Friday, December 13, 2013

Light - A Personal Photography Challenge


Donna, from Cottage Days and Journeys, has another blog where she posts a monthly photography challenge. It's fun, can be frustrating, and is always a learning experience.
This month's challenge was light. Well. It was extremely frustrating for me to not take the photos I envisioned in my head.  I did learn a lot, so it's not entirely a washup. I chose to focus on trying to capture candlelight. Sigh. It's so romantic.
 

 For this photograph, I wanted to highlight indirect light. I used my tripod, set my camera to a long exposure, and had all the lights out except for candles on the mantel. The candles is off scene, but the light glows against the angels. I had to sharpen the photo a bit because even with a tripod, the photo was a little blurred. 


This was just serendipitous. I was shooting while standing on a dining room chair, in macro mode to focus on the pearl garland. I like the capture of the lights from the Nativity Set in the background. 
 

Candles in a row on the table. The matching pinpoints of light on the edges of the tart pans occurred happily unplanned. This was also in macro mode. Other than the first photo, I wouldn't know how to reproduce these effects. 

Check out the posts at Donna's Photography Challenge Blog to see what others have learned about capturing light.
 

27 comments:

  1. Love the candles in a row shot!

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  2. I like them all, Lorrie. Good for you for pushing yourself here!

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  3. I like the angels with the side lit candlelight and the candles in a row are pretty. The pearl garland is my favourite with the little lights in view below.

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  4. You get extra points for honesty, LOL! Yes, the challenges can sometimes be frustrating. (For me too.) But if they were all easy, how would we ever learn? You used side lighting on the first one, and I can see the light and shadow play along their dresses. It is a lovely scene. A bump in post-processing contrast would greaten the light-dark effect. I thought the composition of the pearl garland was rather inspired! What a terrific perspective, with the candle glow off on the sideboard and light reflections bouncing off of the pearls. And I really like the last one the best because the of the strong diagonal composition and subject repetition. As always, thank you for joining in the challenge! Next month is basically another lesson in light because the subject is shadow play. And you can't have shadows without light!

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  5. Candlelight is so beautiful on these dark evenings that come so early. It's welcoming and you did a great job of capturing the light. I love the candles in a row, too. They would make a pretty banner. Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!

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  6. Pretty light photos. The reflection on the pearls is lovely. Like the last the best and it might be because I line up candles on my table in the same way. There is nothing more beautiful than candlelight on a table, IMHO.

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  7. The bokeh effect is always a lovely thing to me. I can't always duplicate it when I want to either. I would be hard pressed to say which photo I like best. I like the angels a lot because they are beautiful in and of themselves and the side candle light makes them even more lovely. It would probably come down to those candles on the table for the points of light and the points of reflection in that wonderful diagonal.

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  8. These are all pretty Lorrie. I especially love the last one of the tea light tarts. So pretty with the first one in focus and the rest blurred. Beautiful photos!

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  9. Very nice. I like the middle photo best. The candles by the nativity are pretty, but there's also a lot of reflection off the pearl garland.

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  10. I think you did a fine job with this challenge. All of your photos are beautifully enhanced by light. But that middle one...so lovely! The shimmering pearls, the bokeh coming from the nativity, and the pops of red offer a pretty contrast!

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  11. You did really well, and have gotten some creative and unique shots. I love the way you shot the pearls with the lights behind them.

    Jen

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  12. Pretty...in the candlelight...all of them.

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  13. Beautiful photos. Off to check out the others! Thanks!

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  14. Each of the photos are great - I love the tart pans with the dots of light.

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  15. Lovely!
    I had hoped there would be some wonderful Christmas decorations in this challenge.
    Thank you. I really enjoyed your photos.

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  16. Oh! You did a Terrific job!! Love the side lighting! Feels Christmasy in here...
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  17. So beautiful! These capture that richer, if quieter, side of the season, away from the glitter and the crowds.

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  18. A successful attempt. I love your angels, such delightful ornaments. I expect they come out of their box every year?

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  19. Lovely photos Lorrie! My fav is the first one- what beautiful angels! Love the soft light on their skirts.

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  20. I like the glow of candlelight. It sets a peaceful mood, as shown so beautifully in your photos. As an aside, I served your rugelach to a friend yesterday and she thought they were fabulous!

    -Karen

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  21. Each shot is beautiful, but my favorite is the row of candles. Bravo!

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  22. your photos are gorgeous. great compositions. love them.

    Ruthi

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  23. Sometimes I get a shot I didn't even expect and it is often better than what I was going for. I did several with candles but did not get what I wanted. It is fun to keep trying however. Love the macro of the candles.

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  24. I just visited Shane's posting on light and now here. I love the light you show, especially the candles in the tart tins.

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  25. Just stunning Lorrie - I can't choose - I love those angels - but then the tea lights in the tart tins is a stunner too,
    It was such a fun assignment!
    Hugs
    Shane

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  26. Just stunning Lorrie - I can't choose - I love those angels - but then the tea lights in the tart tins is a stunner too,
    It was such a fun assignment!
    Hugs
    Shane

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  27. Love the candle photo...these are great shots. Enjoy your day!

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