Picture This

Picture This!
Made In The Shade

Shutterbug Staff  |  Apr 1, 2005

Our Picture This! assignment this month was "made in the shade"; pictures made under overcast sky, dark forest canopies, or anywhere the bright sun doesn't shine. Ask a wedding photographer, for example, his or her preference for a wedding day's shoot and generally they'll tell you one with a good cloud cover, even though the bride and groom might be looking for a sunny day. Why? Outdoor shots with less contrast, and less problem with that bright, white dress outdoors. The same goes for experienced color photographers, who know that they can get deep, rich colors when the sky provides a luminescent glow without a dazzling sun; it's almost like having a large diffuse softbox illuminating every scene. Readers sent in a variety of images, all made in the shade, proving that even when the sky is less than bright blue you can get some great shots.

Echo Lake, Acadia National Park, Maine: Photographer George Oze sent us a portfolio of great shots, and this was one of our favorites. He photographed with a Canon PowerShot Pro1 with a Singh-Ray warming polarizer over the lens and a two-stop graduated neutral density filter on his Cokin lens adapter holder. His exposure at ISO 50 was f/8 at 5 seconds.
© 2004, George Oze, All Rights Reserved

Cabin In The Woods: Anthony Dunn found this idyllic escape in the eastern Sierra Nevada range. He worked with a Konica Minolta A2 and exposed at f/3.5 at 1/13 sec at ISO 100.
© 2004, Anthony Dunn, All Rights Reserved

Kentucky Morning: Terry Yarbrough wrote, "Searching for horse shots along Lexington, Kentucky's Bluegrass Driving Tour on an overcast and foggy morning I happened upon this colorful scene. Drizzling rain and my polarizer further enhanced the vivid colors." Yarbrough shot with a Canon EOS 10D and 17-40mm f/4L EF lens. Exposure was f/18 at 2.5 seconds.
© 2004, Terry Yarbrough, All Rights Reserved

Waterfall: Clyde Dexter caught all the shimmering light of this peaceful scene in Arkansas with a Nikon D70 and 18-70mm lens.
© 2004, Clyde Dexter, All Rights Reserved

Chairs In The Wind: Hurricane Ivan supplied the arrangement of the chairs and Jim Mitchell, on a trip to the Cape Breton Highlands in Nova Scotia, made the shot with his Nikon D2H and Nikon 28-105mm zoom lens. Exposure was f/8 at 1/45 sec at ISO 400.
© 2004, Jim Mitchell, All Rights Reserved

Winter Color: Curt A. Christianssen wrote, "The leaves were late to change color in my neighborhood in Irvine, California. The colors exploded after a night of rain under the diffused light of the cloud cover." He worked with a Nikon D100 and Nikkor 24-85mm lens, with the rig mounted on a Hakuba carbon-fiber tripod with a Kirk ball head. Exposure was f/22 at 2 seconds.
© 2004, Curt A. Christianssen, All Rights Reserved

Watercolor Roses: Marsha S. Liebl made this photograph through a "very old windowpane" on a summer's morn with a Canon EOS Elan and Canon 100mm macro lens with an 81B filter on Fujichrome Velvia. Exposure was f/8 at 1/30 sec.
© 2004, Marsha S. Liebl, All Rights Reserved

Magnolias In Bloom: M.W. Forton made this open-shade floral in Williamsburg, Virginia, with a Canon EOS 10D and a Canon EF 28-105mm USM lens.
© 2004, M. W. Forton, All Rights Reserved

Las Vegas, New Mexico: Leon Ullensvang made this photograph of an historic building in Las Vegas, New Mexico, shortly after dawn on a cloudy day. He wrote, "The bright colors and architectural details against the white background captured my attention." He worked with a Nikon N90s and Nikon 70-300mm lens and photographed on Fujichrome Velvia.
© 2004, Leon Ullensvang, All Rights Reserved

Greenbriar Stream: Made in late morning on an overcast day in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, photographer Gary W. Potts shot with a Nikon F5 and 20-25mm Nikkor lens mounted on a Gitzo tripod with Kirk ball head on Fujichrome Velvia film.
© 2004, Gary W. Potts, All Rights Reserved

NEXT: Page 2 »
ARTICLE CONTENTS

X