Unit 208 theme 1- Nature And Landscape. Experimenting with Light and Camera.

 As I've been confined to sitting and doing nothing for a week , my good friends came visiting with flowers and good chat .When they had gone I decided to get my camera out and take photos of the flowers . The light seemed to hit the flowers through the window, skimming over the petals . The flowers where white daisies and yellow Chrysanthemums.

   I chose to shoot in black and white to deter from the color and catch light and detail .T he effect I wanted to achieve is just the light in the area of the bloom and with no background detail .I think I have achieved this , and I really like the outcome .

I have used a UV protective filter on my camera whilst taking these images .

A Glimmer.

ISO 100  s/s 1/930  f/8  

                                                                                         

A Gleam.

ISO 100  s/s 1/800  f/8

A Glint .
ISO 64    S/S 1/630   F/8

                                                                          

Unit 208 theme 1- Nature And Landscape.

Snowdrops at Hopton .

ISO 200    S/S 1/900   f 3.2

Couldn't Help myself ,these lovely snowdrops were just starting to open ,they were on the bank under a tree so light was limited ,I opened the F stop  and altered the shutter speed to let more light in .I feel there could of been more clarity in the image, more light just to brighten the image could of helped with this . A kiss of flash may have worked,  as there was no background for the flash to hit ,this would not of caused any shadows, even a 5 in 1 reflector kit would of infused light  .I like the composition ,the colors and the depth of field in this image .

Miners Lane.

 ISO 400  s/s 1/570  f/ 8

As I was walking in Carsington I walked up Miners Lane to the top of a hill to view Carsington water .On my journey back down I looked and saw the light coming through the tunnel I really liked what I saw.The image has shape ,color  ,texture , focal point and the end of the tunnel is framed .

Unit 211 Presenting Images .

The way I have presented my images is through a Blogging system ,Its a way I personal wouldn't of chosen at first because I am not very computer minded ,having said that it has been a challenge , one I have overcome .
A good reason for using a blogger system is the fact you can access images quite easily and the costs are low ,no printing out and  no use of ink and photo paper which could be expensive . I will be printing and framing my most favorite images from this blog , I have a Hp printer which produces excellent quality pictures and I have a nice medium weight paper that I will print onto ,I have chosen a medium weight paper for quality as cheaper light weight paper tends not to produce a good quality image ,can tear more easily and could curl when printed on .

                                                                          These are my ten thematic images that I have produced for my 208 assignment task A -Nature and Landscape.

                                                                      
 These are my ten thematic images that I have produced for my 208 task B - People and Portraits assignment

Photoshop is a professional image editing software package that can be used by experts and novices alike,the Photoshop software package can be quite complicated and help can be found by an on-line tutorials found on the internet. Some of Photoshop software allows images to be modified , changing images from color to B&W , images can be cropped ,cloned this is an effect that can be used if there is a fault in an image , photos can be enlarged ,color added to certain areas and borders added for a finishing touch .

 This image has been put into photoshop to alter the file size ,then it could be altered ,either from b&w to color ,when happy with the image it is made into a pdf file ready for printing.

This image is having a boarder round for a finishing touch .

Finished and Framed ,this image will be made a pdf file ready for printing .

This image is being checked for any improvement  , in Photoshop you can make the image darker ,lighter ,add color (if you have taken the same image in color ).  

                                                                            


Most people prefer to have the photos in their hands ,this shows quality and detail in the images after they have been view they are usually stored in a photograph album / book,  mounted in frames or even added to canvas .
Asda seem to be one of the most reasonable photo printing services with a range of different products and prices . Asda's on-line printing services ranges from 5p per 6x4 print, 9x6 at 30p and if you order over a 100 of the (9x6) prints comes down to 25p each .There sizes are from a 6x4 up to a 30x20 print which will cost you £7.50 and Asda charges £1.50 to deliver them to you door or free collection . They offer other services and they including adding prints on -line and a 1hr collection, this adds 5p on to every print ,Canvas printing ranges from 10x10 at £32.00 to a 46x33  at £102 with £5 p+p . Asda also print on mugs, coasters, jute bags, place mats to name but a few and photo books prices start £25.00.The city of  Derby is the nearest place to where I live that offers the services above .

Photo Book.



As times are changing  and  technology is progressing you can down load images to your computer then burn to a re-writable  disc, this can be a cheaper way of storing your images they don't take up much room to store and many images can be stored on the disc depending on its size. The Boots company have machines in store that you can insert your cameras memory card  into and the machine will either produce photographs and or  will burn your images to a disc for around £2 .These machines take USB  ,SD, XD , blue tooth , flash and CD in store


.



Re-writable discs.

Some people prefer to keep their images on memory cards displaying the images through a photo frame , the card just sides into the side of the frame then plug the unit into the electric .

Digital Photo Frame, this one is priced at £62.

In this day and age people do print their own photographs ,this is a method I choose then if it is a Favorite I tend to Frame it . Before printing images people do put the photos through Photoshop to alter and make perfect ,I have tried working in photoshop it is something I am not over familiar with but here is one of my images  thats been in Photoshop and a boarded added for finishing touches .

image  being put through Photoshop .

The  boarder added ,nearly finished and needs to be saved to a Pdf file.

Printed Photos

Printer and inks

Personally I like to print and frame a good picture so it can be viewed all the time .

 Ways of displaying can be very different ,like cups .pillows, plates and t/shirts.

Personalized t/shirts

    

personalized mugs make lovely gifts.                  

Other ways can to personalize your own calender ,with a picture for each month ,see how with link below .

