{"id":2487,"date":"2013-05-14T10:50:31","date_gmt":"2013-05-14T14:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/?p=2487"},"modified":"2013-05-14T10:50:32","modified_gmt":"2013-05-14T14:50:32","slug":"union-pacifics-ozol-yard-martinez-california-august-12-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/union-pacifics-ozol-yard-martinez-california-august-12-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"Union Pacific\u2019s Ozol Yard, Martinez, California, August 12, 2009."},"content":{"rendered":"

Graphic Use of Morning Light.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"UP_Ozol_Yard_Aug12_2009_Bri_2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This photo of Union Pacific<\/a>\u2019s former Southern Pacific<\/a> Ozol Yard at Martinez was exposed from the same hillside on the same morning as the image of Amtrak in yesterday\u2019s post (See: Amtrak Capitols Crossing Carquinez Straits, August 12, 2009<\/a>)<\/p>\n

In this case, I\u2019ve walked (or scrambled) further down the hillside from my parking place on Carquinez Scenic Drive. The road is gated overnight and opened to the public in the early morning hours. Finding the right street in Martinez to reach Carquinez Scenic Drive can be a trial to the uninitiated, a good map or sat-nav device is recommended. I used a Northern California DeLorme<\/a> Atlas and Map Quest, (plus vague memories of having photographed from this road in the early 1990s).<\/p>\n

Working with hard silhouettes requires careful exposure. Also, I\u2019ve found it helps to avoid excessive lens flare. This is one of those things you rarely read about. If the sun (or other bright light) hits the front element of your lens it will cause flare which will change the contrast of the image and may cause patterns (light streaks or blobs).<\/p>\n

While in some instances it may be desirable to include flare (Hollywood discovered the dramatic use of flare in the 1960s and 1970s), often it is best to minimize it.<\/p>\n

What to do? Shade the sun from hitting the front of your lens. Traditionally a lens hood will solve this problem . However, when the sun is very low to the horizon, a simple lens hood isn\u2019t sufficient. To compensate, I\u2019ll try to find something to stand behind (such as a hedge, awning, convenient sign post). If this fails, I’ll use my notebook (which I carry with me everywhere) to shade the lens. For this reason, I often carry a 5×7 in size notebook with a dull charcoal gray cover (to minimize reflection).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll position the notebook in such a way so its shadow covers the front element, but the notebook itself isn\u2019t in the image. This is a handy trick to use for night photography too. It helps to have the camera on a tripod (or have a capable \u00a0assistant to hold the notebook!)<\/p>\n

In this instance, my intent was to emphasize the glint off the rails and signal bridge in a hard silhouette. Notice where I\u2019ve positioned the locomotives in relation to the glinting sun. I\u2019ve deliberately exposed for the highlights, allowing the shadows to consume most detail.<\/p>\n

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