One of the last photo ops I had on Hornby Island was at Heron Rocks, a unique intertidal zone where the rocks are sand and wave-worn into alien type shapes. But at this visit we were showing friends and then stopped on the rocks for some portraits. Here again I'm using Adri's XTi and a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, a lens I also own and praise for its quick focusing and sharpness throughout its range. It's a dandy portrait zoom.

Aperture priority and available light

On an overcast day such as this the light was really nice; as they say: one big giant softbox. I simply set the camera on aperture priority (AV) to either emphasize or de-emphasize the background (open up for shallow depth-of-field; close for deep) and started shooting. I found the XTi was generally good about avoiding absurd shutter speeds to keep the exposure and was mostly satisfied with how aperture priority worked.

Shooting rapidfire

I'm not sure what the mood was but I felt playful and with each composition I started shooting rapid fire, backing up the buffer a few times. For some time now I've been shooting deliberately because I've instinctively waited for flashes to recharge. Here, just using natural light, I was under no such restriction. The results were dozens more choices to make and less inhibition from the subjects: Adri and Sarah. Also, when a difference between an acceptable shot and a mediocre one can be a certain expression or dreaded eye-closed, having a burst of frames available to you is wonderful.

Warming filter

One more change to my usual approach was a choice made by Adri to keep a warming filter on the Tamron. This turned out to be good choice. With the late-morning sun tucked away behind medium cloud cover there was certainly enough light, but there were only neutral tones. In other words a blank canvas. Without a flash and warming gel (which I have yet to master -- to be honest), one would have to resort to post-processing to warm up the cold tones in skin or other surfaces. As I said before, I was taking dozens of frames at a time; that's a lot of post-processing. It was nice then to learn again what an optical filter could do to help the scene. The Hoya filter was not overly red or orange; it really was just nice enough to raise the color temperature a tad, bringing faces out against the whited out, blank canvas. None of these shots had any significant warming in Lightroom; only some exposure adjustment.

Filter vs Post-processing?

The question comes up, why use a filter over going to Photoshop or Lightroom? Why affect your shot when you could just import the RAW and go to town on it in any way you want? This question might seem odd to a person like me who was a past-journeyman at Photoshop long before I caught the camera bug. Part of the answer I've already alluded to in that I'm now seeing time spent in the chair post-processing as not the joyous part of being a photographer. To me, I pick up a camera just so I can do something creative away from the computer; so the less time spent in front of the monitor the better. I fully agree, however, that with RAW you can do a lot. I am no Nazi. I just thought it was nice to be inspired on location instead of days later once the moment is gone. After all, you can always look at the effect in your viewfinder and then take the filter off.

There are more from this in my Heron Rocks set (and more added in the next few days) >>