cold. I
didn/t have Far to go befotre I
was i'mmersed 'in the world
of dose-ups, framing a lone

seed head

ag,a inst 0 1 backdrop of out...af~focus and coll-

orfU'II specular h ighlignts.

With o wwde-open operture
of f/ 4 1 Il was assured of
recording round shapes. Due
to the str,o ng backlight, I set
my exposure for the l ~ght
fal l ing on the g1rass neo r my

feet, ad'justed the shufl'er

speed to 1/125 sec., and

then recompos,e d .

1[70-180mm micro lens at

1BOmm, f/ 4 for 1/125 sec.]

69

he Importance of Shutter Speed

h fun tion of th

hutter rnechanis1n i to
arl~nit Hght into the amera- and onto th
fibn or d~gita ntedia- for a specifi~ length of
ti~n . ll LR cameras f1lnt or hgital and
n1o t :ligital point-and- hoot e:tnlera offer a
l Lion of huu r . p . d hoice .. Shutter peed eontrol th ffe t of motio in our pictures . wh th r that
n1oti n Ie u1tt from yol.J leliberately moving the cam ra
hil maki1 .g m image or ftorn our ubje~
a~ ~ vng
.ithin your eo1npo iti n . Fast . huuer . pe d fr~ z
a Lion., whil
lo"V o e an reeor( the a tion a a ~ lur.
I

ver o 11 the Ioolko ut for

fresh po~nts of v1ew, you
oan imogine my ~enthusi
asm when I discovered th01t
the folllks at Bogen had on
array of oHach ments that
would allow me to use my
c:a mera allmost a nywher~e.
This is ~especiaUy useful when
interpreting motion photographfcallly. Their Super

Cilomp, Magc Arm or

Suction Cup wi lll take you
1

places you could only dreo m

of before. With the Bogen
Magic Arm ottoched to the
handllebars of thi1s scooter/ I
was ~ able to capture what I
coli a road's-eye vi~ew of a
scooter in motion. Once I
ottoched my Ni kon N90 and

20-35mm zoom lens to fhe

other e.nd of the M .a gic Arm,
I looked throug1h the
viewf"~nder and set the foca 1
length f,o 20mm. This provided the wide and swe~ epi ng
vl1ew I was s,eeking. Since it
was on overcast day, the
Iight levels throug ha~ ut the
city streets w~ere relatively
consistent no maHer where
1

""';..

li U'JTER ' P

p unlt il now. our di cu ion has been about th riti al rol ap . rtu p ays in rnaking a trul v creativ . x . ou:r . Thar. all about to eha_ng a hutt r .
d Lak
c n iL T t ge. Th r l are t\'lrO itu.a.tion . in l hil h JOU
hould mal th
huuer peed your fir t p io t r: \vhen
th ' . ne off>r, notion or action opportuniti
lr when
you fin your lf ho tin in lo\' light wit 1 Otlll a tri . od.
.n
world i on a tion-pac ed, motion- ~11 d o- rportunity, and hoo ing the ri 1t shut~el~ ~ p d fir L an th n
adj . ting the ape1ture is the order of th , ilia y for capturtnrr motion In .our rn1ages.
1

my wife scootered. IFor that

re~asoni I set the ca1mera to
shutter-prl1ority mode, choos-

ing a shutter speed of 1/ 15

sec .. In this mode, the camera would now set the corred ~exposur~e for me via the
right choice in Oiperture.
Finally~ I mounted the receiver of my N ikon l lnfrared
remote shutter rell ease onto

the camera's hot shoe (normallly where one puts an

~electronic flash )1 and told my
wife, ''Okay, got" Running
alongside her and lholding1
the remot~e shuHer lielease, I
fired rat will and soon hod
thirty-six exposures.
lhis ideo of afitaching1
your ca mero to things ~ha t
move is certoinly not limited
to scoot~ers; there ore lbicyclles, cars/ skateboards.,
shopp~ng1 carts, strollers, and
lawnmow~ers to name just a
few. With a Bog1en clomp, o
whole world of motian.:filled
opportunities owa1its.
[20~35 mm lens ot 20mm,

l/l5 sec.]

Bas

utt

!though tanc ard . hutt r pe d ar incli ated

on the hu te . peed ial or in _our iewfinder
a whol numb rs- uc a 60 25 250, and
500 they a~ actually fractions of tim (i . . fractions
of 1 secon : 1/6 . c., 1/ 25 ec. 1/250 . ec., and
1/500 see. H you bo 1ght you catnera vi hin th past
five . ears you' no doubt c scovered that yo r camera offer s uU 1 pe d that fall behr n tho ones
for e.an1ple going from 1/60 sec. to l/80
. to 1/100
c. to 1/ 2. sec. to 1/160 s c. to /200 ee. to 1/250
. ec. and o on. Th e additional huLLer . p eds are
us ful for fin -l ning "our e po ur and I di. cuss t 1. s
idea in gr .at r detail on the chapter on light (
pages
94~1 5 for more).

Spee( s

In additjon to t e e nu1nher. 1no t can1eras of r a

B setting a., pa 1 of the .: hutter p l le tio . B
stand for bulb, but it has nothing Lo
"th electronic flas . It i a r rnnant from th ar1 y da.. of picturetaking when photograph .,I n1atle an ex osure by
que zing a ..ubber bulb at t
end of their abl
relea. \'\rhi h wa attache to the a nera shutter
relea . -.q eezing the bulb r l a ed air through the
cabl , L r b.. locking the . huu r in th o en po ition
unti the pressure on the bulb wa r 1 asec . oday,
'lhen a pho ogra her. wan lo recorrl expo u e that
are long r han the slowe . hut r p eel he can1era
,,.].lJ allow, t 1e., u e t 1e B , tti g, along with a cable
r lea an 1 a tripod or very irnt ppoit.

uo'

\ 1

The Right Shutter Speed for the Subject

th r~ 'W'a , a reati've tool in .posure that
uull turn up th , volume of a phoL Jg;raph it
wut. ~d htav to beth
u Uer . p ~d. It is only via
th hut 1 . e that photorrraph r, can fl , z
noti ln~ Uo,. in th rie,, er
l > " tud~ r 1th

~v r

fin ani intri , t d Lawl ~ , of ubje ~t that \~.-rou }, oth 1 v.ri b tnoviJ g lou u rnckly. - nd ordy \\ ith th ai l o.l
th shutter . p~ d can 1 hotogr 1phers in1plv n~ulion,
en1pha izin ..- i Li rrn o n1 r n1ent in a con1 o it' on hy
1. nnino al fl!Y ' 1iL iL.
I

an an pl th . \>\rat rfall i one of he mo. t om~

mon mofo -fill d ubj t . Jn this ituation JOU a
r af v~ l_r u
the hulter p ed h\o "\'\ray . . ou . an
eth r fr . Z --" Ll . a Lio 1 of th \rTter ,,vith fa.t . ht tt
p d o na1 th \ at r look like otton
n i} with a
Inuch - lov,r r , hull r p d . .. noth r ~ ti n ~fill d
tn.ght ] , ev~ 1~a1 hor e . in a pa mr on a b autiful
autun1. da~ . 1-:1. r , you an try your h n j at pann ng~ follilo \ring and focu ing on Ll e ~ oJ ~ . l~rith our am ra a
I

you hoot t butter p eds of l/60 or 1/ 0

h
uh \Jvill J e a -treakecl bac- ground that leaifly on1
r y
lh aetion '~ ith the lors r .1d re .I in to u .
r zin01 th a tion of rour child oc er uc1rn i . m othr motion -ul j t. An) -it st eet. -en at du l i.
anotl .. .r.. U in _ hutter -pe ds as lo v a , . or 5 econd~ ,
(with a tripod. of eour
\Nill t.uin th . tr t int a. a
of red an l '\ \rhite as th h ad- and tailliuht . of rnovnt~
a pa -- throuP'h )OUr con1po ition.
I

_ I

ear'i ng th e sound of an
oncoming tra wn, I hurriedlly turned my .attention awary from flhe sunflower

dose-up I was making and

zoom~ed my lens from 70mm
t~o 35mm to creat~e or strory-

t.ell ing c:om position of o sunBower field and moving

train. ~ quickly set my shuUer
speed to 1/ 60 sec. and
~ad j1
usted the a perturre until
f/22 indioated a correct
exposUire. Wi~h the cam~era

on o tripod, I pressed the

shutter re ease ars the tra in
. t'he
marde. 1'ts w~ay across
trra cks at a speed of more
thorn 120 mph . The obvious
motion that resulted conveys

the Ideo of high speed trains

in Fronce, and the picturesque lo ndsco pe thot surrounds- it coulld entice ev~en
the most d iehorrd plane rid er
-

i nt<O tlryi ng the tra in.

[35-70mm len s -ai 35m m,

1I 60 s.ec. at f/22]

7':

Freez ,1

OtLOT

fi- t ~ hotograph I ever saw that u . lt he

hni -.ue f fr zing action -ho~recl a roung
-v o.tnan in a . :v /n1ming pool thro1'\ i ,g ba k h r
, , L h ad.
1 the drops of 'vat an til .
7

/\roman - flying hair were reco1rd d in -ri. p

detc1lil. inc ~ th l"a -mo ing 'vorld seldom lo" do,\rn
enough to gi. ,- u - itn~ to tudy t, pi.eture that fr , z
motion ru often 1, oked a~ \!\ ith w onder and aw
Mo oft, n than not to freeze motion ef -ti - 1 you
must u -, fa t hu t r peed .. This i -- part cularl y riti al
hen t 1- ubje t i moving parallel to you, . u _ as ' hen
p ding ra , a zoo1n past th grand tan d.
Gen rally t -_ ubj . ct require hutt r _p d - ,_ f at
leas 1/500 , r 1/1000 e . Bes~de ra e ar o a tra k,
many th 1 a i n~ toppin opportunit
-xi t. F o e1 ampl ;. a World pro\ ides an o poi tunit to fr z the
moven1 nt of kill r "\hale - as the prop th m el . e~~ out
of he ,, aL r fr m the depths be1olv. nilady, ro o
ena] I - ou to fr ze the 1nisfortune of faHing 1id rs .
. nd on l~h
.i , lop , ,. no" hoarder soar into th risp
old air
W11"n
1,van t to fTeeze an r n1o it g .tJbj e . t ou
n l to o.n. id r three factors: the distru ce b . tw n ou
and th uhj t the dire tion in ,~lhiel th ubj t is
moving;. and your len ehoiee.. ir .t d rmin ho "*' far
you a1~ from th action. Ten feet? One hu dred feet. ' The
e o r ou ar to the a tion th fa t lh hut~er peed
lllnu t he... N~ t d termine if the action rr1oving to 1\r.a rd
OI a a.' fro~n you. Then d cide lvhi h [, n i . th most
appropriat one.
or . xa1np , , if you ,.,1ere photo aphing a bro o rider
at a d m .t an
of ten to twent . fe t Y th a wid ~angle or
orm.al] n . . . rou'' d hav to use a hutt r -, d of at least
1/- 00 e . to reez th action. If you w r at a di tance
of on l undr d feet 'With a wide-angl or ormall n hi
iz and motion l-vould dimini h con id rabl y o a hutt -r
ed of l/12- sec. ,,,rould be uffJi, i :n . H ou \rvere
al a
ance of fifty feet and U ing th 'Tame-filling
po'"'rer of a 200mnl telephoto I n I/500 .e . ould he
n c ary Gu t a. if you ~wer t
t t from th action).
~ nall) you d need a shutter p . of ] /] 000 .ec. if the
ron rid were mo ing parall . 1 to you and filled the
frame i h throu . h ou1 len h .ic -or y-o r ahilit to
phy i all r move in clo e.

'I
Cl

cr.

~6

H i TTER PEEJJI

n the North Shore of

Mau i, surf:ers and ww nd~

su rf.e rs alike, arrive

every morn~ng at Hookipa
Bea1ch hoping to catch t~e
next biggest wave or ride the
constant wind. When I m~ade
thi s ima'9e 1 I was .hoping to
freeze the actJiOIIl of .Cll surfer
11

Wipi111g out..~~" Although my

first few rolls were great

records of fun in t1he su111, it

patience was soon rewarded

whe111 one s urfer took a rea1lly

seemed everyone out that

day was an expert surf,er.
Although I was tempted to
leave, I decided to be

big hit f'ram 0 1 tht~nder~rng

warve tha1t !knocked him off

pafientandwas soon
rew arded. The w ind picked
up, a111d with it, ev.en larg er
swells began to form . .My

his board and sent h~m flying. A few minutes prior to

making tt!is imag.e, I had set
my exposure by aiming my
tripod!..~moiiJnted camer(l and
lens towa1rd the hllue sky

above the horizon lne. With

my shu1tter speed set to
11/500 sec., I adjusted the
apertur~e unti'l f/8 i'ndicated a
conect ~exposu11re.

As

1
a resul t,

I was more tha111 ready when

the .CiCHon began to unf:old.

[600mm liens, 1/500 .sec.

at .f/8]

FRKEZTNG MOTION 77

trip to the local w ater- .

slide park is reason

enoug1h to bri1ng1the!
c01mero ond tellephoto lens
alon~g. As my daughter
Chlloe's expression ottests,
this is a great way to cool
off on ~a hot su mmer day.

And

the image is another

frozen moment of time 1 for~ ev
er depicting the joy of summ~er youth. To get this image,
I set my lens to 01utofocus,
-

ond with my shuHe1r speed at

1/500 sec., I aimed the
~cameHJI at fJhe blue sky ond

ad just~ed my ~aperture until

the camera meter indicated
that f/8 was correct. I ~hen

recomposed and shot several

roUs over the couu~e of he
next fiifteen minutes.

[80- 400mm lens ai 400mmi

1/500 s-ec. at f/8]

_ids and puddles go

to g~ethe r Ii k~e p eo 111 ut butter ~and jelllly. In Plloce
Terreaux in lyon, France~
numerous small!I founta i1ns dot
the marbled pavement- a1n
open invitation to kids to
jump ov,er them as if they
were puddles . I chose a v-ery
low viewpo'int- loying on my
knees a1nd bellly in front of ~a
fountain-and challenged
sev~eral neawby chi ldren t-o
m01ke the jump.
Sinoe the laie-aHternoon
sun Iig h~ ~oast Hs warm g l ow
on the Face of the city hall
and si'nce the fountoin was
in open sha de, I knew ~his

would be a very g1raphic

exposure, combining! a
strong s.ilhoueif,ed shape
oga i nst a w~armly lit backglround. In order to accom-

plish this} I first determined

my lens choice: 17- 35mm
wide-a nglle set to the 20mm
foca l length. This w~~de ond
sweeping vision would l~et
me capture not only the child
in the foreground but also
the surrounding plloza and
d i sta~nt city holll. I then chose
a shutter speed of 1/500
sec., set my light meter set to
spot metering, t,ook a meter
read ing from the warm light
fallling on the building/ and
ad~usted the aperture unti I

f/9 .5 indicated a -2/3 exposure [see page 126 for mor~e

on this metering). I was now

ready ~and motioned to the

to start jllUm ping This
im01ge was my best from the

kds

more than twenty made .

Since my exposur-e was set
for the much brighter light
fa ling on ~he building~ the
foreground~nduding

the

clh ild- recorded as o severe

under~exposure, se-en here as
a silhouette .

[1 7- 35mm lens at 20mm,

11/500 sec. at f/9 .5]

~8

H TTER - I

E l~D

n my early years as a pho,

~ographer, I spent mony
hours-- from the safety of a
mokesh ift blind that wos really just o window in my
garage

photographing the
birds that c.am,e to my bird
1
feeder. Obviousl y, a bird

feeder attracts 1\ots of birds/

especiaJIIy in winter when
food is s~ometimes scaroe,
and I photographed my
s~are of juncos, chickadees,
and finches.
When I helped my brother bu i'ld hs new hom~e in
Alaska~ however, we bohh
took time out to photO.Qra ph
eag es! An<C~ unlike me wi th
my backyard bird feeder of
suet millet, sunflower seeds,
ond peanut buHer, my brother placed large pieces of
salmon on s.everall sheets of
plywood. leaving their perch
in a nec1rby tree, the eagles
swooped toward the s.almon
at o fast pace and}' with their
1

daws outstretched}' snagged

the pieoes of salmon wi th

grac,e and ease,
Unlike photographing
birds perched in trees~ phO'togrophingl any birds in
fliglh t espedolly big ones
l'ike eagllles and especially
wlhen they a re so dose to
you~requires the use of a
fa1st shutter speed to freeze

the action (flying1speeds can

reach 30 or 40 mph). With
my Nikon D 1X digit~al camera o nd my lens on ~autofo
cus,. I fi rst set my shutter
speed to 1/500 sec.. With
the, sun o my back ~and the
eagles bathed in early-morning fron tlight, I simply aimed
the camera toward the blue,
sky above some d istont hiUs
and adjusted my apertur,e
until f/9 ind icated a correct
~exposure. I then recomposed
and fired away at the many
eagles Aying nearby.

Moor D i.ves
o r ~.ru11 ra today com

full)

.1pped lvith
a built in n1otor dri v 01 '~ j nd r "\\rlnch
aUo\
photo: rapher-. t, , att 1in a higher
degre of Lc
" hen recordi g n1o 1ion. ~lit 110 t
the aid of.a rnot ,r dri'e or \1\inder if' oft, n a hit~and
rnis. propo if on a you try to anlti ipat the e act
right JTIOffi, nt to fi- the butt I.
i tl th aid of a
V\rin r o n1otoT drive, you 'c n b git firing the shutter ev ral econ ahe d of d1 p ak aetio and con( nue fi1 ng thr, ugh to a second or h'\ aft r, and it'
a very . a , t t at one if not "" v ral -of th e po7

ure

' rill uc ' d!

Ald ough it', po . ibl to .ho ,l actio equence

with ith r a film or digital can ra, orne fihn camera ar apab of recordin in1au at u . to sel en
fran1 p r . , ond ,,, ile 1no t diuital , ameras ean
onl. r ~ '01" i lnage . up ~0 tlu fram ' per . econd.
1

[80-400mm lens at 400mm,

1/500 sec. at f/9]

fREZf G J 11 TIO N

'9

Panning
otographing n1otion ,~hi e ou.r
ar.n ra r m ain _tationary (a -. de cribed on
th pr viou pag ) . pannin _i a t ch ique
photograph r . u_ in \\ hich they del:ih . ~

nEk -

at, ly ~nove the earn ra parallel to and at

the am _pe . 1 a .- th a l o . o t often, lo shutter
_peed ar all d for when panning,. i.e. fTorn l /60 '-"'-''v
dol,V11 to 1/8

Panning rae
a11: ,,, - qu.te onunon yeru ago. In
thi -i~uation, fron . . ur pot in the grand tand you
v~rould b -gin to fol o'~.r a ra e ar . mo , ment with rou
am 1a a L car ent _.rou1 fran1e.
t, whil hold' g
th atn 1a, you p uld -mplv mo' e in the .ame direetion a th ar, ] ft to righ or 1-ight to le t keeping th ear
in th .am pot in your 1ie,l\rfinder as be t ou auld and
firng at will. You hould make a po.nt to folio"' through

"'ith a u1.ooth 1notion. ( ny sudd n top or jerl y mov ment ould adver ely alter the panning ef~ t.) 11f1.e
r~ . ulting in1a oc boull how a rae
ar in focu a,uallin t
a backuround of a . treak~ d .olo1fuJ blur.
lhe in1portanc of the b~ ~ ck.oTound 'j":rh . n pannin u cannot be ove1 tate d. ~Tithout an appropri at backgJouncl

no b urril g an r ult. I an1 .. rnind d of on rny fh t

att mpt at panning ." ru ago. T'"'Oof 1 ay l rother \1ere
playi 1g ri;bee. ~fith In cain ra and 50 T en , a d a
hutt r p ~ d of /30 s . I hot ov - tw~ l ty , .. po I I -'S
8' th toy t ak d aero: , the k . Tv,renty M~ tu e . of a
ingl
ubj t een1 l aln1o: t nightn1ari h to rn ] ~ a lli
I

th n hut I "\ 7 ant d to be ur I oot at I a 'L on g~ od

i1nage.
nJ~ortu . ately , not a . ~ gl in1ag turn d ut'.
ith th Frisb e R 01ain .t onl r a ], ar an o 'd-b 1 u kv
"
here ''''a nothin~ beh nd it to recor l as a tr .ak~ d bact ~round. K p th- in 111incl pru nng i. a gool r a on lo
take note of pot . ntilally .it 1 g a cl ground .
I u , a tril o l . qu tly but ,,rh nit om . Lo pant i g, a tripod soft n a hnJ an e
o l i a , it hon1 . {
an I. a t I. oa of t.hund r~ us applau e!) . in ?' u'r
pa 1 . g mo ing . ubj ~ ~ cts . : ou n1u t b - fr
l.o n1ov ;
and u ing a triM od 1:nak . .about a .. n1u h . . n a . , ating spagh -tf 'ith _,our hand ti -d b in i: our ba k.
1
\

n/60 se.c::. at

was havi ng1the tli me of my

life shooting sunAiowers out

my exposure

in the m idldJI,e oF

sky a1bove the field of flow-

nowhere- where the only

noise that brea ks the i ncred ib le sHenoe is the occasional

cor passing lh rough on the

lone oou ntry road ~hat runs
1
through this fielld . It wasn t
until I turned my clltten't'ion
a1way ~om the sunHowers
that it occurred to me that
pann~ng on 0 1 car as it drove
by could prove to be a

good stock shot. And; as

often happens in cases lilke
this once I wonted a co1r, Ill
!had to w.ai't and wa1i"t a nd
1.

f/16)~ as I metered the blue

ers. Onoe the car entered

the fr ome 1 I began to shoot
and pa1n, foHowing1the car
and doing my bes.t to keep it
in the sa me point in the
frame while 1
m oving ~he cam=
e ra from le ft to rig h t. I just

kept firing the whole ~i me

~he cor was ther~e (the camera's motor drive fired off
f1
ive fr01mes per second]. And
my hunch was right, as this
one image ha1s ~ea 1rned more
tha 1n seven thouso1nd dollars
in combined salles wi~h my

stock agency just over the

wa1it for one. Just when I

thought about packing if in, I
L
d a ca1r approac11mg
L
l)ear
. I

last twelve-month period.

put the camera to my eye

[80-2'00 lens ot 200mmJ

a1nd did a quick recheck of

1/60 sec. at f/16]

ile living in Europe,

I've come to rega1rd
the bicycle as a won~
derful alternative to the co1r.
Additionally, I've s~een count1es.s bicyde f(lces a II across
the countryside, and tn m-any
small towns and vi1 llag~es . At
one race in o small town in
Hollo1nd, stationed myself
on a street corner where the
cycllists would make one of
11

severa1l turns. I set the foca I

leng1th of my 2().....35mm
zoom lens to 20mm 01nd the

shutter speed to 1/4 sec.

