Friday, 10 January 2014

Assignment One: Contrasts




105mm, f/8, 1/6, ISO 200


Small

It is difficult for the viewer to discern the size of an object in the scene unless something else is also placed in the scene for comparison. In this image I placed my miniature model of a piano on my real piano, so that the viewer can get an immediate sense of the scale of the object. Once the initial idea was decided, I spent time deciding on the composition of the scene. I placed the model right at the bottom of the frame, so that it felt natural and grounded to the viewer, and placed it at a contrasting angle to the real-life piano. Using a vertical frame orientation allowed me to concentrate on the real piano keys and the daylight shining through the blinds provide leading lines through the scene. I used a shallow depth of field so that the real piano didn’t act as a distraction from the main subject.
 



10mm, f/4, 4s, ISO 200

Large

The subject for Large occurred to me quite quickly, as it is somewhat of a local landmark. I knew that it was floodlit at night, so this is when I decided to take the shot. The statue of the ‘Tin Man’ is on a large traffic island, and I took images from all possible angles around it, also experimenting with different frame orientations, how much the statue filled the frame, including and excluding traffic trails, and including and excluding trees and street furniture.
In the final chosen image, I used my wide-angle lens at it its widest setting and shot from a close and low vantage point to exaggerate the proportions of the object. I decided on a horizontal frame to better accentuate the tall structure, and included a couple of trees and lamp posts to give a sense of scale. I decided against adding more to the scene as I thought this would distract from the main subject and the message I was attempting to convey.



70mm, f/4, 1/1600, ISO 200

Straight

I was out taking photographs of sheep for the exercise 'Object in different positions in the frame' in the golden morning light. I turned round to look over the fields and noticed these tall strands of foliage standing proud of the surrounding grass. I immediately thought that they could be useful as something straight for the forthcoming assignment, and set my tripod down low to ensure I captured the morning sky as well as the field behind, for context. An image taken where the camera is looking down at the subject would have a distorted perception, and would not have captured the idea of Straight successfully. I feel that the low viewpoint, shallow depth of field, and the direction and quality of the light entering the lens gives for a nostalgic and dreamy feel to the image.



105mm, f/8, 2s, ISO 200

Curved

I had quite a few ideas for curved objects, but decided for this image I wanted a literal representation of Curved and opted for a group of brightly coloured paperclips. Shot with a true macro lens, the curves of the paperclips are exaggerated and really made obvious to the viewer of the image. I chose to simplify the image by only focusing on two or three paperclips, letting the others fade out of focus and create a colourful and contextual backdrop. I experimented with the placement and compositions of the subjects, and the three mostly in focus were chosen for their contrasting colours.



105mm, f/16, 1/500, ISO 200

Liquid

Water was an obvious choice here, with the main consideration being how do I represent the water? Did I want a lot of water, or just a droplet? Did I want to 'freeze' the water with a fast shutter speed, or create a smooth, milky texture with a slow one? In this particular instance I opted to freeze the action, and for the concept I had in mind I needed to gather together some props. This image is the one I think that needed the most set up, but I do enjoy the end result. I decided I wanted to capture the effects of water dropping into a glass bowl which was also filled with water. I envisioned that I would be able to record what happened under water, as well as the resulting splash. I experimented many times with the placement of the bowl, using a syringe to create the falling droplets. When I was happy with the composition of the image, I wanted a more interesting backdrop, and looked around the environment for a brightly-coloured object that I could place behind the scene. I found a magazine that fit the requirements, and I also enjoy the connotations of the juxtaposition of water, electricity and the resulting skull! I like the final image a lot; I would have preferred to use probably double the shutter-speed that I did, but 1/500s is the maximum flash synchronisation speed of my camera.



105mm, f/8, 1/60, ISO 200

Solid

Ice is the solid counterpart to water; the challenge was how to compose and present the image to be more interesting than just a pile of ice cubes. I again employed my macro lens, and took a low viewpoint, in order to present a more interesting composition that a top-down view. I used blue material as backdrop which I feel complements the cold feel of the scene. It took lots of experimentation which the scene to finally get a composition that I liked, but I think the final image is interesting, especially the small details in the ice. The macro lens has also blown the ice cubes up to mega proportions, so it almost seems as if you are looking at icebergs rather than cubes!
 


105mm, f/8, 1/60, ISO 200

Smooth

'Smooth as glass' is an oft-heard saying, and I chose wine glasses as the subject of this image. After settling on an arrangement for the glasses, I chose a tight composition, and arranged my angle of view in such a way that I captured both the dark work-surface and the red wall behind, in proportions of 2/3 - 1/3, like how I might position a horizon. The bright daylight streaming in from the window behind created the reflections of the glasses that I was looking for, which accentuates the smoothness of the material. I also softened the image a little in post-processing to further enhance the smooth concept.


