Everyday Magic

by Kelly

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. ~Aaron Rose

They don’t call it the magic hour for nothing.

It’s that special, fleeting sixty minutes before the sun sinks down below the horizon.  The light is soft and golden. And it transforms even the most ordinary moments and humble of subjects into something extraordinary.

Wandering the neighborhood, camera in hand, that’s where you can often find me during the golden hour… on my quest to try to capture a little bit of this magic to bring home with me.

During the golden hour, my favorite lighting technique to use is backlight. Turning my lens towards the general direction of the sun, the light fills frame and bathes the whole scene in a soft, hazy glow.

But, if I adjust my position just slightly, rather a having the entire scene evenly lit... now I have a little more shadow but with a thin outline of light, right along the edges of my subject.

Pure magic.

This effect is known as rim light for the way it wraps around and illuminates the edges of the subject with a glowing thread of light.  I love the way it sort traces the outline of a subject and lifts it right off the background. I find it easiest to achieve this look by positioning myself so that the light is coming in from the side of my frame.  Then I will underexpose my shot by one to two stops so as to keep the features of the subject somewhat in the shadows.

The thing to remember with rim lighting is that it’s more about capturing an overall effect rather than capturing the details of the scene.  And because of the high contrast, it's a great technique for adding some drama and mood into your images.

Playing with light.  It inspires me and fills me up in a way that nothing else does.  As always, I thank you for letting me share that with all of you.


Until next time,

Kelly

Everyday :: Joy

by Dotti

When you have a pretty quiet lifestyle, as I do, it’s easy to think that not much happens in your everyday life. You would be very much mistaken. If you pay a bit of attention, you might just find a few things in your day that will bring you joy. Here are ten of mine from the ordinary days of my life last week.

1. Just waking up each morning is a joy. Now – I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not one of those people who bounds out of bed and sprints from the starting gate. No, it probably takes a good ten or fifteen minutes for me to convince myself that I should leave the warm cocoon of my bed and get started on the day. Maya Angelou expressed it so beautifully:

This is a wonderful day. I have never seen this one before.

2. When I walk outside to get the newspaper, I’m greeted by the flowers –

3. and the cacophony of bird song.

4. I do have my morning priorities  –

5. Seeing the white tulips (or some other flower) on my kitchen table always makes my heart sing.

6. Each Tuesday after school, there’s just enough time to go to the 31 flavors place before piano lessons. Joy.

7. There isn’t much that can bring more joy than a day off school, allowing you to spend your day in the company of your eight year old granddaughter.  But there is the icing on the cake –

8. Going out to lunch, after she gets a new hairdo, and realizing that the light is shining on her face ‘just so’ and said granddaughter letting you take her picture. Joy.

9. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we’ve begun feeding the birds in our yard and I get very excited when I can grab my big girl camera, which is always nearby, and get a photo or two of the birds at the bird feeder.

10. And to wrap up this hit parade of things that bring me joy, there is nothing like having children in your life. This past weekend, we were blessed to have two eight year olds in our home when our granddaughter brought one of her friends to visit. There were giggles and lots of silliness – well, all you mothers and grandmothers of girls know what I’m talking about. And the best part is, when they let you take a picture of them being silly and are not at all self-conscious about it.

Now, this picture of their ‘graham cracker salute’ will never win any photo contests but it is guaranteed to bring smiles and warm, fuzzy memories.

Joy. That’s what it’s all about.

I hope you find joy in your day each day and I’d love to have you share some of it with us in our comments. Then your joy will multiply.