Photography to Explore
It was December 24, 2022. Our plan, by way of yearly tradition, was to travel north and visit family for the holidays. Nature’s plan, though, was to make the Michigan roads as undriveable as possible through a weather assault of wind, snow, cold and ice. …
Tell someone you’re going away for a weekend to Saginaw, Michigan to take photos, and you may receive puzzling expressions—I certainly did. The responses of wonderment I received were mostly from the people I encountered in Saginaw, too. Saginaw is often on lists, but they’re …
As photographers, we obviously would like to photography when the light is optimum. The golden hour, the blue hour, sunsets, sunrises—these are all times of day when the light can turn gorgeous and can result in exquisite images.
But, what do you do when the only time you’re able to photograph has harsh midday sun beaming down with unpleasant shadows?
It’s simple: You take pictures.
Don’t let less-than-desirable ambient light ruin what could be a fantastic and rewarding photo outing.
Recently, I had allotted a Saturday to make pictures. Early morning and late evening are wonderful time for photos, but I had a lot of time during the day and I wanted to maximize my time by heading to a small nearby town to “see what I see” as I like to say.
On this particular day, that town happened to be the home of the annual National Trout Festival—Kalkaska, Michigan.
The only dilemma was that the weather forecast called for sun all day. There was a time when I’d get into a funk and choose to simply not take pictures. “If I can’t have perfect light, what’s the point?”, I’d tell myself.
After having this internal conversation with myself many times, I told myself that it was time to overcome the obstacle of harsh light and to get creative with my camera.
You know what happened?
Photographing during midday sun can be great, and I found this out to be true. That’s what happened.
It did require some work to make my images pleasing. First, it’s important to pay attention to shadows. One of my favorite methods of photographing from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. or beyond is try to minimize the shadows as much as possible. I’ll try to find compositions that allow me to avoid shadows as much as possible. Another technique I’ll use is to photographing using film and to expose for the shadows. This leaves detail in the shadows and in the highlights as well, if it’s done correctly.
My camera was a rangefinder and my film speed was ISO 400. That’s a faster speed than I’d really prefer in full sunlight, but I’ve been using ISO 400 for everything so that I can become more accustomed to it, and that’s also the film I had in the camera at the time. I was forced to use a faster shutter speed than I’d prefer, but that’s no big deal.
Now, this can be done with digital as well. When I’m using digital equipment, I make sure to work the shadows in post processing so that they’re not so dark. One suggestion that makes this easier is to make sure you have a good exposure at the start.
Digital cameras are capable of a lot of latitude, but a proper exposure can really help during post processing, so try to nail this out in the field.
Speaking of shadows, another technique to use in midday sun is to photograph in shadows. Some of my favorite light is soft, diffused light on a cloudy day. Shadows can provide that same diffused light. I’ve photographed portraits of people during the middle of the day. What makes it possible is to find a spot in complete shade. By doing this, I know I’ll have a location that will have as even a lighting as possible on my subject’s face.
Finally, a good technique to use while photographing in situations with high-contrast light, is to try to make images with simple and clean backgrounds. I’ve found that trees can often exaggerate already-harsh-light conditions. By finding scenes that have as few distractions and extraneous elements as possible, you can make pleasing images.
There are many elements that go into making images. Light I said, excellent light is really important to making amazing pictures. But, don’t let bad lighting stop you from being creative.
The next time you see some harsh midday sun heading your way, don’t worry about it and simply go out and make images. You may be pleasantly surprised at the great results you achieve.
When it comes to photography, especially film photography, I keep my equipment as consistent and simple as possible. The less one has to think about while taking pictures, the better. Kodak Portra 400 35mm (the 120 is great too, I just don’t use as much …
Photography is a personal creative journey. On our journey we should select a tool that will help us along the way. When it comes to cameras, the options can easily become overwhelming. Megapixels, pixel size, lenses, weatherproofing, DxO scores, and on and on are discussed. …
It can be the most difficult surrounding to photograph. Out of nowhere, you may find yourself stopped in the tracks of creativity before you even know what hit you. Or, it may hit you right away. You may walk, or drive, for hours looking for something to take pictures of, and return home with nothing.
This place is—the town you live in.
Fear not, though, for there is hope. A town, city, village, metropolis, etc. that you’re familiar with can be one of the most challenging environments to take pictures in. And, I say, “Why wouldn’t it be?”
After all, if you’re familiar with a place, there’s no visual stimulation. There’s nothing that ‘wows’ you or perks your brain. Being in new surroundings is exciting but we’re not all able to travel from new place to new place, constantly exposing ourselves to new surroundings. For many of us, our environment is routine and stale.
