Light

At the root of the word photography is the Greek words photos and graphis literally meaning "writing with light". Describing photography as this process of writing with light exposes the essential role of light. Without light there can't be any photographs. It is of the importance of light that it comes essential to understand it.

One of the terms used when referring to light is "Golden light". Golden light is light with a warmer colour that is mostly found early in the morning and late in the afternoon. When I shoot in the morning I try to be at my location and ready to shoot approximately a hour before sunrise till approximately 2-3 hours after sunrise.

In the afternoon I try to be ready to shoot approximately 90 minutes before sunset and I usually shoot till it is to dark to continue.

What about the rest of the day (and night)? That is up to you. If you only have one or two hours a day to shoot, I'll plan it for one of the Golden light sessions of the day. If you have the whole day, then shoot the whole day. Just take into account the differences of light and shadows at different stages of the day. The closer to midday the contrast and shadows becomes harsher and the light is colder. This problems can be overcome to some extent with filters and fill-in flash. This will differ from the summer to winter (when the Golden hours stretch a little longer each day) and from clear days to overcast days. When shooting throughout the whole day, think creatively and try new things.

Night time doesn't inhibit photography completely. There will be enough light around to take interesting photo's. Light trails, star trails etc. Be on the look-out for new possibilities, but remember that during the night shoots a cable release and tripod is absolutely essential.

Beanbags

One of the biggest problems in using bigger lenses is stability. A lack of stability almost in all instances results in soft images that is not suitable for use. One of the many ways to overcome this problems is a good, sturdy tripod. The drawback of these tripods are that they come at some weight expense and if you are hiking or using your car as a hide they become unwieldy. One of the solutions to these drawbacks is a beanbag. A beanbag is a small material bag that is filled with sand, rice, lentils or small stones. The bag can also be made so that the filling substance can be emptied and filled at will. This helps in weight control when hiking or travelling. Advantages of beanbags are that they don't weigh as much, they are smaller and can be used in a variety of situations and closer to the ground than most tripods. This enables you to create interesting photographic angles or get down to the eye-level of birds and insects.

Hides

Information on hides will be posted soon.

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