Picture This: April 2008

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Lighting Opportunities

I chose to discuss available light, which focuses on the quality of light rather than the quantity. Available light on a cloudy day can be the best light. The sun is not able to drown out natural hues. I really enjoyed shooting plantlife one dreary day on vacation. Available light does change with camera angle changes.

Another form of light is direct light such as the sun or fill flash, sometimes even reflective aides. Direct light and dark shadows are complementary. I tried to stay away from direct light, although I used to take those kinds of shots ignorantly of better light. I have yet to take a great photo in direct light. I use fill flash alot, but I do not see the shadows so artistically.

The last form of light is backlight. This light allows for the perfect exposure for the subject, not so much the background. I tested backlighting on vacation. I think that it can really create an artistic effect. I believe that our speaker discussed this lighting at length.

I chose the picture of my front yard to demonstrate available light. It is not a glamorous shot, but if the angle changed so would the light. It was sunlight which was available at that time of day in the northside of my home. For the direct light, I used the photo of my pups. There are strong shadows from the door to the side. This could also be seen as side light. However, the direct light does not capture all the pups, so you can tell the effect the sun has on washing out the two, while the third doggy rests in the shadow. Lastly, I chose the shot of the tree with the sky behind as my backlight. It is not the best example, but I think it will do. I felt that it was important to identify these lights within my own work!

Response to: The Camera

I chose this photo to demonstrate depth of field. This is one of the most difficult terms for me to understand, but by definition, I think that I got it. I used a wide angle lens, the shutter speed was standard if not slow and the aperature was decreased.

Shutter speed was another concept that I did not feel right at home with. I understand that between 1/30 and 1/60 is comfortable. At 1/ 30 one may need a tripod and one can stop motion at 1/250 of a second. To be honest, these fractions do not make alot of sense.

I do know that when shutter speed increases so does aperature or light emittance, thus slowing depth of field or background clarity.

Documentary: Catching the Sunset

The first shot is the long shot or establishing shot. I think that it provides the viewer with a post to see the context of the shots. In this instance, the shots are of nearing a sunset. As you can see, they are taken from the road. The second shot is the medium shot and as Ben described, it reveals a context of the photo. I think it is personally the best shot and easily the most comfortable to look at. The last shot should show great detail. Unfortunately, I have some blurring and distortion. But, this is a learning process and that was indeed the intent!