Light

Dawn at Polblue Marshes, Barrington Tops, New South Wales, Australia

Two kangaroos bounce out of the mist, passing between the tent and me. Did I just see that? Australia is so different: the wildlife, vegetation, landscape, pubs … I love it. Camping out in the boonies in Oz is one of life’s greatest pleasures. This morning I have the luxury of shooting within yards of our camp. The rising sun backlights the mist lying on the marshes, silhouetting the eucalyptus trees in liquid gold.

• Fuji GX617, 90mm lens

Light is the most fundamental element of photography. A photograph made in the wrong light is worthless, no matter how dramatic the subject. Conversely, given the right light a photographer can make a lump of coal look good. Unlike studio photographers in their warm dry studios who create the lighting to suit, we troops out in the field have to use what nature provides. Waiting for the light to filter through the atmosphere is frustrating and time-consuming, but the subtleties are endlessly variable. All photographers can, given half a chance, drone on ad infinitum about the quality of light. There are so many variables that affect it. In truth after a quarter of a century I feel I’m still just scratching the surface of appreciating the finer points of using natural light. As a musician’s ear becomes, with experience, attuned to the subtleties of pitch and tone that the rest of us can’t hear, so a photographer’s eye picks up the variables of light that most don’t notice. But to start to appreciate these aspects of light it’s important to understand two fundamentals that determine its characteristics – the directional nature and colour temperature of light.

Natural light can be strong directional sunlight, or soft, hazy, diffuse, overcast or a combination of all of these. Basically, what determines the directional nature of the light we receive from the sun is the atmosphere it’s shining through and at what angle, i.e. the time of day. Clouds, haze, pollution and the weather all have an effect. The crisp light in New Zealand after a weather front has passed through is very different from a humid day in Bangkok. On top of all those variables we have reflected, artificial and ambient light to consider, and how they all balance. In truth, being a photographer means living your whole life subconsciously considering the light, but there are worse things to be obsessed with.

Eilean Donan Castle, Loch Alsh, Wester Ross, Scotland

On a dull October morning on the west coast of Scotland a momentary burst of light spotlights the incomparably situated Eilean Donan Castle. A lucky shot? You just don’t know how long I waited for this. And of course Being There has nothing to do with luck. The light in Scotland at this time of year is to die for, but it often takes some waiting for.

• Fuji GX617, 180mm lens

Dawn light on the sassi at Matera, Basilicata, Italy

I saw Matera featured on a TV programme and just had to come. It’s like a scene out of biblical times. Right up until the 1960s people used to live in the caves, called sassi, under the town. Yesterday I did my location searches and now I’m here at dawn, setting up, wrestling with the tripod legs, waiting for the light. I see the first rays of the day kissing the top of the church tower, slowly creeping down to bathe the town in warmth. There’s a dramatic sky beautifully sidelit by the rising sun. If only it were always like this.

• Canon EOS-1Ds MKII, 17–40mm lens

Old Sherborne Castle in the dawn mist, Dorset, England

I’m standing in a field surrounded by cows, gathered around like a bunch of paparazzi. I’m concerned that they’re getting so excited about the interruption of another routine day munching grass they’ll poo in my Lowepro. One seems determined to lick my Canon. I’m not sure it’s designed to stand such treatment. Across the valley Old Sherborne Castle lies shrouded in mist early on a summer’s morning. The art of Being There has been enhanced on this occasion by local knowledge – this is my patch, and I know when and where mist is likely to lie from many dawn patrols.

• Canon EOS-1Ds MKII, 100–400mm lens

The Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Waiting – it’s the name of the game. I’m standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon at dawn perusing the skyline to the east, wondering if the clouds will part. Heavy storm clouds lie brooding over the massive gorge. Then a heavenly shaft of light lasting less than 30 seconds paints the landscape momentarily and makes the whole trip worthwhile.

• Fuji GX617, 105mm lens

All light sources have a colour temperature (CT), measured in degrees Kelvin. The most dominant one, the sun, is reckoned to have a CT of 5,500K at midday – this is what is defined as white light. A typical domestic light bulb radiates Tungsten light, which is 3,200K. It’s actually a cooler CT, but confusingly looks more orange than white light, so we call it warmer. The sunlight at sunset at has a lower CT, typically anything down to about 2,000K, and looks warm and golden. This is because the rays have to slice through a larger layer of atmosphere to get to us; the dust in the air scatters the longer wavelengths – the blue end of the spectrum – leaving the orange, shorter wavelengths to transmit through. Correspondingly, the ambient light left bouncing around the atmosphere after the sun has set has a very high CT in excess of 10,000K, and so looks blue. To really appreciate this, stand outside your house at dusk, looking in. As it gets darker the interior lights look very orange compared to the blue light outside. Normally our eyes and brain adjust to compensate for the CT of the dominant light source to make it appear white, but seen this way with the two light sources in juxtaposition the effect is obvious.

Along with Being There, a feel for light is The Most Important Element of Photography. If you’re in the right place, with the right light then the most important elements in the making of a photograph are in place before a camera is even touched. It’s why I spend far, far more time waiting for the light than I do behind the camera. It has affected my sanity, but like location searching, it has to be done.