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Archive 2012 · Crossroads of Light

RustyBug
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Crossroads of Light


Where warm meets cool.







Sep 05, 2012 at 10:19 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Crossroads of Light


I like the pattern and contrast between polished/shiny and dark/grubby.


Sep 05, 2012 at 11:05 PM
ben egbert
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Crossroads of Light


Great symmetry (I like symmetry), at least geometrically. The color breaks it somewhat, probably beneficially.

The rod middle right sort of breaks it, but I think I would leave it in. Looks like railroad tracks where one line crosses another.



Sep 06, 2012 at 08:51 AM
RustyBug
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Crossroads of Light


Thanks Karen.

I most like the gradient from blue to white ... kinda illustrating how ambient light is not homogenous @ variable AI=AR ... yet there is a "point" on the gradient that is neutral where warm + cool = neutral in the blending of mixed ambient.

Geek patrol, I know.

Thanks Ben.

Your are correct @ rr tracks. Glad to hear you mention the bolt right ... I considered taking it out, but I am inclined to agree with you at it breaking the symmetry.

Edited on Sep 06, 2012 at 09:01 AM · View previous versions



Sep 06, 2012 at 08:55 AM
ben egbert
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Crossroads of Light


RustyBug wrote:
Thanks Karen.

I most like the gradient from blue to white ... kinda illustrating how ambient light is not homogenous @ variable AI=AR ... yet there is a "point" on the gradient that is neutral where warm + cool = neutral in the blending of mixed ambient.

Geek patrol, I know.


Gotcha. Light depends on angles between source and subject and viewer I suppose. So if you normalized it all that information is lost.



Sep 06, 2012 at 09:00 AM
sbeme
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Crossroads of Light


Cool angle, great symmetry, neat light.
To me the blues and, to a much lesser extent the orange-y tones are over-saturated...to my taste.

Scott



Sep 06, 2012 at 07:53 PM
RustyBug
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Crossroads of Light


Thanks Scott,

Yes, they are over-exaggerated a bit to accentuate them. I'll likely pull it back some / dial it in after it wears on me a bit



Sep 06, 2012 at 08:04 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Crossroads of Light


To me, the saturation works - the colors just suggest sunset, and the bolt is a visual non-issue.


Sep 06, 2012 at 11:34 PM
RustyBug
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Crossroads of Light


Since the reds are from direct specular light and the blues are from indirect diffuse light, the intensity of the reds (naturally occurring) is greater than the blues. For the piece, I had to push the blues harder than the reds to get them closer together.

I left the WB, as shot @ daylight, 5500K and worked mostly from saturation. I'll likely experiment with some WB masking and a few other methods to try and get the vividness to the colors, with possibly a little less "overcooked" effect.

My goal for this piece is to clearly illustrate (hence the saturated colors) the concept of how our ambient lighting is not really a single WB temp as we are inclined to think. But rather act as two separate sources of lighting ... a cool, indirect, diffuse overhead sky (which acts as a cyan-blue fill light) and a warm, direct, specular sun (which acts like a yellow-red key light).



When the two of these sources are most "aligned" (say at midday), they balance/blend with each other in such a way to yield the perception of a more nearly homogenous temperature, yet the shadows (i.e. fill only) still are cooler in the absence of the warmer key light (i.e. direct sun). As the day progresses ... the angle of light being received from the overhead sky remains global / omnipresent. Meanwhile, the angle of the light from the direct sun continues to change.

The more "misaligned" these two become ... the greater the distinction / separation that occurs regarding the color temps ... i.e. the blue shadows become stronger when a subject is WB corrected for the warmer key light, or the subject is warmer when the cooler shadows/cast are globally neutralized.

I realize this isn't rocket science or anything "new under the sun" ... but I find it important relative to understanding why we have difficulty getting good WB and eliminating color casts at varying times of the day. For some subjects, this isn't much of an issue. But for those subjects that are both highly reflective, and are dimensionally reflective (waterfalls, faces, wedding dresses, cars, snow covered mountain tops) such that they can reflect from perpendicular angles ... the "separation" of the warm and cool becomes more readily noticeable.

As with any lighting temp(s) ... it is a matter of choice, preference, control ... as to whether you want to harness and enhance those colors/tones, or you want to correct/neutralize them. But, imo, it is important to understand their existence before you can understand how to better utilize them to achieve your goals.



Ben's recent post of the classic Teton shot shows a similar capture of the two separate light sources in play. The cedars are receiving the warm sidelighting that dominates over the influence of the blue tones from the sky, while the lake is reflecting the cool tones of the overhead sky in the absences of reflecting the warm key light. In this regard, the two reflected light source orientations are perpendicular to each other ... yielding the most distinct separation possible. Also, we can see the evidence of the gradient in the lake colors as the AI=AR changes (similar to the tracks).

Meanwhile, the angle of the Tetons are reflecting somewhere between the two extremes and is reflective of a more homogenous / "white" (blended warm & cool) light that exists where both sources overlap.

In a similar manner, the donation box from Scott, shows the difference in the reflective surfaces as the top surface renders a purplish colored rust, while the front face renders a "normal" colored rust. The top surface is being influenced by the blue overhead fill, whereas the front surface is reflecting much less (AI=AR) of the overhead sky. Of course, if we were to walk up to the box and look at it ... we wouldn't see the purplish tones as readily, thanks to our sensory adaptation.



The thing I most like at the RR Track piece is where the tracks are "white". The track of course is a constant, continuous "color" ... IF and only IF it is reflecting a continuous "color" light source. For me, this clearly illustrates both the separation of the two light sources, as well as shows the effect of where the warm & cool light sources combine to create a "white" light.

So ... what's the point to all this

Well, in the land of the "micro-nit" ... I find that having things like blue highlights or a green cast in a woman's hair to be less than flattering. Wonderful warm, glowing skin tones from our "golden hour" sidelighting are nice. But with that reduction in power from the key light, comes an increase in impact from the fill (blue overhead). So ... when you are trying to figure out how to fix one, without killing the other, understanding that it as though you have lit your subject with a red key light and a blue fill light can help you determine how to proceed to achieve your goals of correction or enhancement ... whichever they be ... likely needing to be selective in nature, rather than a global WB adjustment.

There, I said it ... and hopefully, the piece shows it.

Edited on Sep 07, 2012 at 08:28 AM · View previous versions



Sep 07, 2012 at 08:06 AM
Bob Jarman
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Crossroads of Light


It just occurred to me - intersecting railway tracks!

Nice - suggest toning down the lighter rod (?) on right side.

Bob



Sep 07, 2012 at 08:08 AM
HawksFan66
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Crossroads of Light


This is very cool. Until I figured out it was tracks, I thought it was some kind of relief carving in some type of art.


Sep 08, 2012 at 07:54 AM
RustyBug
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Crossroads of Light


Thanks glad you like it.

I find it surprising (way cool) that people don't seem to be picking up on the tracks right away. Kinda goes along with my perspective @ how you might have to help your viewer a bit more than you otherwise would think (since you already know what it is). In this case though, I'm pleasantly surprised that people are having to "dig" into it a bit to "figure it out" ... rather than it just come across as a boring pic of some train tracks.

Hmmm, at maybe I should consider a bit more at how to "hide" the obvious on occasions, rather than always striving to "reveal" the sublime.



Very off topic in my wandering observations of infinitesimal triviality:
HawksFan66 wrote:
This is very cool. Until I figured out it was tracks,


This is very cool, until I figured out it was tracks.


Funny how much difference those silly little comma's and periods make ... as I digress into things that would make my English teach smile.



Sep 08, 2012 at 10:23 AM





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