Photography 1: The Art Of Photography

Project 13: The Golden Section

2008-10-07T16:29:00.007+01:00

These photos were all composed (for better or worse) according to the Rule of Thirds or the Golden Section.

Despite the camera being incorrectly focussed on the leaves in the background rather than the child. I feel this photo works well.

Back on the course

2008-09-30T21:00:00.001+01:00

After deferring the Art of Photography course for a year due to a new baby in the household I have now taken it up again in earnest and treated myself to a new Sony A300 DSLR camera!

Project 12: Positioning The Horizon

2007-01-04T20:20:00.000Z

The graduated sky stands out as the dominent part of the images above & below.

I feel that the photo above is the most balanced for this type of landscape image.

The large foreground in the images above & below detracts from the rest of the photos.

In the image above, the lack of sky and the large foreground make this image feel very unbalanced.

I prefer the third image in this sequence as it feels the most balanced.

Project 11: Balance

2006-11-21T21:09:00.000Z

In the above picture, the two dense patches of darkness at either side brings balance to the image.

In the final picture, the subjects are slightly off centre which disrupts the balance of the image.

It was simple to identify the balance in each of the above examples as they each have only one or two focal points. It is more difficult to identify balance in more complicated or "busier" images.

Project 10: Focal Lengths & Different Viewpoints

2006-11-12T15:15:00.000Z

The photos on the left were taken at a distance with a telephoto (420mm) lens. Those on the right were taken close up with a wide angle (35mm) lens.

Those photos taken with the telephoto lens (on the left) appear flatter and more two-dimensional than those taken with the wider angle lens. The wide angle pictures (on the right) more clearly show the distance between the subject and objects in the background and foreground. In other words, the telephoto lens compresses the background and foreground.

The other point of note is the effect that focal length has on depth of field. In each case, the photo taken with the wider angles lens has a far greater depth of field that those taken with the telephoto lens despite being taken using a larger aperture.

Project 9: Focal Lengths

2006-11-12T14:21:00.000Z

All stated focal lengths are 35mm film camera equivalents:

420mm

222mm

128mm

89mm

53mm

35mm

Influences

2006-11-08T13:54:00.000Z

I thought it would be a good idea to start collecting links to photographers' works and other influences.

Jane Bown - Has worked as a photographer for the Observer newspaper since 1949. She works primarily in black and white using available light and with a 40 year old camera.

Banksy - Not a photographer, but his "street art" provides subject matter for some excellent images.

Project 8: Recording A Sequence

2006-11-07T21:24:00.000Z

This sequence was shot outside Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham after a One Day International match between England and Pakistan. I heard the rhythm of Pakistani drumming and turned to find a group of fans "celebrating" in a procession walking down the middle of the road escorted by The Police. I started taking photos and moved in to try and get some shots of the main members of the procession.

Shot 1: The first glipse of the procession.

Shot 2: I moved to the middle of the road to get away from other spectators blocking my view.

Shot 3: I moved closer.

Shot 4: I tried to find the source of the drumming and chanting.

Shot 5: This man seemed to be leading the chanting.

Shot 6: I tried to get closer but was blocked by other people in the procession.

Shot 7: Others were trying to take photos.

Shot 9: This is the closest shot I could get to the "leader".

Shot 10: This man seemed to be the main drummer.

Shot 11: I moved round him to try to get a better picture but he had moved on and I only got his back.

Shot 12: These kids were dancing but this picture does not show that well.

Shot 13: I thought the policeman's expression might make a good photo in the context of everyone else enjoying themselves (see below).

Shot 14: Again the police juxtaposed against the drummer may make a good image (see below).

Shot 15: By this stage the procession mad moved on and the celebration was beginning to go die out.

Shot 17: My last attempt to get a shot of interest but the main subject is out of focus.

My favourite two cropped images from the sequence.

Project 7: Objects In Different Positions In The Frame

2006-10-20T16:26:00.000+01:00

Shot 1: Composed quickly

Shot 2: Subject in the centre of the image. The subject is prominent but the background has no central mass.

Shot 3: Subject a little way from the centre. In this shot the background had more central mass to the left of the subject but I feel that the image does not work well because the brid is swimming away form the centre of the image.

Shot 3 crop: I have cropped the above image to have the bird swimming towards the central mass of the background. I feel this works better.

Shot 4: Subject close to the corner. This shot has a good balance between subject and background but it would work better if the light and dark sections of of the water were reversed (and the bird was swimming towards the light.

