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Image of the Week: Steven, Middlebury College, Vermont

Window light: it works every time.

Why use natural window light? Because it looks good, and I'm lazy. I could spend a lot of time setting up strobes, softboxes, scrims, and reflectors trying to replicate natural window light. But why go to all of that trouble when I can simply put the subject near a window and fire away?

The diffuse, directional light from sunlit windows embues a dramatic softness to subjects that's nigh impossible to achieve with artifical light. Plus, you can get away with carrying far less gear. Your back will thank you.

You may have noticed that the majority of the images chosen for my Image of the Week were taken with film. I don't have a hidden agenda, and nor do I have a marketing agreement with Kodak or Fuji (although I'm not adverse; representatives of either company are certainly welcome to contact me).

When it comes to cameras and materials, I'm a "right tool for the right job" kind of guy. For many assignments, shooting digitally is great -- the instant feedback and speed of processing is an incredible boon. But there's a "look" with film that you just can't get with digital capture. A well exposed and properly developed black-and-white negative possesses a three dimensional tonality not possible with digital imaging. And for portraits, you just can't beat natural window light for producing a negative that looks like it was etched in glass.

Have questions, comments? Let me know what you think.

Technical Data

Steven, Middlebury College, Vermont was photographed with a Hasselblad 500C/M and a Carl Zeiss T* 80mm ƒ/2.8 lens on Kodak TMAX 400 Professional Film. The exposure was 1/30 sec at ƒ/5.6.

Other Images of the Week

Buffalo, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming Elk skeleton on the banks of the Madison River, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming Winter Sun, Middlebury, Vermont Mike Kennard and the Lake Champlain Bridge, Chimney Point, Vermont Tiffany, Middlebury, Vermont Nora, Plattsburgh, New York Carrizo Badlands Sunset, Anza-Borrego State Park, California
Ocotillo Shadow on Abandoned Cabin, Anza-Borrego Desert, California, silver gelatin print South Fork Cascade Creek and 'The Wall', Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming Utah Juniper, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, Palladium Print Nicole Grainger riding Oxford, Middlebury, Vermont (Palladium Print) December Snow I, Middlebury, Vermont Bedroom, Homer Noble Farm, Ripton, Vermont Deer Skull, Citronelle, Alabama, Palladium Print
Boulders in swiftly moving stream, Weybridge, Vermont Sunset and Moonrise at Table Mountain, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming Moonrise and Abandoned Trailers, Anza-Borrego Desert, California UVM Mallory, Morgan Horse Farm, Weybridge, Vermont, Palladium Print Abandoned Cabin, Anza-Borrego Desert, California Melissa and Parker, Columbia, South Carolina Old Stone Row in Winter, Middlebury, Vermont
Worth Mountain Ski Lift in a Snowstorm, Middlebury College Snow Bowl, Green Mountains, Vermont Farmer and Pilot Ed Peet, Cornwall, Vermont Birches, Middlebury, Vermont Mountain Palm Springs, Anza-Borrego Desert, California Bullseye, Citronelle, Alabama Lunging UVM Orlando, Morgan Horse Farm, Weybridge, Vermont Barns IV, Middlebury, Vermont
Fallen Tree in the Creek, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming Blacksmith Lee Beckwith, Weybridge, Vermont Snow Angel, Middlebury, Vermont Slack Line, Middlebury, Vermont Coffee Splash Barns III, Middlebury, Vermont Beulah in the Carrizo Badlands, Anza-Borrego Desert, California
Chapel of the Transfiguration, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming Cross-Country Runner Alexandra Krieg, Middlebury, Vermont Horse Bath, Morgan Horse Farm, Weybridge, Vermont Whitney, Citronelle, Alabama The North Window from Turret Arch, Arches National Park, Utah Jeff, Middlebury College, Vermont Hostas II, Middlebury, Vermont
Hikers in Coyote Gulch I, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah Ocotillo Shadow, Abandoned Cabin, Anza-Borrego State Park, California Moonlit Palms, Anza-Borrego State Park, California Park Avenue, Arches National Park, Utah Ashton and Whitney, Citronelle, Alabama Steven Halladay Road III
Fall colors and ivy-covered wall, Middlebury College, Vermont Maple Tree, Middlebury, Vermont Jesse Hamner at Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone NP Aon Center from Millenium Park, Chicago Mountain Biking I Boulders II, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Hosta Leaves
Joe The Pour Skylar

Steven, Middlebury College, Vermont. Click on image to view larger.
All images and graphics © 2005-2012 Brett Simison, All Rights Reserved.
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