Popular Photography - February 2015 USA

MAKE A
SILHOUETTE
Nature
photographer
Marsel Van
Oosten
captured this
wild brown
bear at sunset
in Katmai
National Park,
Alaska. He
shot a burst
using his Nikon
D2Xs with a
600mm f/4G
AF-S Nikkor
ED lens;
1/2000 sec at
f/5.6, ISO 200.
If photography is writing
with light, darkness is the
punctuation. Darkness
defines shapes, makes two
dimensions look like three,
and heightens drama. It
can even be a subject in
itself. Here are 10 ways to
achieve dark victory.
By Dan Richards
Take silhouettes.
This time-honored (and often clichéd)
technique defines forms by
reducing them to dead black. It’s
easiest to do when your subject is backlit; for a
perfect sillo, meter off the bright background.
tTIP: Increase dimensional interest by allowing
the edges of the subject to be rimlit; shoot bursts
for a moving animal such as the bear at left.
Exploit dark shade to define
the shapes of trees.
While direct overhead or near
overhead sunlight is usually
considered a no-no, photographing globularshaped
trees in full leaf and full sun can
produce dramatic results. The small shadows
cast by the trees make great design elements,
particularly in wider-angle scenes with multiple
trees as subjects.
tTIP: Shoot beach umbrellas or café umbrellas
at high noon to allow the shadows to define their
form. This is especially effective from above.
MARSEL VAN OOSTEN
POPPHOTO.COM POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY 59