Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Reading Response - Still Life
I always thought still life was shots exclusively shot in a staged platform. This would include setting the subject to the photographers preference, have lighting and such. After reading the still life reading assignment, I knew that this was not the case. For my still life practice, this is exactly what I did. I had my subject placed as well as the lighting exactly how I wanted. For my final still life project, I will explore shooting more natural lighting and natural subject placements. For the in class still life practice, the objective was to chose our placement, however, I found that the room my group and I chose to shoot in had beautiful natural lighting and many interesting subjects. The reading assignment suggests that shots of still life, or photography in general, need time. Shots must not be rushed to conclude in a good result. I am taking this advice and practicing to be more patient while taking my shots so they turn out the way I'd like them to.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Reading Response
Chapter 2: Light and Lens
It's perfect timing that I came to read this chapter. Outside of class, I shoot for my friends whether it is photography or videography. A few weeks ago, I purchase an LED on-flash light and this chapter was perfect for explaining the usefulness of it. While I read this chapter, I experimented along with my light. I realized that lighting makes so much difference on the photograph. Not only the overall exposure of the photograph, but the angle the light hits, the highlights as well as the shadows it creates. This chapter showed me that lighting is in control of the photographer, thus whatever mood the photographer wants to achieve, they are able to do so with proper lighting techniques.
It's perfect timing that I came to read this chapter. Outside of class, I shoot for my friends whether it is photography or videography. A few weeks ago, I purchase an LED on-flash light and this chapter was perfect for explaining the usefulness of it. While I read this chapter, I experimented along with my light. I realized that lighting makes so much difference on the photograph. Not only the overall exposure of the photograph, but the angle the light hits, the highlights as well as the shadows it creates. This chapter showed me that lighting is in control of the photographer, thus whatever mood the photographer wants to achieve, they are able to do so with proper lighting techniques.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Flaneur Project
Flaneur Project - Write Up
My final flaneur project consisted of only two locations. Overall, I probably shot in 6 different locations, however, the overall feel and vibe of the photographs only appealed to me from 2 places. The first was while hiking on the White Mountains. While I took the photographs, I kept in mind to capture the beauty of nature. At the top of the mountain, we saw ice and very little leaves. Thus, throughout the hike, I tried to highlight the greenery of the trees, or at least what was left of it. Most of the pictures from there include a lot of yellow, from when the leaves are changing colors this season. The intention of this shoot was to capture perspectives or subjects that we don't usually photograph. For example, a broken tree bark was photographed from above and another fallen tree from the side. While we see these occasionally, most photographs of trees are when they are healthy and standing tall. Moreover, another photograph was of a river streaming down on rocks shot with a long exposure. Although rivers are photographed often, we usually see them differently, for instance, with a short shutter and clear water, similar to how we would see them in real life. The second location I picked was on our university campus. I realised I walk through the streets of our campus daily but never really stop to see what is going on around me. Our campus exhibits great beauty that I wanted to capture, but also of the students who lighten up the campus. Both sets of photographs were closely followed to Gus Powell's street exercise of the traveler, where I picked a subject and followed them around.
Personally, I think the rule of thirds is something a photographer should pay attention to as it gives good composition to the picture, however, I have always enjoyed breaking this rule. For one, it does not look like a photo composed by majority. Many say that photographs that do not follow this rule will look amateur, but in my eyes, it offers something different. Whenever I break this rule, I tend to focus on something else, such as something within the photograph that will make the viewers eyes follow. Whether it be tree branches across the photograph or a building that intersects with the lines of a zebra cross. Sometimes, rules are meant to be broken in photography, and the admiration of the photograph will be different for each viewer and how they perceive the picture. Furthermore, for this project, I challenged myself not to use a tripod for any of my photographs. Although I did not do any night time shooting, some photographs, such as the river stream, would have usually required a support. The reason for this was nothing in specific, but just the idea that, as a traveler, you have to capture moments in the moment. There is no time to set up your tripod and look for the perfect angle and such. I figured that since this was the exercise I picked, I would try to be a real traveler as close as possible, and these were the photographs that were created.
