Exercise 2 – Multiple Points

For this exercise I was to set up a still life starting with one object and adding to them until I had at least 6 objects in the image and to make an irregular yet pleasing shape.

I chose to use coins on the path outside as they are regular compact shapes although differing sizes and colours. I tried placing them but felt they looked very static so with each photo,  as I added another coin, I tossed them all so that they landed randomly.

One	Two	Three

As you can see from the images above, the single point is very static but as soon as another coin is added to start to take on a more interesting shape. The two coins become more interesting as it forms a diagonal line. The three coins form a triangle of sorts which again add interest to the image.

Four	Five	Six

The interest increases as more and more coins are added. The four coins are bunched together but they form a triangle and the five forms a triangle and 2 straight lines. The six appears to have a triangle form and a single point which again increases the dynamics of the photo and the interest.

Many 1	Many 2	Many 3

From the photos above it can be seen that the more objects are the more random the pattern made. Many 1 I like as there seems to be quite a strong triangle shape and a single point which draws the eye upwards. Many 2 I quite like also as it has a dominant vertical line slightly off centre and Many 3 has 2 curved diagonal lines that give the image a sense of movement.

Final

The final one I chose has 2 triangle shapes and a couple of diagonal lines. It probably it isn’t the best example but it did have a good few shapes in the objects.

CONCLUSION

I have realised that where objects are in the photo in relation to both the edges of the photo and the other objects is vital to how “good” a photo feels.

Exercise 1 – Positioning a point

EXERCISE 1 POSITIONING A POINT

This exercise is very like the one in Part one “Object in different positions”. I had to take 3 photos which had a single point in it but positioned in 3 different places in photo and make comments on them.

I went to my local park in March and the pond was frozen and I saw this bird walking along on the ice. I thought it was perfect as the background was plain enough so that the only interest in the photo was the bird. I also felt that the bird was small enough to be a single point in the photo.

Centre	Off Centre	Edge

The centre one is very static and in my opinion boring It doesn’t help that both legs are on the ice so the bird doesn’t seem to be moving at this point.The off centre one I like and I think it is my favourite as you can see where the bird has walked for and how far it has to go and in which direction. The one with the bird at the very edge of the photo doesn’t work for me as it is literally walking out of the picture and doesn’t seem to be telling any story.

CONCLUSION

I don’t know whether my feelings about these photos would have been different if there had been a different subject. Like the similar exercise before, the positioning of the point is vitally important to the feel of the photo.

Assignment 1 – CONTRASTS

For this first assignment I was to choose eight contrasting pairings from a large list of contrasting words and take photos of what I thought these words reflected. As I have mentioned before, I had read the whole of the first part of the course so I took many of these photos over the period, although I did take them all with this assignment in mind. Many of them were taken on a holiday in Perthshire as I felt I could give the right amount of time to taking the photos without having felt rushed. I also tried to take as many photos outside as I don’t really like taking photos inside as I think they look more staged.

All of the photos I took with my Canon 40D camera.

Contrasts

Definition

The state of being strikingly different from something else, typically something in juxtaposition or close association.

Pair 1

Definitions

Many- A large number of

Few -A small number of

The first two pairs I decided on were many/few. I was on holiday in Perthshire in October and the scenery and colours were absolutely stunning. The shot for many caught my eye firstly because of the contrasting colours. The leaves were growing on the side of the hotel and at first glance I thought it looked like flames shooting up the wall. I decided to take the photo as I felt it gave a good sense of many and I also liked the pattern it made. For few, I saw this bush and again I loved the contrasting colours but having taken many I felt it explained few well.

MANY	FEW
Lens EF 50mm F1.8 1/100 sec at F5.0 ISO 640	Lens EF 50mmF1.8 II 1/320 sec at F4.5 ISO 400

Pair 2

Definitions

Light – Of little weight; easy to lift

Heavy – Of great weight; difficult to lift or move

The next pairing I chose was light/heavy. I knew I wanted to use weights for both of these but had to work out how I could get them to actually look light or heavy. My 16 year old son has several weights that I could use. To show how easy it was to hold , I got him to hold the light weight with just two fingers. With the heavier weight, he had to use both hands to hold it up. I also wanted the size of the weight to be visible in the photo. I feel these photos work as you can see how light/heavy the weights are.

