Creative Lighting Portraiture

A photographer is traditionally taught to expose their subject and the backgound correctly so that the entire image has no over or underexposed areas. When they join their local photography club their images are generally judged according to these technical aspects and should areas be not correctly exposed, their images are marked down. Yes, these images are nice but the creativity is sometimes stifled. 

I have been recently teaching photographers to break out of this mold and to be creative with their images. This includes using only the natural available light and lo and behold, to also shoot into the light. This technique will most definitely render their images technically incorrect in club terms but oh wow, the results can be very different and creative. The subject is wrapped with light, often causing a haze and some very warm colours. 

Exposure is achieved  by exposing for the subjects and then the backgrounds would in most cases be overexposed. Wide apertures are used to cause the light to be more washy as well as by making the backgrounds out of focus causing the subject to really stand out. The trick is also not to shoot directly into the sun as this will cause lens flare and too much of a contrast. Post processing will also enhance the look and by carefully selecting white balance controls, the colours can be creatively enhanced.

The first workshop was held in KZN and we had the beautiful Roxy and Cassel modeling for us.

Some images from this workshop.

The Beautiful Roxy

The Lovely Cassel

A few weeks later I held a similar workshop in Gauteng. With the crime being more prevailent in Gauteng, I was a bit wary to hold the workshop in some open field. I subsequently obtained permission from Huddle Park Golf Course and we were allowed to shoot on an unused area of the course. The entire course is fenced and has security guards so off we went and were able to shoot in reasonable safety.

For this workshop the Beautiful red haired Tanya and the couple Ro-byn and John were happy to pose for the group. I must also make mention of the fact that John is amongst the tallest men I have ever met, measuring in at 6ft9 and Ro-byn is just about 5ft. :)

Tanya

The very much in love Ro-byn and John

Slangkop Lighthouse at Kommetjie, Western Provence

I recently spent some time in and around Cape Town and on one cloudy afternoon found myself heading south towards the small town of Kommetjie.

Kommetjie (Afrikaans for "small basin"),  lies about halfway down the west coast of the Cape Peninsula at the southern end of the long wide beach that runs northwards towards Chapman's Peak and Noordhoek. The village is situated around a small, natural and rocky inlet that resembles a basin. The area is a popular spot for surfing because of the powerful waves from the Atlantic Ocean that rise up over rocky reefs formed by hard sandstones of the Table Mountain Group. I ventured on to the Southern part of the town and followed the sign boards to the Slangkop Lightouse. The clouds were very heavy and I was imagining the dramatic images that I might be able to capture. I parked and headed over the wooden walkway towards the sea side of the lighthouse and I had timed it perfectly. The tide was out!

Now Slangkop is the tallest cast-iron tower on the South African coast. It was installed on the 4th March 1919 and stands 33 metres high. The tower looks out over the surfers, fisherman and divers and over the years it has served its purpose steering ships around the dangerous rocks and hidden reefs. Slangkop was established as a result of a commission appointed on 29 September 1906 by His Excellency, the Honourable Sir Francis Hely Hutchinson, Governor of the Cape of Good Hope.
The height of the focal plane is 41 metres above sea level and the light has a range of 33 sea miles and has four flashes every 30 seconds. The lighthouse is now fully automatic and receives its electricity supply from Cape Town Municipality and has a standby diesel alternator in event of a break in the mains supply (or Eskom loadshedding)

I navigated down the rockery slope and onto the rock bed (which might I add was exceptionally slippery, leaving me finding myself smack onto my butt a few times). There was a lovely contrast of colours between the colours of the rocks, the green moss like growth and the reflections of patches of blue sky in the water puddles. I set the tripod up and started shooting, often changing positions for different viewpoints and compositions.

The light was constantly changing due to the movement of the clouds and being close to sunset, the colours were changing as well. No two images were going to be the same.

After I had captured enough images I went back up to the wooden walkway and the light had changed quite dramatically again.

In between the lighthouse shooting the sun had set and I had turned and managed an image or two.

I stopped for one last lighthouse image on my way to the car park to round off a very successful afternoon.

Cape Town - Out in the country

I  have been fortunate to spend a bit of time out and around the surrounds of Cape Town. I ideally wanted to photograph the Canola fields in full flower but my visit was a little early. I did manage to photograph a field or two but enjoyed the outdoors and fresh air away from smoggy Johannesburg more than anything else.

