Practice makes you need more practice

Ohhhhhh, I got a new photography book in the mail last week and finally had a chance to give it a look see!!
It is called Chasing the Light by Ibarionex Perello...however you pronounce that!
Improving your photography with AVAILABLE LIGHT is the tagline on the cover.

He begins the book taking the reader through the basic trio of important settings on the camera. ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.
Though I know this information, it still feels like new to me. Every time I read about it from anothers perspective it takes on new light...and thankfully becomes a bit more clear with each explanation.

Pages 26 and 27 made a huge impact on me last night as I lay snuggled in my bed reading.
Are you wondering why?
Well, this could be helpful to anyone with a camera because it is just practical information.

The camera is measuring the light reflecting off of the subjects we aim at.
Our camera meters are calibrated for an average reflectance supposedly midway between white and black.
So as the camera "sees" it tries to convert (in its little mechanical brain) everything to a medium gray.
He makes the point that this is fine if you are photographing a man dressed in gray on a gray wall, but what to do for a man in white on a white wall??? The camera in its wisdom will want to render out the white as medium gray...in those extreme situations.

Is your head spinning??? That's okay, mine is too! Even though I think I understand this in theory, it is just gonna take some practice with my camera to make it work in my little non mechanical brain.
So, I set out to make this principle practical today.
The sun comes over my fence in the morning casting wonderful patches of very bright sunlight in my yard and upon my house.
It set up a perfect opportunity to practice this very thing.
I set my camera on full automatic and pressed the button.
This is what the camera saw.

It wasn't all out wrong, but it wasn't right either.

So I switched over to manual and tried to "meter" off of what seemed to be the median gray in our shot.

Whoa, too bright.

Try again!

Still a little bright, but closer to what I was seeing with my eyeballs!


I tried about 5 more times. Adjusting settings and aperture.
I think I should have tried about 12 more times 'cause it didn't get any better than that shot above!
So, after loading it my computer I took it through my program and adjusted the levels there.

And that is as close to what I saw as I could get.
The point though was to be able to do it with the camera "on sight" rather than adjusting.
Don't worry I am not being too hard on myself...just noting the need for lots more practice and more understanding of how this works.


I did shoot off some more pictures so as to not feel defeated!
I feel like this has got some good early morning sun qualities as the light and shadow play across these leaves.


And, I caught the Shelbster in action!
She heard the back yard neighbor dogs, got in a good huff....
...began barking to rile them up sufficiently...


...turned to jump on the fence (look at that action, frozen in midair)



...and clawed away in glee as she communicated with her buddies as she is want to do everyday.

This lasts all of about 8 seconds!
Just long enough to get the humans all worked up about the barking and make a move to cease it. Then they are done!
It is the exact same every. single. time.
Interesting, well to me anyway.


Then I turned to what I know I can do, and shot a close up of my cherry tomatoes.
They are freshly watered and oh so happy!


I look forward to more reading the very practical information in this book.
But for now...the buzzer of the dryer calls.
Tuesday is finish up the laundry I didn't finish yesterday day.
Make it a great one!