Light Through the Day - Stills

This was taken at 04:00, just before sunrise. There is a definite warm cast to this even though WB was set to auto. This is due to the fluorescent lights which operate during the night.

This was taken at 04:30, so in the space of half an hour, the sun has risen and the artificial lighting is off to produce a much cooler image. the sun rises on the opposite side of the house from where these pictures were taken, so the light is quite subdued here.

This one was taken at 06:30. The sun is higher in the sky and is now casting shadows on this side of the house and the image has a warmer tone overall.

At 08:00 the light is flatter and softer and the shadows have started to diminished.

This was at 09:00. There is less contrast, and the colours of the clothing in the opposite garden appear less saturated. The sky looks better here because the clouds have cleared.

At 11:00 there is even less contrast as the sun is higher in the sky and the clouds have reappeared, which will soften the light even further.

At 12:00 the image is completely washed out and looks overexposed, as expected. The lack of directional light makes this a less than ideal time for colour photography, but very suitable for infrared photography.

Just an hour later at 13:00, though still overexposed, there is a slight improvement on the previous image in terms of contrast.

At 15:00 the scene is very blue and very flat due to soft lighting.

At 16:30 there are still several clouds in the sky, but the angle of the sun is sufficient enough to create glare in the upstairs bedroom windows.

At 18:00 this is the point at which the sun is at is most fierce in the rooms on the ground floor, and would be creating glare in those windows.

At 20:30 the sun is temporarily obscured by a the tree which is just visible in the top left of the frame. This is an example of how readily our eyes adapt to changing light levels because I have never been aware of the significant differential in light intensity at this time of the day.

 Light is restored at 21:00 though it is darkening when compared with the scene at 18:00.

The cycle is complete at 22:00 as the sun begins to set and the warm glow reappears.

What have I learned?

I really enjoyed this exercise, it was very interesting. I think that the ability to use available light effectively is one of the characteristics separating good photographers from great photographers.

To be able to see the numerous effects that available light has on contrast, colour temperature, saturation and brightness was insightful. This has helped me enormously.