There are a dozen or so technical terms for natural lighting but I’m still a suck it and see kind of photographer. One afternoon last summer, at a Cornish bay, I saw the small boat sail across (it reminded me of “Pascali’s Island” but that is another matter and a much more colourful scene). At the time I had the camera setting in monochrome but as I was shooting into the sun it added a certain drama to the scene whilst silvering the sea rather how I imagine nitrate on old film.
Switching to manual mode, from the same viewpoint the colours are leached which I rather like especially as the day was so vibrantly saturated everywhere. Of course by then the boat had gone but I rather like an empty horizon.
This unedifying image of my local recreation ground, shot with iPhone, is made much more interesting because of the low side-lit sun of a summer day, offering up several tones of green and long shadows.
I’m a sucker for the leafy walkways with the sun shining as side light and throwing a myriad shadows and highlights glowing in the spaces. Sometimes of course the glow becomes too much of a white-out and I had to tone the highlights down a bit, post camera. Probably a lens hood would have helped here, but I had not brought it!
In this simple portrait of side-lit beech leaves, the deep shadowed background set off the contours of foliage right down to the tiny holes of insect damage.
Invariably I’m out with camera at the least desirable times of day, especially mid-afternoon but this time in London’s St James’ park, it was still morning and the light had all the glory of an early winter day.
And over by the lake, the waters gave an added reflective glow to the side-lighting.
I'm joining Amy's Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Natural Light.
PoetryPix 
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