Nature Photography by Chris Weston

Author:Chris Weston [Weston, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-08-092778-7
Publisher: Elsevier Science
Published: 2011-06-03T16:00:00+00:00

Managing High-Contrast Scenes

As scene dynamic range in the previous example is beyond the dynamic range of the camera, if I were to take the photograph without managing the light, then I would have lost detail in either the highlights or shadows or both, depending on how I set the exposure. For example, by exposing for the highlights, the shadow area would have been underexposed. Conversely, had I exposed for the shadows, the highlights would have been overexposed and clipped. Exposing for the middle tones would have resulted in clipping of both highlight and shadow detail.

Where tonal variations follow a linear pattern, such as a bright sky darkening toward a shaded foreground, it is possible to manage the light optically using graduated neutral density (GND) filters. The purpose of a GND filter is to block a portion of light from one part of the scene while allowing all light to pass through the filter from another, thereby reducing scene dynamic range.

Using the example landscape described above, my calculations showed a scene dynamic range of 8-stops, 2-stops beyond the dynamic range of my camera. Because the brightest area of the scene is in the upper portion of the frame (the clouds), I can position on the front of the lens a 2-stop strength GND filter to cover this section of the frame, which will reduce the shortest exposure from 1/2,000 second at f/16 to 1/500 second at f/16 (shutter speed equals 2-stops slower), which will reduce scene dynamic range from 8-stops to 6-stops (within the camera’s range).

In actual fact, I used a 3-stop–strength GND filter and exposed for the shadow area, which lifted the shadows from textured black to dark gray, gaining additional detail as shown in the illustration.

Get into the Habit: Calculating Exposures for GND Filters

Professional nature and landscape photographer, Steve Gosling, frequently encounters high-contrast scenes and uses a hand-held reflected light meter to determine an appropriate exposure that will manage contrast effectively. Steve explains, “Using a Sekonic meter, I first measure the brightness of the mid-tones, noting the exposure value. I then meter an area of sky that I want to render the brightest tone, which is usually a formation of clouds, and calculate the difference in brightness between these two meter readings. If the difference exceeds 2-stops, I will then use a graduated neutral density filter to bring the light tones to within 2-stops of the mid-tones.”

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