Next, I od justed the a perture
u nti'l .f/22 indicated 0 1 correct
~exposure for the '91ray road
in front of me. As ~he cyclists
come into the viewfinder, I
simply moved the camera in
a fluid side-te=side motion,
left to dg ht; plus, I also

zoomed the lens from the

20mm focal length to the
35mm focal length. In oddition t o this recording the
panni.ng effects, it also
recorded the explosive
effects that result from zooming during a slow shutter

speed exposure.
[20-35mm lens at 20mm
~

/4 sec. at f/22]

ollowi ng the end of o

four-day photo workshop
I fought in Alaska, I glad-

ing all my g1ear.. As I

approoched the shoreline,
those once smallll ubear dotsu

ly occepred arn i nvitotion

l''d seen from the plane

{from a student who was

also a bush plot) to ~1he

beoame impressive in size.

The bears hard been feed ing
on salmon and berries since
June a,n d now/ in these ~ea dy
days. of autumn/ their belllies
seemed ready to burst. Most
of them were moving sll,o wer
thon the second hand on a
clock with a deodl battery.
Of fhe many beorr images
'I ~got that day, this one is the
most memorable. As you con
dearly see, Ws not just o

K.otmai IN ~ationol, Park for

day of bear v'i ewing.

01

Arriving neorr the shore on

the g lossUke surface of the
Seli kof Stro it, I d isemba.rked
from the pl,arne, stepping first
on its skid and then into the
dear cold water. It was slow
goring fo r the next f'ifteen minufes as I trudged through ~he
waist-dieep water, w~earing
my chest waders and carry-

panning photograph of o

bea r feeding in

fl

stream; I

somehow managed to

reco rd an exposure thot also

captured the fdg1htened
salmon,

whose heads you

can see sticking out of the

wart,er. Qute honestly~ 1, was
focusing a U of my .attention
on the beor while making
these panning shots, and os
you con imagine, I was
absolute~y thrllled to s~ee the
salmon in this shot as wellI

when sorting through my

slides on the Iig ht to bllre.

[80- 400mm lens art 400mm/

l /60 sec. ot f/22]

PA N NG

8~

lmpl Lng Mo ion

h n t e a1nera remains tationaryusually on a finn support such a a tripod-and ther a e moving subj -cit
the photo . ~ -aph.er ha the opportunit
to in1pl- Ino io . The Ie ultina i.mag

again the digital . hootei . ""rith LCD scr en hav th

ad antag in e th
an in tanf y vie,'\r the r ults of
th -ir shutter . p - d choioe. Addition ul r th r ar no
fihn o t. nvol . d o thi trial and erjfor o ts nothing ..
I h r are ta nl me . en ral guid line - to foUo'\t\1
will hu,'\r th mo- ilng u.bject as a blur,. while s ationar for im. l ing mofon and if nothing else; th y can provid
obj t . ar recorded n harp detail. ~Tate1fall . tr -am
a g od tatting point for n1an of th n1otion-fill , d tuar hng url, airplanes trains au~omobile . ped tri- tion that abound.. or example- 1/2 .. e . '' 11 ,' finit . ly
an. ancl jogger; are but a of the more ob . iou. ub- produ e th otton effe tin' aterfall and -tT a . ;\n 8je t. hat n work. ~ orne of the not- o-obvious in ~~lud
cond po ure ""rill def1n.tel reduce the h adlight an]
a hamm r triking- a naH . toast popping out of th l t- taillight . of movin traffic to a ea of ~ d-a d-w ~t
str ak.. . 1/4- ~ ec . expo ure 11 make hand . k ini g a
er hands kn uing H ."" eater coffee being pour d from th
pot a c -ir ng fan, a tne . ~go-round, a see. a a dog, vr,r. ater app -ar a itmovng at a ve1 high rat - of l d.
. baking it elf d:ry after a dip in the ]ake vljrind blo'\1 n hair
wind of 30 n1ph moving through a .t and of mapl tr ~
and , n \1 ind blowing through a field of lvi dflo, . r~ .
oupled lvith .a 1 econd e po ure an r nder ta:rk and
Choo ing the right shutter peed for tnan f th
it- . hmpy focused tiu s and I ~ranch that , onb:ast ,, ith
\\rl py,
ndblo"\1\rn overlapping leav . ,.
uation i . oftentimes tria] and eiTor. It~ her that on
I

TTER

I EE.D

f slow shutter speeds ca1n

work for water, wlhy not for

industrw
al sparks? In the falll
of 2002, I was offered an
a1ssignment shooting steel
miUs. I photographed
numerous sublects over the course
of five darys, i ncll uding a
number of varied compositions of hot steel and fly'ing
sparks. At one of the five
mills I photogra1phed, thirtyfoot lengths of twelv&inch
sfee pipe We re sen t down o
long trock wher~e the e'l1d of
eoch was then cut by an
automated machine. lt was
there that I set up my ~ri pod,
about te111 feet from the pipe
itself. Despite ~his disla1 nce~ I
found myself sweafri ng profu s,e ly, as the heat coming oH
the pipes Was well above
two thousond degrees.
With o focall length of
1

hether it coscades
down through rocky
streams or over
basalt-la1y,ered cliffs, waier
cap~ured at a slow shutter

speed is very soothing1to

look a t This example (opposite) is the Upper North IFalls
at Oregon's SUve1r Falls State
Pork. The early-morning light
was casting its glow on the
nearby trees, and subsequently~. l'ike a mi1nror, these
vi'vid green colors and the

blue sky overhead were

~refll ected in the sirea m
below. I wosted no time in
turning my attention to this
wonderful abstract photo
opportunity. Using a tripod, I
set my shutter speed to 1/8
sec. adjusted my aperture
until f/ 19 indicated o -2/3
expos.ure, and fired off severa l fromes.
1

well f.or waterfalls ond

s ~reoms over the ye,ars. As
the pipe lay on the track, tJhe
outomated cuHer would slke
th ioug h t he steel, all with n
~ive seconds. IDuri ng ~hese
five-second periods/ I would
look through the viewfinder
and not~e how the cameroJ's
lig1ht meter reocted to the
bright hot steel and flying
sparks. Determi ni ng1that the
br~ghtest point in the overallll
composit1
i on was tlhe cuHer
itself and having shot nume1r ~
ous sunris,es a1nd sunsets
over trhe ye01rs 1 I chose to
i~gnore this much brighter
light and set an ,e xposure
for the surrounding g l owing1
steel of the pipe i tse l f~
much li'ke choosing to set an
exposure from the orang1e
g1lowing1sky to the right or
left of the s.un .
1

400mm, I chose a -1/2 sec.

[7 5~300mm lens o1t 21 Om m,
1/8 sec. a1t f/19]

shuft,e r spe,edl- the same

spe,e d tha1t ha1s worked s.a

[80-400mm lens at 400mm,

1/2: sec. ot f/27]

LH C I G M TT

H5

EXI
a S ationary Cam ra
ho ting mov nent "' hil the an1era r mai.n tationa11 relcztice to the ubj t offer an ana
r---.- of po
ibi ]tie . fry . r ur lr nd at thi
e1ci
th ne J tirne . ou vi it th local playground or
arnu ~tn - t park. I promi i lt \Vi II h lp you discov r
rnan y 1110 rnotion-fill . d uhj t . I a playground,
fin,dl a \ ing -et \ -ith a Land of t e in the ba
ground. 1\ you it in th wiug "'id1 v ur camera a d
wid ~angle len , et yo r ltut r .peed to 1/ 0 , .,
and pojnt and focu h an1 r -- at ~our out"" tJ: tch
le (pr ferabl y \'vi th ha t) . h n adjust rhe ap rture until a colT, , t o ut is indi ated by th runera :; In ter. 11
t. LaJt ~ wingin keepi.n ' both
ann carefUlly' rappe I around th chains or rop , of
th \fill~ . or COlli" e ' 0~ C you rea h a good - V\ringing ac tion pr, tl1 . hun, r r 1 a e . Don't he itat to
tak a numb r of ex o.ur -._ . Th re uh' illl e harp
]eg uiTounded b_ a ea of nov em nL- an in ag
tl at . ay' '"'.lt n1p fo jo) .for . pi .' ba sprunof
xt' 1no e to th . , - aw. Pia the ca.1nera o rhat
it J a ~ e r sts flat o tl . ~ ee. aw about a foot ~l front
of v.rhere) o 'll be tsitting. ~T" th the chi d or adult itting on the other nd foe on th 111 wilh yo r --huLt r peed et to /8 e . nd adjust }our ap rtur . .
h n begin th UI ~and-do,~\i n1otion of th rid --k , pin one hand on th
a1ne1a of eoui .e and
hoot a ntm1b .r of Xf o ur at c if rent 1nt. r a
wh"l . continuing ~t ee. a fl.l. The nd I ult . a
harplv focu e p r on againt a background of
lreaked blu1 .
At a 1 an1u. . In 1 t pad , ~lalk ov 1 to th Ill rr -goround and hop o . board. Wait until the 1~.d g rs movinu at a good pa , a1 d lrVith your . hutter sp d e t to
1/3 ec .. fo u on a p J", n or opposit you. - dju t
- our aperture and fire awa ' Th nd 1 ulL is <n
again a sharpl_ fo ''Use I p on agairu t a ba kground
of , \\riding tr ak: . \'(r. uld that rn.-~ke
tise1n nt or D anlamin , or what?'
1

86

~ f-HJ'I T ~ .

P EE D

f wat,er looks good in

nature, why not in the

city?' Sever~a1 l years ogo

while on a job in Barcelona,
I too k the ni~ght off to see
some sights a_nd come upon
his huge fountain where
many people had a1ssembled
to see ,a synchron'ized light

show. With my tripod and

35-70mm lens, I soon found
that I hod shot more than
twenty exposures because I
liked the i'mage before me

so much . I set the focal

length to 50mm , my shutter
spe,ed to l /2 sec., and
merel,y adjusted the aperture

until f/8 indkated a correct

~exposure from the strong
backlight. The half-second
exposure did liHII1e to freeze
th e action of the water, but
tha t wa1s not my intention . I
wanfe d to record .a more
eth e re01l woter effect and
1/2 sec. ~accomplli sJhe,d this.

Since my meter readli ng was

set for the muclh stronger
lights on the fountain, the
people gathered in front of it
wer~e rendered as severeJ

underexposed smlhouettes.

[35- 70mm

l~ens

at 50mm,

1/2 sec. at f/8]

[1\iiP YI

, MOll' ) l

8~

h ze Zoomi1 g
do you

-.tationa
ubj'e t
'1no ,.. You zoon iL! ln oth 1 " ord ., vou
p - ss the h tt r r l a e while zootnin

O"\-

1na

you1 len frotn on fo<..:alli di tan Eo anoth. ith th p b tafion of zoom len e
on the tna.rket today, I'm urp i d ilia h z , min -duri g- xpo ~ure techniqu ha 1t J n r 1v d..
Z 01nin your len '' hil . pr ]ng th . hutter 1 ea e
will1 roduce th 'f, ired r ult but llOt t ithout practice.
Don t be disappoint cl if your i r t f '\\T attem t don 1
mea u:re up. Reineinl) ~ lll) nurnl er n rule for aH you
fi'ln1 hoo
out th . , : fb 1 i . ch ap '" h n om pared to
the b utna of a mi , d hot.. 1~ 'o r tho of . ~ . u u. ing a
point~ancl~ hoc t di~ital am ra
1 1ay ee1 youT

patience b in o- tri ,d.

l you can figure out a ll\ a to

override the n1otorlliz d zoorn i ng f attn, on ~our earnera
and 'OLf d be th fir. t to rnake thi. d. , ov ry, by th
\\:ra; ), you 11 be n u . ~ful in u att mpt . The
bi ' e. t rea on r thi i l eca.u
h a1nera. '\\ron t let
) ou ehange any Uing a ~d thi. in lude . zoo1nino-)
"'hi the expo .ur i b ing made.
1

~h my cameral and

35 70mm lens on a
tripodf I first colmposed this lone oak -at sunset
at a focal length of 35m m
w ith the add ition of o lee
sunset fi liter. With a shulier

speed of 1/2 sec. I adiusted

my aperture to f/22. As I
1.

pressed the shutter release, I

zoomed from 35mm to
70mm 1 and this is one of

only a handful of attempts

that sucoeeded from the two
rolls I shot of this tree usi 119
th is effect.

[35- lOmm liens a t 70mm,

1/2 sec. at f/22]

.8

11 1 TTF.R 'PEED

Making Rain
fall he di overie ] v made during ID)
tw nty y ar. of . hooting n1 favorite il creating 'rain i has pro ided me with hours
of j ~y~ i ed pl otograph. . Thi technique
h al. .o r . ullited in num lions. s.tock photo
ale to gr , ting ard and . aJ ndar companies, as wellli as
to hea1thcar -related . lient .
Th rain ffe t is '. a . to achie\ e. On lea1r 1nornings.
I et up an o ci iating sprinkler so that the w~ater is back~
1t a it cas ad dn\ n .. I then gather up some flowers or
fut and ar.a g them in pot , small cedar bo es bO'wls
or vas . . To -.ff ctiveh produce the look of falli n . a , I
u e a shuue speed of l /60 ee. I 1nove in close to the
backlit C'.t bject and adjust n1y ape1ture unt 1 the light
111et r nd'", ales th.a1t a cone t expo ure is set. I then sitnpl / hack up,. co1npo e a pleasing composition,, and turn
on th sprinkler. I hoot only "vhen the Sleeping arc of
the o ciHating prinkler be ,ins to fall just b hind and
then onto t.he flo, ;rer . Also I almost ah, ays ehoose the
-200mm or 300mrn fo al length for rain shots, not so
much hecau .e thee ocallengths hav an inherent halIo" depth of field but because the r e nab,l e me lo record
plea ing composition \\rithout getting '\i\re t.
I

.shoulld f,alling

rain

be l'im it:ed to flowers?

Aft,er I'd been using
thIs tec hn ique for sever01l
ye,a rs to photog1raph Rowers,
I began to place other sub
~ '
1ec.s
1n my !Cra Ill1"
11n 9 ra 111n ,
including this. vivid blue bowl
of fresh strawberries [below).
Wi'th the bowll on a small
II

If

wooden st oo l, I took 0 1 meter

reodi'ng from ~h e light foiUng

on t1
he st1raJw berrm
es. Then
with my shutter speed set to
1/60 sec. 1 II adj.usted ~he
aperture IJintil the light me-ter
indk01tedl (l correct exposure,
whiclh was at f/ 119. I backed
up, composed the scene you
see here, turned on the sprinkler, and fi red off several
frames ea:ch time the droplets

felll on the bowl

[80-400mm liens at 300m ml

1/60 sec.. ot f/ 19]

. . I TTER

EEn

f you're

l~ke me, you

wellcome spring with great

en~husiasm. Tlhe sun has
returned a~nd ~he rains have
subs~ded-at leas~, the
real ra~n lhas . I rused a1n
o.scil!,ating lb wn sprinkler
to ma1ke it ra ~ n" on these
backlit tulips, and I metered
off the green gross behind
J.\f

them. Wilth my shutter speed

at 1/60 sec., I adjusted
my aperture until f/1 0
indkoted a -2/3 expos11Ure
and fi red away.. Ah, the
joy of spr'ing1!
1
[ 80- 200mm lens at 200mm,

20m m ex1~ension tube

:I

1/60 s~ec .]

'

MA KI G RA JN 91

The Importance of Light: The Importance of Exposure

''

?~ i , a
hat , hould rny xpo . r
r . alr ad ' aid an oft, n- . ird
q
.tion fr m. nl} .tud nt . nd
again a I ta~ - 1 earli r m ' f equenltr
r ] 'l - althouuh ]t rna r at fir t
appearing flippant- i itnpl _ ur po ure houl
be correct creatively correcl that i . _ r
di cu ,,e d
in ountles, work h - and on-Hn photo course .
a bi vn a a r ati l )- correct Ll o~ ur is. p.aratnount to
a pholtog apher abilit to b on. i t - n . IC ahr\raJ the
I

fi1" ~ t priorit of ev . 1] uc ful photogra her to et r-nline V\7hat 1 ind of expo ur opportuni Ly h )r h i . fa . _
in : o 1e that requir, 0' at d -pth of field or ha lo ,,
e )th of field, or on that r quir~ s f[ ezi ng th a tion~
i1nplying n1oti n or panning. 0 , Lhis ha h , n d 1 Imined, the real qu . tion . n - 1~ ~' Tbat hould my p su e be?' but 'From wher:e do I take .my- met- r rea~di.ng.
How ver, h for I an~ l r L .at qu ~ tj, ~ n 1 t ta
a
look at th ndatio upon ,,,., hi I ev ry
o u i
built: light~ O~ ver th y ar , \1\ ll-rneani ng photograph r
I

have ..tre . ecl the im ol1ano of h ht or have even been

o boid a to ay that Hght i eve11rthin . ' This kind of
t achin - . ee the liO'ht and hoot the Ii ht. - has led
man} a pn1n tudent a tray over the yeaTs.
Arn I a ntili ht? Of cou:r se not! I eouldn t agree mor

that th.e right light can bring ilnportance and drama to a

gi\ en eon1position. But 1nore often han not the stress s
on .the .light instead of on the (c eativel . correct) e po~
sur . Wheth r you ve chosen to t 1 a sto -y,, to isolate to
1

freeze action,, to pan, or to imply n1otion i.n your imagethe l:i,ght will be there regardless. I can-t tell ou how
many limes I e met studen~s ''"lho think an e .. posure for

-on1ehovf differ nt than iit is fo a slor;. teHii g

im.a e or f:or a panning nage, and so o- . But,, whal i so
different. "\'\That has all of the sudden chang d?
Am I to be ieve that a co1nplet 1 different e t of
aperrures and shutte speer s e ists onl for the light? Of
eourse not. A cor:reet exposure i.s st.ill a cotrJlhination of
apertur, ., shutt r speed . and ISO. And,, a ei ati vel . correct e posu +e is s.tiU a cotn.bination of the right ar erture
the right shutter speed,, and the right ISO-v~rith or \1\iithout the li,ght. .s far a I n1 concerned, th light i the
be t po sible fro ting you can put on the cake, but it ha
never been- and ne' er will be- the cake.

the Hp1ht i

hile the '!light Is important in any ima g1e, it

was ~he exposure

that was an integrol part of

moking thms shot. Getting a
rytellling exposllre that
true sto1
rendered ev,e ryth ing in sharp
focus was key to conveying
the humor o~ th ~ s scene
a long one of trhe rna ny d~kes

wn 'W'es.t Fri,esland Holl,and.

Windm ~lls aborund in this
1

area, -and peop~e sti ll l1ive in

these l:' houses.u Com 'i'ng1
upon the clothesline of o ne
such hom,e owner1 I couldn't
n:~sist vhe obvious opportuni-

ty. Wlih my camera on 0 1 tripod, ~ set my apertur~e to

f/22. I then prefocused the
scene via1tlhe dista nce setting
and adjusted my shutter

speed for the Iight reflecting

oH the blue sky until l /60
s~ec. indicated a correct
exposure. The scene didnli

look in fociJis when I shot it,

bu t d ue to my aperture
choice, i't was rendered
sharp on fi m.

[20-3.5mm lens a t 20mm,

f/22 for 1/60 sec.]

9.

