Color Photography: Assignment Metering and Color in High Contrast and Backlit Situations

Bright Light with Dark Shadows.  I metered inside the pot for the deeper shadow.  I placed a rock inside so that you can see how much of it changes through the Bracketing Process.

Backlit

Very Low Light with a Light Source.  This is a close up detail of a solar lantern.

Description

Shoot three different scenes that have a contrast range of not greater than two stops (4:1 lighting ratio). If you want to challenge yourself, aim for three scenes that have a formal or conceptual commonality. Think about how the lighting condition you choose relates to the subject you are photographing. Your images can be of the same subject in the three different lighting conditions, or they could be of three different subjects that you photograph in a formally similar manner, for example.

Unless otherwise instructed, you should set your camera to manual exposure and set your white balance setting to 5500K or Daylight. No auto white balance. It is strongly suggested that you meter using an external meter as opposed to using the matrix meter in the camera. Needed JPEG file sizes for the assignments are listed with the technical specifications for the class.

Each scene should be bracketed in clusters of five individual exposures in one-stop increments. You should have:

• Bracket Cluster 1: Five exposures of a single scene that is backlit
• Bracket Cluster 2: Five exposures of a single scene shot in bright light with very dark shadows
• Bracket Cluster 3: Five exposures of a single scene shot in very low light with a light source in the scene. The light source should not be behind the subject

You should have a total of 15 images.

Purpose

• To gain an understanding of the relationship between contrast range and dynamic range, and how exposure effects color

Color Photography: Assignment Recognizing and Metering for Low-Contrast Situations

Here is one image that was part of the assignment that I did that asked for an exposure done at sunset.

Demolished

I was going through some older photos I took and came across this image.  This building is no longer standing.  It was the guest house of a more elaborate home that stood next to it... The main house was later moved to a different location.

Here is the House from the side. (Film Scan)

This is the Main house that was moved to a different location. (Film Scan)

This is the side door to the main house.  (Film Scan).

I really enjoy shooting these older homes- they have so much character and they have an interesting story to tell.

The three Film scans were work I did in my first film class I took many years ago.  I miss working in the Dark room and using film.  I am excited to get back into it!

Final Projects, 1st Semester

Final Project Goals:

The goal of this assignment was to technically showcase our digital capture skills by creatively challenging ourselves in a manner that shows that we could develop an idea, capture good files, and make photographs that exhibit the skills we discussed in class.  Those being pre-visualization, composition, color balance, creating a theme in your project, and the ability to keep the viewer interested.  We were asked to work with a series of photographs to explore subjects,concepts, and themes.

Some artists work with a style or technique that has been developed, practiced and considered to communicate their ideas.  Working in a series is a more in depth approach that communicates a theme and considers all aspects of each photograph we make.  It requires editing your images to match your goals and allows the audience to get a better understanding of your personal vision.

My Final Project Proposal:

Presidio, San Francisco- Windows and Doors

Project:

This project will showcase the many beautiful and historic buildings at the Presidio, showing a spectrum of architectural styles.  My main focus will be on photographing the windows and doors of these structures.  Primarily my goal is to contribute (to the city and to the nation through these photos) to the largest and most ambitious preservation project.

What:

The Presidio of San Francisco contains one of the finest collections of military architecture in the U.S.  I plan to shoot the windows and doors of these buildings and capture their beauty and the essence of what makes them important.  There are several architectural styles showcased in these buildings that I will be pulling from: Italianate (1860-1880), Greek Revival (1840-1860), Queen Anne (1880-1890), Colonial Revival (1880-1940), Mission Revival (1910-1940), Mediterranean and Italian Renaissance Revival (1920-1940), World War II Era (1940-1945), Post-War Era/ Modern (1945-Present), Utilitarian Style (1860-Present), Eclectic Anomalies. The Presidio's historic status is not based on individual buildings but rather on the entire collection of structures representing many layers of history.

Digital Photography Assignment: Masters Project

Irving Penn

Irving Penn

Irving Penn

For this creative assignment we were to choose a single photographer whose work we would like to emulate (copy).  We were asked to consider subject, framing, angle, mood, lighting, white balance, grain, d.o.f., context and then recreate them.

