IN THE FIELD: Ahh Shade

I was out shooting wildflowers yesterday and came across wild columbines growing near some large pine and maple trees.

I set the camera and tripod up for a nice composition and initially, the situation wasn’t looking good. It was late morning and the flowers were in direct sun and with all that harsh bright light, the color of the flowers was washed out.

But, I had my handy dandy 22 inch collapsable 5-in-1 reflector/diffuser with me to save the day. While kneeling on the ground and looking through the viewfinder, I metered the scene for a good exposure and then held up the diffuser to shade the flowers. The difference in readings was three to four stops.

There were two ways to remedy the situation. Choose the desired aperture and then turn into a contortionist and try to meter the scene for the proper shutter speed while holding up the diffuser. Or hold up the diffuser, use aperture priority, and let the camera decide on the appropriate shutter speed.

After I had my settings were I wanted, I held up the diffuser to shade the blossoms and to soften the light, and with my other hand, tripped the shutter with the electronic cable release. Using the self-timer would have worked also, but I like the instant response of pushing a button and the photo is taken. I took several shots using manual exposure so I could dial in a little underexposure and also used aperture priority. Both results were good.

When I left in the morning it was a bit chilly and breezy, but by the time I found these Columbines, it had become hot and calm. A six foot diffuser would have been nice to shade me on the way home.