For this assignment my choice of subject is street details, as this is where I feel the most comfortable. I love people watching and taking photographs of urban lifestyle so it will be interesting to see what changes in my approach there is, further to everything I have learnt up to now.
These are the photographs I have chosen to illustrate what I have learnt throughout part two of the TAoP.
Two points
Reflection of an Oak Tree
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| 1/40 sec f6.311mm ISO 400 |
Single Point Dominating
Inside & Outside
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| 1/200 sec f5.6 18mm ISO 200
Taken in Birmingham's China Town. It is St Pauls Cathedral reflected in the window of the very large pub opposite. St Pauls square is surrounded with large buildings and the reflections are fantastic. Again taken on my SLT with the wide angle lens. Tripod mounted with a fast shutter speed to catch any movement should anyone walk past. The Light in the pub dominates the frame and I have swapped the two point image over further to feedback from Andrea. I understand from her feedback the reasons why.
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Several Points in a Deliberate Shape (Rectangle)
The March
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| 1/250 sec at f5.6 18mm ISO 200 |
Bike Park
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| 1/80 sec at f22 18mm ISO 200
I have found this section of the assignment difficult. My concept of visualisation for shapes does not seem to come very naturally.
The double lines and length of protesters in the March is what formulates my theory of the rectangle. I was not ready for the march as it was an unexpected bonus. In hindsight I would have switched to shutter priority instead of aperture and also reduced the ISO as the sun directly behind has blown the area completely out. I am also looking at a filter system for my wide angle, but have been told the coverage may not entire. Consequently I applied a red filter in CS5, also had to play with the exposure, blacks and brightness to get a relatively clear shot without the sun taking over.
The rectangle in the Bike Stop is made up with the bike park top, the top of the shop awning and also the flow of several people in mostly the one direction. Added a bit of black, sharpness and fill light in Lightroom.
I again used the wide angle lens on my SLT for both photographs. |
A combination of Horizontal and Vertical Lines
The Graffiti Bridge
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| 1/125 sec f5.6 55mm ISO 200 |
On A100 with standard 18-55mm lens. The subject is itself interesting in demonstrating urban life, though not the nicer side of the subject. The bars curve and lead to the drama of the lines, onto the graffiti.
Diagonals
Distraction
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| 1/200 sec f5 230mm ISO 200 |
The Fishmonger
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| 1/20 sec at f5.6 18mm ISO 100 |
Multi Storey Car Park
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| 6 sec at f20 15mm ISO 800
Diagonals in distraction are to show the movement, flow and direction of the shot. I have added this along with my other two safer images to test my understanding. I like to take these shots on my 70-300 Tamron lens, safely away so my presence is not noticed. Tripod mounted with a fast shutter speed.
The Fishmonger diagonal lines are used to draw you into the shop and direct the eye to the seller, his goods and also price list. The image flows through the lines and gives the photograph a story of entering the shop, greeting, what you are buying and from whom. He was very co-operative when I went in and he made the shot very easy to take. Hand held with my SLT with wide angle lens.
The car park has been composed for impact of both scale and size. The angle takes away the plainness and boredom that taking a photograph of a multi storey car park may bring. The shot was taken fairly late at night on a very long exposure, tripod mounted. My SLT does not generate much in the way of noise, even when the ISO is taken to it's highest, as here. However, the luminance was tweaked in Lightroom and a crop applied to perfect the end result.
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Curves
The Curved Road
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| 1/250 at f7.1 11mm ISO 800 |
The GOTHS'
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| 1/200 sec at f5 230mm ISO 200
The curved road is exactly what it is. The curved tree adds to the image and draws the eye all the way through and off to infinity. Hand held wide angle with fast shutter to capture movement and prevent shake.
SLT with Tamron zoom lens.
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The Steps
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| 1/25 at f5 15mm ISO 3200 |
Triangular Me
Distinct even if Irregular Shapes |
| 1/80 sec at f18 16mm ISO 200
The steps is an implied triangle born out of perspective with use of my wide angle lens and also placement, hand and knee stance. The chrome and the glass make the composition really work as they illustrate the whole deign of the steps to the shopping centre and the beauty of the building. Tripod mounted my SLT with wide angle lens. Fairly late at night, but the ISO did not need to be increased too much as there was plenty of light from the centre. I would like to be able to sort out toning down the lights and need to read up on the best way to this.
