Image: Su Leslie 2021
light
Natural light
The last of the day, Murrays Bay, Auckland. Su Leslie
What makes photography a strange invention is that its primary raw materials are light and time.
John Berger
Light and shade; colour and texture. Male Hamadryas baboon, Auckland Zoo. Image: Su Leslie
Hints of sunset, Muriwai beach. Image: Su Leslie
Photos have no narrative content. They only describe light on surface.
Garry Winogrand
Back-lighting illuminates shape and detail. Image: Image: Su Leslie
The moment you take the leap of understanding to realize you are not photographing a subject but are photographing light is when you have control over the medium.
Daryl Benson
I definitely don’t feel in control, but the more photographs I take, the more I have come to understand the wisdom of the quotes above.
Back-lighting reveals colour and clarity. Image: Su Leslie
Water adds a new element and changes the quality of light: Image: Su Leslie
Water adds a new element and changes the quality of light; wet tarmac. Image: Su Leslie
Morning mist; and the world seems flat. Image: Su Leslie
Storm night. Image: Su Leslie
Morning light, hotel room, Wellington, NZ. Image: Su Leslie
Image: Su Leslie
The only photographer I will compare myself to is the one I used to be.
Emma Davies
Shaping the image in my memory
Waiting for rain, Highway 22, Waikato, NZ. Image: Su Leslie 2020“Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships!” — Ansel Adams
It’s Sunday evening and we’re driving through drought-struck farmland in the north-west Waikato. Rain clouds have flirted shamelessly with the skyline all day, but the land remains parched and disappointed.
Rounding a corner, we see a distant hill quite dramatically lit by low sunshine breaking through the clouds. It’s beautiful and stark and emphasizes how dry the land has become.
T stops the car. I hop out and wade through long, brittle grass. As I’m fiddling with the camera, a police car stops to check that we’re ok and that the car hasn’t broken down on this very quiet stretch of road. T assures him we’re fine and I wave my camera ineffectually to establish my bona fide. He nods and zooms off — possibly a tad faster than might be strictly legal. But I suppose there have to be some compensations for patrolling country roads on a Sunday night.
When we finally get home (after quite a few more photo stops), I download the images. “Cop-stop hill” is too dark and doesn’t have the contrast I remember, but the bones of the shot are good and all the pixels I need are there, just waiting to be tweaked.
Thank goodness for PhotoShop.
And for Debbie at Travel with Intent, whose weekly quote challenge gave me the perfect excuse to tell you the story of this image.
Light
Image: Su Leslie 2019
I’m so happy with the texture of my newly-baked loaf. Held up to the light, you can see the little gas pockets that made it light and airy.
One Word Sunday | light. Hosted by Debbie at Travel with Intent
Note to self …
“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.” –– Tecumseh
And perhaps more importantly I guess, is giving thanks that I have those things to be thankful for.
The dying of the light
Evening walk; Mairangi Bay, Auckland. Image: Su Leslie 2019. Click on image to enlarge.
A rent in the darkness
Lighting the ordinary
Evening light on Lake Rotorua and Kawaha Point, Rotorua, NZ. Image: Su Leslie 2016
“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” – Aaron Rose
Pipi shells on a beach. Image: Su Leslie 2017
Posted to Lens-Artists Photo Challenge | magical light
“But soft! What light …”
Early morning, Luckens Reserve, West Harbour, Auckland, NZ. Su Leslie 2018
Early morning mists create wonderful soft light and I’m lucky to live in an area that still has some tall trees to silhouette against the lightening sky.
The post title comes from the famous balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet. Though of course, Romeo was using “soft” as an exclamation, and was certainly more interested in wooing Juliet than any quality of the light around them.
Sunrise, sunset: quiet moments of reflection
Today both sunrise and sunset delivered moments of gorgeous light to my garden. Shame the hours in between were so grey.
Shared to Debbie’s Six Word Saturday at Travel with Intent.