Project 6: Fitting The Frame To The Subject

2006-09-04T09:33:00.000+01:00

Photo 1: Conventional viewpoint

Photo 2: Subject shot to the edges of the frame

I don't feel that this photo works very well at all.

Photo 3: Detailed shot

Shot with a shallow depth of field to blur the background and add emphasis to the face.

Photo 4: Placing the subject in the context of its surroundings

Crop 1: I cropped Photo 1 to completely change the subject of the image.

Crop 2: I cropped Photo 3 to further contrast the face against the background.

Crop 3: I cropped Photo 4 using an unusal shape.

The dark tree trunk seems to add balance to the photo but the pathway leads the viewer's eye away from the main subject.

Crop 4: I cropped Photo 4 to provide balance with the overhanging branches.

Crop 5: I cropped Photo 4 to show the main subject together with some of the interesting branches above it

Crop 6: This is the image I was trying to take when I composed Photo 4. The subject is framed using the truck and branches of the tree.
I am quite pleased with this image.

Project 5: Panning With Different Shutter Speeds

2006-08-22T21:13:00.000+01:00

Shutter Speed = 1/80 sec

Shutter Speed = 1/60 sec

Shutter Speed = 1/30 sec

Shutter Speed = 1/20 sec

Shutter Speed = 1/15 sec

The shots taken at 1/30 sec and 1/20 sec really show a sense of movement and speed and draw the viewer's focus towards the subject. The shot taken at 1/15 sec is a little too blurred.

Project 4: Shutter Speeds

2006-08-22T21:12:00.000+01:00

My first attempt at this project resulted in very little discernible difference between the pictures. Upon closer studying the image files' metadata it became apparent that my camera had been automatically adjusting the ISO rating for each shot and had been using it's Anti-Shake facility in an attempt to keep the images sharp. Also, the photos were taken in bright midday sunshine resulting in any shots taken with exposures longer than 1/125 sec being overexposed as my camera could not adjust to a small enough aperture. I will retake the series of images with the ISO rating fixed at 50 for all shots, the Anti-Shake function switched off, and in a dimmer environment.

My second attempt at this series of images is shown below...

1/250 sec

1/200 sec

1/16 sec

1/12 sec

1/80 sec

1/40 sec

1/20 sec

1/500 sec

1/320 sec

1/200 sec

1/100 sec

1/30 sec

The slowest shutter speed at which everything is sharply frozen appears to be around 1/500 sec. The sense of movement is best captured at shutter speeds of 1/100 sec and slower (although obviously the amount of blurring is also dependent upon the speed at which the subject is moving).

Project 3: Focus With Different Apertures

2006-08-22T20:51:00.000+01:00

I took a series of photos focusing on the same subject using different apertures. The two photos at the extremes of the available apertures are shown here with the limits of sharpness in each photo drawn with a black line (click on each image to see them full size). In both pictures the camera was focused on the man asleep in the deck chair.

Picture taken at aperture of f/8 with a large depth of field.

Picture taken at aperture of f/4.5 with a smaller depth of field.

Although there is little discernible difference between the photos at first glance I do prefer the one with the shallower depth of field as it draws the eye more to subject asleep in the deck chair.

Places To Take Photos

2006-07-31T23:26:00.000+01:00

Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham.
Birmingham Nature Centre, Pershore Road, Birmingham.
Bullring & St.Martin's Church, Birmingham.

References & Reading List

2006-07-31T23:09:00.000+01:00

FROST, L. (1993) Teach Yourself Photography, London: Hodder Headline plc.

Project 2: Focus With A Set Aperture

2006-07-26T12:33:00.000+01:00

The aim of this project is to show that by using a wide aperture the depth of field can be narrowed to make a small part the image stand out.

I took a series of 3 photos at the old Blackfriars bridge across the Thames focussing each time on a different column (far, middle then near). Each shot was taken at standard focal length with a aperture of f/3.2.

When viewed, there is very little discernable difference between the shots (and therefore I have only included one of the shots here). Further reading about the subject shows that there is more to reducing depth of field than simply using a wide aperture. Frost (1993, p 31) states that:

"Whenever you take a picture an area extending in front and behind the point you focus on will also come out sharp. This area is the depth of field, and its size varies depending upon three things:

The aperture set on the lens. The smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field. If you take a picture using an aperture of f/16, much more of the scene will come out sharp than if you use a large aperture such as f/2.8 or f/4.
The focal length of that lens. The shorter the focal length the greater the depth of field is at any given aperture. A 28mm wide-angle lens will give far more depth of field when set to f/8 than a 300mm telephoto lens set to f/8.
The distance between the camera and the point focused on. The further away the point of focus is, the greater the depth of field for any given lens and aperture. If you use a 50mm lens set to f/8, depth of field will be greater if you focus the lens on 10m than it will focused on 1m.

