It All Depends On Where You Stand

Access Hatch, Corbett Avenue in San Francisco. April 20, 2020

I know this image isn't sharply focused. I wasn't paying attention to the focus peaking highlights on the back LCD. The camera was held unsupported at waist level. I had no idea it would be a Pulitzer Prize contender.

It's been about three weeks of attempting to make photographs while doing my sanity-maintaining morning walks. I think I've photographed every blooming flower and bush on Corbett Avenue, and today I had to look for something different.

Vine Cuttings, Romaine Street in San Francisco. April 20, 2020

For the moment, I was more interested in finding some interesting cloud patterns, which I found in the sky behind these clipped ivy vines entangled in the wire fence. I bracketed the shot (made several shots at different exposure times) for comparison during post production. In the end, I chose the first exposure because it revealed a tiny bit of magenta in the flowers at the base of the vine. A small amount of burning and dodging finished to photo. All of the shots I've made for this series of posts have been done in Aperture Priority. Variations were made using the Exposure Compensation dial conveniently located under my thumb when the camera is held at eye level.

House Number, Grand View Terrace. April 20, 2020

The Value Of Shadows: I walked past this carved wood house number, and despite the near lack of detail, made a quick photograph. The sky was clouded over, any light that was available would be extremely diffuse. At first glance, the image should have been shadowless, or nearly so.

When I previewed the image, I could see that there were indeed shadows, and to top it off, I could easily see that it was coming from high above. Curious, I approached the number from the opposite side, just to see I the numbers could be rendered in greater depth.

As you can see from the second image, changing position allowed me photograph the very shadows that I couldn't see from my previous shooting position. 

House Number, Grand View Terrace. April 20, 2020

Having seen the difference in the two positions, I'll remember that a change in position can often change the appearance of the final image, especially when shadows are involved. I could have played with the exposure in post production if I needed the numbers to really "pop", but I found that this simple experiment was a real eye-opener, so far as observing the effects of existing light was concerned. While the number "277" has no special significance to me, the photographic process that brought me to this point does.

Garden Statue, Corbin Stairs in San Francisco. April 17, 2020

It turns out that this was not my first opportunity to work with subtle shadows created by large, diffuse light sources like those I encounter on my morning walks. The Garden Statue taken days before would have no detail whatsoever unless something, in this case the dark soil foreground, prevented light from flooding the shadows. In this case, the shadows were enhanced by the reduction of light, courtesy of those dark surroundings.