People (event)

I decided to take my camera to an event to try out taking shots of people who were not posing and with different forms of lighting. The main problem that I had was I used the flash on the camera to give me the best shot but due to the low level lighting at the venue I got a lot of red eye. I managed to clean some of this up by using an on line program: PICNIK. I also used the same program to lighten some of the images as they were a little dark. I also used auto for most of the shots because I found while I was using the camera on manual that I was taking most of the time playing with the settings and missing some good shots. So I stuck for the moment with auto and cleaned them up later on. I used my Sony a200 camera with my zoom lens (60-300). With this lens I was able the stand at the back of the room and zoom in on to the person I wanted to photograph. By doing this I was able to zoom past people in the audience and get a clean shot of my target. I think next time I will try to use the Aperture priority setting as this works a little better in low level lighting.

Edit test.

I though I would have an experiment with editing before I undertake one of the main projects for this course. The first image of the gun is one of my own taken at a car show were there was lots of army cars. The background and the image of the soldier and the dog all came from the internet.

First of all I had to delete the backgrounds on the images of the car and the solder. I used the eraser tool on Photoshop and went around every part of the image slowly, basically cutting it out. Once I have done that I opened up the image of the background and added the two other images on to the background image as two different layers. Now I had 3 layers on the image. I then placed the background image on the bottom layer the solder on the second layer and the car on the top layer. This meant that the background would be behind both images and the solder would be behind the car.

I then had to re size the solder to make sure he was in proportion to the car. Once done I saved the whole images as a merged image.

Story Task.

Establishing shot:

'Hum I am a little hungry what should I have to eat?'

Detail:

'Haha oh yes I think I will eat you!'

Relationship:

'You are my pray and I am going to walk up to you quietly and eat you all up!'

Outcome:

'Oh yes very nice'

Conclusion:

'All full and happy.'

I used my Sony A200 camera and its standard lance to take these shots. I had to use the flash to make sure I did not get the glare of the red heat light yet I had to angle the camera to make sure it did not give me flash back on the glass.

Research 2.

I have decided to look at these two images of the Second World War as both are very iconic and meaningful during the time and even now. Each image shows a victory for both sides in the war. The rising of the flag shows victory and peace for the Allies and the other Hitler in front of the tower shows victory for the Nazi’s and dread for the Allies. Both creates different feelings the first of hope and victory the other of dread and despair yet both depict victory for each army.  

Joe Rosenthal

Hitler in Paris

Eddie Adams

He is best known for the images that he took during the Vietnam war and the most iconic image of a Vietnam General killing a prisoner (shown below) on February 1, 1968, during the opening stages of the Tet Offensive. He quotes his own image:


‘The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera.’

 Adams had to apologies to the General in the image for the dame it caused his reputation while he was alive, showing that the power of a photograph is very powerful indeed they do not lie and depict real feelings and emotions that are happening at the moment in time.

Margaret Bourke-White

When most people think of war photographer they think of men yet this women proved that women can do this gruesome style of photography as well. She was the first foreign photographer permitted to take picture of Soviet Industry, the first female war correspondent (also the first female permitted to work in combat zones).

Bibliography:

http://memorygospel.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/war-photographers-01/

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=139225

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/explorers_history/Adolf_Hitler_Paris_1940.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/adolf_hitler.htm&h=465&w=353&sz=17&tbnid=b68HLUE85erNVM:&tbnh=258&tbnw=196&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwho%2Btook%2BHitler%2BParis%2Bimages&zoom=1&q=who+took+Hitler+Paris+images&hl=en&usg=__qMXJL9PSFIWgVjx7Y8rZ3pjvlQo=&sa=X&ei=i7jaTOvHIYW7hAf05NH-Dw&ved=0CBsQ9QEwAA

Lee Millers War

Forward by David E Scherman

Conde Nastbooks

They eye of words and photographs from the front line.

Introduction by John Keegan

Essays by Phillip Knightley

Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Still life and Special effects photography

Roger Kicks and Frances Schultz

Roto Vision.

Ideas

First Ideas.

People:

Events, personal images, posed images, natural images, studio images, outside images, groups of people, single person, black and white, colour, cipher, grained images, war photography, low light shots, full light shots, shots done with coloured lights to create effects, shadow, shadow on faces to create atmosphere, shots staged to create a story or mood, props and costumes used to create story or mood, movement in an image, emotional images, close up images of a person or people, images from a distance of person or people.

Ideas I wish to use or expand on.

Studio shots, war photography, lighting for mood, shadows, movements in image, create a story with props and costumes.

Research 1.

James Nachtwey

"I have been a witness, and these pictures are

my testimony. The events I have recorded should

not be forgotten and must not be repeated."

-James Nachtwey-

He grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Dartmouth College, where he studied Art History and Political Science (1966-70). Images from the Vietnam War and the American Civil Rights movement had a powerful effect on him and were instrumental in his decision to become a photographer. He has worked aboard ships in the Merchant Marine, and while teaching himself photography.

In 1976 he started work as a newspaper photographer in New Mexico, and in 1980, he moved to New York to begin a career as a freelance magazine photographer. His first foreign assignment was to cover civil strife in Northern Ireland in 1981 during the IRA hunger strike. Since then, Nachtwey has devoted himself to documenting wars, conflicts and critical social issues.