Taking these three points into account, if you want minimal depth of field so your main subject stands out and everything else is thrown out of focus, use a telephoto lens set to wide aperture such as f/4."

In order to get the images I require for this project I will repeat the exercise using a wide aperture at a longer focal length and have the points of focus closer to the camera....

These photos were taken from around 2 metres with a focal length of 160mm at f/4 (each image can be seen at full size by clicking on it).

In the first picture (left) I
focused on the red train.

In the second picture (right) I
focused on the blue train.

In the third picture (left) I
focused on the green train.

I prefer the last picture (focused on the closest, green train) as it has the shallowest depth of field of all 3 shots throwing the other trains out of focus and drawing the eye to the subject.

29 July 2006
I used the shallow depth of field technique in these two photos that I took of the Meerkats at Birmingham Nature Centre.

The photos were taken from around 4-5 metres away with a focal length of 420mm and an aperture of f/4.5.

Project 1: Focal Length & Angle Of View

2006-07-23T22:30:00.000+01:00

I went to the Licky Hills Country Park in Worcestershire yesterday to take my first photos for project 1. I am really dissapponted with the photos because they are boring, insignificant images without an interesting subject (although I guess that's not the point of this project - it's more to do with the technical understanding of focal lengths). However, the learning process has begun and I learnt 2 valuable lessons from the process:

Firstly, I took my 1 year old son with me to the park on his tricycle - this meant that not only did I have to constantly worry about his welfare whilst I was taking photos but I also couldn't move off the paved paths to look for better shots. I can't have this distraction with me while I am searching for shots for this course.

Secondly, the project called for a shot at standard focal length (approx 50mm @ 35mm equivalent). The zoom lens on my camera has no markings for focal length (in fact it doesn't move in and out at all) and the only indication of focal length is a visual "zoom scale" in the viewfinder. As a result I tried to find standard focal length by comparing the image in the viewfinder with the image looking directly at the scene (as standard focal length was explained in the course notes as the focal length at which the view in the viewfinder is the same size as that looking directly at the scene). The result was a picture taken at a focal length of 117mm (35mm equivalent)! Clearly the viewfinder of my camera (which is a small lcd display) has the effect of reducing the size of the image resulting in my zooming in too far to compensate. The problem is further complicated by the fact that although the focal length is recorded in the image's Exif Metadata, this can only be viewed once the image is transferred to a PC and not on the camera itself. As a result I have subsequently taken a few more test shots around the house and can now fairly consistently judge approximate standard focal length just using the cameras digital "zoom scale".

This was my first attempt at
"standard focal length" at Licky
Hills Country Park. In fact the
35mm equivalent focal length
is 117mm!

This photo was taken at
my camera's widest
angle of 35mm (35mm
equivalent)...

...and this photo was taken
at my camera's furthest
telephoto setting of 420mm
(35mm equivalent).

I will now repeat the exercise, learning from the above points, before printing the images to continue with the next part of the project.

Monday 31st July 2006
On Saturday I visited Cannon Hill Park and in the avenue of trees that runs down the side of Birmingham Nature Centre I retook the images for this project focussing on the Scout's War Memorial. These pictures were printed at A4 size and I returned to the location today to compare them to the actual scene.

This image was taken with a focal length of 47mm (i.e. standard focal length). In order for the A4 print to appear the same size as the actual scene I had to hold it approximately 20cm from my eyes (i.e. comfortable reading distance).

This image was taken at my camera's full zoom (focal length of 420mm). I was unable to hold this photo far enough away from me to make it appear the same size as the scene.

This image was taken at my camera's widest angle (35mm focal length). The A4 size print needed to be held just 5cm from my eyes in order to appear the same size as the actual scene.

Because I predicted that the photo at full zoom (above) would be unable to be compared to the size of the actual scene, I also took a photo at a mid-zoom focal length (109mm). The A4 image had to be held at arm length in order to appear the same size as the scene.

Introduction

2006-07-23T00:19:00.000+01:00

I received my first OCA course a couple of weeks ago and have read through the student handbook and course notes and have decided to keep my logbook online (hence this blog).