Triangular me was an idea I had back in December. It has taken the last few months to find the right conditions to compose the shot. I also have been looking around for the best back drop and thought this dirty old car park would be great. Taken with SLT using wide angle, I tried a few different ways and this was the best. |
Under the Bridge
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| 1/10 at f6.3 18mm ISO 200 |
The Car Park Railings
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| 1/640 sec at f5 15mm ISO 200
Both of these images have been very well throughout and sort. I wanted something different (as in the description).
Under the bridge is an illustration of dumping on any street corner or any nook and cranny of our normal working lives. In this case under a railway bridge on full view for us to pass by as we walk along the pavement. A street detail which is neither pretty nor wanted. Tripod mounted, SLT, wide angle. I was trying to catch the drip that was splashing the frame, but failed, this is the reason for the slower shutter, consequently the over exposure. However, I liked the effect of it on the soaked wood and other particles surrounding it. Give them a bit of a different texture, and makes them look really slimy which brings out the shape.
The car park railing are I feel quite high impact. The image shows the design of the actual railings and the shapes involved and also the shapes outside in the buildings and surrounding area. Tripod mounted on SLT using my wide angle lens.
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Rhythm
Fence Rhythm
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| 1 3/5 sec at f 5.6 18mm ISO 100 |
The fence is a rickety old fence that is just across the road from where I live and surrounds an old cottage. My initial thought for this part of the assignment was the discs over Selfridges in Birmingham. But neither the opportunity or weather permitted this and it was time to finish the assignment so I had to go with a compromise and this was the best I had. Hand held, SLT, wide angle lens.
Pattern
The Old Factory
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| 1/80 sec at f5 15mm ISO 200 |
This old factory was perfect to fit the remit of rhythm. I has really taken me looking for subjects for both this and pattern to truly differentiate between the two.b Tripos mounted, SLT, wide angle. Increased exposure and blacks quite a bit to get the image to pop more.
Summary and Conclusions
On all the photographs I have tended to increase the fill light so I can add further blacks in Lightroom 3.3. I like the depth this gives me to the photograph. It seems to make the image pop out more and I think it works great to illustrate the shapes even further in the photographs.
I have also reduced the noise and increased the sharpness to gives then an extra kick.
Not as advised in everything I read I have done the shots in black and white with an increase in the contrast and I feel it gives the images a little extra impact, especially on the highly polished or water areas. It is the way I feel comfortable shooting as it gives me an instant reaction on the live view screen. Depending on the subject the end result can bring me a more detailed, almost HDR feel.
This second assignment has brought me a great deal of satisfaction in my work and I feel I am progressing in a direction that feels comfortable and natural.
I am pleased with the results and feel I have not stayed really safe. The photographs are a total illustration of me and how I enjoy taking photographs. I have taken the street details brief as things you would see at street and urban level, which includes roads, lighting, people, trading facilities, car parks, trash, graffiti and some decay. I have kept everything as real as possible.
Tutor Feedback
My Feedback
Summary and Conclusions
On all the photographs I have tended to increase the fill light so I can add further blacks in Lightroom 3.3. I like the depth this gives me to the photograph. It seems to make the image pop out more and I think it works great to illustrate the shapes even further in the photographs.
I have also reduced the noise and increased the sharpness to gives then an extra kick.
Not as advised in everything I read I have done the shots in black and white with an increase in the contrast and I feel it gives the images a little extra impact, especially on the highly polished or water areas. It is the way I feel comfortable shooting as it gives me an instant reaction on the live view screen. Depending on the subject the end result can bring me a more detailed, almost HDR feel.
This second assignment has brought me a great deal of satisfaction in my work and I feel I am progressing in a direction that feels comfortable and natural.
I am pleased with the results and feel I have not stayed really safe. The photographs are a total illustration of me and how I enjoy taking photographs. I have taken the street details brief as things you would see at street and urban level, which includes roads, lighting, people, trading facilities, car parks, trash, graffiti and some decay. I have kept everything as real as possible.
Tutor Feedback
I have had my feedback today from Andrea. All in all I am enormously pleased with it. There are a couple of images that I should readdress as they are a little dark. I couple of images I threw in to the mix that I was not completely settled with did not fair too well, but it is great to get the feedback as it compounds my understanding further to ensure I do not go down the wrong train of thought.
What I am particularly pleased with is that I have "produced a series of images that both answer the assignment brief and have also pushed my skills as a photographer" that gives me real confidence in the direction I am going.
