I was trying to see how far I could push exposure in a new camera, with my fastest lens, before highlights clipped, and ended up with something that (to me) brings to mind a pastel from a book for children. I'm always trying to get a different take on those, subconsciously, I think.
It was screaming noon day light in an oak forest NE of Fresno, sort of near Friant. Not sure if I like it or it might prove useful in other situations. The lens was 25mm 1.4. I'm tempted to to print it rather large just to see how the details hold up.
It is a very cool experiment. Obviously not how we normally would shoot a landscape, but it does have that painterly pastel feel to it. It could be something for you to do as a project where you have a series of these types of overexposure.
JR Photo wrote:
Reminds me of some of the stuff that the old film guys did. I would be interested how it holds up. It has that dream characteristic alright.
Which body were you using?
J. R.
Thanks! Panny GH3 with the Pan/Leica 25mm 1.4, wide open.
JimFox wrote:
It is a very cool experiment. Obviously not how we normally would shoot a landscape, but it does have that painterly pastel feel to it. It could be something for you to do as a project where you have a series of these types of overexposure.
Great creativity there.
Jim
Thanks, Jim.
I find that, looking over the majority of what I've done since getting serious about photography, I tend to try and get more of an impressionistic/dreamscape quality out of my shots.
A whole series might really be interesting, but I'll have to chose the subjects with some caution; I don't know how this look would hold up in other situations.
Being someone who produces a lot of prints for the general public, I have noticed a trend with how people create their visual tastes. I have never once had someone comment on a blown highlight or a retained highlight. Yet, this is the most discussed aspect of modern photography among experienced photographers.
The vast majority of people and photographers I have known over the years have no clue about how their brains have been wired by society and past experiences, in determining what they like and dislike.
In the modern photographer's mind, blown highlights = bad, because why? Because it looks bad or because it has been read that blowing highlights is bad thus don't do it?
Photography should be about variety and creativity, which seems to be the opposite way things are going in parts of the photography world. Especially since today, most of our feedback comes from other photographers and not so much from the general public. That was much different before the digital era.
