Deep Color & Spectral Highlights | KE365 | Day 109

Working on water effects for Day 109, freezing and blurring. I decided to work right at sunset to get some deep colors in the water rather than the bright white I would have gotten working during daylight hours. This caused the highlights to stand out against the vivid color.

 Shot at 1/100s, F/4, ISO 100

 

Shot at 1/80s, F/5.6, ISO 400

I typically shoot using natural light, I do use speed flash units for some images at both weddings and receptions or other low light situations that might require it. I don't typically use it for capturing anything else, I just use natural light because natural light is pure, gorgeous and much more realistic looking. Occasionally I might find a nice use for flash such as the above image of the stream of water. I actually like the spectral highlights it creates by hitting the little beads of water, I also like the rainbow bokeh that only would have happened in this case by using the flash.

Silhouette in Bokeh | KE365 | Day 101

During my 365 project I have learned technical skills from studying my manual and various photography books. I have also learned a lot in the great deal of shooting that comes along with taking your camera everywhere, everyday. Some things you can't learn from your manual and you have to gain the skill from experience. That's why this project is so awesome because it keeps you learning in so many ways.

Day 101, working with shallow depth of field and more specifically with creating a bokeh effect in a different way. A bokeh is just the term used for the area that is out of focus in a shallow depth of field shot. Often you will see out of focus, beautiful circles or orbs... this is a bokeh.

For the shot below, I was working at dusk in a small amount of light. I focused back and forth until I had a streetlight positioned directly behind several of the plants. This created a silhouette form of the plants within the bokeh.

Shot with 50mm lens at 1/60s, f/1.8 & ISO400