Light	Heavy
Lens EF 70-200 F/4L 1/50 sec at F/4.0 87mm at ISO 1000	Lens EF 70-200 F/4L 1/80 sec at F/4.0 70mm at ISO 1000

Pair 3

Definitions

Straight – without a curve or bend

Curved – deviates from straightness in a smooth, continuous fashion

On my holiday in Perthshire, I saw these walls in the grounds of the hotel I was staying in and knew they were perfect for the contrasting pair of straight/curved.  I took the photo of the straight wall handheld and took it from my my height level. For the curved one I crouched down low so as to make the curve more obvious. The foreground and background in this photo is quite bland but to get the effect of the curve, I had to pull back slightly and unfortunately they had to stay.

Straight	Curved
Lens EF 50mm F/1.8 II 1/200 sec at F/5.6 ISO 400	Lens EF 50mm F/1.8 II 1/160 at F/5.6 ISO 400

Pair 4

Definitions

Transparent – Allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be distinctly seen.

Opaque – Not able to be seen through

In the grounds of the hotel I was staying in, there was a birds of prey centre. As soon as I saw the birds behind the windows I knew it would be perfect for transparent. I really like the reflection on the window and took several to get the right angle for this while still being able to see the bird at the same time. I then went looking for something that would suit opaque and I feel that this old wall does this. It gives a sense of solidity and depth. Both photos were taken handheld.

Transparent	Opaque
Lens EF 50mm F/1.8 II 1/200 sec at F5.0 ISO 400	Lens EF 50 mm F/1.8 II 1/400 sec at F/4.0 ISO 400

Pair 5

Definitions

Liquid – flowing freely but of constant volume

Solid – Firm and stable in shape

There was a fountain in front of the hotel and I felt that with the droplets falling and rippling on the pond, it gave the photo a sense of movement and thus reflects liquid. We all know that a puddle is made from liquid but when it is on the ground, it gives the impression tof being solid as it is static. Both photos again were taken handheld.

Liquid	Solid
Lens Ef 50mm F/1.8 II1/640 sec at F/5.6ISO 400	Lens Ef 50mm F/1.8 II1/640 sec at F/5.6ISO 400

Pair 6 

Definitions

Hot – Having a high degree of heat or a high temperature

Cold – Of or at a low or relatively low temperature

This set of photos I took in my house and garden. I initially took a photo of our wood burning stove for hot but although we all know the flames would be hot, there was nothing in the photo that implied this. I then took a photo of a kettle boiling as obviously it is hot  but I felt the steam confirmed this. I changed the photo from colour as I felt the shiny surface of the kettle lent itself to being black and white.

These past few weeks, the weather has been very frosty and cold and I decided I could get a good photo out in the garden. With this one of the leaves, I feel that that the layer of frost and the fact that they have shrivelled from the temperature gives a sense of cold. The muted winter colours also adds to this.

Both photos were taken hand held.

Hot	Cold
Lens EF 50mm F/1.8 II 1/125 sec at F/2.0 ISO 800	Lens EF 70-200 F/4.0L 1/60 sec at F4.0 ISO 1000

Pair 7 

Definitions

Large – Of considerable or relatively great size

Small – Of a size that is less than normal or usual

There is a windfarm situated very close to where I live so I decided the windmills would be perfect for the large/small contrasting photos. With the large photo, I waited until people were walking past as this would give the photo a sense of scale and show how massive the windmills are. With small, I took another photo of the windmills but with nothing else in the photo that could give a sense of scale. I also wanted to have very small windmills in the background to add to the photo.

Both photos were taken handheld.

Large	Small
Lens EF 70-200 F/4.0L 1/320 sec at F10 91mm at ISO 200	Lens EF 70-200 F/4.0L 1/160 sec at F/8.0 55mm at ISO 200

Pair 8 

Definitions

High – Of great vertical extent

Low – Of less than average height from top to bottom

I had visited the Glasgow Necropolis and used it for The Sequence of Composition Exercise but I thought the positioning of the Necropolis was perfect for high/low contrasting pairs. For high, the scene was perfect as I was standing on the top of the hill looking down onto the monuments. The city low in the background also gives a sense of height. For low, I walked down the hill and took the photo looking up at the monuments. The perspective gives a sense of being down low.

Both photos were taken handheld.

High	Low
Lens EF-S 17-55mm F/2.8 1/1600 sec at F/3.5 46mm at ISO 125	Lens EF-S 17-55mm F/2.8 1/1000 sec at F/4.0 17mm at ISO 125

Black/White

Definition – In black, white, shades of gray, and no other colour

For the final photo, I had to choose a subject that includes two contrasting pairs. I chose to black and white and had a few ideas including piano keys- even though I don’t have a piano- and also and antique typewriter- which I do have. I then realised that the perfect subject was right under my nose – my Tibetan terrier Nora. She is black and white and is a very grumpy and haughty 8 year old. I got her to sit outside for as long as possible and this was the best pose I could get that showed at least one of her eyes. I was going to convert the image to to black and white but I wanted to show that she actually is black and white so matches the criteria perfectly.

