Shadow & Light Monthly #45

Shadow & Light is a list of curated photography stories, features, techniques, news and inspiration that I’ve come across this month.

In this edition we go behind the scenes of a stunning underwater shot and take an alternative look at car photography. We learn more about the story behind NASA crew portraits and talk handheld exposure meters.

So, with no further ado, I give you this month’s Shadow & Light Monthly. Go grab yourself a cuppa and enjoy this month’s selections below. Please let me know in the comments what you think.

Pick of the month – Behind the Shot “The Swarm”

The Underwater Photographer of the Year competition recently announced its winners and highly honored images, and among the lineup of stunning shots was this image, made by Ollie Clarke.

Clarke’s winning image captures the incredible sight of a feeding whale shark. There’s a great interview with Clarke over on Alpha Universe where he talks about the unique challenges of underwater photography.

“I positioned myself as best I could with some guidance from our aircraft and skipper, trying to predict where the shark would go and got my settings right and waited for the shark to come by.”

Ollie Clarke

Visit Alpha Universe to read the interview in full and visit Clarke’s website to see more of his incredible images.

Additional reads

Photographer Uses a Macro Lens to Put a Distinct Spin on Car Photography

I’ve always been a firm believer that the most important skill a photographer has, and the hardest to learn, is the ability to see. The technical aspects of photography aren’t really all that complicated – the skill comes in seeing the image and being able to use those skills to capture it effectively.

As such, I’m always particularly interested when I see photographers finding new ways to look at objects so this article really caught my attention this month.

Motorsports photographer and automotive journalist Vladimir Ljadov recently picked up a macro lens, putting an unusual and visually stunning twist on his automotive photography.

He’s able to use his instincts to guide him while shooting. Equipped with a macro lens, Ljadov can get up close and personal with cars, which allows for exciting and unique images and lets him connect better with his subject. It’s a fruitful change in perspective.

“I believe that from time to time, it’s necessary to focus on and remind ourselves how complicated cars are”

Vladimir Ljadov

The resulting series of images are beautiful, and really showcase the attention to detail and design touches that can be found if you look closely enough.

Head on over to PetaPixel to see more from this fantastic series.

The Story Behind NASA’s Iconic and Timeless Artemis II Portraits

Last month, NASA revealed the four astronauts embarking on the Artemis II mission. It’s a momentous mission for NASA and humanity because Artemis II will be the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972 that a crewed spacecraft will travel to the Moon and beyond low Earth orbit.

Alongside the announcement came official portraits of the crew. The Artemis II portraits are attention-grabbing because of their dramatic lighting, cinematic feel, and timeless quality. They don’t look like typical NASA portraits or commercial headshots.

To find out more about the approach, PetaPixel spoke with the NASA Scientific Photographer behind the incredible Artemis II portraits, Josh Valcarcel, to learn about how his photographic background, what his job at NASA entails, and the story behind his eye-catching Artemis II portraits.

You can read the full interview over on PetaPixel.

And finally – Introduction to Light Meters

This last article caught my attention for two reasons. Firstly, I love analogue equipment and light meters particularly so this deep dive into the humble handheld light meter is right up my street.

Secondly, the lead image grabbed me becauseI have this very same Weston Master meter sat in my office! I love it so much I’ve even photographed it in the past:

As a child I was absolutely fascinated my this little meter. At first I played with it as a Star Trek communicator. Then I started asking questions about what it was and what it did. I found out how it worked and how to use it.

It now sits proudly in my office amongst my vintage cameras. It also still works perfectly…

Nowadays our cameras do all the metering for us but little handheld meters have made a bit of a comeback due to the popularity of analogue photography.

If you’re interested in learning more about light meters (and this lovely little Weston Master) you can read more over on La Vida Leica.

Until next time…

I hope you enjoy the articles above. Don’t forget you can follow my Shadow & Light magazine over on Flipboard if you’d like to see more of what I’m reading if you like what you’ve seen here.