A bit of departure a from the norm here at LightAsMagic.com, however I thought someone out there might benefit from it. Over the weekend, I noticed our bleeding hearts were in bloom and I wanted to make a ‘thank you’ print for the friend who gave them to us. I grabbed my 105mm Micro VR and snapped a quick image, then another, and another, and another. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I began to ‘work the composition’. Just short of the kitchen sink, I threw everything at it. Why not, film is cheap these days! I selected these 3 images as an example of my approaches.

The first image was the metered exposure, the one the camera told me was the right one. It is the one I will probably print and give to my friend. I think she will like it. After the light began to shift, and a slight shadow was cast on the bleeding hearts, I noticed that the most pronounced heart was highlighted by a single ray of sun. I quickly changed my camera’s light meter to ‘spot meter mode’ and dropped the exposure compensation by a full stop. My intent was to exaggerate the light’s idea. It worked, and I made an image my wife really likes. Finally, my vision became less focused on details and more on colors and shapes. I grabbed the focus ring, manually focused in front of the flowers, and achieved the final image. You can probably guess, it is my favorite, which is usually the case. I rarely like the first image I make.

The Metered 'Thank You' Print Exposure.

The Spot Metered (-.7 EV) Exposure. My wife's favorite.

Colors and Shapes Exposure. My favorite.