Working a Scene

 

 

On my workshops I will often tell participants to work the scene.  In other words, spend time with it, look at it through the eyes of various focal lengths and maybe most importantly, look at the scene from different sight-lines.  Don't just look at scenes from your height.

I spent a weekend up in the Adirondacks of New York shooting at several locations.  But it was one location, a small country church, that I kept coming back to for about an hour or so a day for three consecutive days. I spent a lot of time looking and working the scene.

Anyone who has shot at a location many times knows it can get difficult finding something new to shoot.  This church is one such location for me.  I've gone through some creative droughts with this spot but I still find myself visiting it.  On this occasion, I happened to see the 'chairs' in a new way.  They were working for me, now it was time for me to work them. 

The late afternoon light was falling in from the open front door which faces west.  It was partly cloudy out and though the light was fairly strong, it was still flat.  I saw the way the light fell on the seats (below) and was also intrigued by the way the light contrasted with the dark areas.  Ultimately it was the texture of the seats and their look that attracted me to taking this image.  These were long 15 and 20 second exposures shot at f/22.

 

 

 The image to my left was composed and shot a little while later.  The light had shifted and this composition came about because of the highlights on the top of the chairs. 

Shooting digitally allowed me to bring out the darker shadow areas better than any scan I could have achieved on my own.  When shooting Velvia, I would have probably avoided this scene in the past knowing that the shadow areas would just block up more than I would like.

The vertical approach is another angle I harp on.  Horizontal is a great angle but verticals will often lead to their own unique perspectives.

Again, this was shot in the 15 - 20 second range at f/22. 

 

My second session at the church was also in the afternoon.  This time the light was warmer and stronger as it was a partly cloudy day with large patches of puffy white clouds.  I worked over several scenes, but shots weren't coming to me in a manner that suited my tastes.  Light shifted from flat to sharp, with plenty of in-betweens.  I walked up and down the isle looking, when I spotted the backlight on the chairs and the light play on a whole section of chairs.  The shot below is an attempt to reveal that subtle play of light from bright to shadow, while highlighting the backlight.  By spot metering the bright areas, I was better able to control its exposure.  Again, digital is more forgiving than slide film and I was pleased by the way my camera (Minolta 7D) was able to control the varied light values.

 

 

 

This kind of light came and went and after shooting a few exposures I decided to go to the other end of the church and see what that side looked like (below) when the same kind of light flowed in.  Again, metering the highlights, I slightly overexposed them knowing the digital latitude could handle it well.

 

 

As I continued to walk around the church, I shot a few more variations of setups that were ok but weren't sparking my creativity.  I decided I needed to get closer and examine light play on more intimate aspects of my subjects.

The shot to the right is an example of how I was trying to capture the way light was playing on portions of a subject.  The warm light illuminated the upper part of the side of this wooden chair.  The backlight and rim highlights helped define the shape.  The gradient shadow area helps define the depth and still reveal nice detail in these rustic seats.

As before with the other images with highlights, I metered them and bracketed.

 

I will often walk away from scenes or turn around on purpose to see other angles. This gives my brain a break and a fresh perspective.  This method sometimes will produce a new way of looking at an object or finding a new subject altogether.  When I stood up and walked away this time, I stepped back into the isle and walked about 15 feet away.  I looked at the other side of the church where more even light was falling.  The chairs themselves became symmetrical, forming a nice pattern.  When I finished with my setup, I then worked on this new approach.  The exposure was easier this time, and I once again choose an aperture of 22 to maximize my depth.

 

 

Shortly after taking this image, I left to go to another location and shoot other things.  I was coming back, but this time I wanted to see what this place looked like in the morning light.

The next day was another partly cloudy day with nice warm light.  I had been out shooting wildflowers along the roadside for a good portion of the morning.  After stopping for some coffee I headed back over to the church.  Now the light was coming in through the stained glass windows.  The light seemed more selective here. 

I shot a number of shots of the way the light fell on the front parts of the chair but nothing exciting was coming to me.  After stepping away and taking a few sips of coffee, I noticed a Bible on the pulpit.  I took it down and placed it on the chair.  The first shot of this piece, at the top of the page, is what I first shot.

The image below is another shot from a different angle.

 

 

Once again, I had to shoot a vertical image.  I turned the Bible a little and you can see the harsh light on the pages.  I tried to tone it down as much as I could without it looking too off. 

The lone chair and the Bible works different than the others.  The isolated feel of this particular image is somewhat offset by the way the Bible seemingly jumps off from the rest of the image while still being a very integral part of it. 

 

When looking at scenes, often times we shoot the first shot that grabs our attention.  Sometimes it is the best one.  Other times, however, we miss golden opportunities to really explore a subjects potential.  Being able to see subjects beyond an initial impression is what will help unlock creative approaches and possibilities.  As a photographer and or as an artist, seeing and working scenes in different ways can pay huge dividends.  This isn't only true for the present moment of creating a shot but in being able to see the varied potentials of shots that you still haven't shot in the future.