Ford 8N Tractor in shed, U.S. Hwy. 19, Lumpkin County, Georgia.
Photography is about light. In fact, the word "photograph" comes from two Greek words: photos, which means "light," and grapho, which means "to write." So to photograph really means to write with light.
The best light for photography usually comes in early morning and late afternoon when the sun is low, bathing everything in a rich, golden glow and casting long shadows which reveal texture and form.
However, you can often find good light any time of day if you learn to look for it. In order to reveal texture and form, light must play across the subject from one side or the other. Straight-on light will always result in a flat-looking subject.
Notice what the light is doing in the example above. See the way it brings out shapes and kisses the old boards with warmth? If the light were hitting the shed from the front, it might be a pleasant picture of an old shed and an old tractor, but it would have no depth, no character.
Studying the light, learning to notice what it's doing, will probably result in more rapid improvement in your photography than anything else you can do. And it's something you can do anytime light is present, whether or not you have a camera in your hand.
(Canon EOS 5D Classic digital camera, September, 2006.)
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Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.
I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
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