When it is Summer and Hot

city-heat-summer-river-melbourne

In Australia we get quite extreme temperatures in the summer and that also makes it very hard to take photos. The light is harsh, the shadows are very dark, as well as sharp. There is nothing soft about it. Even waiting until the golden hour in the evening can be a waste of time.

I refuse to believe that I shouldn’t take photos. I don’t see why those photos are not as valuable and important. Should we only take photos when the conditions are at their best? If we do that, then we never get a true perspective on where we are. I’ve been playing around with this idea for some time now. I want to try to show that heat and what it is like here in summer.

manhattan-bridge-newyork-monochrome-brooklyn

This is the Manhattan Bridge that connects Manhattan to Brooklyn. It is a beautiful bridge and this view of it is becoming quite iconic, with the Empire Bridge seen through the bottom of it.

The day I took this photo we walked all around New York and then over the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a warm to hot day and when I took this it was getting to the end of the day. I wanted to try and show it how I remembered it, the feeling, or maybe how hot I was feeling. I took away the colour because it was distracting and then I added the colour that I think is always cast on the landscape as the sun goes down.

city-heat-summer-river-melbourneThis was taken on the morning of what turned out to be a hot day. It was late morning and according to all the rules of photography it was the wrong time of day to be taking them, especially for summer. I thought, I don’t care, I’m here, I’m going to take this and see what I can do with it. I warmed it up a lot and desaturated a lot of the colours. This is quite a popular view of Melbourne, so it seemed like a good one to practice with.

I don’t know if either of them worked out the way I hoped they would, but it was fun to try and I will keep trying. Melbourne is set to have some high temperatures this summer if the last month is anything to go by. I will have lots of opportunities to get out and see what I can shoot in this heat. A challenge, I like a challenge.

You might be interested in …

21 Comments

  1. Warm it up with colors is a great idea, Leanne! I was visiting Florida, Sunshine state, last week. I had to use the hood or uv lens. 🙂

    1. Seemed like a good idea Amy, the sun can be so harsh and just horrible, especially in the peek of summer. I hope you got some good shots. Thanks
      I use a lens hood all the time, mainly because I bump the lens into everything, so it helps to protect it. 🙂

  2. If one was to wait for the proper conditions, you’ll be waiting for a very long time. In Colorado, it’s all about sun glare, particularly at altitude. In winter, it’s reflectivity from the snow. In summer, it’s keeping an eye out for pop-up thunderstorms.

    1. That’s what I think David, at this time of the year you would never go out. That’s interesting about the sun glare, not something I think about I suppose, it doesn’t snow here. The thunderstorms sound good, we have them too, but I’m don’t usually hear them until it is too late. Thanks David.

  3. Leanne, I think that whenever you have the time to shoot, is the best time. Some people won’t go out except for the golden hours. I think they are missing shooting true life. Your images are great no matter when you shoot them.

  4. I understand how annoying it is sometimes to take photos during a bright sunny day, I don´t know much about ISO levels and adjustments with a camera´s sensitivity to the light. But your pictures look great!

    1. It can be annoying,but I like the challenge of making it work. The camera copes quite well on a hot day, the settings are fine. Thank you.

  5. I understand the heat and the harsh light. Something I had to deal with living in the desert in Arizona. Those constraints are only one of the reasons I spent so much time on macro photography. Strangely, now that I am in Iowa, almost all of my photography has been landscape.

    1. The desert would have been wonderful. That is funny, I mean strange or interesting. I wonder what I will come up with in this heat. Thanks Tamara.

  6. I think they look great!
    I like to shoot car shows; they are during the summer and typically from 10a to 3. The worst times. I don’t have a decent image editing software program yet, though…

Comments are closed.

Discover more from LEANNE COLE

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading