1/25
f/5.6

Since we’re in the middle of storm season, I felt it was appropriate to bring out a shot from Belize that was taken almost a year ago exactly. This is an example of a shot that will always frustrate most amateurs. When you have a bright sky and a dark foreground, unless you use a filter in pre or post production, one area of your image will not be exposed for properly. The first thing I plan to cover when I begin teaching my workshops is learning how to see light the way the camera does. Here, I shot without a filter but exposed for the darker foreground, which is why, even though I brought down the sky (in terms of brightness), there is still an area in the center which is hot (blown out). I wasn’t shooting RAW at the time, which has more blown highlight recovery potential. Woops, in looking back just this second, I found another image later in the image strip, where the clouds covered that spot and make for a better final shot. It’s interesting to me, that I just wrote “image strip”, because I originally wrote “film strip” but then realized there was no film and reflected on how my serious approach to this rapidly changing art form began just as the big time pros were still teaching with film, but beginning their own switch to digital. I feel so fortunate to have a such a solid foundation in film, which at least for now, is still the basis for digital…