OTHER LIGHT SOURCES
The sun is not the only light source you can use for this idea of shooting a subject against a round background light. Any out-of-focus light source will perform in the same manner: flashlights, matches, porch lights, headlights, taillights, bright sunlight reflecting off of rivers and streams, even Christmas lights.
To better familiarize yourself with this optical phenomenon, try the same exercise that I have my students do. You’ll need a macro lens or a zoom lens in combination with an extension tube on your camera. Get a flashlight, place your camera on one end of a table, and dim the room lights. Turn the flashlight on, and lay it down on the other end of the table, pointing toward the camera. Get a fork and place it on its side about 3 to 4 inches from the lens. Focus on the tines of the fork. What do you notice in your viewfinder? You should see the perfectly focused tines against an out-of-focus ball of light. As with specular highlights, if you want to record that ball of light as circular, you must set your aperture to wide open; if, on the other hand, you wish to record hexagonal shapes, you can use any other aperture than wide open.
SHOOT THE “MOON”: A GOOD USE FOR WHITE BALANCE
I haven’t discussed the issue of white balance (WB) as yet, nor do I intend to make it an important part of this book since, in my view, the issue of WB is very overrated and does not merit the thorough discussion it once might have. Most, if not all, shooters have come to realize the value and importance of shooting raw files. So, most shooters know that they can tweak—if not change dramatically—their WB in postprocessing. The bottom line for me is this: I opt for the Cloudy WB setting in the camera, as I like a bit more color in my images and the Cloudy setting adds warmth. However, if after loading my work into the computer I feel an image here or there needs to be a bit cooler (or perhaps a bit warmer), I can always tweak the WB at that time.
In addition, when I’m out shooting city scenes at dusk, I will first shoot several exposures with my WB set to Cloudy and then several more with it set to Tungsten. Tungsten WB is much cooler, much bluer, than Cloudy WB. Plus, most city lights are closer in their natural color (white) to the Tungsten WB setting than they are to Cloudy, which often renders these same city lights a yellow-orange.
With all this—plus out-of-focus circles of light—in mind, the idea of changing my WB from Cloudy to Tungsten occurred to me when I was recently photographing the sunrise through a dew-laden dandelion. In the first example (below), it’s clear that this is an out-of-focus ball of light shot either at sunrise or sunset. We come to that conclusion based on the warmth of the light. Yet, when I switched to Tungsten WB, a much cooler light was recorded. Without waiting hours, I managed to shoot the “moon.”
Micro-Nikkor 105mm lens, f/2.8 for 1/1000 sec., Cloudy WB
Micro-Nikkor 105mm lens, f/2.8 for 1/1000 sec., Tungsten WB
o I know I don’t have to twist your arm to photograph a sunset, but how about a sunrise? Of course most photographers have no qualms when it comes to shooting a sunset, but suggest that they shoot a sunrise and the groans can be heard from coast to coast! If you can get in the habit of shooting both sunrises and sunsets, you will double your production of great work; it’s that simple. If you get in the habit of also shooting simple yet effective compositions of a subject against an out-of-focus spot of light, you’ll quadruple your production of winning images. It is during the first few minutes of sunrise or the last few minutes of sunset that you have the opportunity to shoot directly into the light and record that single out-of-focus ball. And as with many macro subjects, you’ll make use of shallow depth of field and wide-open apertures.