Light

here do ou find the best light fo rou

subjects. Experien ed photograph ~
a:v lea1ned that th be .t hght oft n
occu s at tho e iitne of day when ou
p ou d rather be leepin:o- (ee;1rl} mornor iui.ng do' n '' th farnily or friend for dinner (late
aftetnoon/early evening especially in - utnn1er). In other
word shooting in the best light can be dis1upti1 e to your
noTmal ., hedule.
But~. unles ou're willing to take aclva.nia ,e of earlymorning or lat -afternoon light- both of "\\ hich reveal
t ":tures had ' r ; .i:lnd depth in '1ann and vi' id tone you '"PO ur will . .ontinue to be harsh and eontTascy~
rVif out any r al '"'{atrmth. - uch are the results of hootin(F
unde the often ha1 h and flat light of f e 1nidday sun.
ddit onally . on can argu that the best light occurs
duri g a han e in the '"reatherw-ineoming d u dertornl a d rain-that' con1hined ' ith ]u" ~angl d earl . morning or a -af ernoon light.
ou . hould get to kno,,v th color of light, as vv .
i\liLhough early~mon1ing light i ,goiden, it's a bil. cooler
than lth mu h - tJonaer goiden-orange light that hegins to
fall on th lanclscap an hour befor _ sunset. \\ ath r
, -p ian. ncl . ment 'veather , an _I af t both th
quality a
ntion d abo . ) and color of hght. he ominou and thr ateni g sky of an approaching thundertornl can r as a great . ~O"'' a e for a front- or idelit
land ap . Th n lt her - th .. oft almo t ha lo,vle slight
of a righ o ea t da . "\vhich ean impati a deli ate tone
to many pa toral . c - ne a w 1 a to flo\\'er clo e-up
and portrait .
in -.. no\V and fog ar~- monochromatic they aU
au ntion t ubj l uch as a lone pede uian with a
bright r
umbr Ha. ak t a point also to .e n e the
-hang n light through th , ason.. The hi b har h _
rom a op the steps. near
dir , t midda ' umn1 r un. lili r .l arp : fron1 the lo\1 Pi.azza di Spagna n
angl d win~er un. During th pri g the elruit) of the
Rome, I was afforded a
Hght in th ou .1.tr; id r,~. ult in d li at hu and ton
view of lhe busy s:treet
for ud on plant and tr - . Thi _am, clear light below. With my camera a1nd
!liens on a tri'pod II setr the
enhan
th 'Lark , aut: f th autumn la d ap .
aperture and adjusted the
r

shutter speed. Even while Il

was shooting this scene, I
commented to my ass.~stont
~hat it would be a for better
photogro ph if we could just
have some light. I had
already been 1
ra1ining for tlhe

beHer

96 LI .HT

part of thre e

days . The

next day, the skie s finallly

cleared and we ma1de il
back to the some spot-only
this frl rne in llate afternoon. As
luck would have it, ~he street
was now backlit a1nd displlayed the wa rmth I had previously been looking and
hoping1for.

I[Above:: 8Q....200m m lens

at 200mm, f/2 2 for 1I 15
sec. Opposite: B0-200mm

lens ot 200mm, f/22 for

1/60 sec.]

near your home \Vh th r .on live n Lhe

c-oun _ry or the . ity ~ n a hou.
o :tn aprutm nt. . el t an , ubjeet for . _. "" ample the house , a:nd
tree. tha line "our tre t or th n arb} cit} kyline.
If . rou live ln the country in th mountains, or at the
bea<"h, cl oo ,. a larg _ and . . pansi\le compo 1hon ..
Over the f'Our. . of th ne t tw lve n1on~hs~ do u1nent
th
hanging . ea on and the continuou lJ hifting
angle of the ight dun . ghout the year. Take e\ era1
}Jieture. a 1v - k hooting to the outh, noith east .
and w ~ t and in aTly-morning midda , and late~
afternoon ight. . in thi an exerci e, on t eoncern you Jf \Vith making a con1pelbng composition.
t th . nd of the h e] ve mond
ith your effcu1s
. pr ad out b fo e you you'll have an1a sed a knowl. dg and in ight ahout li ht tl1at few p ofessional
ph tographers-and even fewer amateurs- possess.
Photographer . '~'ho u ~e and xploit Hght are not
gifted! hey have i1nph lean1ed about light and
hav ; d 1ereb . beeon1e motivated to put th msel es
in a po .ition to re eive the gift. that the '''1ight light
1

"

"\\

ha to offer.
noLher good exercise i to explor the changing
lil)"ht on your next vacation. On just one da , ri e
before da,~,rn and pho 1ograph some subject for one
I our followin urnise. T en head out for an afternoon of hooting beginning se eral hours. before and
la ting h r\rent} tuinutes iollowing sunset.. otice ho,\
Io, -angled frontlight pro ides even illurnination,
how idehght creates a three-dirnensional effect, and
ho1" shung backlight produces silhouette . After a
da, or h\1 0 of this 70U H oon di cover ""-r hy the }jo,ht
"
of the midday sun s reserved for rela"'!k::ili.g pool.ide.
7

Felt wonder~u l after record-

ing

trh is imag1e

above of

a l one Dutch ellm o n the

banks of o smolll dike in
Hoiland. The Iow-a ngJI,ed
li~ght of lorte afternoon ha d
begun to cast its worm gliow
across the landscarpe, and I'
was ~here to catch it ~a ll . lit
was on iy until I happened
upon trh is sa m~e scene ag1arin
two days llot~e r-but lJIIIlder

even more d ro maf c lighti ng

conditions- thor I knew the
photograph c.ould be
improved. I coul~d now capture the scene argainst a
backdrop o f a fi erce a nd
oncom ing sto rm ~( oppos ite) .
I made both imarg es w ith-

ou t o tripod and w ith the

98

IG1-I'f

same lens seni ngs . In both

carses, I used an aperture of
f/ 16 a nd p reset the focus
via the d ista nce setting o n
the firont of ~h e liens to assure

moxim um depth of field fro nt

to ba ck. An d, in both cases I
adj'us'ted the shu tter spee:d for
the light fa 1Ung1on the tree.
The d iffe rence is in tlhe uhosti ng(~the l i g lht~ nd it 1s
am azing . But, it was still necessory to decide what kind
of cake I wa nted to ma ke: in
this cos~e , o co ke that rel ied

on the co nscious seled ion

the right orpert1ure first.

[Both photos: 20-35 mm

lens a t 20m m,

I/ 125 sec.]

f/ 16 for

of

Frontlight
hat i m.e _nt b) hontl" aht or frontlight=
inu: lrnagjn lor a noment that your
can1 ra l n
i . . a giant podight.
J~ v~ ryw r
o _ point the lens you
' -ould light th ubje t in fiont of you.
Thi i fronLlighti.nu ancl thi i - hat the un do s on
unn: r . ay - of our . . I u to fro dightin .' abi ity to for
th rr1o t Jar~ venly illumina r e a ubjeet, n1any photograph r on ider j ~o be th ea ie t kind of light" ng t~
1\' ork wit) n. term ~ of 111 t ring; e pecially \'\7 h n shoot in oland. a
w_ith. bl _e . k- .
o i jt r a11y afe to a that frondi- ht doesnt po e
an gr at e po
- hall nge ? ~~1aybe it c oesn t in tenn
of m~ -t ring_ u in t -rm of te tin . your endurance and
d otion~ it migh. Do ou mind - ettin up earl} or tay1

. runpl : I h qu~ rty and olor of frontligh~inu are b . tin th fit ,t . _our ah . r . unri
an l luring
th la t ' hou uf daylight '"J ~-rue \'\7a rnth of thi o den-

ino- out late, fo.

orano' rght \\rill invariabl_ H t an equall) 1Nalm

re pon from i '\1 r . l i . frontlghf ng . an n1ake portrait . 1no . fiatt ring and nhan
th beauty of both
lands cap a d c t , ap om1 o- if o
In addition . frontlighti ng- ju t like a er~ a t lighting
(ee pag
2~105)-provid n illumination Ina ing t r lati- -I- -a . t:or he photographer to e an e posure ou don-L ha, t l an po ur - 'ex ert to d terJnine th - put in Li
c . ne v~.rh r rou houllid take your
rn t r r ading. V n fir t-tim photogra her can make
ucc . ul x o ur~ "rh t
their amera are in n1anua or auto x o ur~ m~ de .
=

o phot ograph this mustard field, I handheld my

oa mera ~a1 nd set my
20--35mm lens to 24mm . I
then set the aperture o f/22
ond preset the focus via the
dstonce setting1s on the front
of the liens/ which assured
me that everyth ~ng would be
sharp from two feet to inFinity. W 'ith the camera in manu-

a l-exposure mode, I raised it

to the sky above/ adjusted
my shutter speed to 1/60

sec., and then recomposed

the shot.
[20- 35mm lens at 24mm,

f/22 for 1/60 sec .]

s the la~e.-afte'rnoon
front~ ight cost its glow
across the fa1ce o f this
l1avender Farmer in Provene:e,
I d~dn't hesitate . Witrh my
ca mer01 set to aperture-priori-

ty mode, I chose f/5.6 to

keep the visual w~eight on

him/ and then s,i1mply fir~e d
Oway, ollowi ng the camera
to set the exposure for me.

[B0...200mm lens cJt 200mm

f/5.6 fo r 1/500 s~ec.]
1

FR

1GHT IU

Overcast Frontlight
f all the diff r nt light inc- onditi on that
photc .ura ~ her. -
a t f1:ond i hting
is the on that rna y on ider to b the
safe~ ~t . l 'hi. i b au e O\ rc . ~t fond .ght
ill u m i nat . mo t ubject even l) 1naking
11 L r reacli nO' , imp~ , . Th . . tu 1 , f cou1.
that the
ub} L i n't a land, .ap u
a dull a} k, that u l ~ j L a1 1d ]ioht orn~ inafo
d om . extra a .- \1\rhich
I addre - in th , hapt r on pe .ial techni(fll an I filliter
on J a o-e 138- 51.)
I

II

13403

IH NK B OAT

102

] HT

Ov r a t r nLlight aL o g~t aut p ~ l Jre mnera "~ to

perform. '1\ ll in u\ crall iHtn11inaf i l ~ alanc d. ll
oftn , -_ f thi lighL re~ u It in 1no n.a tural-lookincr ortrait an l i I r flower coloL a d iL alo elit:11inat . Lh .
eontr t pr i 1 n1 ~ LhaL . unn~ r da.. eate in wood d
ar a .
a L ond ilion. a on in rhich
o len
h ot auL . po . u re tn o [, : ith 1 ape1ture- -~ tioriL~, if
tn
'P ur eonc .rn, r a out tle1d ~ f fi ld or lthe
ah n Lh r o[; o , hutt~ r- ~riorit. if ntl) oncen i
a) out n1oLiou i..e . fre :zing .a~tion or panning .

'I

ust as photog ra phing in

the woods on sunny doys
is pr~obl,e maJtic-yi eldi ng
i ma1g es that are too contrasly- shooting in outdoor
markets under sunny conditions creates the same problems. Wait for overcast days;
correct exposur~es will be
much easier to recordJ and
you can certainly shoot i1n
aperture-priority mode without fear. In th i1s classic "Who
cares?" situation~ I held my
ca1mera1and stood on tiptoe
to shoat down on trhese small
spice sacks (rig1ht). Exposure
was not a concern si nee the
light levels th roughout the
scene were even .

[35- 70mm lens at 35mm

f/1 11 for 11/60 sec.]

ne of my students had
hea1rd about the house
covered in license
pllates in Vermont While on
0 1 workshop there~ we w ere
ell at~ed to find it and wer~e no~ t
the Ieast bit disappointed
(opposHe). It was a sub ject
tha1tr l~ent itsel1f perfectly to ~he
soft o nd even ilium ination
that only a cloudy day can
provide. Since this house
was surrounded by numbers
of deciduous trees 1 a sunny
day wou ld ha1ve ca st nu mereus shadows on the roof and
sides of the house, resul ting
in a composition of sharp
confr,asts. W ith my camera

on a tripod/ I fra med up one

wall of the house with two
windows and chose o ~~who
cores?u ap e r~ure of f/ 11.
Due to the even illluminationJ
I had no wo rries about using
aperture-priority mode and
lelting th~e camera pick the
exposure for me.

[80-200m m lens at
f/11 f01r 1/30 sec.]

1711 /,l.r e
B 'l rnJ't :
..,.. 114/ilh....
'
l-IfT!!; ; ! OflJ!

120mm 1

OV ERCA T

n:.

NT I HT 1 .

otrh"o its are anorher fine

subject for ov,ercast I"Hhtill1g . The soft and ,e v,e n
illum~nation of a cloudy day
matkes getting1on exposure
~easy. Posed candids thai
offer dir,ect eye c ontact or,e
pleasing1to viewers. Her,e, jl
f'irst asked my subjject to s~t
about ten feei in front of a
baclkground of blue barrells. I
then placed' my ca1mero on a

104

I liT

tripod, and because I want&

ed to render the background
as out-of-fociUs shapes and
tones, I set my aperture to

f/5.6. Since I' was using

,aperture-priority atutomatk
exposure, I had only to f,ocus
on my subject's pl,ea.sant
demeatnor atnd shoot.
[80-200mm lens ,a t 200mm,
f/5.6 ~or 1/1125 sec.]

mel this elderly German

day/ this is one of my

woman by occiident. Whi l e

driving1around the country~

f01vorites. Since the bench

slhe was on wa1s against 01
wa II, depth of field was of
no great concern. I put my

side, I ran out of gas in front

IlL gener~
o fh.er form, ~an d. , sne
.
ously offered me several
lifers of gas to get me go"ng
aga~n. But before I lknew it,
I'd spent more than five
hours with the wom.an and
her daug1hter t01lki ng about
life on the f~ arm. ~O F the marty
photographs I made that
1

lens to aperrure-priority

mode, set

nwho COII"es? ''

ap,erture of f/11, and let the
01

came1ra choose the shuner

speed for me.
[80~200mm

lens at 1OOmm,
f/ 1 11 for 1/60 sec.]

VERCA T FRO 1 LJ. ""HT 10-

Sidelight
ronLlit u_ j c t a u:l eo In po tion. photographed und an o r t . y o Iten appea
t.wo-din1en ional ven though our e) e t
rou the u] ~ t a._ dep h. To c ate the il t
ion of thr ~ -dim n ionaHty n iln1 yo ne d
hi hr ghts an l had ow - i ~ other lVOr
ou ne d icleli ht. For e1. eral hour aft r Urillri.
se' ral hour
before sun et yo l find that id lit ubJ t abound
';hen ou .hoot to rud the n rt] or outh. Mak it a point
to take ea h p ollograph a th indicated re ding,, plu
take an addi iona] .po . u r at -1 if . ou ar shootin01
lide or di al and an additi nal -po ure t +I if you
are u inrr o1or n gati'v fihn. Th hado"" 'n any i leli
cene ('.vh th r on fihn or digi al media becotne exce . i el dark w . lh
en i u derex o d and thi
I

pro lu , a o d rful iUu. ion

Then ~looting ol or n ti '
:re ult in mu~ h ea._ i ;r an l
and print Lhu allu'l,\n ng rou to
tb . ha l . I lUlr . r, , m

. u l ~ ct

of three-o(timen i nali y.
fihn thi + 1 "PO u
den n u,a ti to . n
increa e d e con 1ra t in
ha iz d 1ic, ly, 1n t
I _

u\, I oth , ,lutn and

p1ih.

id -li0 h ing ha. prov n lo b the rno Lch.aH n ing f

o ur ~. fo:r n1ar11y ph ~to raph~ 1 ecau of th .o nbina o f Egh , nd. had . But it a. o pro' icl
re,, ardi.ng pieture-ta ing opp01'1u itie . A n~an _' pro
sionl - hoto~ ph "\~.rould agr
a sid lit ul je Lrath r Ll an a fi ntl" t or ba kHt on ~i.. ur t . li i~ a
I

n1u h l:rong m r . 1 o e fron1 'i ei b a

. imulat
th t 1 r e-di1nen ional l.vorld th
th ir O\'\ n ey. .

he spaces in which I
work are sometimes
cramped. When th's

ince 1 couldn't get as

dose to this bee as I
wanted with my
70- 21 Omm zoom lens,
added a s ma l ~ extension
ttJbe, which ~enabled me to
fill the frame with the subj~ect
without having to be with ~n 01
eat's whisker of the bee. I
olso decided to exp~loi t the
early morning sidelight,
using the backg round shadows to get some wonderfu1l
contra1st aga;inst which to
showcase the bee. With my
camera and liens on 01 tripod,
I set my aperture to f/11
a1nd 01djusted the shutter
speed untill 11/250 sec. indicated ~a correct exposure.
1

occurs, I often opt for a

wide-angle lens, and this is
exactly what ha1ppened
when I entered this teahouse

1ll

in Chin01 o few yeors back.

Sinee I wa nhsd to shoot a
full-len9'th portrait of this
intriguing man and found
myse f n 0 1 very smolll room,
I crouched down with my
camera o111d 35 mm lens.
Through the opening ~at the
rig1ht

of the frame, soh and

d iHused sidelight from the

much br~ghter middary sun
filiiled ~he room. With an
aperture of f/8,. I adjusted
the shutter speed unfil 1/30
sec. wa1s. indicated os a correct exposure for the light
reH ecting off the green wall.
I then recomposed the scene
and made sev~eral exposur~es .

[70-21 Omm liens at 21 Omm,

36mm extension tube, f/11
for 1/250 sec.]

[35 mm l~ens., f/8 for

1/3~ 0 sec.]

'

106 U . HT

it b Her
with

ile working on a
projed ~hat featur,ed
wome111 in 'industry/' I
came upon a fem ale welder
working on the docks of the
Portland, Oreg10n, shipya1rdls.
She was taking a brief break
from maki ngl countless welds

on the lla rg1e anchor chain

that loy before her. Bothed in
the low-angled sunlight of
la1te afternoon, I wasted no
time in quickly intr~oducing
myself and setting up my

108 liGHT

and hri pod . Witih my

aperrure set to f/2 2-so that
I could record as much depth

camera

of field in the foreground

chans as possible I from,e d
the scene before me and/
with the camera's bui'lt~in
light meter set to spot meter~
ing, metered the lig1ht fallling
on her face, adjusting ~h e
shutter speed accord i 11glly
until o correct exposur~e was
indicated. Directly behi1nd
the subject, and lasting for

some time, a Iorge and

looming shadow hod fallen.
Since the exposure wos set
for the much stronger sidelight, the slhadow areas
recorded on film as sev,er~e
+d'
un derexposures, prov1
1,..1ng ~a1
nice contrast lbetween lig ht

and dark, as well as impart,..

ing a feelling of three-d imensionality to the image.
[ 11 05mm

lens, f/22 for

1/60 sec.]

 is is dossic storytelling
stuff--and one of those
shots that Comes to
you, u rather than yo1.1 go~ ng1
to it. With my oamera a1111d

blue sky above , ~adj listed the

shutter speed, and recomposed. Getting o sig1ned

300mm lens on a tripod,

fra1med a s~ection of the di1rt
road with sunflowers from
front to baclk. Then, with my

French, but because th s was

11

ll1

aper~llre se t to f/32, I roised

the camera quickly to the

model release wos easy not

because I speak a liffille

my wife

returning1home from
the markeH

[300m m le111s, f/3 2 for

1/30 sec.]

sn

1~ ..

GHT 109

Backhght
a ldi 1t an } eonf 1. ing. orn beginning
ho ograp .. 1 , a utn thaL ) a kl. crhr.ing
n1ean th - light ~our
u uall) th ., un iiJ
ou r outdoor is h hi d the photographer
hitti1 th ron I. of th . bj t.. Ho, ev r, th
oppo ite i true: th livht i b hind .th -) u~ject, hin.inu th
f[ont of the photograph ran( the ba .k of the .ub1ect. Of
th three prin1ary lightinur on . if on ,.....-frontli ltino- llid l"ghting an I } a klightino'~backlight eontinu to 1 e th
bigO'e t ouro - of both urp.i a d di appoint nent.
One of h n L hiking ff ct a 1~ieved ,rith ba
1 ght i ilhou tting. Do . ' OU r I } mber 1naki g your fir t
ilhouett . If ou'rc ]ik In t oth r photogr:tpl .. r
ou
probably a hi
d it )y a id nl. lthough .ilhoue t~
are I 1.hap- th ~ n1o t popu Ia t r . e of i1nag - rr1any . hot arapl1 -. fail to get t
, po ure col ct. hi jn oni ten y i u uall_ a re._ult of l n . choic and rn t, ril g
1

aLiun. For

'wl n you u

L lephoto 1 n .
u h a a 200nun 1 n , you 11u t l n
'\'h r I o tak r~ ,ll.l r
r --t T 1 adling. in e t~ l p oto len - T a e th imab
IlaJn ifie~ ~ tion of v ry b 'ght back r nd ' I!Jnri .
nd
. un 1: " the lllicr t n1 ter e thi n l:i if.i d brightn ,
n ID 'UWO" . ' a . expos r .~} cordingly. u~ _rou w '-' . Lo
. oot at that po ure, you d n up '\ViLh a pi tu of a
'" Hm1le,

1
\ '

re( b n of ""unli O'ht h"] Lh T t of the

fram .. fade. to dctrk. And, ,,\rha v r ubj t i. in f onlt f
Lhi . .. bung ba kli IJih rna., n1 ro' I Lu l.l i... , Jnroundin odatkne , . o void thi. al-wa_- po h L a L leph to 1 n at
Lh bt ight . k to the right or lli~ ft of th su~ (olf b or
h low it) nd then manually t th xpc ~ . ur 1 pte
lh ex1 o. ur -hold b tton if your in auh x o UI n1o l~ .
~'hen hoto a phil g a hac. r t tbj ct that _.rou don~t
\.van~t o ilhou tte . rou an
rtainl y u. e your 1~ , troni
JJacc:h to 1 ilake a cor ecl expo u . Ho~wever
c u e l'n1

aik

01'"

lng

01

1- 0 Ll .HT

II

11

owdy pa rtner! is the

warm and pleasant
greeting this young
former seems to be mdking.

I had been shooting pktures

of his fathe1r and uncle
ha rv~esting wheat with their
large comb ines when I
turned toward the strong
afternoon backlight as I
heard him ca l'! to me. I quickly funn ed the camera to hlm 1
shooting a~gainst the strong
backlight Since my exposure

was for the much brirghter

backlight (not the figure}1, I
w~as able to record his shape
in silhouette with oil of the
dust surrounding him.
Thi s is no.f a tri cky expo~
sure to make. It's actuallily
one of tho.s~e few situations in
wh ich you con rre cord the
rig1ht exposur~e even if you'r,e
i 11 arutoexposur~e mode,

because the backlight is so

ev~en ly di1stri buted throughout
the entire frame.
[300mm lens, f/16 for
1/250 sec.]
un rise in Sonoma Va lley
"
Icameo
'
..!l
1s o we
expen-

enoe ever y spnng1.