I need to be a little more evaluative on my blog and test the reasons why I have taken the image by thinking that if I were to take the image again who could it be improved and what I have learnt from it.
The following are some points that I have read and understood. Single point is a strong image in itself and the fact that I have given the surrounding area so much contrast that the image is a little more complex for it to be a single point dominating.
the two points may well have made a single point dominates because of the lamps shade.
Several points and the march has been very successful, also with good definition in tones.
Multi-storey is the strongest image of the three, with the different layers working well and the variation of the tone form a "successful abstract structure" Distraction was a bit of a long shot and the fishmonger could do with some light upon his face, with a darken to the left hand corner. I will do this over the next few days and post here.
The goths is the stronger of the curved images. The chains and and belts draping helped the image as I had pointed out and also the depth of field was good to isolate the subjects from the background. Again the image is a little dark and appears heavy. i will look at this again in the next few days.
The steps and triangular me both worked in different ways. The composition on the steps felt natural with the central placement but as pointed out it worked because of an asymmetrical scene behind it. Andrea really liked this image and so did I. I am pleased I hunted around for the right background for triangular me as this formed a great part of the positive response to the image.
Under the bridge needs a bit of a crop to form a more abstract approach. I will look at that also and post here.
Car park railings I need to straighten the image. The fence railing I will try with a straight on approach as suggested just for a comparison. Also again it needs to be a little lighter.
In the rhythm Andrea liked the tonal range, but suggested it fitted more to pattern and suggest I swap both the pattern and the rhythm examples around. I will do that before I upload to OCA.
Blog is looking good. I need to "engage with some of the specific images rather than leave a general comment" about the work of other photographers. That area of my blog does need addressing and I need to organise the information better than separate pages as it does not work very well.
A very good second assignment feedback and I am very pleased. I have made some notes on colour and also interesting street photography links that Andrea sent.
I will be using label more as it gives me better orientation around the blog now it is growing in size.
My Feedback
I have had
my feedback today from Andrea. All in
all I am enormously pleased with it.
There are a couple of images that I should readdress as they are a
little dark. I couple of images I threw
in to the mix that I was not completely settled with did not fair too well, but
it is great to get the feedback as it compounds my understanding further to
ensure I do not go down the wrong train of thought.
What I am
particularly pleased with is that I have
"produced a series of images that both answer the assignment brief and
have also pushed my skills as a photographer" that gives me real confidence in the
direction I am going.
I need to
be a little more evaluative on my blog and test the reasons why I have taken
the image by thinking that if I were to take the image again who could it be
improved and what I have learnt from it.
The
following are some points that I have read and understood. Single point is a strong image in itself and
the fact that I have given the surrounding area so much contrast that the image
is a little more complex for it to be a single point dominating.
The two
points may well have made a single point dominates because of the lamps shade.
Several
points and the march has been very successful, also with good definition in
tones.
Multi-storey
is the strongest image of the three, with the different layers working well and
the variation of the tone form a "successful abstract structure" Distraction was a bit of a long shot and the
fishmonger could do with some light upon his face, with a darken to the left
hand corner. I will do this over the
next few days and post here
The goths
is the stronger of the curved images.
The chains and and belts draping helped the image as I had pointed out
and also the depth of field was good to isolate the subjects from the
background. Again the image is a little
dark and appears heavy. i will look at
this again in the next few days.
The steps
and triangular me both worked in different ways. The composition on the steps felt natural
with the central placement but as pointed out it worked because of an
asymmetrical scene behind it. Andrea
really liked this image and so did I. I
am pleased I hunted around for the right background for triangular me as this
formed a great part of the positive response to the image
Under the
bridge needs a bit of a crop to form a more abstract approach. I will look at that also and post here.
Car park
railings I need to straighten the image.
The fence railing I will try with a straight on approach as suggested just
for a comparison. Also again it needs to
be a little lighter.
In the
rhythm Andrea liked the tonal range, but suggested it fitted more to pattern
and suggest I swap both the pattern and the rhythm examples around. I will do that before I upload to OCA.
Blog is
looking good. I need to "engage
with some of the specific images rather than leave a general comment"
about the work of other photographers. That area of my blog does need
addressing and I need to organise the information better than separate pages as
it does not work very well.
A very good
second assignment feedback and I am very pleased. I have made some notes on colour and also
interesting street photography links that Andrea sent.
I will be
using label more as it gives me better orientation around the blog now it is
growing in size.
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