Lighting

A recent assignment I had  was to experiment with different types of lighting. I was to use both natural and artificial lighting. We had to take at least one picture with natural light and artificial light simultaneously present. The above image was my example of natural vs. artificial. If you look closely on the artificial side you'll notice that the light being reflected in the door handle is green. The reason it is green is because the type of element used in the light. This light is mercury vapor light, that is why it is green.

Strangely enough our eyes do not see things quite as they are; an example of this is artificial light. There are a fare amount of different types of artificial lights and each of these lights tend to let off different colors. Mercury vapor lets off green color, high-pressure sodium lets off an orangey yellow color, and tungsten light is very orange. These types of light are the most common and appear to be white to us, most of the time.  Parking lots normally use sodium vapor bulbs because they use less energy; therefore the company that owns the lot can cut down on electric costs. The picture of the flowers is most likely sodium vapor light.

It is important to know these lights because they will affect the way your images come out. Especially if you don't have a flash and have to relay completely on the light around you to light your subject.

Series

This was first time I did a photo shoot for someone other than my self. I took pictures of my brother Jake's family and this is his little girl. She's around one year old in these pictures and I think this was the first time she had gone out in the snow. The series above is representing the fist time she had tasted snow. 

Often photographers use a body of work or a series to get a certain point across. Now for this to be affective there needs to be some kind of common theme. If there isn't a theme what is the difference between you body of work and a bunch of random pictures. A series brings different strengths to the table. It can make what your trying to say much more obvious or it can help show a chain of events. One of the things I think a series establishes is change. The change from one picture to another is more evident and gets people thinking about how these changes occur. I also think that a series can do quite the opposite and show the consistency of something. An example may be shooting different baseball diamonds around the United States. They are all going to have the same basic structure. So if you have a point you want to get across, maybe think about using a series a tool.

If you want to check out a couple examples of series go ahead and check out these links (I really like Noah)...

Els Vanden Meersch

Sawse

Noah

Portraits

If you ever wondered what my beautiful model Geri looked like, well here is your chance to check her out. This photo was taken in July of 2008.

The word portrait has a couple different meanings to a photographer. It can either mean your subject is a person or that the picture is taller than it is wide. This image is  an example of both.

When you think of a portrait most people think of a picture of a person against a tree or with a cool gray background. This is not always the case and I encourage you to branch out a little. When making a portrait it can be very effective to capture a person while they are doing some of their most natural behaviors. Here are a couple more examples of portraits I've taken...

This was among my first successful images. I took this picture in high school. This is my dad, I took this picture while he was talking to someone, he didn't even notice.

This image is of my beautiful cousin Rachel. She was so kind to let me take pictures of her throughout the day so I could a capture a her in a little more down to earth image. Also this image is an example of using medium lighting (check out the "Light" post if you don't know what medium light means).

An example of these more natural portraits is the work of the photographer Catherine Opie. If you check out her web site you can see a portrait of my sister Larkie. It's the 18th image (images 11-13, and 24 have some nudity in them just as a warning) I like the one of the football player holding his pads over his shoulder (image 7).

Man Hole

Abstract art it an interesting concept. Images tend to reflect the artist more because their images show what they see or how they are able to look at something ordinary in a different perspective.

When I took this image a it was raining and the paint on the cover was very vibrant. This caught my eye so I thought I'd experiment with it. What I did was lay down on the ground (I was wearing a white shirt at the time), line up the grid of the cover so that it was in that V shape (your eyes tend to follow certain patterns more easily than others, examples are a V shape or a Z shape), and used a large aperture so I could get that narrow depth of field. Since it was a cloudy day I didn't get any shadows and I think this helped make the image more simple.

In our world colors tend to represent certain feelings, ideas, or can influence attitudes. Green has a strong connection with safety (green light means it's safe to cross the intersection), and it can imply self-control and renewal. Also green has a relaxing effect on us, by looking at something green it can help relax your eyes. These calming properties are used by television companies; they will have their guests sit in green rooms to help relax them before they make an appearance. Green can present different ideals in different cultures too. In America green is associated with a rise in the stock market, while in Asia it represents a fall in stocks or shares. It is truly amazing how a single color can influence us so much.

Bouldering

This image isn't one of my higher quality images, but that is okay by me because it is the idea behind it that I like. For my color photo class my current assignment is a photo journal of meaningful photos. Any one can just snap a photo but not everyone thinks about what they want to say in there photos. In this photo I wanted to represent a new found love in my life... bouldering.

This photo involved a lot of techniques coming together:

1)Positioning your camera

-To take this photo I had to find a rock or something that I could trust would keep my camera steady. Also this rock position had to allow me to see through the camera so I could know where I was shooting (I don't own a tripod).

2)Focusing

-This time focusing wasn't as easy as it always is. I had to guess where my body would be and hope it would be in pretty good focus. Reason being I wouldn't be able to stand behind the camera and see the fine details. So what I did was look at the rocks around the area where my body would approximately be and see if they were in focus.

3)Bracketing

-Bracketing is actually pretty easy. When your in a setting that is poorly lit (too bright or too dark) and your worried about getting a good exposure bracketing is the way to go. What it consists of is keeping one of your setting constant, shutter speed for example, while changing another, aperture(F-stop). Example- shutter speed 125th of a second, F-stop 11, and click. Next, shutter speed 125 still, F-stop 16, and click. Next, shutter speed 125, F-stop 8, and click. Just a reminder the lower your F-stop number the more light your letting in. Most modern day cameras have light meters so you don't have to do bracketing as much, but it is a good thing to know just incase that breaks.

4)Arm strength

-This wasn't the easiest self-portrait to take. This position took a little strength, especially since I had to do it a few times. Bouldering isn't easy, but that is why I like it because if it was then everyone would do it.

I Wear My Sunglasses...

In photography a lot of the time a photo reflects on how the photographer is feeling or represents something important to them. In this photo I wanted to capture something simple. To keep the simplicity of the photo I decide to make it monochromatic (dealing mostly with one color) and to have my subject be every day things (sunglasses and blue jeans). Another thing I wanted to do is subtly incorporate myself into the picture. If you look at the lens that Geri's finger is on, you can see me in the reflection.

Sometimes photographers want bring them selves into the photo by a reflection, shadow, or simply taking a picture of them selves. This is something that always intrigues me because as a photographer you spend the majority of your time time taking photos behind the camera. Most of the time the only way to represent yourself is to photograph something that represents you or how you see things. Photography is a way to show other people how you see things, and can be a very personal thing.

Yesterday I learned about a photographer named Sam Abell. He was a photographer for National Geographic for over 30 years. He stated working for them having never taken a photography class before. Something that I really appreciated that he did was that he didn't alter his photos with a flash, a filter or anything. His photos are very true to life and that is his style. If you like really down to earth photos check out his web site. My favorite is the one with the woman in a blue rob (it's his wife). He has a small summary about each photo and they show how personal they are to him.