macro flash A
rtificial light used in nature photography looks unnatural because this kind of light is, in fact, not natural at all. The natural light we use to illuminate subjects comes in two forms and two forms only: sunlight and diffused, ambient light. Even if we use moonlight, this is simply the sun’s reflected light off the lunar surface. We use artificial light when photographing nature for three reasons: 1) The subject is dimly lit and we need the additional light to insure a sharp picture. Or we want to increase the depth of field as in the picture of the frog, be-
4
low; 2) we want to create dramatic lighting as I did in the shot of the seashell on the next page in which the flash was placed directly behind the shell for backlighting; and 3) we use the brief flash duration (the actual length of time the light inside the flash is on during the exposure) to freeze movement. This may be necessary because of the low level of light as well as when the subject is moving too fast for even a super fast shutter to freeze. Hummingbirds are an example. The flash duration used for the green crowned brilliant hummer on the next page was 16,000th of a second, and that completely froze the wings.
