Noticing Light

One of the things I enjoy about photographing in general, thinking about photography, and looking at and reading about other photographers’ images is that it enriches my daily life in many different ways.  Yesterday morning was a perfect example.

This month I’ve been studying the work of Joe Cornish.  Most of the work that he’s done (at least the stuff I’ve been studying) was done on film, in color.  Color slide film to be exact - which means he was working with a limited contrast range and that he had to get everything right, in camera, to have a successful image.  No manipulating things after the fact.  That means he became a master of filters, not just the polarizers, neutral density or graduated neutral density filters that I often use, but color temperature filters as well.  

Both he and his colleague Charlie Waite discuss the frequent use of warming filters - very light yellowish filters (of varying density) that help eliminate the cool tones one gets with indirect light, or when in shadows.  Studying their work has helped me to appreciate, and better see, when images are cool and/or warm, and to start thinking about whether I want the image to be one or the other (which I can adjust to a degree in Lightroom).

So as I was making a pot of coffee yesterday, I looked out my kitchen window to the aspens in the back yard and instead of the cool trunks I’d seen earlier that morning (because it was overcast and foggy), I saw warm (slightly yellow) trunks, but still cool (slightly bluish) fog in the distance.  The sun was barely making its way through the fog.  But it was enough to warm up the trees.  Yet another lesson learned while waiting for the coffee to steep.

I pulled out my iPhone to record the scene, and it even comes out in that image.

Thanks Joe!