Com ing upon 01 grove of oak
trees shortly after sunrise/ I
was quick to grab my comera and focus on one Iorge
tree, framing the sun in such
a way that only rQ piece of it
was visible beh ind the trunk
(opposite). Where di~d take
my met~e r reading from? I
pointed the camera i111 the
d- rect1on of the lig1ht that was
cosccJding down on the
ground behind the oa1k.
[20~3~ 5 m1m lens at 20mm,

f/1 6 for 1/250 sec.]

UGH

111

not a hio fa of l ing arti 'iciallightin outdoor I ve foun i

a n1u h ea i r av to ue~ a pr-ope1 exposu e an . a reat a
tnore ple , ng fl ;ct. I L a un1e your subject i itt.ing
cn a park } . nch n front of the ttin st n .. H ou hoot a1 .
expo ure for thi tr ng l a klight you subje t will b a
i]ho 1ette l uL if , ou ' '\rant a plea ~in and identifiabl orbai t nov in ]o
o the ,ubj e t . f , rhe fran1e '\'\ri.it h the
fa e (it do nL hav o I n fo u and then et an ~ pour for th . lig It re1 ting off the face. Eith r manually
t th. posi!JJ or if hooting in autoexpo . ur rno ,I
pre- th . po ur -hold button aJ d eturn to _ou original
- hooti g o IL ion to ta
th photo. Th :re ult will e a
wond rful xpo ur of a radiant subj'ect.
7

rost-covered spider webs

ca1111 produce dynamk
composiHons wh,en they
are ba1cklit. Crowlng on my
knees and belly in '1 hls meadow with my came1
ra a nd
24mm lens allnw,ed me to

112 LIC HT

showcase one against the

ea1rly-morning backlight. This
paTticular web wc1s one of
the large st 111 d seen that
morni~ng--almost two feet
.across! Choosing an aperture of f/ 116, I raised the

p ~ rien , d land. cape shootr . , a they eek out ubj ct Lhat '_ t
v 11 nature
ar, , on1 what transparent: 1 av,
. cl h ad a 1d de'"'T
ecl 1 icier ,,,reb to nar 1 "' but a ' . Ba kli J1-1 al,,.,{.~llJ
a fev
po .. ur opti n : you . a either silhouBacklight i fa ored by

ubject again . . t th tr . - ha light, or 1neter for

th hght thats usually on th ppo. it s"de of th b.a ..kight (to make a portrait) o m . ter f r th E~ht t 1at' iHutninafn the om \vhat t an par nt .- bj1 t . lthough all
thi'i e ch ,i ces equir p . al a1 an l a'tention to metering the jre ults .:rre al,~va r \i arding. ike .o n1a 1 other
posure options uec ful ha -kit , ne re uh fnnn a
con , iou a d deliberat rn t ring d i ion ..

com~era

up toward the

back~

lit sky (so as not ~o inc ude

the sun in the photograph)
and ,a djusted my shutter

speed until 1/250 sec. indi

cated a correct exposure in

posed the scene you see

here, mal:.'iing oerta1in to block
the sun behind a p,e ce of the

frost-covered w~eb.
5

the veiwfinder. I then recom-

[24mm lens~

1/250 se,c.]

f/ 16 for

hen backiH1 many

solid objects lsuch ~ as

peoplle, ~rees, -andl

buHding1s}1will! rende1r on fillm
as dcuk sillho uetted shapes.
Not so with m1any fr(Jnspaw~
ent objects, such as fe a~hers
or flowers. When transpare nt
objects are backlit; ~hey

se,em to glow. Such wo.s the

oase when shoo~ing ~hese

mule S ~ears in a small piin1e
foresf ~n Eastern Oregon .. I
chose a low viiewpoi nt so
that I c.ou ld showoase the
backlit flowers against the
sollid, si lhouet~ed trees.
Al ~houg lh ~his may oppeor to
be a diffi.culllt exposure, it
re(~lly isn't. Ho ding my camera ond 20~3. 5 mm llensJ I set
the focal length to 20mm.
With a rn o pe rtu re o f f/22, Il
mov~ed wn dose to the flowM
ersl ad justri ng my position so
that one of the ~lbw~ers
ked L!r
- 1 - I then
11
11e- sun.
_~ _
bl .oc
adjusted my shutter speed
until 1/125 sec. i ndi'cated a
correct exposure 'i n tlhe
viewfinder. BIIUt lbefore II took
the shot., I moved just enoug1h
to let a small p~ece of the sun
ou' from behind the flower to
be part ,o f the overoll compo~
sition. W'ith this exposure, I
wos ahle "to record a dynamic backlit scene tha1t slhow1

cases both transparent a 111 d

sol ~d obj ecfs.

[20-35mm lens. ot 20mm,

f/22 forl /125 sec.]

BJ\.1 . \.U GIFIT U 3

Exposure Meters
s discu ed in the fi11 t hapt r at th enter of the photogTaphic ti angl (ap rtur

camera.. Handh ld 1ght r t I . requir you to phys eally

point th m t rat th . ubj, ct or at the light fa11in on th
shuttem peed and I '0 ') . t
subj ct . 111 . , ta . a r adi- g of th - lio-ht. One yot do
meter (light m.e ter). It' th " Y'
thi , you . . t th . hutt r peed and ape1ture at an e poalive expo ure. Without th . tal informaur ba _ on thi r, ading. Conver e1) can1 ras '""th
tio the expo ure n1eter uppli
man r pi tur c-Laking buih-in
po ur n t . , nabl ou to point th earn ra
attempt would be akin to pla_ g pin th tail '. n Ll , lon- an len~ at th - . ubj, ct \\"hil
ntinuou ly 1nonitoring
e~ ~hit and lni . .! Thi do 1 t In, an that o 1 an t tak .
an1 chang . in
po .ure. hi . 1net . rin s. ,t e n is called
a photogJ.-ai h without the aid of a po ur n1 t . r.. fter thr ., gh-th -1 n
L) meterin .. Thes hghl met.er
all, a hund:ir ed ear ago photog:raph l' Vll . re able to m a. ur th inten ity of the Ii ht that refl et . off the
record expo ure . without one , ar .d ' ' n t~ nt. -fiv y ar
tnet r
ubj t mean in ~ they a.re rejlected-tiuht meter .
ik 1 n , , r fl - t d-li ht met T h 1V a v/d or er
ago I '"'as abl to re ord
o u . '"7 thout on . They had
a go l excu .e though: ther '"r.r no light tn t 1 a 11~ n uw angl of vie\ .
able to u e . n hui dr d y ar ago. o- th . oth r han
.. v ral I -expen "'" ive J R earneras ha ,, a erage or
im l failed-on mo tl an on o ca ion-to pa k a averaging reflected-Uaht 1neter. built to th m. Thi ,
par batt 117 -fo m .. korrr1at
a1 . d on e the batm t , r u eful wh n a ~ ene eonta . , area of light and
teJ:y died, o d d
ight m t, r.
. hadoV\ ' becau e the n1eter can measu1e both the lioht
Ju t ]ike th pon r of phot grapl 1. I too wa~ th n and shado\\ and giv an ave age acting ba . on the
left havi nrr to r, 1 o th
am form la for e ._po ur tV\10. Thi reading u ,u aliJ p o . ides adequate data that
offered by Kodak th a i t b ing th unn .f/16 Rul . enab1 . ou to uc e u1l) et an e posu e . Ilo, ever, in
1hi n1le in1ply . ,t at, : .b n hooting frontlit . ubj t . p ctuJI . -ta 1. in ituation that eontain much more hadow
on unny da ., . et our a.p rture ~o f/1 ,and your hutt r than l"ght, or Inn h n1ore li ht tha
adO\J~~tr, an averau
pe d to d c o -""' t orr ponding num. r of th flm .
r fl c ed-li!1ht meter tend to gi
po ure data th t
I 0. ( ee pag
17 for digital shootinrr at d I
. I
r ult in . i lther overexpo ure or t 'ndere. po ur .
\ er u ing oda hrorn 25, I kn w that at.f7
t
butnother type of reflect d - Ii t 111, t r i the pot m.eter.
t r peed . houll b . 1/30
. lf I 11 re u ng Up until re endy pot rnet JrS, . ere onl availabl a
Koclachro 11 6 th , butt r . e d . ~ould J,e 1/60 . ec. handh ld light n1.eter but toda . it i not at all un o~n
e dlli s to ay thi b'" t of information wa va.uabl tuff nlon to e amera bodie that are quipped "vith th m,
,vh n the batt ry ~~.r nt d a .- but on] v\lrh n ] was out as \ elL Th pot n1eter In asu es light at an xtren1 ly
l1.o oting on unn r da- ~ n of the gr . at a van
in narro"'r angl of vi e\1\ usuall li1nited to I to S d gT ..
photo. aph_ toda i th auto- v rything -am ra r ubl
a :r ult, th
pot 1neter ean ta.k a met r :r eading fr n1
i wh n th " ] au ri , in th e a to-ev 1ything can1 ra
a ery .1naU area of an o aH scene .a nd get an accurate
die th who.le ca.rnera di, ,. not j u t the light m t r! ak
reading fron1 that on
/ . .pecifi area , pit ho,
it a poi t to ,alwa,. ''aiJ:. an xtra h 1U ry or two.
laro-e an a1ea of li ht a d/or dark urroun
it in the
D pt m -ling abo t thi obviouc . ho 1 om gin
auto- 1 thing am, ra , it anno' b ignor d that th
light rn 1 _ of oday a1re highly en . iti . too . It va: n't
his simplle fr,o ntlit scene in
aperture of f/22 and preset
that long ago 1Lhat n~any photograph r~ y ou d h ad for
Utah's. Arches National
my focus via the distanoe
Park is an easy exposure
sca1le on the front of the lens.
l o 1 on , th - n w nt do\\.rn in the , n ti i~. r of
I knew before I f.o ok he
th ir light n1,. L r; wa u :, that th y ,ouldn t cord an for any oameroJ's 1 g1ht meter/
exposure tha t everything
as is the oase with mosJ
po ur at n ght.. Ioda) pho ograph r a abl to onfrontlit subjects. Whether
from two feet to infinity
tinu hooting \ ll pa t . unclovm wit th a .. uran e of your cameral has overagng,
would be in focu s. Since this
achi . ing a con . ct x o. ure. If v r th . r - a a tool center-we~ig1 hted, or nrntaltri.x
was, og1ali n. . a simple frronfJiit
no t oft 11 built rnnto lh am ra that liminate .any met~ering1 , it wi ll record a cor- scene, I simp y adjusted the
shuH~e r speed until 1/60 sec.
- "" U
for not hootinrr tw nty-fo 1 r ou a day, it ""ould rect exposure. Since this wa1s
a dassic storyf,elling scene, ~
indicated a correct exposure
b th light n1 t r.
in the vi,e wfinder.
wanted everything sharp
po ur nteters con1 in two fonn . Th 're ither from front to back. W ith my
, paral units not buil lt in to the am ra, or a with mo t camera a1nd 20-35 mm lens
[20- 35mm l~ens at 20mm,
of 1Loday- canlLras th y r, built into th body of the on a tripod, Il chose an
f/22 for 1/60 sec.]
1

c-

1,.

'

oen .. My fe ling: about u in spol n1eter have 1 t

hang d d1at tnu h in e I fir- t lear ed of the111 ov -r
twenL "-liv y a_. ago: they have a lin1ted but in1portant
u .e in my d. il p ute-takin efforts.
ano~h

of lllight meter is th center-weighted

met r. nJik, a Taging or pot ~nete - center-"\'\ ight d
rn te ._ . n1ea ur refle ted Baht th ougl ~ ~ out th . nfr
IL

t.

e ne but r bia ed t0\>\ ard the center portion of th

vi \ ring .ar a. To ll
a c -nter-w~ei,ght d light mnet r u
ces.f1Hy, you mu it center the subject in tl1 &amn ~rh n
you take th light readin: . One ou set a n1anual poUii . yo 1 an t
n re 'O tnpo the seen . fo:r the be ompo ition. On th other hand,. if .ou w::..nt to u. e _o r amra. auto po ure rno e (a unlng that )OUr earn ra ha
one) ~ ut ion''t \rant to ~enter the ubject in th cornpo iLion _ you , an pre . th . exposure lock button and Lh n
1

116

lGHT

recomp . , th cene o that lhe subj t i , no 'V , ff- nu fire th . shutter release you ..tiU r cord a

correc l e ~PO u .
nd fiinaH - ther i matrix m.e.t ering. Iari n1o IL rin(Y,
arne on th rna ket about t n - eai . a o and 1 a in
b n r vi d and impTo - d. It rar that you ll firK a
earner _ on h mark t toda that do n t off I a kind of
met . rin:g
t n1 buih on th OJri9"inal id a f malrmx
met ring Thi hold true for mo t LR and digital "anlera .. attit metering relies on a. n1i roc hip that ha b n
rogrammed to - e thousand of pi t --taking ubje t . fron1 bri ht white snowca1 ped p ak to th dark,
an n an . everythin in between.
ou po nt , ,
a1nera tovvard your subject- n1atrix n1et ring r , ogniz. .
th - ubj ct (-Hey I kno,i\r thi cen ! It' . h. ' r .t on
a ~ unn~ da~ .' and .ets th expo ur a r, ngl . y; t a.
1

d matri . n tering is; it stiU '""Till om upon a , n

it an't r cogn z and whe thi - happ n it will hopefullJ find an image in it databa .e that om . lo .. Lo
go

mat hing ' hat- in th viel\finder.

The ty. of . atneia determ e l\hieh ight rnet T r
m t r ou hav built in to th eatnera s bod . If you r
relativ ly n
to photography and have a cam ra with
s . rallight m t r option (matri.x/evaluati , as TAr U as
cent r-vr.r ight d) - I ~ t1 ould trongly recom.n1 nd u i ng
mat i 00 p r , nt of th titne. It ha proven to b th
ITIO t r liabl and h fe
r quirks. t an c nter;.. igh d
rnetering.. On , ouniJ.
-i ld trip - I . e vfitne .e d on1 of
ffi) tud nt
w itching frorn enter- i ht d tnet -rng to
n1atri m~ - tering rep at dl . ot urpr isin ly due to ,_. h
li_.ht m~ t, r. uni~ u - \ ay of n1etering the liP'ht th lvoul ~
often cot e u "''ith ]ightl diferent reading .. 1 o not
I

hi's image could have

proved quite challenging
to make iif I hadn't had a
spot met~er. Looking down
from atop a l~ar,ge coal sior:..
a.ge fadl~ty, the l one yelllow

Caterpill.ar pushing a round

mounds of coal caught my
eye. AU of thot bllaclk coal
would hove p1ayed havoc
with center~we~gr hted or even
matrix/evaluative metering,
which would have r~endered
~t 18% gra y (see pages 1 1.8
and 120}. Trouble is, coal is
b~ock, and my clrient wouldn't have been 1
thrill.ed with
me if I turned in pic~ures of
gray coal. So, with my camera's. meter set to spot 1J1 eter:..
ing~ and also. with my
80-200m m lens ot 200mm,
I pointed the lens ot the
Caterp~llar. With an arperture
of f/ 11, I adiusted the shutter speed untH 1/60 se c.
indka1fed a corred exposure.
I then zoomed back out to
80mm, show~ng the expansive field of coal arnd shot
several fra mes. Sure enough,
when I d'id ~his the lig ht
meter ~ndicated to me that I
1

was way off! ~t was telling

me that ~ should shoot the
scene at f/11 for 1/15 sec.
Had I shot at this exposure, I
would hove recorded on
overexposure or in o~her
wordsJ -gray coal!

[80- 200mm liens at BOmm,

f/11l for 1/60 sec.]

, urpn 1ng- f e) 'W re off:,=n iJn ur of \ hi h , xposLu~ to

believ so they t ok on of a h. Thi i. analouou , to
having t\ o spou e .:: tho . of u. '\vho ha a pou e \-\rould
. J.tainly agree that d aling '" :th 'h quirk. a d p ulimiti of one spouse i at tim too m u h 1 t alone two?'
' i c I lva ras d on ent -r- .,r igh d n1 t ring I 11 tay
l'\ th i for life. If it ain t brok - don l fix j t.
Ju t hovv good are to ~ a . - 1 ght 111 te ?
th nt r1\r, ight d and matrix Jne[ering pro
a euJ:'aL 0 p il' ent
of th e- ti.tn.e. lhat an a tound g and hop full eonficl.- n . -building number. Nin o It of ten pictur
11 be
, otT tl
po d- 'Whether on u
n1anual- - po- ur
mod { f
n1y fa o te or emi-au o xpo. ur
ode
ap rLur -priorit) ,,rhe 1 s.hootinoc . toryt l i ng or i olation
th .- ITl , 0. hutter-p .ormty l\7 h n fi: zing a tion panning or impl . ing motion.) In e~th tn ring mod and
"\t\ihen - our ubje t i frontlit .idelit - or under an o r a .t
ky, . ou can simpl cboo ) our -ul ~ ct ain1, m ter.
omp , , and h ot.
In addit on I do reco nn1 nd taking anoth ~ po ure
at -2/3 top ' ith lid e film +2/3 .top " :th olor n gative
tilrn and -2.13 top ' hen hooting d.gitally. .- hi - tra
hot ' ill allov,r you a cornpari on xatnpl that ou an
d id lat. _r 'Y"hi h of the two you pr.-, . 1 on -It b urpri. d if .o often pick the e ond e po. . 1 Oft ntitn ,
thi slight hange in exposure from' hat th m t r indi, at .i ju t th 1ight amount of ontra. t ne d
to mak
the pic tur that much more appealing. ith d1 ~ up hi . ~
ti ati n of toda
built-in meterino- t m , it ofL n
unn .
sanr to bra k t like crazy.
Fi nall . tll r i. n't a ingl:e li ht m t on d mark it
toda that an do an measuring . al ulating or m L r~
ing _ntil it ha h en ted one piece of data vi tal t Lh
u . s of ., r , ,. po u re ou tak .: the I 0. In th pa t
photograpl1. r u ing filn1 had to 1nanuall
t th ] ~
a h and
r~ tim the '"rould 'vit h from on type f
film to anoth I.
th d1e ad ranee in toda i amera
th fihn' , ] 0 ill t automatical r via D coding '"'hi h
i a bar o .- on th fihn ca .e tte t lat the cain -ra r a ) .
U nl
u want to push r pull th film, . ou houl
n
r hav. to r
rt to etting film I 0 manually.
ngital hoot r o the olher hand and de I it all th
t : chnolog.. ad a . rnu t 1resort the old ~lay and Itell
th m t r w hat th 0 i . Of our_e, di tal hoot _ an
also .lvit h 1 . ftom on . .-. ne to the next a . \\fell ru
hift from . hooting o1or imao-e . ~o hla k and \rhit at th
pu h of a button.. o rnu h for the old adage that ou anl
hang . ho ,
in th mid ll of th st earn.
The photo i ndu
ha ome alo g ' 'Va} inc
fiT t
.t arted. . ith oday': automati .::1n1eras and th ir b ~ i] 'iin exr o ure m ters mu h of '\That you s oot 'rill b a o rect expo u e. How v . 1
p in mind that the job
recording creati1. lJ correct e~tpo: ures is sti 1 your ...
1

to

.1

E 'PO

"II

RE A ETER

11'

18o/o
fo \rhat rua b
ur ~ ri. ing
: our
.mn -ra , g t rneL r wh ther a rag ent r-w r."'d rnatri , 01 p
doe not ee
th ,vor lin -iLher living coior ~ black and
v'{h t but rath r a - a neutral gra . In a clition you1 r fl ct -d -lighL .rn t r i. alli o al"brat d to
assume that all tho r uual u-l"ay , 1l j .t
ill refle -t
back appTox.itnat 1y lBo/o of Lh 1ight that hit 1hen1.
Thi ound i.n1 1 , ouuh hut m
o L n than not
it s th refl ctan of light ofl a gi en . bje t that , reates
a bad xpo ur . not the liu,h t that . t1 ~ . 1Lhe ~ubj ect.
lnauine that you arn "' aero . a hl k at a ~eep auain t
a vvhitl
a~l d in fL]] unlight. f Oll
re to 110 e
in Jo an ll-t d1 m -L r 1 ad th light flectinrr off t
cat th n1e eJ \roull indi at a . p if}, r adi.niJ'. If you
were to th n point th arrruera at .nly lhe white wall f
expo ure n . t~ \l\ ul 1 r nde~ a , parat , di tin t read~
ing. Thi aTiation \ ro ld o ur b au . all.thou.orh th
ubj, t ar
nly j]l ~n1i nate l th r r, flecti e ~qualities
radi all lift r. I .ample h ,w-hit~ 'V.rcJ] '~vould refl ct
O\'\f

'.an ]

app o imately 36o/ f th Ugh L ~\rh i] e th lla k at would

ab orb mo.. t of the l a 1t~ r Jl L~ rug a
.nly .ab ut 9~ .
hen pre nl d vLh ith Jr whit or lack the li ht
n . ter freak ( Ho- r muk .., -oun th ala m. ~ le\ e o;ot
a probl~ n1!~' . Vlhit and bla k sp _, iall riolale verything the m. t, r wa ' taught at th factory. . hite i . no
nore n utral ra . tlr n hla. k the r~ both n1ile av,.,ay
frorn the 111iddl of tb . ale. In re. I ' n
the n1 ter r n~
de the
tr n n filn1 ju. t lik it doe e' erything
el e: a a n utral gray. Jf you t:oHo ,l the liuht 1net s
readinv- and fail L! tal char,g n l m ~ t I the ri ht li -.lt
source- '\i\rhi and l ~la k wi 1 re ord a. dull gray r sion of th I
1 .
.
o ,u c
ly n ! L~ r whit ani bl k ubje t treat
them a . if th
' r n ut:ral g ,a
v n thou ~'h their
tefle tanc indi at oLI: . rv i" . In oth r \1\ OI' 1.. met - a
vvhite '"'all th t r fl et , .o/( of th light fallinu on it if
it refl t . d th o n1all8o/o. imil~ rl r_ m ter ~l black cat
01 og that r fl -.L=- on]. 9% of th light falling on itt as if
I

it refl

d Bo/t.

f the light meter is confused

by wh te

and bllack separately, con you imagine

how co111fused it must get
when ~aimed ot a zebra?

