Object in different positions in the frame

In this exercise the requirement was to find a subject that is clear and set within a large even background.

Living in the middle of Jakarta does not really five me very good options for this so I had to manufacture my subject and so I used some of the flowers from the garden.

Picture 1:  This image certainly puts the subject right in your line of sight.  However as this is not a picture detailing symmetry or patterns, it seems that it is a little boring, and doesn't require the viewer to do anything.  It is easy to look quickly and dismiss it.

Picture 2:  In this one, I moved it slightly off centre.  Here there is now a question that the viewer can ask.  Why is the subject not in the centre?



Picture 3:  Here I decided to try moving it off centre in a different direction to see if it created a different feeling than Pic 2.   Personally, I feel that it doesn't change the relationship with the background.



Picture 4: This is my preferred positioning.  The photo feels balanced even though there is a large area of empty space.  I have used this positioning before when cropping one of my images from safari in Tanzania in 2007.

Little Bee Eater - Tanzania 2007

Copyright Julian Adams

Exercise: Fitting the frame to the subject

The first exercise for "Part 1: The Frame" is about fitting the frame to the subject.

For me it is an introduction to the need for thinking about composition.

As a subject I decided to use the bizarre statue in our garden - it belongs to the landlady, and as you can see it is a statue of two frogs hugging!.

For the first image, I just walked up to it and took the photo.  The statue is positioned in the middle of the image, and the angle is looking down on it which makes it look small and unrealistic.

This shot reminds me of how most holiday photos are taken - no consideration to the subject.  You don't really get a sense of the size of the statue and with its central positioning there is nothing really to draw in the audience.










I tried various angles and views to try and make this fit better in the frame.  Due to its shape I could only put it on the top and bottom edges of the frame leaving a fair amount of space around the statue.

With this subject I think that the close up picture is the best, although this isn't the point of this exercise.  the lichens growing on the statue give a lot of details and contrast that you don't really see when looking at the last image.

This image gives a better idea of the positioning of the staute in the garden, with a much better viewing angle than the first picture in this series.  However I feel that the cropped image below is better.  There is much better balance, and more depth to the image.

Final thoughts on shooting movement

I found this exercise made me examine how I looked at images and how I viewed the subject within the image.  Having tack sharp images seemed to be preferable

The two approaches both offer levels of creativity that I hadn't really thought about before.

Shooting from the camera in a fixed position and letting the subject move through the frame for me, was the more creative way to shoot.  If I had been asked before undertaking this exercise what I expected my preferred image to be, I would have picked number 4.  However having  reviewed all the images I think that my favourite is number 7.  This image surprised me as normally I don't like images where the subject is out of focus.  But here I found myself imagining that he is stepping through to another dimension.

When asked to pick my favourite for the panning shots, I gain found myself challenging my preconceptions as to what I though I would prefer.  This is image 4, shot at 1/15 second and I feel is the best at displaying the guard walking across the image.  There is a compromise within the image in the fact that his head is not as in focus as it could be.  I know that my panning technique could use some work and feel that with practice the image would improve.










These were the last two exercises in the introductory part of the course, and I am looking forward to getting in Part 1. 

Although I knew what depth of field, aperture and shutter speed do on the camera, these exercises were extremely worthwhile for me as it forced me to examine how they affect the image and I feel that my photography will only improve as a result.

Panning with different shutter speeds

 For this exercise I removed the camera from the tripod.

1. 1/90 sec:  Although the subject has been walking through the frame, by panning it looks as though he has only just started to move.  There is slight blurring of the left leg, otherwise the subject is pretty sharp.

2. 1/60 sec:  This was probably the best shot from the sequence, arms adn legs are blurred indicating movement, but the subjects body and head are relatively sharp.

3. 1/30 sec:  This could also be the shot to use as the subject's head and body are still pretty clear and thee is definite blurring of the arms and legs.  I didn't choose this as my preferred image as his head is not as sharp as the previous image.  This may however be due to my panning technique.

4. 1/15 sec:  Although the movement is more pronounced, I would not use this photograph as the subject is not sharp enough.

5. 1/8 sec:  The shutter speed is no longer fast enough to capture the subject and keep him in focus. 

6. 1/4 sec: Images 6,7 and 8 are the least preferable in this type of image.  I don't feel that by blurring the subject to this extent it adds anything to the photograph.

7. 1/2 sec

8. 1 sec

Project: Photographing Movement

I have had some experience with this side of the camera as we have three cats and I'm always trying to get photos of them when they are having their weird and wonderful moments.  However as much as I tried I couldn't get any or them to walk in a straight line repeatedly!  So I conscripted our security guard to help.  It took some explaining using sign language and my limited indonesian, but we got there in the end.