105mm, f/16, 3s, ISO 200

Rough

Rough was a much trickier concept to work with than I imagined. After much thought, I eventually settled on my cat's scratch post as the subject, but with such an ordinary object finding a decent composition was difficult. I chose to focus close to accentuate the roughness of the object, and at this magnification individual strands of the material can easily be seen. I think a wider angle of view would not have brought the viewer's attention to the roughness of the material as much as this viewpoint does. I think the main interest in the image lies in the texture of the material, and the contrasting shades of light and colour.


105mm, f/11, 2s, ISO 200

Transparent

I quite quickly envisioned a light bulb for Transparent. I tried numerous different compositions and backdrops before settling on the final image. I wanted a close-up shot, but I wanted to be sure that the curvature of the bulb glass could still be seen. I directed my camera to focus on the reflection on the glass, not the filament inside the bulb. I chose to do this as I was keen to keep the transparent glass as the subject of the image, not necessarily the bulb as a whole. By keeping the focus sharp on the reflection and keeping the curvature of the glass in the frame, it is very obvious to the viewer that we are dealing with transparency. My final choice of backdrop was plain black, as I think this presents an excellent contrast to the grey/white reflections and details of the bulb, and also simplifies the scene, ensuring the viewer’s eyes don't wander elsewhere.


52mm, f/5.6, 1/80, ISO 200

Opaque

Opaque was incredibly difficult to think of a subject for, but when the idea finally came I thought it actually quite obvious. Being Christmas time, presents naturally are wrapped or enclosed in opaque material in order to preserve the element of surprise. In my image, there is a small part of the 'gift' protruding from the bag; the recipient knows that are getting a bottle of some kind of drink, but the particulars are kept secret by the opaque gift bag. I positioned the bag at an angle to the camera to create depth in the scene, and placed the Christmas tree behind for context; the viewer knows they are looking at a Christmas present. I used a shallow depth of field as I didn't want the brightly coloured background to be a distraction to the viewer.


10mm, f/22, 1/20, ISO 200
 

Much

Using water as the subject for Much and Little, I travelled to a nearby reservoir. I took numerous shots as I walked the perimeter of this large body of water, experimenting with different viewpoints, frame orientations, and elements within the scene. I was using my wide angle lens and low viewpoints in order to exaggerate the proportions of elements within the frame, particularly the water, in order to emphasise Much. I knew that I wanted elements other than the water included in the image in order to show context and create a little more interest than just a body of water. By the time I had taken this image the wind had picked up and it was making the water quite choppy. This, along with the dramatic sky and the water foliage combined to create the image I was looking for. I decided to convert the image to black and white as I felt that from a creative standpoint it enhances the drama, but also the isolation of the location in the image.


105mm, f/32, 20s, ISO 200

Little

The littlest conceivable amount of water is a droplet, and this image is of a droplet on the needles of my Christmas tree. This image needed quite a lot of set up. I used a syringe to place the droplet of water onto the needles, but due to their waxy coating it was very difficult to place a good-sized one; perseverance won in the end! I wanted a colourful and interesting background, and what looks a very out-of-focus flower in the background is actually a Christmas card, held at a distance close enough to fill the frame, but far enough away to create just an abstract, colourful background without any details. One of the biggest challenges when making this image was accurate focusing to make the droplet sharp. The camera was struggling to auto-focus as such a close distance, and my attempts at manual focusing were unsatisfactory. Eventually I did get the camera to auto focus; I then switched the camera to manual focus to lock the focus while taking the shot.


18mm, f/5, 0.8s, ISO 200

Moving

For Moving, I wanted to experiment further with shutter speeds as looked at earlier in the course. I used a sufficiently long shutter speed to turn ordinary moving cars into an abstract image, while the vehicles further away and the non-moving objects such as the road provide a realistic and contextual framework; the viewer knows that they are looking at a moving vehicle even though they can't see the vehicle in the way they normally would. I like to use leading lines in my images, and in this one the Christmas lights, the single yellow line, and the railing all converge to lead the viewer’s eye through the scene.


300mm, f/5.6, 1/400, ISO 400

Still

I found Still a very difficult concept to turn into an image. My thought process revolved around portraying something that is normally moving in a motionless state. I brainstormed several ideas, and this one was the idea I liked the best. Cars are normally moving, but one situation in which they are stationary for often long periods of time is when they are awaiting sale. I zoomed in close to the row of cars in order to remove extraneous objects from the scene, and to bring attention to the price signage on the inside of the windscreens. I also included a little of the cars either side to inform the viewer that they are observing a row of cars.


