Back side of the barn
Out taking black and white photos around the property. I love the knurled trunk of the tree but added the barn in the shot. This was early evening in February a...
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Out taking black and white photos around the property. I love the knurled trunk of the tree but added the barn in the shot. This was early evening in February after a thaw with the shadows starting to get long.
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Feb, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in my backyard behind the barn, no place special. I wandered around the property looking for something interesting to photograph. If you look through the camera lens, interesting things pop up you didn’t realize were there.Time
It was taken in early evening before the sunset in February after a thaw. The trees were leafless and the sun was low making long shadows. It was a quick decision to get out and take some pictures before the sun was gone.Lighting
I used the natural light from early evening to capture the texture of the tree and moved around the tree to get the best look, the sun was off my left shoulder. I looked at several angles and sides before deciding on this one. The lighting and angle depends on what image your after. The mood can change with the shift of light angle like from behind to in front.Equipment
I used a Canon Power Shot SX10 with built in zoom and flash, a point and shoot camera. My camera has the ability to shoot manually but I had it set on auto, no tripod used.Inspiration
I love the knuckled tree trunk and was out to take a dramatic picture in b&w. I walked around my property looking for something to photograph and settled on this tree. Because of unwanted background I decided to use the barn to hide the background and shifted the tree to the right and used the shadows to minimize the truck.Editing
I took the picture in b&w the only post processing done was to bump up the contrast to deepen the shadows and darken sky, adding drama.In my camera bag
I carry a Canon SX60 HS with 65X zoom, no need for extra lens or flash since all is built in. I do carry a polarizing lens, extra battery, charger, table top tripod, monopod, empty SD card, lens cleaner, photo transfer adapter to put photos from my camera to my iPad for viewing and sharing. I use my camera mostly for vacation and family gatherings so the less to pack and carry, the better. While traveling by airplane I carry my camera in the carry-on to protect it from rough handling, the other items can be stowed in check luggage. While traveling by car I have a hard case to keep my camera and items safe and secure.Feedback
Once I settled on the subject I almost took a quick picture without thinking about the background. Checking the background is just as important as the foreground, I didn’t want the house and cars stealing attention away the scene. The barn hid all the unwanted “junk” so the next thing was to add some drama to the bland tree and barn picture. I played with the angle and ended up crouching to shoot upward adding the cloudy sky and reached what I envisioned. Take pictures from different angles and sides to help with decisions and critique them to help take better photos. I look at magazine photos and analyze what attracts me to it, what stands out and try to duplicate the principles. Envision your photo enlarged and hung on a wall, is this something you would put on your wall? If not what can you do to improve it? This picture does grace my wall at home.