The artist I chose to emulate for this assignment was Irving Penn.  I chose to focus on Portraiture because I feel that is an area where I struggle in photography and an area I need to strengthen.  Picking Irving Penn who is renowned for his portrait work gave me the challenge I needed.  His photos are truly amazing, especially the work he did in the 1950's- portraits of tradesmen done in Paris, London and New York.  These were without a doubt the most significant bodies of work in his portfolio.  He took individuals (pulled off the street in most cases) in their work attire, to his studio in front of a plain backdrop (an old theatre curtain) while natural light flooded in through a wall of windows and skylights.

At first glance, I think Penn's work often gets discounted as 'simple' or 'unimaginative'.  Even with my basic knowledge of photography, I could tell that there was a lot more to his shots than meets the eye- and setting out to reproduce them drove that point home even farther.  I am completely deficient in the are of studio work.  I have no studio, no set of banking windows, no theatre curtain, and no subjects... so I had to improvise.  I purchased a canvas tarp from an outdoor store and hung it from a frame that I built with 2x4's.  I gutted the room in my home where there was the best access to natural light, and I gathered as many 'props' as I could emulate Penn's "Carpenter" shot.  The first attempts that I made at capturing the look of this subject convinced me of how hard portrait work really is.  I was able to get feedback from my class about how to improve those first efforts and then set to work on trying to really capture light and shadow all at the same time.  This is after all, the essence of Penn's work.  I had to equal out the light that I was getting and I had to work at casting better shadows.  I put up some screens to help block some of the light that was coming into the room.

I continue to be amazed a Penn's body of work.  The more I look through some of his portraits, the more I remain in awe of him.  It's pretty remarkable that he was able to capture the number of shots that he did without really ever duplicating the same background, shadow, light or pose.

This experience has been positive over all.  It made me frustrated with my lack of resources and models (I used myself for 4 of the images).  Lighting was really tricky too.  I gained so much though the pros outweighed the cons.  I learned that a simple background can make an image amazingly complex.  I also saw how I can use natural light to my advantage.  I think I will have to revisit Penn's work over and over again to pull all the lessons possible out of his work- the little bit I've done so far has been rewarding.

Fundamentals of Photography Assignment: Angle of View

Created three images utilizing angle of view.  Each image emphasized a different angle of view with the same subject.  Focusing on three of the five basic angles of view(eye level, low angle, high angle, oblique angle, birds eye view).

Digital Photography Assignment: Neighborhood

This assignments main idea was to focus on the things around me in my neighborhood over the course of a day.  Considering the quality of light, time of day, and of course composition.

Digital Photography Assignment: Creative use of Quality of Light

The goal of this assignment was to refine your eye to study and see and understand how light affects the image, how to capture the light, and ultimately show how the light influences the overall composition and content of the image.  Considering the light as a source or a subject that can enhance the details in the image and bring out both the highlights and shadows of the image.  Light can be "action".  Slower shutter can burn in the light and create movement, or painting with light using a flashlight.

Digital Photography Assignment: Time of Day and White Balance

White Balance Pre Set: Cloudy, Time of Day: 7a.m.

White Balance Pre Set: Daylight, Time of Day: 7a.m.

White Balance Pre Set: Cloudy, Time of Day: 8a.m.

White Balance Pre Set: Daylight, Time of Day: 8a.m.

White Balance Pre Set: Cloudy, Time of Day: 12p.m.

White Balance Pre Set: Daylight, Time: 12p.m.

White Balance Pre Set: Cloudy, Time of Day: 12p.m.

White Balance Pre Set: Daylight, Time of Day: 12p.m.

White Balance Pre Set: Daylight, Time of Day: 6p.m.

White Balance Pre Set: Auto, Time of Day: 6p.m.

White Balance Pre Set: Daylight, Time of Day: 6p.m.

White Balance Pre Set: Auto, Time of Day: 6p.m.

I was asked to shoot the same scene at three different times of the day.  Doing this for two very different scenes.  Shooting the same scene twice with different pre set white balance settings.

The point of this assignment is to get better at nailing your exposures and to see how the white balance changes as the time of day and the light changes.
Some of these images have colors or white balances that are not correct or not neutral color balances.  This is what the assignment was teaching.  This assignment showed how the pre set settings (i.e. shady, cloudy, tungsten, auto, fluorescent, daylight, pre...) show the color cast difference from shot to shot.