Ugh.

[Destin]

Sometimes I hate viewing the world through a viewfinder. My dad and I were up in his barn lastnight moving some stuff around (he has this wicked cool barn built in the 1890's that's 100 feet long, 30 feet wide, and has cathedral ceilings) and the sun was starting to set. I literally just stopped and started at the light coming through the window in disbelief. Perfect, golden sunlight coming through the window in a small tight beam, and hitting the dust we were kicking up by moving stuff. It would have been a PERFECT scene to photograph some cool old dude with a beard using the sunlight as a rim light. PERFECT. My dad was talking to me and I didn't even head him. Just stared at the light, mentally setting up lightstands and putting layers of CTO on my speedlights. Just pissed me off, and I thought I'd share.

So yeah this thread is pointless, more or less. But don't you hate when you find light that is PERFECT and don't have a subject to use it on?

 

[MLeeK]

Yep. It usually happens when I don't have a camera either.

 

[Big Mike]

Once you have be 'turned on' to photographic lighting and have 'seen the light'....you will start to notice great lighting all over the place. Don't get pissed off...enjoy the light like someone might enjoy looking at a flower. Then, remember where you are and what time of day, in what season...so that you can come back and use that light for some photos.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

You're too technical. Screw the lightstands and tripods. Sit your dad on a bucket and shoot.

 

[Kerbouchard]

My thing is when I'm watching the news, or TV Interviews, or shows, or pretty much anything and TV. Sometimes, I'll have to pause and rewind because I completely missed what was happening because I was thinking about the lighting. Annoys the crap out of my wife.

Oh, and that iconic pull back shot of a baseball or football game showing everybody in the crowd taking photos with flash from 800 ft away. Well, now it just annoys me.

 

[jwbryson1]

Sunsets are a dime a dozen, I know. BUT, having said that, I've been in my car on the way home from work on WAYYY too many occasions when there is an amazing light show and my DSLR is at home. I wish it was smaller and lighter so I could carry it with me all the time.

 

[Derrel]

Yeah Destin, I know the feeling of sweet, golden light and no really "significant" subject to make the most of it. At such times, I try to savor the experience, as a part of what I call "real life"...it lessens the pain...and turns it into a lovely memory.

 

[MLeeK]

My thing is when I'm watching the news, or TV Interviews, or shows, or pretty much anything and TV. Sometimes, I'll have to pause and rewind because I completely missed what was happening because I was thinking about the lighting. Annoys the crap out of my wife.

Oh, and that iconic pull back shot of a baseball or football game showing everybody in the crowd taking photos with flash from 800 ft away. Well, now it just annoys me.

The bad white balance annoys the hell out of me on some tv shows too!

 

[Destin]

My thing is when I'm watching the news, or TV Interviews, or shows, or pretty much anything and TV. Sometimes, I'll have to pause and rewind because I completely missed what was happening because I was thinking about the lighting. Annoys the crap out of my wife.

Oh, and that iconic pull back shot of a baseball or football game showing everybody in the crowd taking photos with flash from 800 ft away. Well, now it just annoys me.

The bad white balance annoys the hell out of me on some tv shows too!

Totally agreed. I'll be watching a movie with my girlfriend and she'll make a comment about one of the characters or something, and I'll realize that for the last minute or two I've been trying to reverse engineer the shot's lighting.

Being a sports photog has totally ruined hockey for me too. All I can pay attention to when I watch games live, or on tv is the damn strobes going off.

 

[blackrose89]

I so understand this. I haven't at this this long and everything looks different in my eyes. It's like my eyes and brain calculate everyting differently now.

 

[cgipson1]

so go back.. be prepared.. it will happen again!

 

[Destin]

so go back.. be prepared.. it will happen again!

Sure, let me just pull a cooperative old guy with a beard out of my pocket and get him to come to this old run down barn for a photo shoot. Not a Problem

 

[blackrose89]

so go back.. be prepared.. it will happen again!

Sure, let me just pull a cooperative old guy with a beard out of my pocket and get him to come to this old run down barn for a photo shoot. Not a Problem

I love it when people say this. I don't even what charlie said, just saying in general, but like I'll take a photo of a bee, or a person that was a on park bench or something and they'll tell me how to go re-shoot the photo. LOL