Here’s the trick: it’s not routine or stale.
If you feel like you’re in a creative slump, try to step out of yourself and your familiarity and look at your surroundings from a fresh perspective.
I live in the town I grew up in. It felt like there wasn’t anything to photograph nearby because I’d told myself that, “Nothing new is out there.” That’s where I was wrong. Not only are new photographic possibilities out there, but those possibilities are always changing because there could be a small added element to the scene, or the light could be different.
Normally, when I’m trying to come up with ideas for places to photograph, my location ideas are far away. I know they’ll be a little more unfamiliar to me and that will make them more interesting. However, more recently, I’ve been concentrating on places that are closer to home. It all comes down to the ‘Work Smarter, Not Harder’ adage.
So, on a cloudy day—this is my favorite light—I set out to photograph my hometown. As if a familiar surrounding isn’t enough, it was also post-autumn/ early winter, so the leaves had fallen and it was that time of year when everything takes on a color that is simultaneously gray and brown.
Two blocks away is an auto repair shop. It’s an old building and there are usually some interesting vehicles in the parking lot there. I pulled in and found some great subject matter. Since the time of year is often drab in color, I chose to seek out pops of color.
For anyone feeling weighed down by their surroundings, look no further than the work of William Eggleston. His work is proof that there is something to photograph anywhere and everywhere.
So, go out into your neighborhood or main street. It could have buildings or it could be a dirt road.
Photograph it.
What you take pictures of may be familiar to you, but it’ll be new to someone else. And you’ll be producing art.
Few things are as enjoyable as loading some film into a camera and exploring a small, unfamiliar town. It’s the basis for how I came upon the name ‘Village Voyager’, after all. The, often, slow and methodical approach to composition and the new elements of …
There are times when the need to create burns inside. If that need, that feeling, wasn’t there, life would be so much easier. But, life wouldn’t be as beautiful and fulfilling. I suppose this is the artist’s dilemma. One of them anyway. If I haven’t …
To drive into Houghton, Michigan—a small college (Michigan Technological University) town in Michigan’s upper peninsula (U.P.)—is to be welcomed by a tidy, small-business-filled-main-street downtown. It had been years since I’d been there. It didn’t look like a lot had changed, but that’s a good thing. Change is too frequent for me and a lack of it is a welcomed surprise.
My most recent trip there was a few weeks back during our annual U.P. week-long excursion. This year, it was Dollar Bay that received the nod as our destination.
Being a photographer, it’s difficult to drive through a new and interesting place and not check it out. I knew I’d return as soon as I could. The mornings are a perfect time to sneak out the door of our lodging and get creative for a quick bit, and that’s exactly what I did.
Houghton isn’t an easy town to explore. The downtown is flat, but around that everything is seemingly on a hill. It’s a picturesque place that holds heaps of history, much of it mining history. In the realm of fun facts, photographer Edward Steichen lived in Hancock, which is just across Portage Lake via the Houghton Hancock Bridge.
Driving west through Houghton and just before arriving at the Houghton Hancock Bridge, is a place of respite called The Downtowner. There’s an inn and lounge so feel free to respite wherever you’d like. To see it though, with its bright colors and mid-century architecture, is like stepping back into a different era—I’ll say the 1970s.
Across the street from The Downtowner is a parking deck which is perfect. My photographic adventures often result in images made at street level. To have the option of an elevated parking deck appealed to me mightily. So it was, that on a morning outing of picture taking, I would seek this parking deck and make a image.
After parking on a hill, I walked toward the parking deck to look for a good vantage point for my photo. The parking deck couldn’t have been more perfect. Having the higher perspective, and photographing with a 28mm lens, allowed me to have a better overall sense of place of the town, as oppose to the viewpoint I would’ve had if I was at street level.
Being a photojournalist, I’m often trying to include people in my pictures, no matter where I’m at. So, for this shot, I knew my scene was good, all I had to do was wait. As luck, and patience, would have it, a person walked into the frame. Shutter button clicked, I was pleased with my photo and left the spot.
One important takeaway from this is that to visualize a photo can be really helpful. Having a plan of what you’d like to achieve photographically is a good practice. Either you’ll achieve your expected results, or you’ll receive a happy accident. You might take a picture that you don’t like very much. A good thing to do here is to analyze what you don’t like about the picture and try to make it better the next time.
Critiquing images is a great way to become a better photographer.
The season right after winter and right before summer is a strange one indeed, especially when it comes to photography. Of course, depending on where in the world you are, springtime has different meanings and styles. In the Midwest of the U.S., it’s a time …