10mm, f/4, 1/60, ISO 400

Strong

I wanted to use this vehicle to portray Strong. I did this as in other images by using my wide angle lens to exaggerate proportions, and by adopting a low-down viewpoint. I wanted to really focus on the large wheels, and all the metalwork around the cabin, which I think makes this look like a strong vehicle. I chose a composition that included the signage for context, and which showed the vehicle pointing towards the road, as if ready to start hauling its heavy loads.



105mm, f/2.8, 1/6, ISO 200

Weak

Weak I felt quite a difficult concept to visualise, but something being damaged or broken was an idea that stayed with me. In the end I combined two ideas, that of 'broken' and 'fragile' to form my weak image. Eggs are known for being fragile, and as they are weak they break easily under pressure. Rather than just having an image of a broken egg, I included the hammer to essentially show something weak being dominated by something strong. I chose a close crop, and included more eggs in the background of the scene as well as a blue backdrop. A very shallow depth of field was used to keep the viewer’s attention focused on the broken egg. This was a challenging but enjoyable image to set up and create!


55mm, f/8, 1/80, ISO 200

Light and Dark (Combined)

I noticed the light streaming through the window and projecting onto the wall behind. I initially thought this could possibly make a subject for 'light', but while adjusting my position and casting shadows onto the same wall, I thought it would be better suited for the combined image of light and dark. The image is my silhouette when I am taking the photo, but it would not be particularly obvious to the viewer. I could just as easily be tipping my cap or doing a salute! I de-saturated the photo in post processing as I only wanted two distinct and highly contrasting shades. This was an interesting image to make, because unlike the other images, I wasn’t dealing with a physical subject, only the effect of light and shadow.




Meeting the Assessment Criteria


Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills


I feel that my previous 'hobbyist' experience with photography has given me sufficient knowledge of the workings of my camera and of exposure theory to concentrate more on the creative side of this assignment, rather than the technical side. I'm fortunate in that I have a wide range of lenses available to me, of which I have used almost all of them to produce the images in this assignment, selecting a particular lens for the effect I’m trying to create. One area that I do want to improve in, and which I will be working towards is post-processing. Many of my pictures were tweaked in Adobe Camera Raw, as I have all in-camera adjustments switched off. Adjustments made to many of the above images include exposure (rarely), contrast, clarity, highlights and shadows, saturation, straighten, and crop. My adjustments at the moment are very instinctive rather than based on solid knowledge on how a particular scene ‘should’ look, and I change settings until I’m happy with the resulting image. I'm pleased with how I have chosen to compose my images, making use of both horizontal and vertical frames, and using the concepts touched on in the course so far to place objects within the scene.

Quality of Outcome


I'm happy with the images I have selected for the assignment, although I have found the time constraints of keeping to self-imposed deadlines very difficult. I’m used to taking my camera out and taking photographs as they occur to me, whereas this assignment (and the exercises), were about planning what to photograph and then photographing it. I do find myself self-critical, and will often retake an image if I find it unsatisfactory when viewing it on the big screen. I use the lowest ISO possible where possible to reduce noise in the image, and try to use quality (usually natural) light. Where possible, my images were taken with my camera mounted on a tripod, and the shutter tripped with either an infra-red remote, or self –timer in order to make the images as sharp as possible. Care was taken in post-processing to improve the raw images that came directly out of the camera, making adjustments for technical and/or creative reasons. I hope the images I've selected communicate the chosen concepts satisfactorily, but this is something I won’t know for sure until I receive my tutor feedback.

Demonstration of Creativity


Creativity is the reason why I started this course in the first place. I felt I had hit a creative brick wall, and was struggling for inspiration and how to push my photography forward. This first assignment, applying abstract ideas to images is just the thing that will help me achieve that. I am already working in a new way, by actively seeking images instead of waiting for inspiration to come to me. I do feel that my images are creative, as I strive to create something different to the 'vanilla' look, and often use props and equipment to set up a scene how I like it before shooting the image. Creativity is something I want to improve on more and more as the course progresses.

Context


I do enjoy reflecting on my work, and I think it helps to improve future images. One of the most helpful things I find is reviewing other people's images on websites such as Flickr, and seeing how I can put my own spin on it. As noted earlier in my listening log, a visit to an art gallery also provided an opportunity to think 'photographically'. I have also been reading Michael Freeman's photography books, which are very helpful at introducing new concepts to me, or new ways at looking at already-known concepts.

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