Into the Light

Fruit Road
Photograph by Tom Atwood

It begins humbly enough as a winding exit off Old Route 66 north of Edwardsville, Illinois, but then Fruit Road cuts straight east across Madison County, miles of unbending blacktop plunging directly into the sunrise. The problem (not for Fruit Road but for me) is how to photograph it so you see both the road and the sunrise? The short answer is, not without some help. This photo was adjusted, using a processing feature called "fill light" in Lightroom 2. It fills in the details of the road, grass and houses that would normally be black, because the light of the dawn is so bright. The result above is an unnatural photograph, one that is manipulated, and yet one that more closely resembles what I actually saw yesterday morning standing in the middle of Fruit Road. Shutter: 1/3 sec; Aperture: f/13; ISO: 100; Focal length: 135 mm.

Dawn's early light

Near Marine, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

There is a moment before sunrise--my photographer friend Matt Granz calls it the "blue hour"-- when the only light you can see is at the horizon. For poor Matt, who lives in the mountainous area around San Francisco, the horizon is often obscured by those pesky, scenic hills. But here in the Midwest, in Madison County, Illinois, the horizon is able to show off during the blue hour. In all its glory.  Shutter: 17 seconds; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 200; Focal length: 18 mm.

Do you see an angel?

Pin Oak Road
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Thanks to an old friend of mine, Alan McIntire, who sent me a message yesterday about this photograph I took during a cloudy sunset along Pin Oak Road near Edwardsville, Illinois. "Have you ever noticed the cloud formation," Alan asked, "that is approximately one-third of the way down from the top of the picture and close to the center...sort of looks like an angel?" I have to admit, I had to look long and hard to see anything resembling an angel, but I think I do. Do you? Shutter: 1/50; Aperture: f/4.5; ISO: 200; Focal length: 28 mm. Hint: the angel I (think) I see is small...and dark.

Extreme Close ups II

 

Gateway Arch
Photograph by Tom Atwood

The most predictable--and probably the most practical--way to shoot a massive object like the St. Louis Gateway Arch is from afar. Back away and shoot wide. But on this morning I got as close to the stainless, but scratched up, steel as possible. I was interested in photographing the tiny beads of metal clinging to the seams of the monument. What are they? I don't know. And why would anyone scratch the Arch? Shutter: 1/125; Exposure: f/5.6; ISO: 110; Focal length: 40 mm.

Extreme Close ups

Taylor Hodge
Senior pictures shoot
Photograph by Tom Atwood

How close is too close? I guess that depends on whose picture you're taking. In the case of Taylor Hodge, it's almost impossible for a close up to be too close. In fact, often it is an extreme angle, or an extremely close shot like this one, that can make for the most interesting portrait.  (To be fair, though, this is not one of the shots that Taylor chose as a favorite for her senior portraits. So, maybe for her, it was too close.)  Shutter: 1/60; Aperture: f/2.5; ISO: 100; Focal length: 50 mm.

Accidents Happen

Hazel Road near Edwardsville, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

The most unusual and interesting part of this photograph is actually a mistake. During the almost nine-minute time exposure I abandoned my camera and went inside the van parked behind it along Hazel Road. It was cold (1 degree above zero) and I wanted to get warm. I turned on the engine, the tail lights came on, turning the snow bright red. I didn't realize it until I looked at the image and thought, "You ruined the picture." But the longer I looked at it, the glowing red snow, the more I realized I had not ruined it: I had accidentally made it better. Shutter: 512 seconds; Aperture: f/3.5; ISO: 100; Focal length: 18 mm.

Timing

Pin Oak Road
October 24, 2010
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Timing is everything. I heard the storm coming last night, but waited too long to go out and shoot it. By the time I got set up, the storm was on top of Pin Oak Road, and the rain began. I did get this one shot before the washout. Shutter: 20 seconds; Aperture: f/7.1; ISO: 100; Focal Length: 35 mm.

Wind

Chytia, Heather, Wind
Photographs by Tom Atwood

Shooting portraits outside you can't control the weather. You can choose the time of day (late afternoon), but even if things look good, a storm can blow up quickly anytime, like it did on this summer day in 

St. Louis. Chytia and Heather had hoped to get a picture together. They got one--just not what they were expecting. However, sometimes the wind can create interesting or unusual portraits, like the photograph below of Heather, as she faced the coming storm, one of my favorite portraits.

Shutter: 1/80; Aperture: f/2.2; ISO: 800; Focal length: 25 mm

Low Angle

Regional Cross Country Meet
Granite City, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I was not looking through the viewfinder when this picture was taken. The camera was literally at ground level, shooting up. So to see what I was shooting I would have had to lie down on the ground. Instead, I pointed in the general direction of Garrett Sweatt and Connor Ryan and got lucky. This photo tells the story of today's regional in Granite City: Sweatt won the race individually, but O'Fallon won the meet as a team. Shutter: 1/320; Aperture: f/8; ISO: 800; Focal length: 18 mm.

Preparation

Lilly
Photograph by Tom Atwood

During photo shoots, some clients are more high maintenance than others. Lilly, a Great Dane, agreed to be part of Taylor Hodge's senior photos, but required a lot of attention. And a lot of room. But in the end (see photo below) everything worked out, and Lilly even agreed to have a profile made with Taylor. (Unlike the family's other Great Dane, Truman, who was "too excited" to even sit for a picture. Too bad. It might have been a good one!) 

Shutter: 1/1000; Aperture: f/3.2; ISO: 100; Focal length: 35 mm

Scattered Light

Gilomen Road near Marine, Illinois
Photograph by Tom Atwood

This photo is deceiving. It looks like it was taken at dawn or dusk, as if the glow at the horizon is caused by the sun. But the shot, an 8 minute time exposure, was actually taken near midnight (on a very cold night). The sky is blue partly because of the long exposure, but mainly because there was so much scattered light in the area. The light is concentrated near the horizon--street lights, farm lights, billboards, cars, etc. This ambient light, what some call "light pollution," gives the horizon its dawn-like glow. It also has caused a magnificent, natural sight that people have enjoyed for thousands of years to vanish: the starry night. Shutter: 8 minutes; Aperture: f/5; ISO: 200; Focal length: 18 mm.