Final Ten -Unit 208 Principles of Location Photography -People and Portraits

                                                                          

 My final ten ,The Butcher ,The Baker and The Candle Stick-Maker , the reason for this theme is that they are all previous jobs of mine, with the latter still being a present part-time employer. All of the above photographs are picked for there composition ,although there is a few things I dislike on some of them , the shadowing and the grain , having read my camera manual over and over I now know that I could of improved them slightly , used some sort of reflector and a tripod, at the time I didn't have the money for these things. I also know if I had stood back a little further a little kiss of flash may of also helped .
                                                                           

Screen grab - Image size 

                                                                                  

Final Ten - Unit 208 -Principle of Location Photography-Nature / Landscape .

                                                          

My final ten , I really enjoy being out and about in my neck of the woods as they say! I go walking regularly and really appreciate my surroundings . If I was to pick a favorite from these I would struggle ,each photograph has element in it that I love .The Rickety fence and the glistening top of Kinder Scout ,the texture and lines ,the light, tonal range. Color and lines in the trees , the fact that you could feel the white bobbles on the Fly Agaric , the depth of field and mist across the lake ,shapes and lines in the black and white tree and worn wood  , shape , pattern , lines , texture in Iron Bridge and last but not least the snow on the Henmore with the texture of the wood, the lines and leading line .

A screen grad whilst in photoshop , showing changes made to the exposure in one of my shots .

                                                                        

Unit 208 theme 2 - Portrait Photographer -Andrew Montgomery.

Andrew Montgomery was born in 1969, Andrew began his career at 14 years old, when he had access to a dark room in the garden . Andrew then progressed to a five year degree course in fine art and then into a three year apprenticeship  in photography. In 1995 Andrew's work had appeared in a extensive range of top publications with clients in England and all over Europe,
 Andrew's commissions have included artisan workshop in Paris, coracle makers in Wales ,costume dramas in Prague , portraits of designers , single mothers , fisherman , gypsies  and Cistercian monks .
 Andrew has many clients too such as Conran , Country Living , Elle Decoration , BBC Homes and Antiques,
Independent on Sunday , Sunday Times Travel , Sky , Food Illustrated , Red Magazine , Ikea and The National Trust.
 Andrew Montgomery has gained some national awards too , Andrew gained A O P Photography Awards in 2004 , highly recommended for commissioned portraiture category . In 2003 Andrew also gained an award  from the British Environmental and Media Awards for best photographic coverage of environmental issues.     Andrew is mostly known for his portraits of real people in their natural environment . Andrews work has inspired me to take some of the shots in my portraits and people theme. I have tried to recreate the first picture in this selection of Andrew's work with one of my own shots of Annie in her workshop, I like the way you can actually connect with the people in the shots as if you where the actual there in person with them .

 The first five pictures in this section have been scanned from magazines that I have researched for my portrait theme , the next five are taken from Andrews web site .
                                                                              

The Boss - Annie.
To get this shot Andrew and his team dissembled the roof of Annie's workshop so the shot would have natural light which is fantastic . I like the warmth the light has produced ,the depth of field with the detail of the jugs and the naked flame burning in the background ,the composition is fantastic.

Mr A Hulme - Fish Monger , supplier of local poultry and Game.

In this shot there is Mr Hulme senior .The shot is taken in black and white which suits the photograph and the type of shop that is in view , there is not many of these types of shops left ,running for years with generations of family working in the business  , traditional ! I like the fact Mr Hulme is holding a brace of partridge and next to a sign , fish for sale .I like this shot as it shows what the seller is all about, game and fish .The positioning of the shot is excellent ,just enough detail and good composition. 

The  Painter .

I like the colors in this photograph along with the composition .There is texture in the grass in the fore-ground and the curvature of the beach in the mid- ground leads you to the cliffs in the back-ground .This shot shows what the picture is all about ,telling a visual story of the woman in the photograph.

The Restorer.

As a child I have always loved the old gypsy caravans so the composition and colors in this shot really appealed to me ,I like the fact that the guy is center in the shot and the bowtop at the front of the caravan frames him  . I love the fact that you can pick up the detail in the paint work and  grain of the wood at the front of the caravan .This shot again shows enough detail to tell the story.

Hand Made .

There is good texture in this photograph ,the path way, brick and stone walls lend themselves in this black and white shot ,the different tones really suit the composition , I like the position of the ladies and the way they are standing , I also like the fact that Andrew has made the ladies at work feel relaxed which has produced a fab photo.

Field Workers.

In this image the ladies are working out in the field  , I think this shot shows the the warmth of the afternoon sun (even though there in no color in this shot) and it also shows that the ladies are ready for more hard work,  probably all by hand .

 

 Fisherman.

The fisherman in this shot shows his catch , you see the sheen on the fish, the texture of the floor, the pattern and texture in the lobster baskets , the point of view is central and the rule of thirds is vertical .

