Today–well last night really–Dave Delnea released his much anticipated eBook through the Craft & Vision store. Titled Below The Horizon, Understanding Light at the Edges of Day, this eBook will get you excited about shooting when no-one’s around at first light or when most people have packed up and headed home after the sun’s gone down. Just between us, that’s very appealing to me as I’m not one for crowds and the peace and quiet of shooting at these times of day suits me fine.
I’m also not one to write reviews on books but rather I like to share what I find useful in what I am reading, and there’s lots here. If you are a detail person and like to see actual examples of applied techniques, you won’t be disappointed. Dave goes through the qualities of light with multiple images taken at various times and you can study what makes the difference. I liked the balance of technical information reflected in text and visual information provided through the images. Dave’s style of writing and teaching actually reminds me a little of Bryan Peterson so if you enjoyed his books, I think you might like this one.
In a previous post I mentioned that I learn best when I have a more complete experience that includes both practical and reflective learning. Usually I read first and then go out and shoot but not this time. I shot this image while in Kenya at one of my favourite stops, the Samburu Lodge and I now wish I could go back and do it again. There a number of things that can be improved but I take heart with what Dave writes on page 28:
The real kicker is that often you’ll put in all that effort and feel like you’ve come up short. You look at the files from on the computer and all the mistakes you made jump off the screen at you. The best shot of the night will be lost to motion blur, or you thought you’d focused on infinity but you were just off and everything is soft. Get used to these failures. In fact, embrace them, pursue them. These so-called failures mean: 1. You’re learning. 2. You’re developing a critical eye.
Why not take advantage of the 20% discount this weekend offered through David duChemin’s blog and once you’ve read Dave’s eBook, come back here with your ideas on how to improve my image. While I do have a few ideas of my own, I always appreciate your comments as they help me learn and grow.
P.S. March 1st: I’ve realized the key element that would have made the world of difference to this image is the time that it was taken. There is a considerably better version of this over on David duChemin’s blog on his February 14th post. It is the third last image on his slideshow. On page 10 of Dave Delnea’s eBook, he writes about “the second window…between civil twilight until nautical twilight”. I missed this window by just minutes. David duChemin’s image was taken 10 minutes before mine and that’s why timing the light is so important to getting the shot. Had I created this image within the second window, I would have been able to take advantage of the artifical lighting around the pool and the trees would not be silhoutted. As Dave Delnea writes “this window closes quickly so the more prepared you can be for the shot, the better.”
I really enjoyed Dave’s book as well. Good, solid advice from an amazing photographer. I agree with the quote you pulled – I’ve run into that a lot and beat myself up for it, but then I learn, and learn, and learn.
Your image at the top is nice, and even though I’m not a huge fan of the method, I think this one could’ve used some exposure blending (HDR) to bring out a bit of detail in the dark areas.
I’m really loving your blog!
Mark
I definitely agree with Mark’s last comment, Sabrina. I think you’ve kicked your blog up a notch in the last few months. Maybe it was the Bryan Peterson workshop—certainly the trip to Africa—but I think it was the “Follow Your Heart” post. Since that article, you’ve really been thinking hard about your journey and doing an excellent job of putting that into words. In other words, following your heart.
As Jeffrey Chapman said on another post, yours is on my “check daily” blog list. Keep up the great work.
Without dark there is no light. Is it failure or learning? Great post Sabrina and I have had you on the check daily list since first discovery. The combination of eloquent writing and photographic vision is rare and something to cherish and I for one am pleased you share the combination as often as you can.
I agree with you on the early morning shoot, nothing like the light at the break of day, and pretty sure most of us will have early morning all to ourselves.
Thanks for the comments about my blog! I’ve enjoyed writing on a daily basis even if it is a challenge to write something mildly profound
Mark, I agree with you on exposure blending. I learnt how to do it when learning about HDR but haven’t used it since then.
Ray, I never thought to take this shot in the morning light, now you have me wondering what it might have looked like.