Morning Dew
Dec, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photograph was taken in the exotic locale of my back garden, in the wet and windy south eastern corner of the UK. Whilst letting the dogs out, my attention was caught by the glinting of the water droplets that bejewelled both the rotary washing line, and the delicate strands of spider silk webbed across the structure. Reflected in the water droplet you can just about see some of the trees and garden buildings that adorn the typically Kentish garden, along with the grey sky so typical of England!Time
I was getting ready for a day's work, so this was about 7am, when the morning dew was undisturbed and the spider's home remained in tact. It was a stroke of luck, as so much in photography is, that I was able to grab my camera and capture this droplet of water as it paused on it's slide down the web.Lighting
As this was not a 'set up' shot, I relied on the soft Spring morning lighting. I wanted the droplet to be the main point of light, and thankfully a dreary day and uncluttered background meant that nature, on this occasion was obliging in providing the lighting for the shot that I wanted.Equipment
I used my trusty Sony DSC-HSX60, which I unceremoniously grabbed off the side and balanced haphazardly on a table to keep it steady. The time critical nature of the shot prevented me from setting up properly, so I was pretty reliant on the sharpness of the camera when zoomed in and the support provided by the table to make the shot work.Inspiration
I have always loved macro images of water droplets, and greatly admired those who can achieve them, so when an organic opportunity to use such a rich source of photographic interest was presented to me, I couldn't turn it down. Id be lying if I said that a lot of planning went into the shot, it was more fortuitous than skilled, but in terms of inspiration, the light, reflection and textural possibilities certainly played a part.Editing
I kept processing fairly minimal with this shot; the aspect that I fiddled with the most was the contrast levels. I have in the past gotten a bit over-zealous with contrast, for which I entirely blame my love of gothic horror films and their shadowy aesthetics-so I had to make a conscious effort not to overdo it. I upped the levels just enough that it gave the water droplet that extra pop of brightness in contrast to the background.In my camera bag
I never go far with my Sony DSC-HSX60, which is my workhorse, and the most fantastic travelling companion. Being small, it's ideal to take away without drawing the attention of a DSLR setup, but it has a reassuring weight and has fantastic low light capabilities. I also have an array of tripods for different situations, usually favouring my mid sized all rounder, which I use with a shutter release. I have a tremor in my hands, which means that 99% of my photographs ended up blurred until I discovered remote shutter release buttons, and now I go nowhere with one!Feedback
Keep your eyes open. This shot presented itself in the most mundane, everyday environment, but ended up being a photograph that is as exciting as anything I've taken in far flung, exotic locations. Beautiful moments can occur in the smallest, most insignificant things, sometimes all it takes a few seconds to stop and look for them. And don't get so caught up in the technicalities of making the shot perfect that you miss the moment. Sometimes it's worth putting your faith in your equipment, trusting your camera and shooting in the moment.
