Part 4 Light–Project:The Time of Day - Low Sun

Exercise: Variety with a low sun

Edge Lighting
1. I had several attempts at this one while I was in between exposures on Harting Down. Here is the best, cropped down. This type of lighting works particularly well with a very shallow depth of field to blur the background giving the highlighted edges added impact.

7499: 1/350s f6.7 200mm ISO200

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2. Back Lighting. The sun was very bright  and has burned out. I had better results when the sun had risen higher  and was not in the  frame. There is sufficient light across the landscape to give some detail but the light is very soft.

7432: 1/255s f8 65mm ISO200

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3. Side lighting. This was an early morning picture (within 2 hours of sunrise) and shows the long shadows and definite contrast which results from this type of lighting. This type of sunlight can be harsh.

7578: 1/350s f5.6 150mm ISO200

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4. Frontal Lighting. My neighbour got his Jaguar out early this morning as the light flooded across the car park. By crouching low I was able to avoid casting my own shadow, although in a larger image, my reflection can be seen just above the sun’s reflection in the bumper. This direct lighting is well suited to shiny surfaces and I found that with the sun low in the sky, it was much easier to find a position where the highlights emphasised the bright work but was not overwhelming.

7600: 1/180s f22 34mm ISO200 Shutter Priority

Conclusion: I  found that there are more interesting lighting effects to be had at times of low sun, in particular at dawn after a cool night. The variety, colour and quality of the light throughout the day and from season to season must be taken into consideration when photographing outdoors.
Supplementary Images: These images showing backlighting were made as opportunity arose during a coastal walk. I made use of  the continuous shooting mode on my camera to isolate and freeze frames during a period of high winds.
7808: 1/1600s f5.6 200mm ISO200

7681: 1/2000s f5.6 200mm ISO200