BRACKETING EXPOSURES

Photo 1: Gar Wood in sunlight

Bracketing is the technique of shooting several shots of the same subject to capture different conditions or the same conditions in different settings.  Most commonly, bracketing is done shooting different f-stops, usually with a film camera, to make certain that the image was captured with the right amount of light.

The subject is a beautifully restored 1939 Gar Wood runabout parked at a boat house in Torch Lake, MI.  These four images were bracketed for changing light and conditions.  It was late in the afternoon and the sun was setting fast.  There were also clouds moving by which not only changed the light, but changed the reflections on the water.

The first image (left) was shot in the sunlight.  The grain in the mahogany hull presents well.  The Torch River is very blue.  The sunlight is creating dramatic light on the birch tree.

Photo 2: Clouded light

The second exposure was taken while a cloud past the sun.  Notice that the wall has more detail.  The patch of sky in the distance is less blue and there is much cloud reflecting on the river.  The birch tree framing the left side is much less dramatic.

Something else I saw in the first shots is that the stern is very dark and the name is difficult to read.

Photo 3: Flash fill

To illuminate the stern of the vessel, I put a remote flash with a wireless trigger on the shore behind the birch tree.

The sun returned and is showing brightly off the front of the far boat house.  Also presenting well in this version are the trees in the far background.  Notice though, that the sun has not returned to the birch tree.

Photo 4: Flash fill and changing sun light

In the final photo, the sun has set low enough that it will no longer reach the boat, but is still putting a glow on the wall.

I have also employed more supplemental lighting.  Along with the remote strobe on the shore, I set up 3 remote flashes on stands on a dock just out of view to the right.  Without them, the grain in the wooden hull was gone and it just looked brown.  The flashes also serve to ‘freeze’ details on the boat which was moving ever so slightly.

So each of these photos has elements that I like and elements that are deficient.  Because the camera has not been moved, the composition of all four images has the same registration, one will fit exactly over the others.  My next post will describe taking advantage of the best features of each picture and combining them into single image.

Next post: HDR: High Dynamic Range