I love the bottom image as it shows a complete contrast between the gun that symbolise war and the religious priest that symbolizes peace.

 

"I use what I know about the formal elements of photography at the service of the people I'm photographing—not the other way around. I'm not trying to make statements about photography. I'm trying to use photography to make statements about what's happening in the world. I don't want my compositions to be self-conscious."

This compassion—which is particularly compelling in view of the death, destruction, and inhumanity he has witnessed for more than two decades—has enabled him both to be present at and to record the heart-wrenching moments in personal lives throughout the world.

 

I find this work amazing as its not posed images of people they are real people in real life experiences, in life and death situations. The emotions and power in the images are real and not an act; they are truly amazing emotional images.

Bibliography: http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/

http://www.biography.com/articles/James-Nachtwey-38952

http://www.poyi.org/61/mpoy/nachtweythree01.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Nachtwey

 

Photoshop basics.

Black and white:

1: Image-Adjustments-Hue/Saturation (others)

2: Hue/Saturation- Saturation changes to black and white.

3: Channel mixer-Monochrome.

Part b&w:

1. Select the area you want to turn b&w.


2.Go to adjustments.


3. The go to gradient map and adjust until happy.

Hue/Saturation:

1:Go to Adjustments.

2. Hue/Saturation the change as desired.

Selector box:

1: When you use the selector box and want to have a perfect square hit the shift button.

2: Area you have selected and you only want that area then hit the image-crop and it will levee the area you have selected.

Colour on a b&w photo.

1: Turn image b&w

2: Select history brush.

3: Use brush to bring back colour on image.

(All image's are my own.)

Composition.

Within this exercise we had to explore the different compositions that make up a photograph. We had to take time and look at what we were photographing, taking the shot from different angles and distances.

Lines: In this image the lines made by the pillions structure lead you up to the top of the pillion, it was taken looking up in the middle of an electricity pillion.

Frame within a frame: This is were the image has been framed with something that is also in the image in this case it was a piece of art that can be found in the Burton park.

Patterns and Textures: This is where you pick out a certain pattern or texture on a surface or an object that you are photographing. I have decided to look at bark on two different tress.

Balance-Rule of Thirds: This idea comes from the Classical painters who would chop there cavers up in to sections then in each section paint a part of there picture. It is a way of structuring a well-balanced image. If you imagine a grid in your minds eyes as you look at the image and them were each part of you photograph will fit, this way you don’t end up with a bare part of your image.

Rule of Thirds grid.

Angle: This is were you use angle to change the look of your photographs, there are lots of angles that you can used yet in theses photos I have gone for high-low, tilt and low-high. There are lots of other angles that can be used for example having the camera on an angle as you take a photo.

Reflections: This is were in your photo you get a reflection of something by utilizing, rain, puddles, glass or any surface that will cause a refection. In the top image you can see the trees reflected in the puddle and in the bottom one you can see the light reflected in the beads of rainwater. Also the bottom on is another example of lines.

Shadow: This can mean manly things, shadows caused by stationary or moving objects or were light can not penetrate. For this image I have chosen the shadow comes from the trees and the sun setting causing the trees to be in shadow.

Distance: This is rather self-explanatory but it determines the distance of the object you are focusing on. The top two photos were done with a micro 10x lens placed on the end of a standered camera lens. The bottom one was done with maxim zoom with the lens.

Colour: This is when you decide what kind of colours will be within you photo, they can be vide rant colours, block colours or drab colours it really it completely up to you. I have used an image of the setting sun that shows a wide variety of oranges.

Focus: This is were you make a decision on what your main focus of the photo is going to be. You may be taking a large image with lots of people in yet only want to focus on one group of them. Hear I have focused on the trees in the foreground.

Camera Control Exercise.

Within this exercise we had to look at the camera controls that are at our disposal. We had to look at deeps of field and shutter speeds experimenting with a combination of the both. Hear are my 4 best results.
Extra info: The first number represents the shutter speed and the second with the F represents the depth of field or the aperture.

Wide depth of field. Everything in this image is in focus, even the background of the tank and the entire log.

(Settings used: 1/125    F5.6)

 Narrow depth of field. The only thing that is mainly in focus is the two flowers and the rest is blurred out. I wanted this effect so that your eye is only attracted to the main focus of the image, that being the flowers not the greeneries.

(Settings used: 1/100   F5.6)

Fast shutter speed. With this setting on the camera it will freeze something that is moving very fast, in this image I have a light plant that has just landed yet from the look of the image it is at a stand still however it was moving very fast down its landing strip.
                  
           (Settings used: 1/320   F7.1)

Slow shutter speed. This effect is created by a very slow shutter speed so instead of a snap shot that creates a moving object to become stationary this takes longer for the shutter of the camera to close. So from when the image is taken its still moving to when the image has finished being taken. Causing the image to blur and move in the shot. This image is best take using a tripod to keep all the other objects crisp as a shaky hand will cause them to blur.                   
              (Settings used: 0.4"  F29)