Assignment 2: Compositional Tools

I chose this photo because it illustrates both depth of field and framing.  I also thought of trying to use the objects in the photo as shapes in relation to each other, and it seemed to turn out well.  I purposefully framed the shot so that as much as possible would be in focus, while most of the objects would be partially out of the frame (although the power line cutting through was not intentional, though I like it now).  I like the strong shadows that the glaring sun is casting and the effect it made on the lens.  I like that even though the sun is quite bright much of the sky is still exposed correctly.  My aperture was as wide as it would go and my shutter speed was still fairly high because there was a good deal of light. 

 I chose this photo because it represents the opposite end of the spectrum regarding aperture.  Only a few berries and part of a leaf are in focus, and the receding depth of field combined with the curved position of the berries give one a sense of motion.  One person I showed the photo to commented "It's almost as if you could reach out and pick them!"  Maybe that's why this photo is so appealing.  When I was shooting these photos, I shot many with an even narrower aperture (1.8; this one is a bit wider) but this was my favorite. 

 

This photo represents both depth of field and framing.  I shot this with a very high f-stop and tried to frame it so as to make the most use of the symmetrical lines as possible.  The vertical and horizontal lines combine with the light to draw your eye very clearly to the focal point directly in the center of the picture.  Even the reference cards point your eyes towards the light.  

 

I chose this photo because of the juxtaposition of blurred motion with a clean composition.  There is a narrow depth of field, creating a distinction between the subject and the background even while the subject is obscured by a a blur similar to the blur of the background.  I used a very slow shutter speed and panned but not at the same rate of speed as the subject was running so that he would still be blurry but not in the same way as the background. 

 

This photo is interesting because of both depth of field and framing.  I like how the landscape is continued in the reflections in the windows.  I used a very wide aperture and focused so that both the background and the reflection would be in focus. 

 

This photo illustrates depth of field, motion, and framing.  I used a wide aperture and a slow shutter speed so that the people on the ground would be in blurry while the bricks would be sharp.  The reflections in the window are what really drew me to this image; they create even more motion within the photograph because the shapes move your eyes around.  The reflections (especially the blue one) also add to the framing of the photo and draw your eye to the three people and the three puddles in the center. 

On the whole, I learned a lot about framing and focus from this shot.  I learned that focusing on different parts of the scene can make completely different images.  I also learned that shooting photos causes you to see things completely differently.  I shot photos in the arboretum several different times, and the most recent time I got some really fun shots of a particular tree that I had never even noticed before.  It makes you pay more attention to detail.

If I could have done this assignment again, I would have checked out a tripod and learned how to use it more so that camera shake wouldn't have been such a big problem and lack of light wouldn't have limited me so much.  

Assignment 1 - Light

 

I love the way the light is hitting this horse's face.  I like the composition of the image as well. 

 

The light in this image makes it look fun and bright.  The juxtaposition of household (or dorm room) items with the bright colors has a feel of "life is good."  The pink background is a curtain which is backlit by the afternoon sun (as the clock on the microwave shows, it is 3:05 pm).  You can see the reflection of a colorful bedspread in the face of the microwave, and somewhat in the teakettle.  The water in the teakettle and the time in the microwave gives one the feeling that real life has been frozen, yet the brightness of the light and the colors makes one feel that the image is alive.  One major takeaway from shooting this is that one can find some really cool shots in a dorm room, and that looking at normal objects creatively can cause one to see cool things one would not otherwise notice.
 

I chose this photo because of the contrast.  I like the difference between the dark background and the middle of the flower and the deep yellowish-orange petals.  I took this photo in afternoon shade and think it is very interesting how the flowers are so bright even though they are not in direct sunlight.  Like the previous two photos, the light has a happy feel, but this one is a bit darker and more serene.  It could be viewed as being very peaceful and still, but it could also almost be seen as just slightly ominous.  I learned that shade can be very useful, and that playing around with the aperture and shutter speed can give you a very dark background in a photo even if the background is not very dark in reality.

I chose this photo because there is so much going on in the photo.  The tree is backlit, but because of the ways the leaves are turned some of them look almost side or front-lit.  Various branches are sharply in focus while nearly all of the background and much of the tree is blurry and out of focus.  I like the composition as well, and like it much better with a shallow depth of field than with a deep one.  I learned that you can draw people's attention more with a shallow depth of field than you could with a photo in which everything is in focus:  there is less competing for attention in this photo than in the one with a wide depth of field.

I like this photo because it is a very different type of light.  I learned a lot from shooting this series of images:  light and the absence of light can add to or freeze motion, silhouettes made by backlighting with unnatural lights make really neat effects, and light and the absence of it can distort images.  I like the colors and the way they are blended. I also like the way the light streaks the wood walls and floor.  The light is both dramatic and excited.  I learned that in very dark settings you have no choice but to use an ISO of 1600, unless you want to spoil it with a flash.  And even so it is much easier to expose silhouettes with faster (relatively) shutter speeds than it is to try to keep a very slow shutter speed and get close to a proper exposure - although that can make some cool effects.

 

This photo is interesting because of the way the light really brings out the colors in the leather.  The blue saddle pad is slightly overexposed in the edges, but I feel like those edges help make a little bit of contrast between the saddle and the stall, while at the same time bringing them together because the stall gets lighter towards the saddle pad.  The light brings out many colors in the white saddle pad as well, and gives the well worn saddle an appealing tone.  Even though there was not much light in the barn and it was an overcast morning, the horse is well enough exposed to be clearly visible in the background. The lighting makes the photo feel very natural - as if you were looking at it exactly the way it would be in real life. 

From the assignment as a whole, I learned that light is fun to play with.  Light is responsible for making things look as interesting as they do; without variation in light everything would look very dull.  I learned that while afternoon sun is not good for portraits or general landscapes, it can be nice for getting a lot of contrast, and shade on a heavy sunny day can allow for some nice effects.  I learned that I like outdoor light much better than indoor light, but that colorful lights can make shooting really fun.  Often, light can be used in such a way that the image no longer becomes about the subject, but about the light itself - and those images tend to be quite interesting.  The project reinforced my knowledge that shooting horses in dimly lit barns is difficult - especially when it is drizzling outside.

 

The most important strength of the project is that it causes you to look at light in new ways.  It causes you to slow down and to look at what the light is actually doing and at how it is changing and affecting what you see.  It causes you to see that light distorts at the same time that it clarifies.

The project was also useful because it made me much more adept at understanding and changing the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO on my camera.  The time it takes to set up a shot has decreased tremendously.

I could have worked harder at finding more opportunities to shoot.  Not having a camera until a few days ago made things difficult but is not really an excuse, and in hindsight I wish I had spent more time shooting.  If I could do the project again I would return to the barn on a sunnier day (which I plan on doing anyways!) and getting some better shots of the horses.  I would have tried to get more shots with a lot of contrast at the barn.  Also, if my friends had been dancing longer would have played around more with the light and with trying to get a few steadier, more focused shots.  I would also have taken more indoor photos.