Making sure the camera's white balance was set on daylight rather than automatic, three pictures were taken of a hanging basket (being a subject without a strong colour as set down for this exercise) laid on the lawn; the first in full sun at lunchtime, the second in shade nearby, and the last near sunset.
The objective here is to recall how the colour of the light looked at the time of taking and compare to the photographic outcomes as set out below:
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| Full sunlight when sky is high f9.5; 1/125 |
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| Shade when sun is high f5.5; 1/125 |
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| Near sunset f4.0; 1/125 |
An empty hanging basket is perhaps not the most fascinating of subjects, but for this purpose served well: it is a weak uniform colour and could be moved to provide the right circumstances.
My memory was very clearly of the bluish colour seen in the shaded picture as the baskets when used are mainly in the shade. I was surprised the degree to which the wood appeared brighter and significantly more yellow in the midday sun, emphasised even further by the time the evening sun was setting.
I also noted how there is more texture in the brighter images and, particularly in the case of the sunset shot, how the shot helped realize the three dimensions of the basket. Compare that to the middle shot where the basket could be flat.
From this exercise, I learnt:
- how the colour of subjects alters, depending on whether shot in sun or shade;
- how sun helps bring out texture and relief in the subject.
