Back-light

Sometimes I go a wee while without photographing anyone. Time is spent in front of the computer editing, researching and all the other stuff that needs doing to run a business, plus a few things that pointlessly waste too much time.

If this goes on too long I start to get an itchy trigger finger, and if the weather is pleasant I'll shove the big zoom lens onto my camera and go for a drive, or a walk in the woods.

In photography, both the hour before sunset and the hour after sunrise are known as "the golden hour" because of the quality of the light - colours tend to be warmer and richer.

As I'm not a naturally early riser, it is usually evenings rather than mornings I will make the most of this kind of light.

The advantage of using the big zoom lens in a more closed in environment, like a woods, is you can zoom in on details, and look for interesting patterns.



But a real trick in photography is the use of back-light. If you can place the sun behind what you're shooting it can create something quite magical out of something you might otherwise have just not noticed.



A couple of evenings ago, however, it became apparent that the new spring growth of leaves had become so thick, the sun just wasn't making it into the woods. I left without a decent image in the camera, but as I was driving home the setting sun was just stunning.

And then I noticed the cows on a ridge with the sun behind them.

I had to pull over and walk back up the road to get the right angle, but was quite delighted to capture this one.



So there you have it - low evening sun as a back-light can even make cows in a field look interesting.