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Friday, February 19, 2010

Granite Reflections

I recently installed new light fixtures in our kitchen.  This is a reflection of the globe from the fixture above the kitchen sink.  You can also see the  reflection of the window blinds and the faucet.  The countertop is made of polished granite, which has a texture and modifies the reflection. 

This is my submission for Weekend Reflections #22.




Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
105mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/40 sec @ f4.0
ISO 800
Curves adjusted for contrast

























I took many shot of these fixtures and threw most of them away. If you want the nitty gritty details, read on. 

This exposure was very tricky to get correct and I experimented over two sessions to get something I was happy with.  I was determined to get this shot and I will explain my logic.

Initially, I autofocused on the brightest part of the light, locked the exposure, and recomposed the shot.  I got decent results, but I was not pleased.  I found that underexposing by 2/3 stop gave reasonable result. 

The second session, I shot four identical shots with the four possible metering modes: Evaluative, Partial, Spot, and Center-Weighted Average.  Evaluative was blown out, Partial and Spot were underexposed, and Center-Weighted was overexposed, but not as badly as Evaluative.  I then used Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) with the bracket at +- 2/3 stops and took three more shots.  It would have been just as easy to take a bunch of shots and manually adjust the exposure compensation, rather than using fancy-pants AEB.  In summary, using Center-Weighted Average with 2/3 stop underexposure gave these results.

I'm still thinking about other 'tricks' to improve this.  I'm sure you have ideas, fire away!

13 comments:

James said...

I love this kind of abstract photographic art. This looks really cool. Your light fixture looks somewhat like one that I recently took some pictures of.

Suburban Girl said...

Interesting process...sounds like me - lots of experimenting. I do like your results.

Rune Eide said...

It was an original composition. I suppose you use RAW, so I won't suggest that. Otherwise I would suggest f8 or f11 as most lenses work best at those apertures.

Carletta said...

I sat an looked at it awhile trying to decide all I was looking at before I read your words.
Nicely done.

Carolyn Ford said...

Lighting and exposure are so darn tricky and often disappointing. But, then photography wouldn't be fun if it was totally simple...You ended with great results. What determination you had. Your new kitchen must be very lovely!

cieldequimper said...

Excellent, I feel like I'm looking at a cross between some Delaunay and Dali.

Anonymous said...

Your efforts paid off handsomely. This is a very good image. Getting a proper exposure ain't easy is it. I have a one degree spot meter that I use for tricky situations.

Kat said...

I like this alot Wayne. Love the composition, and the granite makes a great reflective surface. And I LOVE that light fixture! Kathy

Hilda said...

The texture of the granite makes for very interesting reflections.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Cezar and Léia said...

I see your kitchen is very elegant!Adorable lamp and fabulous reflections from the kitchen sink!
Have a nice weekend dear friend,
hugs
Léia

Marka said...

How you got it is almost secondary to the fact that you did get it. Nice photo!

Sistertex said...

It is really quite nice, I think you got an excellent result. It is an intriging photo and makes one wonder what is behind it. So I am glad you explained!

Johnny Nutcase said...

this one is great, very different...i approve! :)