scene throughout the day - ava meadows

 


1:37 p.m.


3:22 p.m.


5:03 p.m.


7:22 p.m.

Boulevard Park in Bellingham, Washington. While I was unable to record the specific camera settings, I can describe my approach to adjusting settings based on the lighting conditions. 

At 1:37 PM, the early afternoon sun was still relatively high, casting bright but slightly diffused light due to winter’s lower sun angle. The light was cool and crisp, illuminating the water and trees with stark contrasts. I would have used a lower ISO (around 100-200) to reduce noise since natural light was abundant, paired with a mid-range aperture (f/8-f/11) to capture sharp details in both the foreground and background.

By 3:22 PM, the sun had lowered slightly, creating longer shadows and a softer glow on the landscape. The golden hues began to emerge subtly, but the daylight still allowed for a balanced exposure without needing to drastically change the settings. I likely would have adjusted the white balance to maintain natural tones and slightly widened the aperture (f/5.6-f/8) to allow more light in as the brightness started to decrease.

At 5:03 PM, nearing sunset, the scene changed significantly. The warm golden hour tones intensified, casting elongated shadows and adding depth to the textures of the water, trees, and shoreline. During this time, I would have increased the ISO slightly (to around 400) to compensate for the decreasing light, while also slowing the shutter speed to capture the richness of the colors without introducing too much noise.

By 7:22 PM, the transition into twilight was fully underway. The last hints of daylight faded into deep blues (nearly black), requiring a higher ISO (around 800-1600) to maintain proper exposure. A wider aperture (f/2.8-f/4) would have been necessary to let in as much light as possible while keeping a reasonable shutter speed to avoid motion blur.

This assignment reinforced how winter’s natural history is written in the language of light. Even without detailed metadata from the camera, observing and responding to these changes in real-time helped me appreciate the dynamic qualities of seasonal light and its effect on the landscape.

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