Welcome To The Centenary Blog Post Number 100 of Simple Photography Tips By Michael Blyth - Dealing with The Perils of Morning Sunshine

"Ut Aspicias, donec videas" - "that you may look until you see"

If you’re new here, this is what we do: we take ordinary moments and learn to see them properly.

Today’s lesson is about light and restraint. Mask the sun. Reduce the flare. Let the valley reveal itself.

Six Simple Photography Tips For Morning Sunshine Photography

• Use the tree trunk as a "mask”. Move a few inches left or right until the sun is hidden behind the trunk, ivy, or a thicker branch. You’ll keep the warmth of the light but lose the washed-out veil of flare.

  
  

• Watch what happens to contrast. The moment the sun is masked, blacks deepen and midtones separate. In scenes like frosty fields, that’s what makes the texture in the grass and hedges pop.

  
  

• Mask it fully, then “peep” it back in. Start with the sun completely covered then, if you want a hint of sparkle, edge forward until a tiny sliver appears.

  
  

• Use your hand or hat as a temporary flag. If you can’t find the perfect branch position, hold your hand just outside the frame to block direct sunlight hitting the lens. It’s an old-school trick that still works.

  
  

• Shade the lens and check your front element. Backlight shows up every fingerprint and smear. A quick wipe of the lens (or phone camera) can transform flare and clarity more than any setting.

  
  

• Make the branches part of the composition Winter lines aren’t just “in the way” use them as a frame and a lead-in. Let them arc across the top like a natural canopy, guiding the eye down to the frosty field and cottages.

Depending where you are in the world, (I have subscribers in some hot places), you may or may not get frosty mornings painting the grass white; and wood smoke putting a mist in the air.

You may just get bright morning sunshine, and exhaust fumes.

Whichever variation on a theme we choose, what I want to chat about here is how to avoid ruining an otherwise great photo-opportunity by getting the sun in the wrong place - and that can be a matter of a few metres or less to the left or right, forwards or back.

Let's go through these three images I took while out the other morning, Without a camera, it was a frosty morning walk, a slow walk, as sometimes happens when our lab felt more like being at home in front of the fire.

I'd walked up a hill to extend her walk and my fitness (I'm training for some high altitude Nordic walking in the Picos Mountains of Spain), she sort of said "You're not taking me to Spain, walk up there yourself", and stood and watched.

On the way down the sun was bright across open fields, but as I passed an Ash Tree the scene changed to the scene in the pictures.

I wasn't looking to take pictures, but this fulfills a little more of things touched upon in previous blogs

Image One is the result

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  Image One - Unmasked sun, pretty but flare and haze steal contrast, flare 'stops' your brain seeing the details behind.

Image One is the result of having the lens with nothing to stop the light bouncing around inside the lens, causing the same flare we've talked about before. But this particular morning there was something at stake - pretty cottages, a frosty field and a country scene.

If that's all you can produce, it's a shame. Without a camera the flare gets picked up by your eyes, and things happen in the brain that allow you to ignore the flare and 'see the scene'.

Try to caature it with a camera and that doesn't happen, the theme of the scene gets lost.

Image Two - A small step sideways, the sun tucks behind leaves, flare drops fast., your eye sees what you saw.

With Image Two I stepped back a couple of metres, which elevated my standpoint. It changes the image, taking out the majority of the flare, but not all - there's still a slight unwanted haze across the scene.

Image Three - Fully masked, same glow, cleaner tones, full detail returns.

Image Three results from stepping sideways to hide the sun completely - all the flare is gone - why? Because there's nothing too bright to get in the lens and bounce around.

In all of the images I've used the tree and foreground to frame the image, but in the last there is a touch more crispness to the middle of the scene.

Do you prefer the last image, or the one just before it with a touch more sparkle. If you’re a subscriber, let me know which one you’re drawn to and why.

And this very morning I got rather muddy trainers and made torn meniscus worse by going up the track that was frozen the day I took the other images.

Image Four - No need for shading - the light was not there this morning.

The positioning is not quite right, or the choice of lens, but it gives you an idea of the importance of training yourself "that you may look until you see". 'Noticing' the moment the other day, compared to the scene today - a world of difference.

Also, if you’re ready to move from reading tips to living them, Phase Two is designed for exactly that. It’s a limited membership group where you can practise regularly, share work, get supportive feedback, and enjoy member discounts from time to time.

Just get in touch to express your interest and I'll get back to you.