Black/White
Lens EF 50mm F/1.8 II 1/800 sec at F/3.5 ISO 320

Conclusion

• I have thoroughly enjoyed the exercises and this assignment in the first part of the course. I have probably struggled with the reading and research required for this course but I do think that having being out of formal study for so long, it has taken me a while to know what is required. I have been looking at many blogs,photography websites but have failed to take a note of these so I don’t have anything to record.
• I definitely feel that my photograph taking has slowed down. I don’t take as many photos on a shoot as before because now if it doesn’t look right at the time I now don’t press the shutter button.
• I also feel creatively I have grown too and I think my assignment photos reflect this. I don’t think I took the words too lierally although obviously there is a huge room for improvement
• I have enjoyed doing the exercises on the learning log but I don’t think I have used this to the full. I need to start blogging weekly even if I have no exercises/photos to comment on.
• I also need to use my notebook more when out taking photos so I can record all my ideas/reflections
• I need to finish my assignment within the stated time!!

Exercise: Shutter Speeds – cameras with manual option

DEFINITION

Shutter Speed – In photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time ie the effective length of time a camera’s shutter is open (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutter_speed)

For this exercise I was to choose a subject that would pass by the camera repeatedly with me reducing the shutter speed and adjusting the aperture each time I took the photo.

I decided to take photos of my nephew skateboarding in his driveway. I did struggle slightly with the location and with hindsight I should have used a larger area to get better shots. I used a tripod and set the ISO to 400, focal length to 87mm and used my 70-200 F4.0L lens.

The first two photos were set at shutter speeds of 1/640 sec and 1/400 and apertures of F4.5 and F5.6. The subject is sharp with no sign of movement i.e. movement is frozen

1/640	1/400

When you move through the images, you can see that as the shutter speed slows down the subject becomes less static with a little sense of movement in the image. These next two are set at shutter speeds of 1/250 and 1/160 second with apertures of F6.3 and F8.0

1/250	1/160

When the shutter speed is reduced to 1/60 second, the image has a real sense of movement especially in the legs. Reducing the shutter speed to 1/30 second, makes the boarder blurry and out of focus.

1/60	1/30

Finally the last three photos have a shutter speed of 1/10 second and an aperture of F29.0 the subject is so blurry that it looks like a hologram

1/10	1/10	1/10

Conclusion

As I said before, I do realise that I should have given myself more space when actually taking the photo but I feel that the results of the exercise do prove the point that the slower the shutter speed the more apparent the sense of movement in the photo.

To keep the ISO the same for the whole exercise every time I reduced the shutter speed I had to make the aperture smaller ie have a larger F stop number.

My favourite photo would be the one at shutter speed of 1/60 second as I really like the sense of movement. I think in the right setting ie a skatepark, the image would be even better. I do however like the slightly surreal, hologram effect that the slowest shutter speed gives

Exercise – Vertical and Horizontal Frames

Definition

Rule of Thirds is a guideline that applies to process of composing visual images….by dividing the image by having 2 horizontal and 2 vertical lines equal distances apart and placing the subject on the dissecting points.

Our eyes and brain naturally look at a scene horizontally which leads many photographers to take most, if not all, images horizontally. And also that it is easier to hold your camera this way. This exercise is to make you turn your camera round and see what happens. I seem to be in a minority that a lot of my photos I take are vertically so this exercise was good for me the other way.

I had read ahead and took these photos over the period of the course. I took vertical and horizontal photos of the same scene or object and decide which one I felt worked better in each pairing.

Pair 1 

I thought I would like the portrait  image of the trees as they cut photo diagonally but in this pairing I prefer the landscape. This could be because of the interest of autumn colours in the background.

Pair 2

I like both of these but I think I prefer the portrait one. The tall building lends itself to the vertical image but perhaps if I had placed the building on the rule of thirds it would look better.

Pair 3

The portrait version to me is much better for this one as I like the tall photos dominating the image and not seeing too much of the background.

Pair 4

I like both of these as I think the height of the monument lends itself to the vertical image but I also think the long tombstone and the interest in the background lends itself to the horizontal image.

