The Positive and Negative Sides of a Shot in the Dark
Photography for me is a personal exploration – it doesn’t matter to me that someone has taken a similar shot before if I haven’t tried it myself. Then when I tweak a photo it is almost always about experimentation – not ground breaking new to Photography but useful to me for my personal development. No apologies are necessary for any clichés. For me it is nearly always a Shot in the Dark.
A few nights ago I took the dog for a walk down our lane when I noticed how the grass had grown & sent up shoots. So the next night when it was pitch dark I brought my camera to test how well the X10 flash would perform as I had never used it before.
Framing was a nightmare in the dark even with a torch and Yes the flash worked ok but I normally avoid using flash whenever possible – always a last resort. For me it was a predictable failure but worth a go - the shots left a lot to be desired.
Then I experimented a bit with some shots using Reverse neg – the areas where the flash did not reach and were blacked out suddenly had a lovely haze and depth to them. With a bit of cropping & additional tweaking I started to enjoy myself.
I’ve tried and used reverse neg in the past - it has its uses, but the shots have always been broad daylight conversions whereas the flash has now added another dimension to explore. Best if I use a tripod next time.
Photography for me is a personal exploration – it doesn’t matter to me that someone has taken a similar shot before if I haven’t tried it myself. Then when I tweak a photo it is almost always about experimentation – not ground breaking new to Photography but useful to me for my personal development. No apologies are necessary for any clichés. For me it is nearly always a Shot in the Dark.
A few nights ago I took the dog for a walk down our lane when I noticed how the grass had grown & sent up shoots. So the next night when it was pitch dark I brought my camera to test how well the X10 flash would perform as I had never used it before.
Framing was a nightmare in the dark even with a torch and Yes the flash worked ok but I normally avoid using flash whenever possible – always a last resort. For me it was a predictable failure but worth a go - the shots left a lot to be desired.
Then I experimented a bit with some shots using Reverse neg – the areas where the flash did not reach and were blacked out suddenly had a lovely haze and depth to them. With a bit of cropping & additional tweaking I started to enjoy myself.
I’ve tried and used reverse neg in the past - it has its uses, but the shots have always been broad daylight conversions whereas the flash has now added another dimension to explore. Best if I use a tripod next time.