Asda classic calenders 8.5x11 are priced at around £10 they can make perfect presents.

http://www.ehow.com/video_4433193_upload-pictures-personalized-calendar.html

                                                                                    
        

Unit 208 ,theme 2- portrait photographer -Margret Bourke -White

Margaret Bourke -White was born in 1904 and was a leader in the new field of photojournalism and worked for Fortune and Life magazines covering most major political and social issues during the 1930's and 1940's.
In 1929 White accepted an offer to become the first staff photographer for Fortune magazine which made its debut in feb 1930.Whites subjects included swift meatpacking company,shoe making, watches ,glass paper mills,orchids and banks . Excited by the drama of the machine ,white was to visit Russia and was the first photographer to seriously document its rapid industrial development .White later published her work in a book called ,Eyes On Russia .White was then assigned to cover the drought in the Midwest states ,this opened her eyes to human suffering and her work changed from advertising  as she began to use her photography as a powerful tool to inform the public.In 1936 White worked with a man called Erskine Caldwell the author of Tobacco Road  ,the results of this produces one of Whites best books You Have Seen Their Faces (1937) .In 1936 White joined LIFE magazine ,one of her first assignments was to fligh to the Arctic Circle .White produced her most famous single photograph , a white family in a car with the caption ,The American Way of Life .
During the world war 1939-1945  White served as a war correspondent affiliated with life and the us air force, her photos revealed the horrors to the world . In 1949 White traveled to South Africa where she recored the cruelty of apartheid and in 1952 where her pictures taken in Korea focused on family sorrows arising from war.
Shortly after she returned from Korea White noticed signs of Parkinsons disease , which she battle with for the rest of her life ,White died in 1971.

The reason for choosing this photographer ,is whites ability to portray the story of real people, with real lives and jobs, with real suffering .Her shots have good composition with the picture telling the story. The black and white images show great detail and texture. 

Dorothea Lange -Migrant mother .

I think this image shows the exhaustion and worry on the womans face , the rule of thirds applies as Dorothea centered with a child on each shoulder .the composition is self explanatory.

This face looks as if it has seen hard work and hardship, the subject is central with texture of the un-shaved toothless man and his tatty work-worn clothes .

I like the fact the pedlar in this image is looking straight into the lens and I also like the position he is stood with the sign behind him.

                                                                          

Unit 208 ,theme 2 -Alfred Eisenstaedt- People and Portraits

Alfred Eisenstaedt was a German American photographer and a photojournalist born in Germany in 1898 ,renown for his candid photos .Eisenstaedt used various models of 35mm leica range finder cameras and is best known foe his image of celebration of V J day . Alfred was a successful full time  photographer by 1929. A number of years later he found himself photographing Hitler and Mussolini in Italy and his other noteable pictures include ice skater in St Moritz and Joseph Goebbels at the League of Nations (1933 ), Goebbels is said to have scowled in his photograph when Eisenstaedt told him he was Jewish.
In 1933 Alfred moved to the USA because of Hitler's oppression in Germany ,Alfred stayed in New York  the rest of his life ,
Eisenstaedt worked for LIFE magazine from 1936 -1972 where he photographed events and celebrities like Sophia Loren ,Earnest Hemingway and Dagmar .
Eisenstaedt enjoyed annual holiday on the Island of Martha's vineyard ,Alfred would conduct photographic experiments with various filters ,lens and prisms always working with natural light . Alfred was awarded a National Medal of Arts in 1989 . Eisenstaedt lasts photos were of president Bill Clinton  
and his family on the Island in 1993 .
 My reasons for choosing this photographer is it relates to my theme 208 people and portraits, Alfred portrays the reality of  the people ,happiness ,the violinist deep in thought , the ice skater concentrating on his footings ,the amount of people that went to the theater in those time all with great composition and a story to tell .

                                                                      

Unit 208- Theme 1 - Johnathan Chritchley ,Landscape Photographer.

Johnathan Critchley was born in Wimbledon in London . At the age of fourteen Johnathan fell in love with the sea after moving to Lymington , which is on the south coast of England . Johnathan started to study photography and helped various photographers that worked in marine and travel . Johnathan moved to France in 1998 living very close to the town of Biarritz ,which is on the west coast and lays on the french / spanish boarder . This is where Johnathan probably able to produce shots of the ocean /landscape ,with the Bay of Biscay and the Pyrenees mountains right on his door step .Johnathan travels the world working in and around the ocean where he creates most of his images ,Johnathan is passionate about the sea and classic sailing boats.

Johnathan's images are seen all around the world in exhibitions , galleries, home decor shops, magazines ,book and also form parts of many fine art collections internationally .Johnathan writes for some magazines including a monthly column for a UK publication -Black and White Photography.

Some of Johnathan's clients include- Athena , Next Interiors , John Lewis and many more national and internationally.

I love Johnathan's use of light in his black and white landscape images as this produces  great detail in his photography ,I also like his attention to detail and the composition of all of these shots.  

In this image the vertical  leaves of the water iris gives lines, along with the trees , there is shape in the hut , trees and bushes that surround the lake. I think if this shot was in color it would look to busy with different shades of green and brown where as it is, with the quality of light it shows the detail in everything .

This shot is one of my favorites I've always been drawn to water . This image shows good composition ,texture in the leaves and foliage that surrounds the falls and the water looks almost frozen in time due to the slow shutter speed. the rule of thirds is vertical in this shot with the water sitting nicely in the middle third .

The misty location gives the back-ground a tonal range of the hills in the distance.I like the texture and lines in the wall and I like the way the wall curves, it leads your eyes towards the distant sheep . There is shape in the curve and in the trees .