Pair 5

This one to me is a no brainer. The vertical one works much better as there is interest in all areas of the image. Whereas the horizontal one to me has too much foreground and grass and just bores me slightly!

Pair 6

I would have thought the height of the tree would work better in a vertical frame but I think on this occasion the horizontal frame is much better as the image seems more balanced with the interest to the left of the tree.

Pair 7

Again I prefer the vertical one as I feel the stone dominates the image too much in the horizontal one. The height of the stone lends itself to the vertical one with the tall buildings in the background.

Pair 8

Again surprisingly I prefer the horizontal one as it shows the scale of the monument and also the shadows give interest.

Pair 9 

I like both of the photos but I think I would have to choose the vertical one as the tall monuments lend itself to the this frame. The horizontal one however does set the scene better and perhaps from a different angle that I would change my mind.

Pair 10

In this final pair again, I prefer the vertical one. The height of the statues and the hedge in front work much better than the vertical one

Conclusion 

• I have learnt that horizontal does not necessarily equal boring
• Different scenes determine which frame to use.
• I need to take both images and choose from

Exercise – Balance

Definition

“Balance is harmony, resolution, a condition that intuitively seems aesthetically pleasing.” Michael Freeman, “The Photographer’s Eye

For this exercise. I was to revisit several of my previously taken photos and see if I could work out the balance in the photo. I found this a quite hard concept to grasp and it took a lot of reading and rereading of “The Photographer’s Eye” and also reading blogs and websites (including photoinf.com, and ultimate-photo-tips.com) on line that would help me.

On wiki.com balance in photography  is described as,

“different parts of a photograph command your attention equally through the interplay of light and dark …..or by inferring geometric symmetry……or by juxtaposing people against objects so that the objects are of equal interest.”

I went through my library of photos again and again, trying to see ones which I felt were balanced. What I did notice was that a lot of them weren’t – I knew I didn’t like them and I didn’t know why. Now I do!

The first image of the broken headstones was taken at Stirling Castle. The large stone on left hand side dominates the photograph but this is counterbalanced by the smaller stone on the right hand side.

This second image is almost split diagonally in half by contrasting colours and thus makes the image appear balanced.

The balance in the boats seems much more obvious with both boats pointing towards the middle but one low down and one higher up.

The height of the flagpoles and the structure in the background balance with the foreground wall and hills in the distance. I also think this photo looks balanced with the contrast of the green in the foreground and the deep blue of the sky.

The dominance and height of the windmill on the left hand side is balanced by the smaller windmills on the background.

The last image is of the Tall Ship in Glasgow. I feel that the figure on the front of the ship is balanced by the buildings in the background. It would probably be even more balanced if there was more of buildings in background and slightly less of ship.

Conclusion

• I found this exercise very helpful as it really made me look at all my photos with a new eye. I now understand why some of my photos don’t work when before I just knew I didn’t like them.
• This will definitely make me think of what I can do to improve the harmony and balance before I take my next photo

Exercise – A Sequence of Composition

For this exercise I was to pick a situation, ideally involving people, that would make me think about the process of taking each picture, why I move on and keep taking pictures until I am happy with the final image. I was on a visit with my photography class to the Glasgow Necropolis and decided that this large monument would be ideal for this exercise.

The Necropolis is situated high up a hill in the east end of Glasgow with fantastic views over the city giving the opportunity to show this monument in situ. With the first image, I took the photo from above as I wanted to show the monument with the city behind. I like this one but I didn’t think it gave a proper sense of the scale of the monument. I then noticed that there was a large monument with steps up to it beside my chosen one, that I thought could be included in the photo to add interest. However I felt that the steps dominated the image, so I again looked for another shot. I noticed there was a tree growing out of the monument and took a photo of that. I quite liked this one but kept on moving to see what else I could see.

In Situ	Steps	Branch

I moved to the other side of the monument and took this one with Glasgow Cathedral spire in the background. I like this one because it shows the setting of the Necropolis but again feel that the balance is not right in the photo. I moved again to the side and took this photo which shows more of the city and has the sun coming in from the left – a style I love right now and am trying to master! I really like this one as it has more details in photo and the sky. However I feel that the horizon is too centred in the photo making it less dynamic than it could have been. Moving again I took the photo that has the city in the background. I really like this one as it shows the monument and the Necropolis in their setting. I also like the clouds giving the sky more interest than previous images. The photo appears to have more balance also.

Cathedral	Sun	City

I moved below the monument and shot up to it making it look very dominant. The three below are taken from the same position but I much prefer the one with a few headstones and people in it as it gives the monument a sense of scale and you can see how it does dominate this part of the cemetery. The shadows on the grass also give a bit of interest by breaking up the green of the grass.

