Hither or thither?
This was shot with a Canon EOS 30D and a 70-200 mm lens at F2.8 with a 1.4 converter.
This was shot with a Nikon D70, Sigma 18-50 mm at f2.8.
These photos can teach us valuable lessons on correct exposure at sunset and sunrise. Both were taken from shaded positions, with sunlight partially illuminating the background. In these conditions you must decide whether to expose correctly for the background, the foreground, or somewhere in-between.
Boteti sunset
NEIL WRITES: “I took this picture at Leroo-la-Tau (‘footprints of lions’) on the Boteti River in Botswana, where 750 000 wildebeest and zebra migrate to in the dry season. It’s a brilliant place for iconic African scenes. “My exposure was 1/160 at f4. I took a light reading on the foreground, and underexposed two-thirds of a stop to retain some colour in the warm areas.”
TOAST SAYS: I hardly saw any game during my visit to Leroo-la-Tau years ago, but it was the wrong
time of year. At night, the lions roared the creosote off the front porch, though, and large tracks littered the sand around us the next morning.
Just look at the lighting difficulties here: The area around the water hole is already quite dark (exactly where the main subjects – the zebras – are), but the river bank in the back is still bathed in the heavy, liquid-like red of the sunset.
If Neil decided to expose the foreground correctly, the background would’ve been overexposed, but by sacrificing a third of a stop, he has ensured that there is still enough light on the subjects and that the river bank retains some detail.
Good work!
Sunrise, Drakensberg Garden
MARIUS WRITES: “I used a graduated neutral-density filter and polariser for this landscape shot. It was seven in the morning, and it was freezing!”
TOAST SAYS: No kidding, Marius! Judging by the snow on the slopes, I can imagine how cold it must have been.
In contrast to Neil’s photo, there is no obvious subject in this one – it would have been a different story had there been people or horses somewhere on the bridge or on the golf course, or ducks on the water hazard in the foreground. The bridge is certainly a main point of interest – it draws you into the landscape – but it wouldn’t have been a train smash if it were underexposed by a stop or two.
Marius did what Neil did, because he wanted to retain the textures of the cold, yellow foreground without neglecting that supernatural colour on the mountains. And it worked! In lighting conditions such as these, it’s a good idea to over- and underexpose by a stop or two, and then check which gives you the best results.
The polariser must have helped to make the sky a bit bluer, but it wasn’t overdone. You know what would’ve rounded off the photo nicely? Gary Player in black on the “green”.
It’s a great landscape, with skilful attention to lighting.
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