We set up outside the gate of our house, much to the amusement of the locals.  This was the first time that I had used a tripod here in Indonesia and it caused some interest even though I was only getting the security guard to walk back and forward.  Being watched by other people is something that I am not overly comfortable doing, but interestingly I very quickly went from being self-conscious to enjoying the situation and feeling very at ease.



1.  1/250 sec:  Although obvious that the subject is walking he is frozen in place and the picture does not convey movement.

2.  1/125 sec:  There is still no sense of movement within the photograph.

3. 1/90 sec: The subject is just beginning to have a sense of movement through the photograph - his left arm and right leg are blurred, but it still, in my opinion doesn't achieve movement.

4.  1/45 sec:  Out of all eight images this one would be my pick.  The only thing that is not moving is his right leg, the blurring of the rest of the body makes it feel as though he is walking through the frame.

5. 1/20 sec:  In this image, I feel that the shutter speed is too slow.  His left leg seems to be disappearing.















6.  1/10 sec:  Again subject is losing his left leg.

7. 1/4 sec:  Although I think that picture 4 is the best image to give the feeling of the subject walking through to another dimension

8. 1 sec:  Here the subject has taken on an ethereal, ghost-like quality.  It is impossible to tell what the subject.  The only clues are the disembodied hand and foot.
















I tried to take a similar picture recently in New York on 5th avenue.  The idea was to show the movement of the New York taxis as the pulled away from the traffic lights (see image below).  I realise now through this exercise that it would be impossible to get the full effect without using the tripod, even when using a VR lens.  I took a series of images but never really got the look that I was trying to achieve because it was impossible to keep the stationary parts of the scene sharp.  The image that came closest was shot at 1/30 second, but now I realise that it would need to be at least 1/15 or even 1/8 to get the movement that I wanted to achieve.

Focus at different apertures

 

This exercise was to show the effect of differing apertures on the same photograph.  Using my 50mm F1.8 allowed me to get a very shallow depth of field.  The three pictures were taken at:

F1.8

F9.5

F22

The depth of field is very narrow at 1.8 and it is definitely possible to see the difference between all three photographs.

The background is completely blurred in the first photo, but is visible in both the other two images, although the final image has the most detail in it.  the statue in the background is actually two frogs hugging (it belongs to my landlady!).  In the second image, it is quite difficult to distinguish what they are, but in the third it is definitely more obvious.

Project 2: Focus with a set aperture

For this exercise I switched to my 50mm F1.8 as it would give me the largest aperture and so the most pronounced depth of field.

The picture that I prefer is the last in the series which has the swimming pool ladder in focus.  Because of the position of the ladder, just after the wall finishes, it gives a sense of expectation that someone, or something is going to happen and come in to view.

Project 1: Focal Length and angle of view

This exercise was designed to help us find the "standard" focal length for my camera.  As my Nikon D300 has a multiplier of 1.5 times focal length my initial thought was that the standard for this camera would be:

1.5 x 50 = 75mm

However in doing the exercise I found that for the standard length was around 55mm.  This was very surprising as it seems I was completely off the mark with my earlier assumption.  I actually went back and did the exercise for a second time on a different subject to check my results.

I ended up taking three photographs, at 18mm, 55mm and 200mm.  After printing on A4 paper, I then measured the distance that each image had to be held in order to appear the same size as my view.

The results were as follows:

18mm ->  ca. 6cm - too close to really focus on the paper!

55mm -> ca. 70cm - This was basically just less than arms length.

200mm -> ca. 160cm - only possible with the help of my wife as my arms don't reach that far!

Getting Started

This week I have been concentrating on the introduction of the course - "Getting to know your camera".

I've had this camera for about 18 months, and this is the first time that I've really tried to do some basic exercises in order to see how photos are affected by focal length, focus, aperture and taking images of moving subjects.

Although I thought I knew what I was doing, this has been an extremely useful exercise.  Of course my prior experience was there, but I had never analysed the differences of changing just one setting and then taking the same photo.  Obviously, getting to know your camera continues throughout your career, but I feel that armed with these knew experiences I will be able to find the settings needed to create the final image.

And so it begins...

So my course materials have arrived, appropriately on a Monday.  It seems apt that it's the first day of the week and also the first day of my course.

Over the coming weeks and months, I will be posting photographs and observations from the projects and assignments of this course.  This is, I hope the first step on the way to completing the degree.

I think that it could be quite a lonely experience studying from home.  Happily, there has already been some interaction with other students and I look forward to seeing how we all progress.