Fisherman.

This shot shows the calmness of the water as the fisherman hauls in his catch, the texture , pattern of his nets and tonal ranges of the shore in the distance is great.

Maker of Glass .

The woman in this shot looks relaxed as Andrew takes his picture ,The photo shows the place of work the finished product, this image has great light ,lines and pattern and the glass wear looks illuminated .

Sheep Farmers.

Again another shot out in the field , the rule of thirds is horizontal in this picture , there is texture in the hay on the floor and I like the depth of field with the shapes of the sheep in the mid-ground and the mist rising in the background .

My take on these pictures are in my Butcher ,Baker and Candle Stick-Maker theme ,there is a shot of Annie with her candles , a shot of Mark next to a beef hind quarter in his fridge and a shot of a woman holding hand packed biscuits ready to be weighed.

                                                

Unit 208 ,theme 2 - And The Candle-Stick Maker !

                                                                        

The Boss -Annie.

ISO 400   f/s  5.6  s/s 1/50.

Flash Fired.

Annie in the work shop, holding one of the jugs we use for pouring hot wax into candle molds .I like this shot, it is a shame there are shadows behind Annie, but the work shop is extremely dark. One of the photographers I have researched has shot photos here and they had to remove some of the roof sections to let some natural light in , which was a time consuming job. The camera I use, finepix S5600, it has a fixed flash unit which fires forwards only and has not got the flash mover-ability and  strength of an external flash unit.

The Hurricane.
ISO400  f/s 5.6  s/s 1/50.
Flash Fired
Annie holding one of her wears, this is a hurricane candle made of wax and dried fruit . Annie is stood in front of the original door to her work shop which used to be the black-smiths workshop in the 1800s , you can see the original iron-work and other interesting pieces hanging , this also gives the photograph character as well as texture, shape and pattern. Again I wish the shot was more crisp and lighter .

Candles and Christmas.

ISO 400  f/s 5.0  s/s 1/40. 

I really like this shot ,I think the light is right ,its central ,good composition, nice texture in the wreaths that are hanging above the door, the rule of thirds appears vertically .

Ready Made.

ISO  400  f/s3.2  s/s1/60.

Here I have tried to recreate one of Andrew  Montgomery's shots , in a similar place in the workshop ,in black and white , again there are shadows present and the shot could of been a little clearer. The subject is in the frame ,there is  texture in the wall and good composition .

I Think I'm Getting On Her Wick .

ISO 400  f/s  3.2  s/s  1/60.

There is plenty of texture in this shot 

Afternoon Delight.

ISO 200  f/s  8  s/s  1/60

No Flash

I love this shot of Annie, the afternoon sun was just at eye level as Annie leaned in for the shot. I think the light is great ,the texture of the fur on the hat and wall behind Annie is apparent ,the shape of the bottles and the lines of the perspex sheeting all add to the photograph.

The shots again in this theme have a lot of shadow due to me not using my camera correctly , I have brought a tripod and now know how to open the shutter to allow light in .

Below are links to photographs that I have taken for Annie at on a Wick and a Prayer, all the shots of the candle cabinets, reed diffusers and two shots in the scented glass candles  section have been taken by myself in the summer of 2010 ( blue flock and silver rose candles).

Link to 'On A Wick and a Prayer' web page for Candle Cabinets

Link to' On A Wick and a Prayer' web page for reed diffusers

link to 'On A Wick 'and a Prayer web page for scented glass candles

My camera - Finepix 5600 .

                                                                  

Unit 208 ,theme2 -The Baker !!

                                                                                    

The Biscuit Machine.

ISO  400  s/s 1/50  f/s  5.6

flash fired. 

This shot is taken with a member of staff standing next to one of the main biscuit machines, I like the detail in this shot and this reminds me of when I ran this machine 24 years ago. 

The Mixing Bowl .

ISO 400  s/s 1/64  f/s  5/6 

flash fired.

A shot taken next to one of the large mixing bowls used to mix and transfer mixture to the biscuit machine.

Out Of The Oven.

ISO 400  s/s 1/50  f/s 8

flash fired.

Baker girl popping a rack of biscuits into the oven for baking off. 

Off To Packing.

ISO  400  s/s 1/50  f/s 5.6

flash fired. 

A tray of biscuits off to the packing area .

More Racking.

ISO 400    s/s 1/64    f/s 8

flash fired. 

Waiting for the oven bell to go .

Biscuit Dye.

ISO 400   s/s  1/50     f/s  5.6 

flash fired.    Time to swap the dye ready for next batch of short bread .

I am not over happy with the light in these shots although the composition is good I do now realize why this happened and I have since purchased a tripod and can now work my camera correctly , opening my shutter as far as it will go 3.2 to let light in .