Sean Bagshaw Outdoor Exposure Photography

Images from the edge

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Guanajuato City Scenes

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An important element of photographing while traveling in other countries is the ability to take what comes. Last Saturday I carefully penciled out my shooting schedule for the next three weeks in and around Guanajuato, Mexico. That night I came down with some sort of stomach ailment that confined me to bed until Wednesday. While feeling much better a week later, I’m still regaining my strength and can’t wander too far from a bathroom. As a result I didn’t get nearly as much photography done as I hoped and now I need to adjust my plans. But that’s OK. There are some things you can’t control when in another country.

Pink House on Calle Tecalote
Pink House on Calle Tecalote

As my condition improved through the week I went out to take photos as I was able. The weather has remained mostly cloudy and a bit drab, but there have been moments of the brilliant light that that Guanajuato is known for.

The unusually cold and wet conditions reminded me of some tips for making the best of urban photography at times when the weather is less than ideal. First, since cities provide their own light, twilight and night photography are opportunities for great light even when the weather is poor. There are two periods each day, around sunrise and sunset, when cities come alive with their own light, even on overcast days. During twilight a dull gray sky will appear blue while city lights glow in a variety of colors. A second tip is to be prepared to move quickly during weather breaks. I was able to quickly jump into action a couple of times when sun broke through the clouds for brief periods. The photo ops didn’t last long, but the light was particularly dramatic.

Brief Sunbreak at Sunset
Brief Sunbreak at Sunset

The images in this post are of city vistas and of some of the notable landmarks around Gunajuato. I took them either in twilight or night time lighting conditions, or during a few breaks in the cloudy weather. I hope you enjoy.

Templo San Diego
Templo San Diego
Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato
Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato
Teatro Juárez
Teatro Juárez
Iglesia de San Francisco
Iglesia de San Francisco
Stormy Sunrsie
Stormy Sunrise

The Difference Light Makes

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Howard Prairie lupine right before sunrise.
Howard Prairie lupine right before sunrise.
Howard Prairie lupine at sunrise
Howard Prairie lupine at sunrise

For me, as for many photographers, light is the most important element in any photograph. Take these two photos for example. They were taken minutes appart during the June wildflower bloom in Howard Prairie in the southern Oregon Cascades. I like both, and other than the light, both are very similar. However, in the first image the sun has not yet crested the ridgeline so the scene is lit by indirect light that is being reflected from the sky and off of the surrounding landscape. It creates a very even wash of light with subtle transitions from darker to lighter areas and the feel that light is glowing from all directions, which it basically is. In the second image the sun has just crested the ridge and direct light is shining on the meadow and strongly backlighting the flowers and grass. The color is warmer, the contrast in the scene is much greater and there is a much stronger sense of the direction of the light. Knowing the characterisitics of different types of outdoor lighting situations helps me be to plan the timing of a photo to best convey the scene the way I envision it.

Photo Tip: Blurry Trees

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Much of my photography is of the greater landscape and I’m often trying to present sweeping vistas with sharp detail. However, I also like to photograph more intimate scenes and abstracts. One of my favorite abstract techniques is motion blur. This can be achieved a few different ways and is a particularly good technique for emphasizing leading lines in a photo while smoothing out distracting elements. The final result can often look more like a painting than a photograph.

I really like to use motion blur with trees that have staight trunks. The technique is more an art than a science, so a lot of experimentation and throw away images are required to get something that I like. I start by setting a relatively slow shutter speed and making a vertical pan (movement) with my camera. I have found that shutter speeds between 1/4 of a second and 1/20 of a second work best. I move the camera up or down, in as straight a line as possible and depress the shutter release as the camera is moving. At slower shutter speeds I pan slower and at faster shutter speeds I pan faster. It is hard to know exactly what will be in the frame so I repeat the process over and over so that I will have many images to select from. Panning the camera while it is on a tripod can help keep the motion steady and smooth, but also limits flexibility.

Physically panning the camera is often all I need to do to achieve the abstract look I’m going for. Other times I selectively add more blur by using the Motion Blur filter in Photoshop (Filter>Blur>Motion Blur). To do this I’ll create a duplicate layer of the background image and blur the duplicate. Then I’ll add a layer mask to the blurred layer and paint with a black brush on the mask to bring through any detail from the original image that I want to keep. This digital blurring technique can also be applied to images that were taken in focus without panning the camera. Digital blurring often takes just as much trial and error as panning the camera.

Several of my favorite photographers have used these techniques to create some wonderful abstract images, including Jesse Spear, Eddie Soloway and William Niel.