PCQC February photography contest winners Available Light – The World Indoors

Robert Thoresen

In Photography, available light refers to any light that is not explicitly supplied by the photographer. The term refers to light already available naturally (sunlight) or artificially (a room’s table lamp). Use of available light is a challenge for the photographer; the brightness and direction of light is usually not adjustable except for indoor lighting. Adjustments to shutter speed, use of shades and reflectors have to be made to manipulate the existing light. Also taken into consideration is time of day, location of the object and orientation of the photographer. PCQC members took on ambient light for their February challenge.

After a busy day at a University of Arizona retreat, it was time for a quiet evening at Cave Creek Ranch in Portal, Arizona. A lovely fire, a good book, a comfortable chair in a cottage room was a relaxing answer for a full day. Bill Martone made great use of ambient light from a table lamp and a burning log in the fireplace to set the mood for his first place photograph. Cave Creek Ranch, located in the Chiricahua Mountains, boasts a wide variety of hiking trails for bird watching and fauna and flora enthusiasts. Camera: Canon EOS 60D and Canon EF 28-135lens@38mm, f/4, 120sec, ISO-1600, Aperture 4.125, no flash.

The judges also tallied Lisa Teman-Rosenburg’s entry for a first place finish for her use of ambient light when picturing her pets at play. It was around 5:00 p.m. and the blinds were down to block the bright afternoon light. There are times that one gets lucky and light just happens, but in this case Lisa manipulated the incoming window light for a very effective result. Lisa took many shots of her pets that afternoon but entered this particular one and received a first place. Camera: Apple i-Phone 5S, f/2.2, 1/60sec, ISO-40, fl 4mm, no flash.

In February, Ken Haley participated in a PCQC photo shoot at the Philabaum Glass Studio and Gallery in Tucson. After leaving the furnace workroom Ken found that there was a gallery display window where he could again see the making of glass products. Always looking for a good picture he stepped back from the window, looked for a best angle and snapped a series of pictures, hoping for great results. For the contest he entered the best of those taken which turned out better than expected considering problems of low light, focus and depth of field issues and the reflection from window glass His effort garnered a second place finish. Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, f/4.5, 1/60 sec, ISO-640, fl 40mm, Aperture 3.0, no flash.

Every Christmas two gentleman from Nogales host a wine and cheese reception for the St. Andrew’s Clinic at their home. They decorate with over 25 Christmas trees and nativity sets collected from around the world. Helen Phillips’ third place photograph is a large globe ornament that was placed on a living room coffee table. The only way to photograph the ornament was to include Helen in it! Location and the use of ambient light created a self-image. Camera: Canon Power Shot SX30 IS, f/4, 1/30 sec, ISO-1600, fl 9mm, Aperture 4.0, no flash.

The Photography Club of Quail Creek has a monthly photo contest for its members and also schedules numerous photo field trips for members throughout the year. Meetings are held the second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the Madera Clubhouse. Consult the club’s constantly updated website http://www.pcqc.org as well as the weekday HOA What’s Happening for additional information.