Blue	Headstones	People

I then took a photo without the monument in it but I feel the image lacks the scale that the previous photo (with the same people in it) has. I looked up and saw that there was another statue of the same height beside this monument. Again I like this one but feel that it gives no sense of scale or setting. I moved further away from the monument and this photo shows more of the setting. The scale of the monument is also highlighted by the lady appearing in shot on the left hand side.

Other side	Two	Woman

I moved a little down the path and took a photo again of the two structures again with a hedge in front of it. I like the way the hedge divides the photo diagonally but again not my favourite. I climbed back up to the monument and took a few close-ups. The one with the inscription I like but I much prefer the one that has the leaves growing out of it as it gives a sense of age with the faded inscription.

Hedge	Inscription	Leaves

I moved to the side of the base of the monument and tried to include the leaves on it with the buildings in the background. I feel this one is too tight and the stone dominates the photo. I moved round slightly and zoomed out a little. This last one is my favourite as the bottom of the monument and the inscription gives the impression of the age and size of the monument and the background shows the setting of the Necropolis. The blue sky also adds an element of interest.

Side View	City Inscription

 

Conclusion

• I really enjoyed this exercise. By moving round a subject it can change the photo entirely
• Shapes and colours also change as you move round the image
• This exercise will make me stop and look at a subject and look round it before I decide on a final shot

Exercise – Focal lengths for cameras with variable focal lengths

On first reading, this exercise seemed like it was a repeat of the exercise in the introduction part of the course. However on closer reading, I realised I had to take photos from same place with the camera on a tripod changing the focal length and also changing the composition if I thought it was needed. I took photos with a lens range from 17mm to 200mm and although I didn’t move position I did move tripod up and down so that composition changed.

As you can see from the images below, the smaller the lens length the wider the composition of the photo. These lenses are called wide angle lens. The clubhouse looks tiny in the first photo and it shows it in its environment. As the focal length is increased the clubhouse appears to come nearer to me, becoming larger and more dominant in the photo. Details of the clubhouse become more apparent as the lens gets longer. These are called telephoto lenses as they bring things in the distance  appear to come closer as if the photographer had walked closer to the subject.

17 mm	55mm	70mm

81mm	104mm	200mm

Conclusion

• Choosing the length of the lens determines the appearance of the photo ie whether the subject is dominant or not
• Choosing position of photographer along with the lens length also changes the appearance of the photo ie kneeling down as opposed to standing up

Exercise Positioning the horizon

For this exercise I was to take several photos of the same scene while changing the position of the horizon on each one. I was on holiday in Perthshire and set up my tripod at the side of a golf course with a view to the hills in the background. I used my 17-55mm lens and set the focal length to 18mm and used an aperture of F13. I chose this so that everything in the image would be in focus.

As you can see from the photos I was very lucky with the day I chose to do this exercise with so much interest in the sky – the photos would have looked very different with a grey bland sky that is normal in Scotland. I started with the horizon very low down but  this this makes the photo seem unbalanced as there is no foreground interest. As I moved the horizon up , the setting becomes more interesting and obvious and the photo seems more balanced. However as I move the horizon higher in the photo, it again becomes unbalanced as the green of the fields dominate the picture with only a hint of the blue sky.

Conclusion

• The images would have been very different without the interesting sky
• My favourite images are between 3, 4 and 5 as the sky is prominent in photo without it domineering. My least favourite ones are the 2 extremes showing way too much sky and way too much course.
• I will need to keep this in my head when taking photos of landscapes – by changing the horizon the effect of the photo can change dramatically.

Exercise Object in different positions in the frame

For this exercise I was to take a few photos of same subject but change their position in the photo. I saw this post box when I was coming back from taking photos of a wind farm (for another exercise) and thought it was perfect. I especially liked the fact that the red of the subject and the green background made such a contrast.  I used my 17-55 lens keeping the focal length at 40mm and and an aperture of F5.6

The first one I took I placed the postbox in the centre. It doesn’t make the photo very interesting. As i moved the subject around from left to right, top to bottom the images appear very different. With this subject I like the ones with the postbox on the left hand side of the photo with my favourite being the left bottom one as it gives  a sense of scale with the trees in the background.

Centre	Right Centre	Left Centre

Left Bottom	Left Top	Right Top

Conclusion

• More thought needs to be given to where I position the main subject as it can completely change the image
• I should have perhaps made the positioning even more extreme