Actually, this i1s one of the

easiest exposures. Why?
B~ecause the l ight me~er overogleS the two tones and
com~es- bock with a correc~
18% g roy reflecta nee. It's
like putting equo I parts white
-

and black point into a bucket, mixing! them together, a1nd

getti 11 g m~ed i um g roy. W~th
my camera and 200mm ~ens

set to f/1 1 rl Who

COiieS

II

what operture I us~e here'?) , I

s~mp l y adjusted my shutt~e r
speed unti 1 1/1 25 sec. indica red a correct exposure.
1

[200mm lens, f/11 for

1/125 s~ec . ]
llf: U GHT

The Gay Ca
I fir t 1 arn d about l . ,o/( refl ,c tan e., it
took me arwhil to at h on . n tool that
, nabled m. to und r tan it ll\~"& a gra ar ..
old by most can1era tor . gray ar I,. om in hand
1f{hen you hoot right and dark ubj1 .t1 , u . h a , white
and} b ache novrir- ov r d fi ld bla k anmals or
b]a k shin r car .. Rad r than ointing our camera at
the . ubject, imphr homd a gra_ ard in f ont of _'our
,... . ...,.L ..

len - n1aking uie d at th 1 ght falling on the card s

th same light that all on lthe ubje t-and meter t e
light reflecting off h ard.
H ou re hoo ing in a a ~ to po llr
~ro an
s utter-priorit. r o ap ~ rlur -priori 'y mode, vou 1nust
take one extJa . t p b fore putting th gra ,. ard a\va . .
Mter you take th
ading from th gra car, note the
- po ur . Let a th tn It r indi at df/16 at 1/ 00
sec. or a brio~ht . no\ c . . ne in fron of . ou. Then look
at the c ne on of lthes m1ode . ~Chan e are d at in
ape1ture-prroorit. r mod , th . m t
ma} read .f/16 at
l/200 se . and in huu r- ri o1ity mode the met r may
read f/22 at 1/ 00 ., . In ither a , the meter is now
off one top f on1 th co111Te In ter readin tiom the
gra) eard. You n d bo re v r that on stop b r u ing
rour autoe po. u

ov rrid

..

1he eo erTid ar,

ignat I ~ as follOl>\7 : +2, +l, 0,
-1 and ~2 o .2 . l
0 1/2 and 1/ . . o for example, to pro id an adld itional . top of exposure ' hen
. hooting a JI o';. e n in th auto exposure mode ou
'"lou]d
t th au toe o. ur C' o erri e to +l (or IX.
dep nd ng o . our Jam ra make and model).
Con' rs~ ~l . 'N n
oting a hia k e t o1 dog, - ou d e
the auto po UI ovenid o -l (l/2X).
Hot Gra
ar, Tip!
):, r ~ -ou ve pureha e
our
gra card you only need it on e ince you e c.uready
I

1,

ollowi ng a heavy
f,all in Oregon's

snow;.

WillameHe Valley, I headed out a1t first li'g ht and photog1raphed this 1lone oak tre,e.
Using a 50mm lens and a tripodJ II first set the aperture to
.f/8 and then adjusted the
shutter speed untill 1/30 sec.
indic.cded o correct exposure
in the vi ewfinder. The result
(opposite/ top}1was. that the
meter turned all of my wlh ite
snow gray.. Why? Although
white subjects 1refllect 36% of

120 LIGH

got son1ething on your hod that . ork ju .t as '' ellbut ou 11 ne d th gra ard to h . lp .ou it itiall . H
you're e\er in doubt a out an_ r . o ure situation
m, ter off th alm of our hand. I no\ your pa m isn't
gra r but ou tl
imp]~ u~ e . our ray ard to calibrate'' your palm- -and on
ou e d ne that, }OU ean
let.lve the

ard at h rn .
To alib:rat your alm ta e your gra card and
cameta into full un and
t rour aperture to f/8.
.. l1ile filling th flarn with the gray card (it oesn t
have to b - in fo
) ljt t our h tter speed until a
eorrect e po u i indi. at . d b the ca~:nera liaht
meter. No h ld d palm of our hand out in front of
your 1 n .. Th , am era m~ ter ho 1Jld read that you ar
about + /3 to l top ov r, ~ po , d. ake a note of thi .
Th n tak th gray ard once ao-ain into open . had
o Ta

with an ap -rture of j78 and a~ .ain adjust the .butt r

peed u til a cotTe t
po ur is indicated. gain
rn t r our p Im and . ou houl ee that the meter nocv
read + f' to 1 t ~ , OV r po ed. 0 Inatlerlvhat light~
ing condition . rou do thi under your palm vv-ill consi tentl 1 ad abo _t +2/3 to l , top o erexpo ed from
th adi go~ a gr. 1y ard.
o th
. ~ tim ou re out hooting and you hav
that un ~a y i ling abo t ) oui" met r reading tak a
r ading from tih pa m of Jour hand and '"'{hen th m l r
r ad +21' to I top o , rexpo ed ou know your pour, ' .iU l co1rre t .
( ote: For o) viou ea on ., if the palm o our hand
m t! r a 2- 3- o - ,t o cliff. renee from than th
. c n in front of ou ou- ~e eith r a taking a r~- ad.ing
off Lhe paln1 of our hand in sunlight havin orgou n
to take in o a unt the t yo r subject i in op n had ,
or ] ou forgot to take off) our hilte q-}o .)
1

light, they must be me~ered

as if they re:flect the normal
18'% gra1y. When the meter
sees white, it i nt~erprets this
excessive re~l eda1 nce to
mean thol less exposure is

needed

~and,

subsequently,

renders an underexposed
image. One of the easiest

w01ys to overcome this probllem is witlh a gray cord.

When I hel~ d my g1roy cord n
front of the camera and l~ens,
I noticed that the meter ~ndi

cated a shutter speed of

1/115 se:c . for a correct

exposur~e.

I then put the gray

ca1rd down and flhe light

meter immedi,ately jumped
back to 1/30 s~ec. a1s the

indcated exposur~e.
However, II chose to i1g1nore
it, and a1s you ~con see her~e,
the s.e cond exposure of
1/115 sec. is the oorr~ect one.
[Bo~h photos: 35- 70m m lens
at 50mm. Opposite~ top: f/8

for 1/30 sec. Opposite, bottom.: f/8 for 1/15 sec.]

The Sky Brothers

he 'vorl fill d 'With olor ~ n l in faiine , ~ th light rnet r do
a prett. ' darn
go I j l ul ceing th~
iff rences n th
~nan r h J and t ,
, that a:r e refl c te~ I
by a 1 ,f th .o1or. Bt It~, in addition to
bein(lt onfu -d by vvhite .~ nd l ~la k, th tnet r can
al o b confu . 1 y back light and ontra. t. ' o, ar
'~e ba k to th l it-ar 1-rni . . , hop -and~pray formula
of expo ure. ol at aH! I h r - .b
ou1 ve eff ctiv
and a y olut ons or th s "' om tin1e pe ky and dmf~
' cult expo ur : :th . ) re '~rhat I all th Sk ' Brother .
I

122

r r ~ , .IT

QfL, nli me~ wh -n hooti-ng Ull d r Jiffi -uh F gh!Lwnu . i uaf 1 (' Ji,dleb gh n ba light be in th n~ o pri 1n 1ry
'arnpl an int r al di put n1a_r t ~ k~ pla ~ a - _rou
' tl over ju. t her
a.ctl: you hould point y r
r 1> rt-t to tat
m ler :r ading. I kn ~~v of '"
on ' Hili' r
uali i d to 1n iate th
dill I ut, - b t\\ - n you . nd
y UJ. )iuh tn t. r ~han th - k Bro 1h r . The_r re not
bia d. Th y , ant only to of r th o
o] u lion that
' ork - e c h n very ti 1 1, _ o on u n
a
Brother
Blue. k 1, tl uo-to J 'or tho , . ,.v]nt~ r land ca e ~t::t:::
pag 12 ~1 ' ~ ~a k abr. do portrait . b ighL l]ow -f1o~\r -r
I

close~u

Js and fi 1 of d p pu1pl
r. Thi.
rneans rou take a 1neter readin of th
. _y
and u~ e that expo ure tc rnak . . rour imag . h n ,_ hoot~
int; ba .lit unri
and un ,e t Iand , ap
Brother
Backlit Sk r ou o-to ~ . '1 hi m ans _., ou ta.k a
meter ead llg to the ide of th u in th - ,
n , n .
u e tl 1at readi g to 1nake yoLu in1aqe. h n ooting ity
or country c nes at du k, Broth ->r D.u ky Blue . k ' g t.
the call 1nean 1g _rou take . our n1eter r a ding fro n th
du k ky. nd . '"'h n aced with oa .tal .cene or b k
r, fle tions al u m~is o un t all on Brother Refle ting
kJ 1neaning .) ou ta
rour rueter readin fron1 th light
1efl. cting off th . urfac of e11 water.
Warning: 'O nce you e call d upon the ky rotl ers
) our an1era'' h ght met r " n let ou have it. ou will
1

ou hav u l Br L. r Blu ~ 1 y an l t
the ex l 0 ur . . ,. our li.gh L :n11 l r - ill g , into a tirad . '"rh n
. ou reeon1po hat fJI[ondi I wi t lan I ap ('" r ~ , u
nut. . '! ~ ve got e re : of 111_. own and kno"v hat rnl ..

noti L. at one
1

ing 1d a ] that \i "te no i . , vvh r r . r t

a1
, po re valu of Brother Blu . yr ) ru t m - n th.
n . Tf . ou li ten to roUJr lllitrhL m L r' a I .i , and ub JU n ly r adj
t rour exp l, wr . . yuu ' ill 1 d up rig t
ba k wh . ,. yo tarle - a phollogtEr h \ ith ~ay O\\r.
o~ nc . o
have lll.e t red Lh
ky u ing th k.r
Broth 1.. et the . . ~ o ure rnanuaU , 01 1o -k th _, p if y 1 ar . tayino- ~in aut(>nlati b for . u r~ u n to
the original . . n . Then , hoot ar\ ay "" ith L kno\vl dg
that you a,re right no mnaU r how n1uch L} 1. n1 t r a~.
. ou "\o\nsong!
I

haos is perhaps the best w~ay

to descrhe the resullt of a traflight that s~eems to indicate
01nything is possibl.c considering
that r~ed, yelll ow1 and green are
all lit at the same "time. Over the
course of an 8-seco nd expo-

sure which I chose so that I

could interpret the traffic as colorful str~eoks-1 was oble to record
o1ll three lights since my exposure
began just several seconds before
the light chonged &om g1reen to
yellow f'o red. t o:f course, us~ ed a
~ri pod for such a1long exposure,
and I used Brother Dusky Blue
Sky, meter~ng off the distant

'm 01strong believer in m~orni 119

l"ght. To meter this scene, I used
Brother .R,eflecting Sky,. poi nting
my ca mera bellow the horizon line.
The reason I didn't use Brother
B~a1 cklit Sky is that a reflection
absorbs at least o full stop of l~g1 ht,
sometimes more. ThusJ 'if I'd token
the meter reading off the sky,. I
would hove ended up with an image
that was ot -least 1 stop undlerexposed, if not more. f you want to
show detail, collar, and textur~e in the
re~l ec.tion, this would be

disastrous.
Granted, the sky is now 1 stop overa
exposed, but 11-~>' s a weIcome ;11r01d. e-on

d uslky blue sky.

since I was obll1e to get both detail

and color in the reflec.tion below.

[80- 200mm lens ot 135mm,

f! 11 for a seconds]

[20-35mm lens at 20mm, f/22

for 11/8 s!e c . ]

HE

OTHER

123

hen I simply aimed

my camerals 'ight

The Hght meter is doing

exactly who ~ it should when

meter at this lone

shooting a white s.ubjectmalking 'i t gray. Butt si nee

snow is wh irei you hove to
do an IJ intervention'' using
Brother Blue Sky. With my
24mm lens set to a storytelling aperture oF f/22, I
simply pointed the camera

schoolhouse in a w wnter land~

scape and adjusted my l1i'9ht
meter accord'ingly, I '90t gray
snow (top 1 leftl. This would
happen wheth.e r you're in
manual- or automatic-exposure m1ode. And why not?'
1

124 LICHT

and lens tn the sky a bove the

schoolhouse (top, right) and
odj usted my shutter speed
until the camera's Ilig ht meter
i ndlicated 1/60 sec. os the

(above) . Of course, after I

metered the sky and recOimposed t1he scene; the 1light
meter told me I was wrong,
wrong, wrong. Bvt j'ust llike

correct exposure. I then

recomposed and shot the
same soe-ene at the Brother

it's a two-year=ald throwing a

temper tantrum, ignore it!

Blue Sky exposure

[24mm lens, f/22 for

and

presto: I g1oi whi te snow

1/60

sec.]

en shooting backlight~
.

1 ng, sunnses, or sun-

sets-and especially
wHh a telephoto lens- C<all 0111
Brother Bock/it Sky. In the first
exposure, the wlndmilll gets lo.st
in a cloud and ols'O is a bit too
dark. Thi's wos the reslJlllt of l~s
iening to the meter. But, when I
took the exposure usi ng1Brother
Backlit Sky-alwarys to the left
or right of' the sun, ,o r above or
below it ( l eft)~l was able to
record a much better exposure.
[80-200 mm lens at 200mm"

f/22 for 1/1 25 sec.]

H.E :-K Y JBR()'l Hr R..', 125

Mr. Green Jeans (The Sky Brothers' Cousin)

r. reen J a . - i th ou "in of th ' k
Brothe:r . I . com
n handy \1 _b n
exposi n cor a o ition 1tha1t ha e a lot of
green i them ' you ta1 Lh m t r adin off the o-re en a a in 0 1 o1npo ilion). ~1lr. 'Gr e 1 Jeans prefe1 . to b - po d .t -2/3 .. In
ol~h r ,Nord . '\1
vhether you bring th , po til r t:o a lo by
-J

.L

hile on assign ment

for a largle Dutch
flower company, I
made what has become one
of my all~time favorite
images. I had never before
been so mes.merized by a
poir of eyes as I was by
those of ljadet. She was one
of severo 1hundred employ~
ees working on the Aower
pil antation near Bur jumburo,
Burundi. -she was ntenselly
ca1mera shy, and alt1hough wt
took three days~ ~ did fina lly
manage to ge-t her fo l ook at
me for 01 grand total of just
1

one minute .
Aga ~n,. the lighti'ng challenge here is ~h at the llight
l_ l.l w I1e n presen tme-te r '''frea IlK.S

ed wit1
h b>la1ck or white subjects, and does everything it
can to render them os gray.
Due to ljoders dark skin
color, the l'ight meter interpreted her much lower
reHected-light value to mean
that the exposure time should
be muclh longer than the
1
'norm.'' So, I put Mr. Green
Jeans to use and pointed ~he
light meter toward the bouq1uet of camatlions she was
holding1.. I'd already determined this wos a "Who
~cores?" composition, ond so

I chose an f/8

aper~ure.

Then with my camera pointed at the

flow,ers,. I adjusted
my shuHer speed unt:il a -2/3

stop expos1ure was indicated,

ond simply recomposed and
took the shot.

[1 05mm lens, f/8 for

1/ ~ 25 sec.]

1:...6

ICHT

hoo ing eith r th ap rture or h huu r sp . d la t

} ou ad_ju l the xp -urc. r ad in a ' orr f' ,,,, . n ou
s e a -2/3. top in li aliun (\ hi h m n } o adjust the
exposur to b -.2/3. top - !rom ,,,rhat tbe meter t U ou.)
If th e' one thing - r, learne - abou~ r. G e l Jean
its t at h ., a r l'abl a the k . 7 Brother . h t ou mu t
ah1\ra s ren1e1nb ~ t tneter him at -2/ ,_
11

--

is is a dassic examplle
both of what the Ii~ ght
meter w~ants 'to do when
con~ronted wi'tih white (in tJhis
cnse the water in a waJt~erfalll')

and of the need for Mt.

Greefl Jeans. The first image
is the result of learving the
meter to its own way of
thinking: gray water.. And,
not on l~y is th e w~ah!r IJnder-

exposed, but so s the sur~

roi.Jnding green forest Since
the skies were clorudy, toking1
a readIng using !Brother Bl1
ue

Sky was out of the questi'o n.

So,. I swung the camel'u and

. L . . RE. )I

ens ro Mr. Green Jeans (the

area shown at left), read jus ed my aperture unti I f/ 19
indicated o -2/3 underexiPo~
sure ~ ond then r~eco.mpnse d
the scene wi'th the wa ter fall.
Of course, my l~g1 ht meter
im m~ediat,ely i 11dk~ated ~hat a

f
d 1lf1rerent
exposure was

requi re d, but I ig1nored n 01nd

shot the scene. Obviously, I
wo.s right and it was wrong.

[Both photos: 20- 35mm liens

at 20mm . Top leh: f/32 for
1/4 sec. Above: f/19 for
. ,1 sec ..]
1- /"4

'A N. THI": Sl' HI ( T 1lFH.: . I ' 0 1 ',JN) 12'"":'

Night and Low Light Photography

h r . etn. 1to b this unwritten rule d1at t
not r ally po . ihle io aet any good pi ur
b.f r th un eo1ne up or after it o ,
own.
t . r aU if tl eres no light
then
\ hy both r?' Ho\\ever nothing could h farILher from h ruth.
I ow-Hght and niorht ph tography do 1. o e p ial
hall ng . hough,, not the least of hich i . tbe
I to
u e a tripod (a u1ning of cour e, that ou ant to
1ecor xa ting ha1pn ss) . But its my feeling that th
- ate. , hindran e to ~ hooting at night r in h lo\1 ligl t
of pr dawn in the area of elf-discipline: "lL f n for
dinn r (paek a andwich} 'I \I ant to go to movi
r nt it ""rh n ill otne out on DVD ; l'n1 not a 1tlorning
p 1 ~ n (lon-t go to b -d then ght before); I mal alon
and don t f 1 a Goin a can1era cl b a d go out ""ith
a fell 'W photographer) 'I don't have a t pod'; (buy
on .).. If i~ ~ our goal to record omp lling nag ryan l it hould be then n ght and luw-11 ht hotogr.aphy
i

y day,

Bryant

P'a1rk in

Son Francisco is an
acrv~e place, ~illed wmth
people. But where do all the
people giO when the sun
goes down? To dlinner;
ploys1 parties, and the
movies] That was okay by

me

on th"s eveni1ng, since i't

meant that~ wouldn't have to

bump elbows with a host of

other photo-enthusi1osts wh"le
r~ecord'ng a more compelling

low-light exposure at dusk.

123

illGHT

For the da1ytime exposure~

Il pla ced my camera and lens
on o tripod, a1nd di11Jte to the
need for great depth of field,
I set my 01perture to f/22
and tihen adjusted the shutter
speed unti I 1I 60 .sec. i ndiOated a conect exposure.
For the dusk exposure ~(with
the same came ra and lens), I
began with my a pe,rture at

.f/2.8

and pointe d tlhe cam-

era toward the sky (Brother

Dusky Blue Sky). I then

are two area ' h r om elHng n1age:~:1 abound . h

r van~ Jf ni()"ht an .IO\\r-liuht photograph) far ~ ut\ igh
th acrifice .
1 e yo pi k a ubje t . th onl) que tion rnain ~ i
hov tc e po. for it. ith the sop hi tication o to ia- '
ean1 ra. - and th -ir hi hly ensit .. e light 1net . . g ning a
orr ~
_po u i ea 'Y ven in th din m t f light.
And y t rna _, photo raph r. get . onfu ed: 7 re
hould I ta m meter read"ng? llow long ould n1y
expo~ ur b ? hould I u an filte1 ,? In ny ,, ar of
ea lin , I found tl1ere'- . at ing ettaking In
ter or 1nor on 'i tent- than !t aking 1n t~ r r ad g off
th ky. Thi hold w hether I n1 hooting hac Hght - ro tlight id -r ght, um'i e or sun et ( . k r Broth .a r your
uo-t .~ - gu -.
pa e . 122- 125 . If I want gt at .tOJ)rteUing d - th of field I s. t the 1 n C. . a " d, - angle len~
for toryt- lin~ to.f/1 6 o ~jl22, r.a i e m_ r . atn ra L he k .
abo th cene, adjust the shutter -pe d for a eon t
po u -. re 01npo e and pre . th
utt ~ r l a e.
I

adj'usted my shutter speed to

1I 4 sec. Since II still needed
a grea't depth of field, II set
the lens to f/22 and simply
did the math to determine
the new and correct exposure ~ Si nee I stopped the lens
down 7 siops (f/2.8 to f/ 4
to f/5.6 to f/8 to f/ 11 ~o
f/1 6 to f/22), I needed to
i ne~rease the exposure time
by a n equal number Qf
stops: 11/4 s:ec.. to 1/2 Sec.
to 1 second to 2 seconds to

4 seconds to 8 seconds to
16 seconds to 30 seconds.
Since the camera d~dn't lhave
on actual sh utt,e r speed selec:~
Hon For 30 seconds, I lhod to
use the B setting and, with o
locking cable release, f1ire
the shuHer wh illle keeping a
dose eye on my watch.
[Both pho~os: 80-200m m
lens ot 200mm. left: f/22 fo1r
1160 sec. Above: f/2.8 for

30 seconds]l

oint the town re d wa1s

th e campaign For rihe cHy
of Sydney duri ngr my
two-week stay there about
four years ago. Even the
opera house W(lS covered n
red ~ight. Not one to waste
an opporiunityJ l1 set up my
tr~ pod. With my apertur re set
tQ .f/8~nWho cares?" si nee
everything iis a1t the same
focal distance of in-fin ity-1
tilted the cameror up to the
1

dusky blue, cloudy sky ond

adjjusted my shutter speed
until the meter indicoted 2
seconds ars. a correct exposure. I then recomposed and
mode s,evera~ exposures, tripping the shuHer with the cameral's sdf-t1
imer.