My final flaneur project consisted of only two locations. Overall, I probably shot in 6 different locations, however, the overall feel and vibe of the photographs only appealed to me from 2 places. The first was while hiking on the White Mountains. While I took the photographs, I kept in mind to capture the beauty of nature. At the top of the mountain, we saw ice and very little leaves. Thus, throughout the hike, I tried to highlight the greenery of the trees, or at least what was left of it. Most of the pictures from there include a lot of yellow, from when the leaves are changing colors this season. The intention of this shoot was to capture perspectives or subjects that we don't usually photograph. For example, a broken tree bark was photographed from above and another fallen tree from the side. While we see these occasionally, most photographs of trees are when they are healthy and standing tall. Moreover, another photograph was of a river streaming down on rocks shot with a long exposure. Although rivers are photographed often, we usually see them differently, for instance, with a short shutter and clear water, similar to how we would see them in real life. The second location I picked was on our university campus. I realised I walk through the streets of our campus daily but never really stop to see what is going on around me. Our campus exhibits great beauty that I wanted to capture, but also of the students who lighten up the campus. Both sets of photographs were closely followed to Gus Powell's street exercise of the traveler, where I picked a subject and followed them around.
Personally, I think the rule of thirds is something a photographer should pay attention to as it gives good composition to the picture, however, I have always enjoyed breaking this rule. For one, it does not look like a photo composed by majority. Many say that photographs that do not follow this rule will look amateur, but in my eyes, it offers something different. Whenever I break this rule, I tend to focus on something else, such as something within the photograph that will make the viewers eyes follow. Whether it be tree branches across the photograph or a building that intersects with the lines of a zebra cross. Sometimes, rules are meant to be broken in photography, and the admiration of the photograph will be different for each viewer and how they perceive the picture. Furthermore, for this project, I challenged myself not to use a tripod for any of my photographs. Although I did not do any night time shooting, some photographs, such as the river stream, would have usually required a support. The reason for this was nothing in specific, but just the idea that, as a traveler, you have to capture moments in the moment. There is no time to set up your tripod and look for the perfect angle and such. I figured that since this was the exercise I picked, I would try to be a real traveler as close as possible, and these were the photographs that were created.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Color Project
Why I picked the color RED:
For the color project, I decided to pick the color red for several reasons. Red has been my favorite color since childhood and things that are red appeal to me more than any other color. The color red can give off so many different types of vibes such as love, passion, anger, frustration and so on, it would be different for each individual. Red is also a color that makes me feel patriotic in some aspects. The Nepali flag has Crimson as it's main color. Moreover, Nepali festivals that are celebrated throughout the year also include the color red in many prayers and worships.
5 things the color red symbolizes for me:
1. Patriotism (Nepal)
2. Culture and tradition
3. Danger or safety
4. Passion or anger
5. Bold and braveness
Definitions:
Primary: The root of every other hue imaginable. (Ex. Yellow, red, blue)
Secondary: Any two of the pure primary hues. (Ex. Orange, violet, green)
Tertiary: Mix of a primary color and its nearest secondary color. (Ex. Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green)
For the color project, I decided to pick the color red for several reasons. Red has been my favorite color since childhood and things that are red appeal to me more than any other color. The color red can give off so many different types of vibes such as love, passion, anger, frustration and so on, it would be different for each individual. Red is also a color that makes me feel patriotic in some aspects. The Nepali flag has Crimson as it's main color. Moreover, Nepali festivals that are celebrated throughout the year also include the color red in many prayers and worships.
5 things the color red symbolizes for me:
1. Patriotism (Nepal)
2. Culture and tradition
3. Danger or safety
4. Passion or anger
5. Bold and braveness
Definitions:
Primary: The root of every other hue imaginable. (Ex. Yellow, red, blue)
Secondary: Any two of the pure primary hues. (Ex. Orange, violet, green)
Tertiary: Mix of a primary color and its nearest secondary color. (Ex. Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green)
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