Available Light

While I have always taken pictures for as long as I can remember, this summer I feel like my Nikon has been virtually glued to my face. I actually feel guilty if I have missed a day of shooting. Every time I pick up the camera, I am learning more about the craft and about myself as a shooter. While I do enjoy some aspects of shooting with artificial light (Strobes and/or hot lights), I do think some of my strongest shots to date have been made possible by good, natural light, in situations where the subjects aren't consciously posing. Case in point, the shot below was taken around 6PM at the Triumph Brewery in New Hope, PA. The light was hitting a huge, frosted window pane that acted like a giant soft box. I love the way it gently outlines my son's features.

CAMERA: Nikon D80

LENS: AF-S DX Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G

APERTURE: 2.8
SHUTTER: 1/125
LIGHTING: Natural
ISO: 200
RETOUCHING: Pushed the contrast a little in the RAW file.
SELF-CRITIQUE: I'm not really sure how to critique this shot. I'm not saying it's perfect, but I like it from both an emotional and a technical standpoint.

The pic below is of my wife and son facing that same big, frosted window. I like how the incandescant lights in the background almost suggest stars and the quality of natural light warms up an already sweet, personal moment.

CAMERA: Nikon D80

LENS: AF-S DX Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G

APERTURE: 2.8
SHUTTER: 1/125
LIGHTING: Natural
ISO: 200
RETOUCHING: Pushed the contrast a little in the RAW file, burned in the t-shirt
SELF-CRITIQUE: Her T-shirt was a little overexposed, so I burned it in a bit in Photoshop. It could probably stand a little more, actually. Color balance could stand a slight correction, perhaps pushing the vibrance/saturation a little.

One more utilizing that amazing window. I really love how it exaggerates the depth of the room:

CAMERA: Nikon D80

LENS: AF-S DX Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G

APERTURE: 2.8
SHUTTER: 1/180
LIGHTING: Natural
ISO: 200
RETOUCHING: Pushed the contrast/brightness a little in the RAW file.
SELF-CRITIQUE: I love it from a technical angle, but emotionally, it's a little flat.

The shot below presented some problems as we were on moving train, which bumped and swayed quite a bit (it was a hot train, too, as evidenced by my sweating subject). I didn't want to use the flash, so I had to keep the shutter open a bit longer, risking tack sharp focus.

CAMERA: Nikon D80

LENS: AF-S DX Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G

APERTURE: 2.0
SHUTTER: 1/125
LIGHTING: Natural
ISO: 200
RETOUCHING: Pushed the contrast/brightness a little in the RAW file. Sharpened the image in Photoshop.
SELF-CRITIQUE: I love it for its emotional content and I think I did a decent job technically considering the conditions, but I could have punched up the ISO a bit while shooting.