Canola was developed through conventional plant breeding from rapeseed, an oilseed plant used in ancient civilization as a fuel. The word "rape" in rapeseed comes from the Latin word rapum meaning turnip. Turnip, rutabaga, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, mustard and many other vegetables are related to the two natural canola varieties commonly grown. Canola oil is then made at a processing facility by slightly heating and then crushing the seed.

Canola field in the distance. The yellow colour quite striking.

A colour mache of the green Canola plant with the yellow flower.

Beautiful skies over the Canola field

The wind farm on the West Coast

Magical sunset skies over the green countryside

The more traditional vineyards of the countryside

 

In memory of all those that have served and answered the call of the sunset.

Sunset Calls

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,and in the morning.

We will remember them 

Today would of been my fathers birthday. Born on the 9th July 1920 in Tarkastad in the Cape province, he lived through many advances and changes that the world has experienced over the last century. The most profound event that influenced and shaped his adult life was his military service during the 2nd World War. From the scorching North African Desert to the bitter cold climate of Europe under most pressing circumstances, these events would dominate his life to the extent that even many years after his discharge, he was still a soldier at heart. I grew up hearing war stories and experiences that he had gone through that I must admit, must of been terrifying for any young man. Things like lying in a bed in a tent on a temporary airforce base whilst the Stuka bombers are dive bombing the base, not knowing if the next bomb will land on you or not. Many different events like this that I fortunately never had to experience and I wish for my son to never have to live through.

Driving home I wondered what image I could capture that could serve as a worthy image that I could dedicate to my father on what would of been his 93rd birthday. It suddenly dawned on me... the memorial at the M.O.T.H.'s Dickie Fritz Shellhole in Edenvale. They have a Lockheed Ventura and a Puma helicoptor as well as some canons and a tank.

When a soldier passes, it is referred to as the sunset call and what a more appropriate image would it be if I could capture the Ventura with the sun setting close by. I raced down to the Shellhole, quickly obtained permission to shoot some images and managed a few shots before the light was gone.

In memory of you on your birthday dad. Happy Birthday.

Kelvin Power Station - Johannesburg electrical life line.

For most of my years growing up where I did, Kelvin Power Station could often be seen from a distance during our daily travels. This massive building with it's even more massive cooling towers bellowing steam into the Highveld air.

Kelvin, a coal fired power station, is one of only a few power stations in South Africa not owned by Eskom. Until 2000 the power station was the property of the City of Johannesburg, but it has since been privatized and bought by a consortium of owners.

I ventured a bit closer tonight to see if I could maybe get an image or two. This in itself was not an easy task. Between all the industry and buildings in the close proximity of the power station and the ugly fences around the place, I took to climbing some serious embankments, grappling over railway bridges but managed to get a nearly unrestricted view of my subject. I was on edge due to the large amount of vagrants around and shot as quickly as I could. I would of liked to stay a little longer but that would of compromised my safety.

My lens was not wide enough and I wanted to get it all in including the sunset so there is slight distortion on the towers.

The sun setting at the end of the railway line.

The sun nearly gone.

Agulhas, Southernmost point of Africa

Most people seem to think that Cape Point is the southernmost point of Africa and whilst it is pretty much down south, the true southernmost point is about 2 hours drive and 170km from Cape Town at a place called Agulhas. This is the place where the Indian and Atlantic ocean meet and the true most southern point of our continent.

The waters are treacherous with many ships recorded wrecked over the many years. The conflicting currents of water of different densities and the west winds blowing against the Agulhas Current, can create extremely hazardous wave conditions; these are further exacerbated by the shallow waters of the Agulhas Bank, a broad, shallow part of the continental shelf which juts 250 kilometres south from the cape, after which it falls steeply away to the abyssal plain.

The lighthouse was built in 1848 to warn the passing ships of the dangers.

The Meisho Maru 38, ran aground between Suiderstrand and Cape L'Agulhas on 16 November 1982. The ship had 240 tons of frozen tuna aboard. During a storm on 31 August 2008 the ship was turned around in heavy seas.

Beautiful sunsets can be experienced from this area.