A Night in the Woods

Winter is not the most popular time to photograph. Not only is it cold but everything is so drab. However, winter is a great time for us black and white photographers. So, I donned my winter gear and spent some time in the woods in late February looking for some good tree compositions to photograph after dark. My idea was to use my flash to highlight a particularly interesting tree so it would stand out against a relatively dark background, much as you might do in a studio with a black, felt background cloth.

Once finding the compositions, the trick was finding the same shooting spot after dark. Accomplishing that, I set my camera on a tripod; then using Kodak Tri-X 400 film I set my lens to f/2 and the shutter to bulb. While handholding my Speedlite flash off-center from my camera, I opened the shutter just long enough to manually trigger the flash. I took three shots of each composition at 1/1, 1/4, and 1/8 power. Twenty-seven frames later, here are the best (click to enlarge).

Author: Stephen Fielding Images

I'm a retired medical sociologist from the University of Rochester. Climate change is one of the two great challenges facing humanity (the other is nuclear weapons). In writing about the impact of climate change I read reputable books and articles on the topic. So when I make statements about climate change you will see a link taking you to the scientific source(s) of the information I provide. As for my independently published photobooks, each has gone through several layers of editing and peer review for both readability and accuracy. This is not to say that everything I say is accurate. Even the New York Times makes mistakes. So, if you find something that is factually incorrect, let me know. I hope you find reading my blog a positive experience. If you do, please encourage your family and friends to have a look. You can find photos from my other photo work by clicking on the My SmugMug Gallery tab, above. Best wishes, -Steve View all posts by Stephen Fielding Images