[80-200mm lens, f/8 forr

2 seconds]
e Arova1is mountain
range in the Northern
French Alps iis a skier's
paradise] and th e vlloge of
Gr,a nd Bornh01nd sUs ~n the
va.Uey floor of thes~e impressive mountoi,ns. Ws 0 1 town
thort offers wonderfurt lowlight photo opportunities if
you con put off eafrirng dinner
For half an hour or so!
With my camera ond 3570mm l,ens on or tripod, 'I set
the focal len,g th to 35 mm
01111d the op,eriure to .f/2.8 1
and then roris,ed the camer.cl
to t1
he dusky blue sky above
the mountain rarnge. I odjusted the shutter speed unrtill th e
meterr irndicoted 1/8 sec.. as
a correct exposure. I then
recomposed~. stopped the
lens down 5 stops to f/ 16,

and lncreose.d my exposrure

time by five stops. Wiith my
exposure time now set for
f/ 16 for 4 secondsJ I tripped
he shutter with my came'ras
s.eU-ti m~er.

[3S- 70mm lens at 35mm,

.f/ l 6 for 4 seconds]
1

129

nsider whether the

ni~ghttime scene before
.1

offers the chance to

capture motion. CHyscapes

often provide wonderful

opportunities to show the
flow of traffic. Keep in mind
that the car lig1hts will appear
01s streaks of red and white/
so when you set up your
compos'ifion, you must ask
yourse1
lf i'f these lines w' ll

keep the eye in the scene or

lead it out of: it'. At a minimum, a 4 -second exposure

willl render the traffic as

streaks. With your camera"s

30 LT HT

shutter speed set to 4 seconds, simply oim at the sky

~above the scene (above, left)
o1nd ad just your aperture
until you get a correct exposure. Then recompose the
scene, and tr~gg1e1r the shutter
releos~e either v 1ia the camero's self-timer or with a locking caibile release.
Since many people think

the pedestrian p aza at the

Place de Ia Concorde oFFords
som~ e of the best vriews of the
IEiff,el Tower, to g~et the image
here I made it a point to
arrive a bit earlry, scout the

best spot and lory da1im to it

by posiflion~ng my tripod
~exacdly where I wonted it.
For the nex:t thirty minutes or

ter speed than 1/4 sec. 1...

so, I just enjoyed my

ba1gue:He and cheese/ ond

exposure-chose a shutter

owo~te d

the ~arr iv,al of the

dusky bllue sky.. I at filrst se"t
my aperture wide open to
f/2 .8. I then aimed a~ the
sky to the left of the tower
and a1djusted my shutter
speed to 1/4 sec. Howe:v~er,
sinc'e I was interested n getting a streaked e.ffect f rom
the ~roffic around the tower, I
needed o much longer shu~

therefore/ stopped the lens

down ~rom f/2.8 to f/16
and-to mainta1in a correct

speed of .8 seconds. Since I

stopped ~he l~ens down 5
stops (f/2 .8 t~o f/ 16 is 5
stops)~ Ill needed to increase

by On
number of stops. (1/4

my exposure time

~equal
sec. to 11/2 sec. to 1 second
t:o 2 seconds to 4 seconds to
8 s~econds is 5 stops}1.

[80-200mm lens at 200mm,

f/16 For 8 seconds ]I

hen I made this long

exposure of the
Vatican/ I started
shooting! shodly after the
street l"ghts came on, y~et the
vbtican itself never lit up! In

ony event; I used 0 1 fi lter I

can 1 t l1iv,e without (besides tJhe
polarizer and Tiff:en 3.-stop
graduoted): the FlW. lr s a
magenta-co,ored fUter not to
be con~used with the FlD.
1

The magenta color ~of the

FtW is for denser and is far
more effective on norma.'lly

green ish city Hghts, giving

them o much warmer cast
Additionally/ thi,s filter a ~so
imparts its magenta hue onto
the sky, which is perfect for
those n1
ig1hts when there isn't
(~

strong dusky blue sky.

With my camera, mounted

on a trirpod, !1 ot first set my

aperture to .f/4. I pointed the
camera to the gray sky and
adjusted my shutter speed to
l/2 sec . 1 hut since l1 had
already determined that '
wonted the 1
1ongest possi:b1e
exposure time/ I did the math
01nd ended up ot f/3 2 for

30 seconds!

[1 05mm 'lensJ f/32

for

30 seconds]

NIGHT i\ D LOW-LI HT PH TOf.R P IY 131

ony rocky shorelllines

offer opportunities to
nvey both tranqu llity
o nd motion. This exposure,
a lthough it appeors diffkult,
is r~eally quite easy to make.
I first placed my F'LW m~agen~
~a filter on my 24mm lens
and ~h~en went looking for
my me1
1ier reading1. Using
Brother Reflecting Sky and
with my aperture at f/ 4 , I
met~ered off the light reHect~
ing on the surface of the
water, adjusting! my shutter
speed until! 1 second i'nd icat:..
ed o correct exposure. I then
pointed the lens above the
lhoril!on andl, with the aperture sti1ll ot

f/4, took

a meter

read'ing using Brother Bockli't

Sky. I got a correct exposure
at 1/15 seC. 1 a difference of
4 stops (f/4 fo r 1 second vs.
f/4 for 1/15 sec. ~s 4

stops-from 1 second to 1/2

sec. to l/4 sec. to 1/8 sec.
to 1/15

sec.). So, which

exposure wins? Both, thanks

t'O my trusty 3-stop graduated
soft-edge neutrai<Jensity 'filter.

The gwa duoted neutral density hod effectively slashed 3

stops of exposure from

132 llG H

Brother Backllit Skyt so the

exposure time had to chang1e
from f/4 for 1/15 sec. to
f/ 4 for 1/2 s.ec. In other
words, the brothers would
only be separated by 1 stop,
and o 1-stop d 'i fferenoe In
backHt exposures like these

is nothing1.
But wait! Si nee I wa~nted
to shoal 01 long exposure
and use the first exposure 1
took using Brother Reflecting
Sky, l1hod to do the m1o1th.
Si nee f/ 4 was c~orr ect at l
second, ~hen f/5 . 6 for 2 seconds would a lso be g1ood, os
1

would f/B 'or 4 seconds and

F! 11 for 8 seconds and f/ 116
for 16 seconds. Stop!. That's
good enou~gh for me! After
setting my depth of field via
the disto nee setting on my
lens (in this cas~e setting five
feet out ahead of the c~enter
focus mark}, I w~as ready to
shoot'-----and presto1 here's the
result (with the o~d of my lee
3-stop soft-edge neutrall-density filter and my Tiffen lfiLW
mag en to fi Iter. )1

[24mm l~ens, f/1 6 for

16 seconds]

hille many photographers w~atch the

moon rise, f,e w photcr
graph it hecause they oren't
sure how to meter the scene .
Surpri si nglyj howev~er/ a
II

moonnse IS easy to expose.

Ifs octually jjust a frontlit
scene-;ust like fhe frontlit
scenes 1
found in daylightbut now, of course, it's a

low-light frontiH scene.

Si nee depth of field was
not a concern here, I s,e t the
aperture on my lens to f/8,
m~etered the sky ~above the
tree, odjuste d my slhuHer
speed t o 1 /8 se.c., recomposed the scene, andL using
the camera 1s sje lf-timer-flired
the slhuHer re lease button.

Note: In this instance~ ~as

we~ l lll ~as for other fulll-m1
00n
l1andscapes, it's best to take
the photograph on th1
e day
before the calendbr iindicates
o full moon. Why? Because
the day before ~a full moon
(when the mo<an is almost
fullll t the eastern sky ond the
landscape below ore darn
neair at the some exposure
value .. (And, ~ruth be told/ I

could hove a1l.so taken my

meter reading fro m the
wheat fielld in this scene ond
it would ha1ve been with in a
oat's wh~sker of the meter
liead i ng for the sky.}

[300mm lens~ f/8 For

1/8 sec ..]

firm arnd steady tripod

enabled rme to shoot

is cl~assic scene of the

San Francisco skyline. With
my camerar and 35- 70mm
l,erns on a tri pod, I se:t the
fooal !length to 50mm and
set my ~aper~ure w ide ope111
1

at f/2 .8. Ill then point~ed the

carmera to the sky above ~ and

adj1usf.ed the shutter speed to

1/2 sec. Since I w~ anted an
exposure O'f at leo.st 8 seconds to carpflu,e the ~lo~w of
tra-ffic on the bridge, I knew
that by stopping the lens
do~wn 4 stops f:o f/ 1 11 would
require me to increos.e my

exposurre time by these some

4 stops to 8 seconds. Wi~h

an 8""'second exposure, I
tri pped the shutter wiith my
oabl~e relearse.
[35~70mm lens at

50mm,

f/1 1 for 8 seconds]

The l1nporta ce of th Tri od

en hou1d Jou u e a tripod? Wh n I -want
acting harpne andlor' hen I m. hooting lo g expo ure and ~ ant to convey
n1otion in a scene, I alway all upon n1: upod.
fhe following leatures are a mu t on any tripod. Fi1 t,
the tripod head: This its the mo't itnportant b cau it
suppoits the bulk of the can1era and Ien . ""eigh . Wh n
looking at the man . different tyle of tripod h ad
make it a point to n1otmt yo 1r heavie t eotnhination o
camera and lens on each head .a, a te t . One ou
ecure the cameJ!a and 1e cheek to ee if it tend to
flop or ag a bit. H so ou need a mu . h sturdier head.
N xt, ee if tl tripod head offel' . 'Y a im ~le tun1 of
the handl , the ability to shift fiom a horizontal to a ~ r
tical forrnat. Also chec wh theryou can lo k the tripod
head at angle , in between ho1izontal and ertical.
Finally doe . the tripod h . ad offer a quick release?
orne nipod require . ou to mount the camera and len
di ccly onto th tripod head by 'Way of a threaded crev~.
qu c [ ~ lea e on the other hand is a metal or la tic
plate that you atta h to th carnera body you then
ecm-e the erunera and plate to the head via a .i1nple
lo ng Inechani In .. '\);fhen ou 1'\ra t to re1nove the calnra and I ns, ou sli1niiy flick the lockin . mechani In
and lift the earn era and lens off th tripod.
. cond th base tabilit ,.: Befor huyin an) tripod_ you hou1d al o .. pread out its egs .as '~v:id a
po ..ble.
ider the ba e, the greater the stability.
Each 1~ g o the t1i.pod i ompo ed of three individual
1 ngths of aluininuin, metal or graphite. You can
l ngthen or s , o1ten the l g ~ and then tight n them by
a irnpl lrv s of hard pla ti knobs metal clan1p ., or
a 1thr ad d rn. tal sleeve. TI1e height of a tripod at full
t n i n i a other i1nportant consideratio 1: obviou my if - ou a 6'2 11 ~ you dont want a tripod ""th a
maximum h ight of on y 5 12"'-unle )'OU "\~lOll t b
bot r -d b ' tooping 0 er _rour tripo all the time.
tripod hav a cent colun1n de igned to pro ide
additional h ight tl . can va11r from six inches to
.. ev r al . oln nt ~ r co um.n extend via a cranking ~n chani m ~ hil oth
r quire -ou to pull them
up manually.
p in mi d that you hould rai e the
. n r o]unlll onl ' h it ab olutely ne e aT);
b ea1L "' Lh high r th . center colu1nn i raised, the
gr~ at r th ri k of \l'lohble- ,\rhich de ats the purpose
of u ing a Lripod.
Finall ., w n hooting an ubject with your tripod m.ak it a point to u . rh r the cmnera' elftimer or a a] 1 r. -1 to u'p the hutter.
I

n e'

.1

134 LIGI T

herels li'ght in the sky

1
and 1Ve got the time, I'm
goii'ng to shoot the scene
before me and somehow try
to work in the landscape.
This was ~h e case as I was
driving throvgh the w indi'ng
roads in Arches Nationa I
Pork in Utah

several! ye ars

ago. I kept searchi ng to the

left and right for some silhou~

etted rocks a,nd

sky, but I

was having trouble findingr

anything that looked compel! ing. At that point it hit
me: the shot wos rigrht in
front of me~ I s~et Up my co rm1

era on 01 tripod in front of

my car. W'ith my headlights
onJ I framed the windingr
road a nd distant rock outcro ppingls aga ins t the

predawn sky. "Th1s w'ill

work/ I said to mysellf, then

to f/16 would accomplish

both of my go01ls for this

poi ntedl ~he cam,e ra to the

sky above the rocks/ and
with my aperture set to f/4 1

photograph: great dep~h of

field from ~oreground to
bockgrround and long expo-

adjusted my slhuHer speed to

1/2 sec. 'I wanted an exposure time longr enoliJ~gh to
record possing car tai llights

sure tim e. f f/ 4 is good afr

11/2 se c., then f/ 16 is ~good
at 8 seconds.

as streoks of color. So, stop

p ring the l.ens down ~rom f/4

[ 117 ~35mm liens of 24mm,

I H1'

f/16

for

NO LO\V-LICII

seconds]

P I T GRAPH .

13.5

Deliberate Overexposure
p until nov~r r . harl. d a lot of -olid and
basic ioformaf o - informati n lt hat will ge'i
you l,vb.ere l a t to go and back again. But
now I 'Want to how - ou how yo _ an add
.orne extras to -.- our und ~x landing of e posure. These extras includ t ehniqu
uch a -. _elib rat
o erexposure~, double . posur and Jnultip], e . po u -~- - .
as. well as the use of fi[t, rs -u h a , th n utral~den it . .
graduated neutral =d - 1. i ty gradllJated o] or and of
course,. the of en mi under""tood. . olliarizing filt r~ Let"s.
start 1il\l'ith overexpo- ure .
hen was the last tim "ou d -liberal ~y- hot a on1positllion as overe po ed? I don-l m. an o ere ~PO' ed by a
stop or h.vo but ~ather by thr or fo Jr top . ik any
experiment the result of hooting ,_xpo re thr e or
four -tops overexpos d '~ on t ah~ ay be ompelling; but
since n1ore often than not a cornp lling image '~vil r sult,
)OU n1ay want to try thi . irr1pl . tri k. J ighting pla ., - the
bigge, t ro]e in delih , :r at over xpo, ure . The light
should be even and for that r; a on frontlit _object or
subj, t that are under th nft an . ven iU minaf on of
an overcast day ar h .t.

e image of my wife,
albov~e is a standard

exposure. The one to ~he

ri-ght Is a de-li'bera1te overex~
posure~ resullti ng in whot Is
co lied a hig n,. ,key effect-. A
deliberate ov,erexposure ~of
three to four stops (in this
~case it wa1
s three stops) Inten~
sifie~ s ~he sensual quollities of
on imag1e, transform~ng normo IIy vivid colors i~to delieate paste I tone~ s.

lig1ht llevet but becuse of the

1

Hlm s inh erent g r01in iness.

ffhis grain~ness serves to

heighten the sensuality of ~h is

type of ''boudoirn 'image and

IS
a II secre1!I'll o f- ma1ny fa. sh10n

and gllamour

photographers.). No~e that the l'i ghting

here is alii noturol, diffused

window li'g1ht; I" m very antiflash, especia lly when there's

plenty of dayll i gh ~ around.

fn addition, I made bo,th

thes~ e imoges ot 150 1600.. I
ch os~ e this high-speed film not

I[.BO'tlh photos: 80- 200mm

lens at 1OOmm. Above:: f/8
for 1/500 sec. Ri,g ht f/8 for

because of the setup's low;.

1/60 sec. (+3 overexposed)]

13.8 P

fA

TECH

---~ -

Q E AND fiLTER

'

~th my cam~era

and
lens secured to my
tripod/ I wos able to
compose some ~graph ic
images of the Homingos i'n
the smnllll lake below me a i
Singapore's Jlurong B~ ird
p,a rk. In my fi rst ex1pos ure,

set the aperture to f/8 ond

simply adjusted the shuHer
speed until 1/500 sec . .'indi..
cated a aorn9ct exposur~e,
r~esulting i"n 0 1 pleasing pa ttern that was just what I'd
~expected.

Ill

Bur, I wanted to

try my luck at art, so ~ simJJ

IJ

ply ~adjiiJst:ed my shutter

speed until, a 4 -stop overexposure wa1s indicated

(1/500 sec. to l/250 s~ec.

(+ 1 stop')1to 1/125 s~ec. (+2
stops} to 1/60 s~ec . (+3
stops) to 1/30 sec. (+4 stops).
With the aperture sti II set to

f/8 and my shutter speed

now set to 1/30 sec. , I

achieve~ a very d ifFerent look

[Both photos: 70-300mm

lens ot 3~ 00mm . Top: f/8 fo,r
11/500 s~ec. Abov~ e : f/8 for
1/30 sec.J

DEL HER TE OVER PO . R

139

Double Exposure and Sandwiching

hoot g double e ,.posure -an b - L i the fun
of hootino- in le - po ure . Ch k - our arn1a right BO'\i~ to see j.f it ha doubl -expo ur
apahili6es. Untortunatel r ot all arn ra. do
and that' - particularly tr
of man digital
~ am -rru . Th purpo e of the doubl ~e po ur f atur i
ito nall . you to .hoot u~vo (or mor ) posure;.. on th
an1 J ~ i
of filn1 (or on th sam di.giLal e

rour digital cain ra allo ~ s it . It in pot lanl to ren1 mb -r

that '1\'h n ou hoo a doub] expo ur . ou mu. t pa 1
att ntion to how-the n age will o Ia ~ . - -any eomposition - a - ruined 1y th mi alignm t of Lhe h o ., poure -. But, otber than the need to b ar~ ful an _Er i e
\1\ 1th y ur ali~rument f e actual er at:it on of Lh '" PO u e
i a . ou im . ly hoot both of our - .p o ur at a 1top under xpo .ure \\ heth r . ou r
I oot1 ng print
h _ or di o-ital.
If rou don't have th dou l e po ur atu1 on rou,.
am . ra you can - till enjoy doub e . po ur .. In fact-~ ou
an v 1 have - eater control ov r making yo r double
I

1 "0

Pt:f.: I AJ T E H I '
.

E: AND FI T ' R

po "ure - b cau
J ou 1 b u ing
t~ chniqu all d
and-wiching. hi i
othing mor -ha pla ina h \io
slilde or eg:ttilve to 0 t T Uu t lik ~ ~- po in . h\ro
itna e on th
an1, pi
of ~ l~n) ncl then n king a
print. Th trick to 1na . g ILh rwu-ht _po ure wh n sandwi hin ho\1\ ever, i ju L L o _po it of makin . an incatnera doubl
po - ur~ : ou l1\'~ nt t hoo e - lie ; or
ne ati v . that are - a h
top ov r . ,. po ~ -o that ,.,rhen
they ar anch\i . h d tog Lh r th y oml in to Ina 1e a
'' on ct expo u ., . (If ou andwi h togethe1 h\ o sli l~
or n gati' e that ar, a ~h ]
p nd rex o d you'll
end up ~.riLh a larl '_ L-~r under xpo ure an l\ ic .
One of n1y fa o t L chni u . to ombine sotne
ovete pose i kie wi h orn ~ of" mJ ' mth vvo k. The
r ~ . ul ts are often urpri -in g. - orn _ ph tographer ]o ~ to
and ich ~ ev r ~ 111 '\!\ r eon po. ition , \\i hil oth I combine se- eral ov po d
1 trai .. Th next tiln . ou 1 .
out shooting fi.hn 1nake it a point to hoot an additional
on - or t\\TO fra1n . d lib at ly at 1 to oveJ."expo Uire in
anticipation of and'\ i~ bin a th 'In lat .
1

n I first arrived at
this location ~~oppo
site, leftt my intent
was si mp 1ry to record a basic
sunset mage, and thafs
what I did. After taking sev1

eral exposures and getting

ready

to

head

home ,

turned around and saw the

moon rising in the eastern
sky. It was too late to trek
around trying to find an actuol landscape composition
~hat incorporated the moon,
so I did the next best thing: I
m1ade a doubll:e exposure
that included the moon
(opposite/ right). I returned t'O
the scene before mel fired
off another exposure of the
tree and sky, a rnd thenusing my camera"s doubleexposure feature-advanced
the shutter without advancing

the film. then d1onged lens.es (replocing1my 35 70mm

lr

lens with my 200mm lens),

and pointed the camera ~at
the moon and composed a
shot in whiich the rmoon
appeared in the upper third
of the frame. I used arn arperture of f/8 ("Who cores?'/
sinoe the moon is at in~inity)

and

01

shutter speed of

1/250 sec. ~o then ma~e the

exposure of the moon on top
of the exposure II hard just
made of the tree.

