A word about a technique that has been used for centuries: Ciaroscuro. Or “light-dark”. Meaning the interplay of, often dramatic, light and dark in a picture.

This is not new; artists did the same in 1490. Chiaroscuro helps introduce depth, dimension, into two-dimensional pictures.

Traditionally, Chiaroscuro refers to any darks and lights introducing such modelling; in photography,  we more often take it to refer to strong contrasts between the dark and light areas.  But in essence, proper lighting is all about chiaroscuro.

And shadows do not only introduce dimension. They also introduce mood, and in contrasty pictures like the one above, drama.

Give yourself an assignment: in your next picture, play with light and dark a bit, and use them to produce depth, character, and mood. Consider using black and white.

And in response to the B/W request:

Further to my recent post on the silliness of the new travel restrictions (punish the innocent, further chip away at our quality of life, while doing nothing to increase security), here’s what I carry in my bag when I travel. This, plus the 1Ds MkIII camera I took the picture with, and my Macbook Air laptop.

Now, how many of those items would a security screener actually know? Let alone understand, and allow through? I mean, even when today’s ridiculous restrictions are lifted?

Since I now have three cameras, and only need two, I am selling my Canon 1D Mark III (since I have a 1Ds MkIII and a  7D as well).

Great camera, as new, low shutter, works perfectly, original box, not the “fixed, blue dot” version but a newer version, all good. $2,750, which is great value.

But seller beware. I’ve put this up on Kijiji and Craigslist, and particularly Craigslist is already engendering scammers who want “the item” sent to Nebraska, etc, and they will pay for “the item” with Paypal etc.

I’m afraid it’s cash only for me… Paypal does seem to bring out unpleasantness!

Here’s a pic my colleague Danielle made of me with it the other day (click for large):

That picture also shows that the megapixel thing is silly. The 1D MkIII is an 11 Mp camera.

That image is scaled way down to 1200 pixels long; the original is much more detailed still. 11 Mp is enough for huge prints (smallest prints I ever make are 13″x19″).

Believe me, more megapixels are all very well, but you’ll never need them. And they come at a price. 15 MB for a RAW from this camera; 30 MB for a RAW from my 1Ds. Megapixels are to a large extent marketing.

So early in 2010 we travel back to 1950. As follows: for beginners and for digital photographers who did not grow up in the film era: here’s the “Sunny Sixteen” rule.

When your meter is not working, you can set your exposure manually, within a fairly narrow margin of certainty. And you do this as follows:

1. Assume your exposure time is set to 1/ISO. So if you are at 100 ISO, set your exposure to 1/100th second.
2. Then use the following aperture settings:

• Sunny, no clouds, hard shadows: f/16
• Some light cloud, shadows soft around the edges: f/11
• Overcast, hardly any shadows: f/8
• Totrally overcast, no shadows at all: f/5.6

That’s all. Simple! And remarkably effective.

Of course you can use equivalent exposures in all this; e.g. 200 ISO at 1/200th second, or 400 ISO at 1/400th second. And you can adjust aperture simlarly: 100 to 200 ISO means f/8 would go to f/11, for example.

Free yourself from the lens cap tyranny.

You need lens caps when the lens is in the bag, or off the camera:

But do not feel bad if you do not want to use the lens cap when you are using your camera. Pros seldom do; amateurs almost always do.I can instantly see how experienced someone is by checking whether they walk around with a lens cap on their camera.

Why pros do not use lens caps? When you are using your camera, the lens cap is in the way. It prevents pictures. To prevent damage, use a lens hood instead, and perhaps a filter on the lens – although even filters are seldom used by the pros. You use filters when you are in the rain or snow or at the beach. Otherwise, use the lens naked. Better quality, no hassles, and you do not lose those $30 lens caps.

(If you do, or even before you do: buy brandless $6 lens caps. That way an inevitable loss does not hurt as much).

Reader BKKPhotographer asked:

We’re having some lovely clear nights in Bangkok now it is the cool season. The moon often looks great but I have had limited success photographing it. Do you have any tips for good lunar photography?

The moon is remarkably bright, but it is in a remarkable dark background. So it is hard to photograph.

I would start here:

• Shoot RAW.
• Use the longest lens you have. This makes the moon look larger in relation to items on the horizon, like trees and builings.
• Use the steadiest tripod you can find.
• Focus manually – or autofocus, then switch to manual and leave it there (“infinity”)
• Spot meter off the moon, and then vary from there – a stop should do it.
• Try low ISO: the moon is bright so you will not need very long exposures.
• Shoot all phases, not just full moon
• Use a wire release, or the 2s self timer.

Here’s some exposure settings to start with:

• 100 ISO
• F/11
• 1/125 – 1/250

You see, it’s really very bright, the moon.

Try that!