A bench and a bee...

A misty start to the day; and to me the opportunity to shoot something atmospheric under nature's giant soft box. I'm on the cliff top of Southbourne, near Bournemouth, looking for bold shapes, but using the heavily diffused light to give the impression of depth and something uniquely moody. I am having to work quickly as the sun its threatening to burn through the low cloud, ruining the effect, and I plump for a bench and two cliff top shelters before it is too late.

This kind of light has the habit of removing colour from a scene, so I decide upon a black and white conversion once I have chosen the best shot.
It is shortly after that I take the second shot of a bee on a flower. The mist has almost completely dissipated, but the light is still soft enough to give flat, even tones throughout the frame. Had the sun been shining directly onto the subject - it would have been at that time of day - then deep shadow and high contrast would have lessened the effect. Two very different images shot under similar light within minutes of each other; the first using atmospheric perspective and the second one in close for colour saturation and detail.


50mm f/1.8 AF Nikkor.

Top: 1/1500 second at f/4. - 0.33 EV compensation.
Left: 1/3000 second at f/2. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200 for both images


© 2012