Summer stuff........

The summer is here.........................and so is your homework !

As we discussed in class, your task is to produce six visually stimulating, beautifully composed images of an element of your summer break.

These could be all created in one day, or chosen from a whole summer's worth of photography.

The key to interesting images is an interesting viewpoint, and a great composition...........don't forget the basic rules of composition;

Don't forget to think about pictures during your work experience, you might find something unusual and interesting in a new environment.

Here are some images that I have taken over the last couple of summers;

I'm sure you can produce some impressive work of your own..........crack on !

apertures

The other half of the exposure, (that moment when we press the shutter release), is the APERTURE.
Think of it as the twin brother of the shutter speed.

Under any particular lighting condition, combining a SHUTTER SPEED with the right APERTURE setting will give the correct EXPOSURE.

Don't panic, it's not rocket science. Essentially we have a hole in the middle of the lens, (the aperture), and a length of time that hole is open for, (the shutter speed). Open the hole for the right time and you'll have a perfect exposure.

Now, modern camera's will actually do all this for us. However, the vaguely interesting thing about apertures is that they have an effect on how focused our finished image will be.

Apertures are expressed as f-stops.
A large aperture (big hole) is a small number; f2.8
The corresponding shutter speed for this aperture, under average lighting conditions would be relatively fast, because it's a big hole, it lets the right amount of light in quickly.

Large apertures mean faster shutter speeds, but the area of our image that will be in focus is limited.


A small aperture (small hole) is a big number; f22
The shutter speed for this aperture, under the same lighting conditions, would be relatively longer. It's a small hole, so it takes longer for the right amount of light to pass through the lens.

Small apertures need longer shutter speeds, but a greater proportion of our image will be in focus.


The top image was made using a large aperture, the lack of focus created by this large aperture is used to deliberately isolate the first post of the railings.

The bottom image was made using a relatively small aperture, keeping most of the image in focus from front to back. This has had the effect of making the leading lines of the composition more effective.

shutterspeeds

When we press the shutter of a camera we hear a click, that's the SHUTTER firing.

Without getting too technical, the SHUTTER SPEED is the length of time that the shutter is open.

The top picture is of a wave frozen as it curls. This picture was made using a fast shutter speed, in fact it was about one thousandth of a second.
The camera was deliberately set to this speed in order to catch this exact moment.

The bottom picture is of a Tram, taken at night, with a slow (or long) shutter speed.
As you can see, the movement of the Tram has been accentuated by using a shutter speed of around one eighth of a second.

scrapbooks

In order to get used to "thinking pictures", each of you should start a scrapbook. Any images that catch your eye, cut them out and stick them in your scrapbook.
Look in old magazines, newspapers, on the net, in your old photo albums. The source of the pictures is not important.

Before long you will have a reference work, and more importantly you will be looking for pictures wherever you are.

angle of view

A bit basic, but here is an illustration of different angles of view.

The top image is a wide angle view, the bottom image is a narrow angle, or telephoto, view.
Both of these pictures were made on the same evening, from almost the same spot.

Often wide angle lenses are said to "alter perspective". They don't. The change is in the
ANGLE OF VIEW.

Just a thought.....

I'm planning to use this blog to keep in touch with how you are all doing, set tasks, put out technical tips, and illustrate what you are learning.

I hope that you will use this as a place to look for help when you are doing homework, or if you need a little inspiration or information.