Light

Light on a prairie pond.

The light of sunrise creates some interesting colours.

Firebird

Take the same sunrise and the same prairie pond and add in wildlife, in this case a young gosling. Magic! Notice the highlight in the gosling's eye, which we will cover in a later chapter.

Range Horse

Chiaroscuro - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Chiaroscuro is the the strong contrast between light and dark, made memorable by artists like Rembrandt, Rubens and Rahphael. In Puerto Vallarta, where the light is often very strong, finding shadows to shoot against, can provide the opportunity for some creative and memorable photographs. Note how the branch and leaves in the lower left hand corner create a leading line.

The Golden Hour

The golden hour is about warm pastel colours that invite you to stick around and contemplate the view.

Goslings

A red, orange sunrise that sparkles on the water with highlights of yellow during the Golden Hour.

Silver Bear

Sunrise comes late, up in the mountains on the Highwood Pass, the highest driveable pass in Canada at 2,200 meters. The Highwood Pass is Grizzly Bear country and the low elevation of the morning sun highlights the texture of this bear's silver coat.

Northern Harrier

I watched this beautiful raptor fly in the shade of a line of willow but I could see that if he kept his same course, he would emerge into the sunlight. I panned with my camera and sure enough, as he emerged into the light I got some nice shots. Tthe highlights on the leading edge of his wings, really makes the image pop.

Tundra Swans

Golden hour sunlight highlights these tundra swans in light at Elk Island National Park. The stacked and repeating positions create a sense of rhythm.

Soft

The softer, distilled light of an overcast day can still yield interesting results in wildlife photography.