[Opposite page; left;

35-70mm lens at 50mm,
f/ 16 for 4 seconds.
Opposite page, right:

35-70mm lens art 50mm,

f/ 16 for 4 seconds r(for the
tree}; 200mm liens, f/8 for
1/250 sec. (for ~he moon)]

a Defense i 11 Paris ~offers

up some wonderfu l modphotograrphic
oppor~un ities. One morning,
I was photog1raphi ng1rrom on
elevated pedestr'on wolkwoy
when I coug ht sig1ht of this
lone woman climbing ~he
stairway below me. Al ~houg h
at the time I mode this
image, I was thinking of its
use as a business shot for my
stock photo library~ I mode o
pain~ of shooting several
frames overexposed

by

stop, just in case I wanted to

use them for sondwichi ng.
Several years later Ill pu lled
this i moge out ornd combined
it with som~e doudscapes J
haid re~oently slhot from an
ai rplane window seat Sure
enough, ~h ey mode o great,
9101'es 01fh
1 eaven " com b_o.
1

.II

[Cloud photo: 35- 70mm

lens at 35mm, F/ 16 for
1/125 sec. La Defense
photo: 300mm lens, f/8 for
1/125 sec.]

Multiple Exposure
f taking

e .-po tu on th . . run p eoe of f1lm

(or e pos ure on a digital card) do . n't quite do ~ t
for you, ho\~ about laking tl ree _ fi e~ eight si t en- or even thirty~t
x o -_UJr . .
lon . as you
engage the doubl .
- o u1, t'eatur on your camera, ou ean keep placing ~ x o ur on lop of one another. I am continuall -urpri ed by the r~e ult.
To tnak a de iberat . multi 1 po ure ) ou photoaph the arne sub ct ov. r an I ov while ) ou mov~ - the
carnera ever so s ghtl b -h , n a h hot or example,
} ou find a ornpo . tion of fruit -and V getahle . at a conntTy produ e tand on an ov r a t day. The ky subject
are e enl ~ iUumi at d . an because ou re shooting
looking do,vn on th ul j ct ou hoose a. "' - ho cares?
aperture off/8 and th n adju t th ~ utter peed to l/60
sec. If . ou \\ant to ho t ixt en ' . po ure . the compoit on before you,, th math i Ieall n1ple: If one exposure atf/8 foi 1/6
i e rr ct, then hvo exposure at
jlB for 1/125 sec. ar al o rre t a d four e posure at
f/8 for l/250 ec. ar al o rrect . a are eiP"ht e posure .
at f/8 tor l/500 ~ . an i en e. po ures at f/8 foi
1/1000 ec . o, taking i te n . hot at.f/8 for 1/l 000 ec.
is exa tly the sam quantitativ~ value a . taking a ingle
e posure atf/8 f()r l/60 e -.
o t anJ' subj ~ e~ ean nefit from th multiple exposure te hniique-n itie .- and e p iaHy hen tl1e
are cornpo ed- a a patt . rn. On of the 1nost impoitant
things to ke p in min . ho""rev , is to avoid compo itions
with lot of s . l ith th
~ ne - there isn't much vi ual difference b l ,.r _n ingle and multiple expo ures.
dditionall . pay pe ial a t nf on to the 1ig- t- overcast
da) and f ontlit c - n~ ar best \t\ hen you are photour . .
graphinu tnultipl x
h -\' O

of

shot tlhis simple flower com~

position four times. Wi~h
my camera cmd
70- 300mm lens on a tripod;
I set my aperture to f/B and
od justed my shutter speed!
until 1/30 sec . indicated a
correct exposure. Since I
w an ted to shoo:t four exposures on the same piece of
f"lm, I ne,eded to shoot four

exposures at f/8 for 11/125

] 2

PECrAL TECH lQ E

sec. Rother than move the

camera just shg htly after I

made each exposu1re 1 I _
chose to zoom my l~ens wi'th
e01ch exposure, changing the
foca I l~ength from 70m m to
80mm to 90mm to 1OOmm.
As o r~esult, I recorded a very
.
expI.os1ve
e-f'fect.
II

II

[ 70- 300mm lens, f/8 for

1/125 sec.]

D FJLTE R

Polarizing Filters
f tlil

rna . r fi"h r on th rna ket t . da) a

pol a iz g filk r i on hat . e photo ra~
ph r should ha . h , primar purpo e is to
reduc glar from r fle tiv urfa e such
as glass m tal , and l\rat . 0 n unn) da s ~
a polariz r i n1o t , f ti v ~'hen you are . hootin at a
ninet -de,gr e ru :gl t th un. For thi rea .on side~
[ghting (wh nth u i hitting your ft or riaht shot I
der) i. a popular lighting ~ituati, n for u .ina a polarizing
filter. !Vlaximur 1 olarizaLi on an only he a hieved '\N'hen
ou ~tre at a ni l~ ~d, g~ angl . to th - un; if the su is

144

PEC lAL TECH 1IQ- E' A

~J

ri T .

at . our back or ight ~n fi~ nt of ou th polarizer will do

ou no ~ood at all.
\\Torking In .fight ~ 11_nligl t at tnidday isn't a favorit .
a tivity fo. ITI8~ 1 . rp ri n d hoot
inc the Jiqht l
so hru h but if .. ou n d to n ake i1na e at thi tin1 of
da) . a polariz t '"' 11 h lp om '~haL Thi 1s he au e h
sun i. dir :etly o Th a - at a ninety-degree ang] to
you . wh -t r ' OU ar fa ing orth, uth ast, or vve& t.
If vou r \1\rorkincr in n1orninoc or lat ~af~.ernoon li ht
you ll , an1l lo u 1h polarizing filte every tim you
shoot fa ing I th noJrth o ..outh. In this situation, your
'

;J

1.

at a ninety-degree ano1 to th sun and as you rotate t- e thiid of the con1po irtion. o one half or o~ e thilli of the
polar zing filter on yot e
you 1 eleaily se the tran. ~ hlliue sky i much n101 e aturat d in color than th 1r t of
fonnat on: hlue . k r an d puffv white loud ~.riH ' pop it. Perhap. ou \ e air ady .e en thi ~ eeet in omn of. rour
with Inl cl deepe1 co 01 and contra. t.
land ..a pe .. 1 U\"\f you kno~f\r """hJ.
~lh_ r i l.h.s? Ligl t \ ave mov arot nd in all snrm:s of
\.!though the:re . vertical light around \\rh . n you ar .
ections- u 3, dov- ' ide"\\ra_r. . and all angl 8 in "O[kino- \ i~h f:r ontht or I acklillt ubject , the1ll no ne d
bet\1\'een. he .greate t glare com s from erlical light to u e the ~ olarizinq filter at th , ti1ne . in , th.e un i
w.a e ,. and the ghue i n 10st inten e v hen the un it ellif not lono;e:r nt a ninet -de!!ree an1ge to _ou.
i at a ninet -degree angle l O rou. he pola~: iz.ilng filter i .
l th u of polarizin u filt Ji ] inl ..t d to ~ n _.r day- ?
de i .ne l to ren1ove thi verti .al ghure and block out ver- D finit lliJ not! In a t on cloud . or rain_, da t n
tieai Eght~ aU n ing only the .n1ore plea ing and~ atu1c ted j u t as much vertical ]i aht and glar, as on su llny da ' .
AH thi . Jtica1 h: ht ea t , ~uU re - , ~hr, glar, on w . t
c o]or . f:reated 1 , horizontal hght t.o record on filn1 or digital , ar l.
stre ts~ \\r 1n tal and la , urfa. . u h a a .and
N, t that if you hift you1 location o that you 1 at a windo'V\r ) . 1 t f:ol~ag . a d u fa of b li of wa1 r
thirt. r- or for y-five d . ~~ree anol to th un, the pola:riz u -h a . tr a1:n , and riv ). Th polatizi~ flt r g t rd
inrr f ct of th
will be en on only one half or one of aH thi duH uray glar -.
1.

cr

07

rater

i'nce my point of view

nine1y-degr~ee
. angle to the early:-morn-

was ot a

ing l~ght coming i'n from my

left, this scene of
Neuschwansfe i11 castile in the
'G erman Alps offered an
obvious opportunwty to use

my polarizing filter. In the

first example (above)~ II didn't

use the

fi Iter/ and yoiiJ

con

see the overal1ll. ha1ze~ the lack

of viivid blue sky and of
detail in the distant mounf.ains1 and the somewhat flat
greens of the valley floor. In
the second e xample (opposite), after pllocing the poll.o rizing fi llter on my lens and
rotating "the outer ring to

achieve maxi mum polarizo~

t ion, the differenoe is dear.
Even the once lone and

cloud is now more

and 'has compa1ny!

lndistind

vivid

[Both photos: 35- 70mm l~ens

o~ 35mm. Above: f/8 for
1/250 sec. Opposite: f/8
for l/60sec.]

PU L. P IZI N,-. FI LTEl{ . 145

"

ca1n 't Iiv,e without

my !POlar-

izing fi llterl more for the

rain than for the sunslhine.
It's tthe one tool[ that w i ll save
you each and every time
when shooting in the woods
on ro~ny days. It alone can
remove all the g1lore from
your ra iny~day compositi'ons- no amount of
Photos hop ever will] Take 0 1
look for yourself. In the First
example, above, without the
polarizing filter, note all the
glare. The stream, rocks~ and
leoves ore oil re~ll ecting the
dulll g1rqy roiny slky overhead. But os you con see in
the second example, ri,ghtl

146

PECIDAl I ECHN lQ _E A [l FI.LT R

mode wifh ~he fiher, you di.scover a color~ul world that

onlliy seconds ago wos.
a1wa.sh in g1lare.
IN o te ~hat beca1use .a
pollla rizing fi llt~er cuts the li~ght

down by 2 stops, I had to

incr,eose my .shutter speed by
2 stops (from 1/4 sec. to 1
second)1to accommodate
this. Since that brought the
shuffer speed to 1 seco111d. a

tripod was a must and I then

used the caJmer(l's self-timell"
to fir,e the shutter relea.se-.
[Both photos: 24mm lens ..
Above: f/22 for 1/4 se,c.
Rig1ht: f/22 for 1 second]

Neutral-Density Filters
ith r a filt r than can redu e your depth of field?
I th r, a filt r than can irnply motion (panning) or
turn that fa t-mo ing '\1\faterfaH int, , a ea. of \1 I ite
froth)r foam'? You b t th e i and its called a neutral-d n it filt .
Th sole urpo of lth ~~ utai-den ,it (or ND filter
c

i , to r , 1u th int "'11 . it r of th light n any gi.v ien cene

It act in much th am "\'\ra a a pair oi ungl e .,
kno king , o,,,r:n Lh, ov ralll rightn . . of a seene 1Arithout
in rf 1rnng ,,..rith th o rall olor. Ju t a. ungla . len e
, om in varyino- d gr of dar n -s.. neutral-d n it

filt rs cotne in top in r n1 nt .. . o for e ampl a 3- top

n utral-densit} fi.lte1r kno k do"' n th brightn of th
light
3 .top . .
This r ductiton of light in ten ity allo,,\f' ou to u
larger len op ing (re ulti n . in hHll 'wer depth of
field) or lo' ~ shutt r peed .. If for exanllpl I w r
using ISO 00 fihn and ,,\!anted to r at a , otton an, 'l
effect in a vvaterfall I would fi1 t stop th len ~ O\ n to
the .n1alleslllens openin . For anmn1 nt' ~ake here let'
say that i f/22. I '"rould then adja t rny hutt r 1 d
until I got a COlTect e posure , lets a~ at 1/lS. . . 't
1
))'

ec. I ou]dn t recoJrd the couen eand . effect ,

1ece1u e the hutter ,. eed i too fa t. I ' .ould need at
lea t l/4 ec .. to record thi effect. If I \ ere to use a
3-stop netttral-den ity filter I d knock the inten it of
the lliight down by 3 , to , . ~ 11 n1e ter 'voui d tell n1e t11a.t
f/22 fOllr 1/15 . ec . i . 3 stor u nderexpo ed- o I " ouid
readju .t 111)' hutter peed ~o l/2 . ec . l/15 ec . to 1/8
ee. to /4 . ec. to ] /2
. i , 3, top ), \vlrni h. i _, .Io,
nough to record the eotton and) effect I ,,va _. IJ'Oing for.
. nd th re ar, oth r ~pro 1 l 1n , for ,,,lhich the ..D filteJ . a good -olution. Lets ay you fi nd yourself shooting
a po trait o' a ve1 dor at an outdoor flo\\"" I Inarket You
po it'on . our sulf , t about t n feet in front of a 'vaiJ of
flo'"' r "tand . ou ' a t all th . v ual w ight on the ven~
~lor, \ ith a backg;rou 1
d of only out-of- -ocus flower tone.
1/l S

and shapes. So you c oose rightl . so a short te 1ephoto

lens (sa. l35mm) and a ~arge aperture (say jr ) to lirnit
the depth of field to the v ndor. As }'OU adjust . our shuttel~ speed and noli, 'e t.hat ~ ou re 1ch the en l of ~he shut~
ter peed dial (say 1/2000 sec.), our light n1eter still
indicates a 2 -stop overe posu:re. You cot ld stop the lens
do''\ 1'1 lito f/8, but thi would increa . e the depth of fiel,1,
revealing too much backgroun l detail. B} addjng a 3top . D~ filter to your len f/4 for 1/1000 . ee . . ield a
correct expo uTe-and gi,,e th depth of fi ld you '"~rant.
lthough you ean buy . D filter that reduce the intensit of li,.crh~t fron1 1 to 4 top , n1y per onal preference i
the 3-stop fiher. A .- ou n see over tinle this i all )OU
n e d 'when you lvant to u e slo"AreJr shutter peeds or larger lens ope ings wthout the 'i\fOITY of overexposure.
1

ture to

"th my camera and

80- 200mm lens on a
~ri pod, I set my aperf/22 , knowing fulll

w~e ll tha1t a lens openng fhis

small would necessitate the

s.liowest possible shutter
speed; i'n order to uexplode"
this meadow of flow ers w ith
my zoom lens, I would ne~ed
a slow shutter speed. How
slow? Nor rna lly, at l~ea1st 1/4
sec., if not 1/2 s.ec. As I
adljust~edl my shutter speed} Il
noticed that my li~ght meter
was ~nd icating 1130 sec. as
a correct exposure. Good
thing I had my 3-stop Tiffen
11 eutra 1-d ens ity filll t~e r with m~e .
I threa1 de~ d it o nt~o the lens,
a1nd just Ii ike that, I had a
con-ect exposure indkation
of f/22 for 1/4 sec. As .I
fired off severo I exposu resJ ~
was quick to zoom ~~h e l1
ens
from 80mm to 200mm during the 1I 4 sec. peri od.
Some of my a tte~ m pts fell a
bit short, but this and a few
others turned out beoutifullly.

[8QI-200mm lens~ f/22 for

1I 4 sec.]l

.. EUTRAL -DE . . ITY FILTEI . 149

Graduated Neutral Density Filters

nlike a n utra] -d nsi 1v fih.er , a graduat d
][ eutral-den ity filrt ontHins an a ea of

densit that lnenr " ith an area of no d ~ it r. In ,t it i . lik a pair of ungla e .

l\rith len e that ar 01 y tint d in c Iiain
area and not od1e , . Rath r than reduc n th ight
tran. mi :on throu hout th . ntir
ne as an - D fih r
do _ a graduated D fih
light only in certain
ar as of th ~ - cene.
-u~ o
you v ere at th b a h ju t after sun et and
wa nt to -, - your r\ride-.ang
n . lo 0" t a compo if on
that in lu l. d the hri -ht color-fill .- d po .t unset k~, v. ral . n~an furr eground bould ~ . urr und d by lvet and
and th in on1ing '~ave . in e Lhi would be a sto yt . lling imag you \rould ehoo
th Iight .ap . Iture first
in thi - a, f/22 for 1naxin1un1 d pth of field. Then ou
would point Iour can1era at th
to o-et the orree
hutter P d , in th's as - /30 , ~, . But if ou took a
m t r r adi g fTom the wet and, 1/2 se ,\rould he th
eon , t hutt peecl. That a 4- top dif rene in e po~
ur . If ou '\lvere to go with f/22 for /30 sec., ) ou d
record a \'\ronde1ful eolor-fiU , ky but the fore _round
.and and ro ks would be o .Jn r.. po e th y ' OLtld
hardly pp ar. If .rou "'ere to go e po for the sand and
tock. on Lh other hand, th - ky v11 ould be ' a r ov re ~
o d and all it wonde1ful color '\1 ould disappear.
On of t 1. .. , ui kesm: \~.ray , to ' -hang the e po ure
tin1 for tl . ky o that it get lo . to mat hing that of
and and r k i to use a d op-i1 graduated neutralden ity filt r. niike a ~ normal graduated D filter
'~ hich thr a
onto the front of yo _r I n a drop-in filter
i quare orr.-. tangular in hap and dr. p into a filter
holder th ~ t ou cure to the front of your len . Thi ""
allo,\r you to 'lid the filter up or o' n, o to turn the
outer ring I th ' ilter holder o tha . ou , an ola e the filter at an angl . Th , in turn allo' . for p I ct plc:lC Inent
of the filter inn o t of )OUrs n .
1

gn 1 g tl1e Filte .
f you have a am a with a depth-of-fi ld p . view
button u it a . ou position the gradual -d D
filter.
u lid th filter up or down ou can
clearly e
tl. what portio 1 of th ompo if on
-w~ill be ove d b th d n ity of the fib r.
ing the
preview button will guar.ant e perl ct alignt:n nt
evety ti1ne .

In the ituatio
rib d abo , a +- top gr-- uat d
D filter po ition d o that on) the sk) '"ra . ov r d J .th ND area would b th _olution. ou 1Nould t '"'r~u1t th
fi t r ove in . - anythin07 otl r than the bright - ky. O~n .
th "Iter ra i1 pla
align d o that th .
--tio
~ top right at the horizon li the COJ.Tect y expo ur
'"rould be redu ~. d r.y 4 .top -, an you could , hool Lh
nti e cene atf/22 f r ] /2 ' .
Ju -.t like ND fih r _ qrad Iat d Dr filt om. in
I- to 4- top variaf on . In add tion t.h . om - in } ar
clg and oft-edge typ r1 - nina that I ar ion Jf
th filter meet th D
tion vvith eith r an a nupt
han or a P;radual t - nsiLi n.
per. onal pr f
ne . i
th , oft edge.
I

he tricky part of this

scene was the 4-stop differ~ence betw~ een the

wheat field and the sky. With

my camera and lens on a. tripod, I chose on aperture of
f/1 6 and set my exposure
fur the green fielld. I reco~rd
,ed 01correct ~exposure of the
field, but at the expense of
ihe cloud and colorful sky
(opposite). In the second try
(right), I was able to re~cord

correct exposure of the

green field as we I as the
cloud and sky, but only aJ1er
pladng my Lee 3-stop g raduated neutroiLdensity filter on

my lens. My exposure time

for both o.f fhese images was
the same: f/16 for 1/4 sec.
you donlt hove a 91ral du~
'a1ted ne,utral-densi1y fillter you
~cou l d take 1wo separate, correct exposures.........o1ne of the
field and the other of the
cloud ond slky-a1nd then use
Layers in Photos hop on your
computer to blend the two
exposures into one, ond end
up with the same thing. But,

whew! 1don't
1

know about

you, bu1t 11 get exhausted just

thinking about this . A word
of advice: lf you've got
Photoshop, then your budget
con easily absorb the cost of
a Lee gw~aduated neutral-densi1y fii lter. Buy It now, a1nd the
next timei get the right .expo-

sure in-camera! You'll have

~ Jh
11me to spendl w1t1
your
family and ~l"iends.

mor~e

41," .

[Both photos: 35-70mm

lens f/16 for 1/4 sec.]
I

GRAD ATED

E . TRAL~ DE

ITY FI T RS 151

ISO
illim cam, ras of r man . om I ination of filrn
hoi and d.iff. r nt I ~ O~ SO .2 - , -o., 64 00
160 200- 400,. and o on}. Digital cam ras
gjv - o-1 at lli a t thr
hoi in T
tting .. -12.5 - 200, or 400-and if it a m r ophi ti -at , I digi lla~ an1era, ou tnay fin _ that it ot-I :1 ,
1 0 BOO an . l ' 1600 .a well. I' ' of 400, 8 0, n up
ar~ - :r ferred to ~ . - fast . :peed; I - ' of 100 12 -_~ ] 60 or
200 .a r Jre rr d to a medium speed and I -0 of 25, .-0
and 64 are referr d to a - slo"lo. peed.
"'o why a I tb [ ... - hoi , - . Why not j u t " lect one
and tay with it?'
lot of hooter .o ju t tl at my elf
incl d d. I u . l
] 0 a good 99 per , nt of th time
whe u ing my film - an1~ ra~ an " hen hootin:g '"r] 1h my
r ikon DI lllse I 125 ( hkon doe n t offer I - 00
on their Dl -_).There' an array of ubje -t matter that can
ucce fuUy be rend red vlith a n1ediun1 l - like I 0
lOO~flrom famil . outings, to outdoor sport at ' chool to
flow r~ in th ba kyard to mountaintop "\vildflowe ., to
your pet cat to "\1\ri ld lllion. in the Kalaha1i De. e11.
Jthough thi - hook has e rplored night and lo'\\7 ~light
photogJa hy h do so on th a -umption that you 1 h .
hooting \ \rith I 0~ - 00 to 1 0 200. Ho,l\rever if ou'r
. hooting at night or in Io,v r glht and you don't Vr.7ant to US
a tripod - u . can certainly opt for loading up a h gh-. p d I.. 0 800 or ISO 1600 . ~ m. or simply ., tch the
I 0 . etting on you d.gitam came - ~ The purpo ~ e of these
high- p d I 0. - t1N'"ofold: to f _z . action and to shoot
in lov~r light.
I

154 . ILM - , . DlGflAL

was in Singapore doing

a shoot For Northwest
AirUnesl' i n~flight ~ravel
.magazine when I fell in l,a.ve
with Little lnd ia, as have
many ot'h
-,ers w ho ' ve vi-sHedSingapore. It's a color~ul

place with the friendliest of

people. Stondli1ng on a S'~reet
corner with my N ikon D1X
set to ISO ~ 25 and my
35~70m m lens at 35m m, I
was anxious to "pan" many

of the tourists as they sped

by in their pedal-driven taxis.
With my aperture set ~o
f/2:2, I odjtJsted ~he shutter
speed to 1/30 sec.
Shortly a1fter, I We nt inside
a smoll grocery sto re where,
after several minutes of conversation, the shopkeeper
agreed to have his picture

taken. Due to the low llight

levels in the store, I needled
to switch to ISO 800, and

even thoug1h the overhead

or (c) stay with the ISO 100

lighting was from flluorescent

blJII'IbsJ it wasn't neoessawy to
use a colorcorlfection fi Iter
since my a1uto-white ba1la1nce
feature made ~he necessory
corrections for me. If I hod
been 'USing o film camera, I
woull1d hove had to either [a)
use a fll01sh, {b) change my
film to someth ~ngl like Kodak
Max 800 01nd then leave it
up to the lab to color correct,

film I normolly shoot, add an

FLD Filter to correct for the fluorescent l1ig hti ng, o111d use my
tripod. If you 1r,e loolk1ing for
an argument n favor of dig1i..
tal, ~his wou l1d certa'inly be a
good one.

[Opposite:: 35- 70mm ot

35m m, f/22 For 1/30 sec.
Above: 17-35mm lens at"

24mm f/8 for 1/60 sec.]

1

1 -

nlik dig.tal s oot r . fihn ~1oot r hav a ~.

arra- of option ' he1 it con1es t ch o ing
the ri ht eolor fihn. Th __ filn1 ount r at an
an1era. tore, or giant dru a stor for rhall
t:natter "l arlv"' ~ ho,,\ . 11Ul1 . U .. ' ll{H-V .'
o-reen.' an 1 oran , bo . . ln additi n r u n u. L d . iJe
between o1or print/n ati e film ol' olo .Jid, film. Y~ou
a 1 ui -k lv ident f . it er, r aan:U, s of bra I. hecau s(
all color print rn
n ' in th . V\r r~ '
olor''~i. .
odacolor Fujicolor~ gfa olor-- ' hilli all olor l ide
fihn end in the \vord
h o1n - . - i. . Ektcch:ron1e
Fuji h:rotn
gf .chro1n ..
On of d e 1110 t Cl n1n1on qu ti r , I g~ t i rn \\ Olrk hop i
v; hi h brand i . he t: ' or Ian 1 h Jlt ographer , fi~ 111 i a p rsonalli choic , at d I 1uch of what ~ ' OUI
choo s ba ed on .. ev r J vatal 1 . f you " ant l.o _h re
) our result with friend 111 fan il oon afll r taking
;ouT roll offillin1, youll b n1or - n rt c-d to hoot eolor
print Hlm. Pas inu; around 4./ ' olor ,r jrll at l.he oHi
1nake a lot. rnore en ,hai
.ing around ind i l i lual
olor rde. ' H on th other il ant you' r th IL~ 1 P \vho
1\

to give' li [, h w 'th n 0 l, iou mf, collior h 1 filnl

" ill h . r ur , hoi . ~ ddilionally , if you rant to av
n1oney on flm pro
UHF . o t eolor .lliid ; \Ould b . d1
]our~ e 1 hoie . om1allliy the co.t of pioce ing a ro11 of
thirty_i
ur~ lille filn1 i. a out half of'' hclt it i f r

a rolll f i hirt. r- i. xpo ur o Ior print film.

ou an al o mak~ any nu nb r of print fr ,m olor
li I I tit an extra tep i tl ~ - proce .. u n1u - f t
ta .e a I ok :tl a of )OUr ffo1t. a d then e id 'hi h
on ar . ~. oiLh of Inakino- i to print . 1 hat an arortu nt
in it -Jf for hootin id
h n . ou realliiz 1no .t o t I
thirty-. i..
po ure err often si llar hot , ''\1hil p rhap
only .~7 0 o th , e an~ r aH.. reall ~ r good~ ith a Ioll o colo
rin film .. ot: woullid pend tv c a mud to
t
oc_alnl 'h
hot. a .. ou '"' 0 1 ld have had you ' hot . lid . .
lh n it on to ov~ ~an coloi atur ltion and -. tra t,
, . 1 r id . film h a ong hsto1 of,,winn:inO' ' o r ol 1
r int fh 1. I 0\1\ e e1; olor p t (or 1 g ativ, f1 hn i a 101
m . ; for ,in in the area of x o .u re . o if _rou 111 ~ up
and hoot orne of youT p ctur~ a bit v r xpo l or a . ,j L
t nd r . o ed,. the lab ,.vjll n1ak aH of the n c
ary or-

lik~ ~

1.

01

eing1able to switch from

colo r to bi101Ck and whHe
with the push of button is
certainly a big ~advantag e to
shooting with a d i~g ii ta l co m~era,
assuming of course that you do
indeed like to shoot the same
subject in block and white a1s
well a1s in ooll,or. w hen this
Ukranian security guatrdl Hno lly
smiled, revea ling a gold tooth
(opposite)~ I had already
sw itched the ca mera to bllack
and white~ so unfortunately,. that
~g1 o l d tooth is fon~ver recorded
o nlly in black and white.

A possible lesson to a ke
a1way from this is this: ~f you're
sh oofng dig1itolly ~an d are not
absolutely sure you onlly need
0 1 black-and-white imog1
e,. shoot
in collor mode. You can always
conver~ a coi<Or file to bllack
and white, but you can't
cha111ge black and white into
color, and you may miss a
g ood collor oppor~unity, as I

did lhere .

[Both photos: Nikon D11X ot

IISO 200, 20- 35mm le111s ot
28mm, f/5.6 for 1/1 60 sec.]
1:-6 Fri . M . .. ill I CITA

, ction fo you ,wtl in r ason of ou1 . . . lid on th

oth r ha d requ e a b t Ino , att Ilion ~o ex ost'W iinply b au_ th r ~ no p o
in th lliab ~o ruak - orr e~
1aion one d1 film a b n proc .d. [ r full/ '"r re of
ltth: h ll1 -" ornput
an 1 it ah. r t , ia lOto-in ~~ing
oflwar to Inak or-r. cfo in . our e po u e- 6vh the
olor ~Hd . or color pri 1t ) l utI l~ ol at th . - tool a a
llia L r~ url[~h"'lp(l ml but a la 1t r~
t.
R~ :..garding an ol ~r filn{ pa ti ular chara t r ti _,
t _ial and Tror O\k r t rn li. ill . nahl 'VOU
!Go di.- O" , r '' hi h
,.,
fihn work b st for . our phuLog1aph-:- an . our ~a t
'"'he I e r you'' n . he ot".ng Ll d _vid gr . n uf a . pring I or t
or the pur~ vhiiLe of a w dding dJil~ ~ . Ov. r th la . t I~ nt_ -fi
.'ear ., I ha e cerlai.n1y had rn_, hu -- of fib . 1o
aFfair:: I ring rn._ r ii.1 t ifle 1. year~, l \\ra uiua'y hool:i ~ g Ko .aehrom 25 or 64. 1 t en di cov red f 1ji -. . rom .
an :l "hot both 0 '1 nd ] 00. . nd in Lhe rni .l-nin till , I wa
inhu lu -ed to I odak EkLachrorre 100 and ~ I gan u ing
it r ligi u.ly and for the:,. pa I_ four r ru , IV alnlo L
]u v ly . hot kta h l'"OI'n EllOOV (the ., -- i.gl.. i(.rin:g
'"Ve11r.. a .u rat d ).
it i - -- h ighl. ' alurate(11(oh r ._lid
fbn I u. it for an of m . .U j ct ex epl people it'' far
too . atu at
r 1110 .t . kh1 tone. m-- kim ev . I' . on .
app ar . unJ un1 d. ~ h n p otogra ,h:in,u people., I l pt f< r
d , . odak
00 .
c

C>

'

' 1

'

On of: th dr l\'back for ligital . hooter . i that

th r s no f1l Jn hoiee; tl1 11 are no option in , l~oo inrr
colior p1i ntln crativ fihn or o1or lide Elm and . ub qu nllJ~ no option - illl1 ho\\:r -atumat dl }otu . xpo ure lArill
b ." tl ou fii t loading ihe diui al in1au into th , , nlputer and then applyinO' th . n , e . ary tep .. to achieve
th
1. d . ffect. It ali bout time ' h n .h ootin.q di.mta : it ta . only a . - ond or tw to . e your in1 101 on
th atn
CD . .. r n , u th I ~ i11U h 1111 r iin1e
h a l o . vou . d '\tltnload d th inr 0 ' onto tl comput r. H rou r lik n1o t digital 1 ooter. , . p n ling ti111
01 Lh I~ ~ I apult . r ha. b o 'l l . I ., ~In no . pl . . .
'""' v . , digita hoot I- hav 1th up , -r hand in
o iLh ~I a a ". J\ . di u
on tl pr viou pag th _ an
~. ,1\riL hI 0 fr~ n1 , n
xpo u ~ . t~ th n t . d tionally
di.JiLal . ho L 1 . a v it h fro n ol to J l Land vhit
aL Lhc; Luu h of a uuo . Digital . J o . t r an t th ir
''\i 1 iL 1alan "' ~ r no t ] ui g t 1: OI , o that . v n
wh n Lh offic lighlt . ov . rh ad ar fluor .c nt th nor~
nud gre n.i h asl ILhaL ilm hooL~ 1 ~ r curl
un ing
th di ln''L1J. l he LD fih r) i n v~ r " n ]- -r th digiltal ~hoot r; ubje~L ~ look ~ n orrnal.' n . fi aU_ r ligital
s hoolt T ' a.n in1rn . lialel ~ , th ir sult ~ ia th LCD
cr 1 , 1.. ablir g h .-m lo on cL at . ' no 01 tna1 m
adju l m1 nts Lh y V\.ran.l befor avi .g Lh in1a6 .
I

Pushing and Pulling

io-ital -:-hooters don t h:t e to ' orry about
pu J1in and pul ing inee they re not u inQ"
fihn. It you re 1 s ng a filr a ea1n ra, hol\i' ver take not~e. Fihn ean be pu..shed (purpo ely et to a fagter ISO~ peed , or pulled purl o ely et to a . ]o,ver ISO speed). Pu .hing fibn i oft n
d ne "' heril ) ou realize that our filn1 do n't of r nou h

I 0 to . et the job don . For e. ampl , 1 t . . a) ou ar:riv .

at ) our on s soccer ga ne a d di cover t:hat you ~ on t
ha~~e I O~ 200 fbn as ~ ou thought but rather on]y I 0,
100 .. You '"'er hoping to freeze a tion, and . ou rna r f ~
all i lo . t bu that doesn t have t be the as . You ju. ~ t
have to rna l a 1. selL our fihn peed to I 0 200 a d
hoot as you' ould wth that L 0. l'he ~ a1nera now th.. k
that I ~o 200 filn1 has been Ioad d into the cam a a d
"\!\
gve ~ ou exi o ur readino' . ba ed o thi inform ation. Once you 'e hot that roll, lnark t
i c. . u
""ith a Sharpe eb-tip mark r) a + 1 o _00 a d wh _.n
_. Ol then go to the lab., indi at to th a] t, at Lh roll
needs to be ''pu hed ~ to 200.
Dra ~\rbacks to pushing- filn1 ar t at it mor ~ p nive.,' and rhat it r ult in n1or - raini . ., a d al o a
build up in ome un"\\ranted con ra t. Th p ~ tu a1 . for
the most part g d l ut m.o r o t n than n l i L v ould
aake better en e to h.av t 1 ri llt flm p d o . hand
for all of ) our anticipated need .
PulUng film i e]dom do e. It . u uall ' n
,,age film that wa a , identall_
po ~ d at a I
than it tTu value. t ll toe ay' D, odi- g it' , n .. t ll
in1po i.ble to find your lf edi . g to puU filn . rh onl
time ;; ou n1ight n . d o is , h
rou' r u ing a amn ra
'w here filn1 peed ~ ar . ,. t manually, and you et th I
incOIT ctly. . ~ . with pu hing,, 1 ulling film i . e en i v .
I

hile on assignment at
Busch Gordlens in
Tompo Bay, Florida,

for Popular Photography

magazine,. Ill came upon lithe
joker" .c:11nd he gladlly ployed
for th~e came1ra. Since he
wos walking on stilts~ I stood
atop o nearby bench so that
I could be o ll iHI~e bit closer to
his eye level. Handholding

158 FILM V . DT

TT. L

I set ~he aperture

to f/8 ("Who cares?//) and

my

camera~

simply adjusted my shutter

speed unt1
il the camera's Hght
m~eter indicated 1/250 sec .
as the correct exposure for

the low-angled frontlliglht tJhat

was follling on his fa:ce.

[75-300mm llensj f/8 for

1/250 sec.]

Index
a 'I i n. ,

f'f'

fih

mol ion

Jl rl u :3~1-69

rl plh of fie II <md. 6-.~r ..'10

ma r plnt gr 1h_r and. 62,...6 lli 11!!. 16-1 - . 19. 36
huu r .~peed ombinalion , :2 _. ' -33
inwular-them e rnpo.~.iLi n , . 2, 4.6. - . .
~P .culm biuhliglu" an . 68~ t r:rtelling :orrnp ilion . 2 . .: 8 J.~
"Who can:.. ? oompositiou , ,:_, ;16-61 .. 103. 1OS
aperltn -In' ori ly mo . n ) ).)_ 102, 10:

au -d plh-of-fi ~ d 1le .1R

a no po Uf 14. 10:.., 120
autofo u -. 38

24

n a1 .a. m tering;

.l'r S7~

126-12

' io-h-k y ff.. I. 138

ir f lyino- moti. n. 32. ,4-~.5, 8 "-l--8 '

oul- f-J. u . 3

i ~n I tion - in<>dar-t J - m
48--5-

37. 48 _).,

p.-nn:in~

and . .81
. harpn . 3. ;;, 1. :-l9, 10
b]a k . lj d:-; m l
.ogPn jlan ! , 72

rin~.

11.

92- 13
! a klighL, ll 0-1 1:
k ,[ [ioht '9~ 9
fronl.li bt, 10 \-10.
ni!!:htllow-li~r[ ~- 28- L~S, 1..
ere a l ontl i ahI. ]_ 02~ 1 5
I fl 'ldl '
f. Ll8

-1~

r-\ icrht .fl m t r, 1 1 11

lo- - U). fiJt I 6
do -ups 2, 6 6:2- 6
c I r-con 'li 11 liht>r:. 15.1

lor fillr~ . .-lf-'l~din . . 1.-6-157

. 1 ~

'?'4~31. '9 4

ur , l 3H-139. 14~0

.r

d pth r. ld, 32. 3

a.p 11ur a11d. -~6--11 :
i 11 mtwr 1 phohlm11 11 '. 62
dC' th-of-fi.,.l ~ 1 r \'i '' button, 0- .-2. 1.=m
d 1-1th~ 1f-fit 1 1 ~ cal . 8
1ligill.ttl . h olin~

ol rlbla k-an -whi.l.c mod

14 r aluntti I'll

11 .IIi "film, 1:-s

~ ll ~ hi ng fil.m. 1:"'8

1
min ~ a~r mpc.t.: i ~ io11. 146
1 fl. l d-1igh rt 1nt kl'. 114, 1
~. a:nd,,-j

hing, ~ l, l41
ha ]ow. i ~ li hti:n,o- and. lO(i.
::Jhutt - tii) .cd 7 1- 'l
oL

compo- i ( n . 3.:..:. t1fi _

li~h l.

.n,

., L r or liuh_96
ret l i v J ~ ,., rr .ct x p m
ni 1i1 ] rrlur :J
- tl-::J

photograph tdanal . 11. 1

polariz.i 1w ril 'L r. 44--1 ~
orl r it._
i 11 ba kH hl. 112
in ' 1 '<rt rroll ill ighl, 104~1 );"-] tiv r. t'l ~ . 1 R
i n ~d. l i,ghl. 106. 1 , W8
~\Vh ' . :a ~~ . " ap rim . ;'8. 105

1 cl]nu-.

L'O - ltinb -. IY-:..L 114,. 117, 1.- 4- ],-,;_ 1!1R

a klight U0- 11 . .

~.

156

nd. lli ~ ~

fi .Jd and. 46. 47

0 . uinw. an I ]_ - . ]5.;1~]
macro. 64
pro and co 1 - , [ 15di tan e - ll i ll'lg._, 38. 39
dou ] ~xpo;u, .. 140. 141

a. 11 I ~1 ang n 96 9
. irl Hg 1t. 1 - lCD ltl
unhght, work]ug in, 1 14 -14.:-

hlt~ :k -and-

ll'hiL , ubj t l1H- 12L _24

-.
. xp1. u1 ~. , nr.
I _ ...9 - _.
'-'l'tcn r a . meleri _.,., ~13~ .- ... 126- 27
sk ' . melerinu 122:- 1.:.5,- 128
type of;l1 .- llljn-ht - in backmuund, 68=6 low Iian . ho lin.: in. J 28--13;". 15 ,
1

h u. -

:.s

Ill -:mtlll

1(

mode ' 1

' .3(

matri - meler' 11!;, 11 - 1 ll""

ll'ill 1 ring.
't; l,iaht 1111eter
mo n s Jn ... , 1: .:..- 133. 1 1
moti n
ii .zin , 3.0. :11 3.:..., - 2 '""5. 6-9

im1 lyin~. :..., 7ti~7S. 84- 9

in nig}H . ~n . , ] .
pan ing, 32.
, 80 ~ .

-;

'-

kv
melerin r 1:.c:..-l ~5. 12
mo n n .. 1: 2- l. 3, 141
wde-m gl [ n -.
3
1

: ~ uusel

- l .. cu1ar hivhli ht:-; ' 1~9

p 1t m l r. l 4. ll 6
- to[ 1m ' II, I - , :l
~ t ryl 1ling 4' mp ' ilions, 2. 38- 47
~ubj. I, rl Ll m e frotn, 3~
l"iU Iii hl. w rkincr in. ]
l . ,:),
;.unn , fl16 Ru] . I .
.-u mi . 4 . . l ' -0, Hl . 11 . 11 .
1...-)" ' 1' '":
68. (:i.9.. 1 )6. 110. 1:.3. ] 25.

t I ph .h ~ .n:-;_ !.2. 116. . B, S.~. 68. l] 0. 12S.

Ll 1 g\-lht -1 11 ( L m
ir g 114
I r.un -i a c111l ~ ubj t. a kl iL 113
tip d. 1=~4
-213 p ur 12
1

u nd r x . .uf

wi[h l liomw l ;am r .. 86

mot r dri\ muh ipl "X !J 1. 111 , 1 2- ~43
r

23

,. j wfin I r. in aliTe

in. 3' I 1

vi u .I ' ei ''}ll. H

]
1

,1 1\\,. 26
. ee also moti 11
. id..~li ~1t. H
I 9,l l
-i1h u tte. , J 11ha kh o-bt.l 0.11 1
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or an one who r -d . th . on ' pt of , po ure

o _erwhelming and onu ng this boolk: d mystifi . h . ubj . t . rna- ing it ,_ to grasp. utho
Bryan P t r on e . p ain th ~elation hip bet\\ een
apertur an - hu -t - - p d, and , - plain . ho'\1
to achi v - u c - ful .po ur s in e mingly difficult
-ituation .. itncl ding tho e in ol ing backlight, low Eght
ov r a .t w ath r and moton .. 1 th imorm.ation i rel vant) '~rheth r . . ou'r, usng flm or digital amera

In addition,. m.a tering the . n ept -, of expo ure "\'\rill free

.ou from l\rorrying about lhe te hni al an .. will pnn ide a
olliid base enabling - u to make the kinds of i1na .- es vou
tn.dy . ant. FiUed '"rith the autho1 ' owu snikilng photograph~
Understanding Exposure i - .as beautiful as it i-.- useful.

Bryan p ,- te rson is a professional photograph r

internationally known in tructo1~ . and best- e li.ng author.
e divide hi tiline ' hveen the United tates and Fra oe.

ISBN: 0-8174-6300-3~
WHOTO BOOK

an imp!tint of ~fat on-Guptill Pub1ica ion

--o Broad,, a

n r\\ll!V.wal

omrupliU.oom

10 03

160 pa . . 8-Yt x I l '.. (21.25 x 28 , m).

150 color lh.t .t:ration . Ind .

Co er de i n b . Bob Fillie
Gr.aphmti _De ign Inc.

Pnnted in. China