Photography Cert. 2014 -

Lewis Hines Lewis Hines was a photographer, teacher and sociologist.  As a teacher he encouraged his students to use photography as an educational tool. Hines noted body of work is that of over 5,000 photos depicting child labour in America.  When he worked as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labour committee between 1908 and 1924.  As he was often denied access into factories or other places where children were working he would go undercover.  He carefully documented the details of his subjects and the context in which the photo was taken.  Today these details pay tribute to the many subjects which he shot and the stories of their lives. Lewis Hines shot in large format and black and white. In class we have been looking at Depth of field and the impact it can have on photos.  Lewis Hines used Depth of field to tell a story with his photos. Power house mechanic working on steam pump - Lewis Hines 1920 This is a great phot...

Sebastiao Salgado Is a Brazillian social documentary photographer and photojournalist.  He started taking photographs in his 30s.  Sebastiao Salgado works on long term, self assigned projects.  He devotes years at a time to document the stories of people and places.  Many of his works have been published as books The Other Americas, Sahel, Workers, Migrations and Genesis.  His most famous pictures are of the gold mine in Brazil called Serra Pelada. Sebastiao has an amazing body of work.  The images i have chosen showcase how he uses Depth of Field to capture the essence of his subjects. This is an example of wide depth of field.  As we know wide depth of field focus range covers a large area front-to-back.  Depending on a lens camera range this could be from several yards in front of the focus plane to nearly infinity behind.  These types of photos are often associated with landscapes and architectural photography. It is usefu...

Wk 2 - Vantage Points Week 2 - woooowzers i honestly feel like i've been doing this for a lot longer then just two weeks.  I'm still finding my feet, and trying to keep on track.  So far so good, just need to keep practicing! Yesterday we went on a class trip - a short one, just up the road to the Otara town centre.  The aim of this trip was to take some photos from different vantage points.  Vantage points are the varied angles in which you can take photos such as high, low or even straight on. Here are some high and low angle shots that i took: High angle shot f/4, 1/125, ISO 100  This is a shot of a ponga log, one of many which is used as a fence.  I like how the light contrasts with the darker areas.  It highlights the rough woody texture of the log.  The grouping of circles give the log a curved fan like appearance as  though it has been pulled together and tighten further down by a string like a bouquet. f/4.0, 1/2...

Herbert List   (October 7, 1903 – April 4, 1975) A German photographer,  who was a classically trained artist began taking photos during his travels as an apprentices coffee dealer for Heidelberg coffee dealer in 1921 while studying literature and art history at Heidelberg University between 1924-1928.  These photos were taken at his leisure without any reference to his artistic knowledge. His work is influenced by his fascination with surrealism and his love for Bauhaus art.  A combination of craft and fine art.  Photographing still life and his friends.  His work have appeared in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Life and Magnum Photos. This week we are looking at the photographic elements of fore, mid and background.  Having details in these three areas helps lead the viewers attention around the picture and hold their eye so that they can move back and forth the picture without getting bored. Title: Switzerland Lake Lucerne, Artist: Herbert List...

Theme: Blur and frozen movement This week we are looking at blur and frozen movement.  Shutter speed - what we know is that the shutter speed controls the duration of the exposure.  Meaning how much light is allowed to reach the sensor. Less light (1/1000 sec) - is a fast shutter speed.  This allows for movement to become frozen More light (1 sec) - is a slow shutter speed.  This allows for the shutter to stay open longer producing images where movement is blurry.  These are often used for artistic images. Francesca Woodman an American photographer who is best know for her black and white picture of herself and female models.  Below is an example of a slow shutter speed, where Francesca is moving. Untitled - 1975-80 Francesca Woodman Space, Providence Rhode Island - Francesca Woodman Richard Avedon - American fashion and portrait photographer.  He is known for breaking the photography boundaries in the fashion and political world. ...

Week 2 Aperture controls the area over which light can enter your camera. More light f/1.4 = Shallow Depth of Field (narrow) Less light  f/22  = Greater Depth of Field (wide) (The Depth of field is the area of the image that is in focus) Our task in class was to take a photograph with three elements: one in the foreground close to the camera, one in the middle ground and one in the background.  Focus on the element in the foreground.  Shoot this scene with the lowest aperture your lens will allow, then F/8 and then F/22. I chose the tripod to be in the foreground, the model to be in the middle ground and the trees to be in the background Aperture: f/1.8, Shutter speed:1/2500, ISO: 100 As you can see in this photo the tripod is in focus, while the middle and background is out of focus - This is what is known as a shallow or narrow depth of field. Aperture: f/8.0, Shutter speed: 1/125, ISO: 100 At this setting the depth of field stretch out tow...

Bulb function is a shutter speed setting which allows for long exposure times (wikipedia).  This function is used when there is not enough light available, such as shooting at night.  When taking photos at night the shutter needs to open longer. Bulb function task: Take three photos at 3", 6" and 8" - with your subject moving out of the shot 3/4 of the way through or stand in the shot. It took us a few takes to get this right - especially as it was hard to see her. These shots were taken outside at night.  Here are some of our pictures taken with the help of my model Pela Shutter speed: 3.0", f/22 I asked Pela to walk through this photo after 1 second - you can see her shoes  at the bottom of the shot Shutter speed: 6.0", f/22 Pela walked through this photo after 3 seconds Shutter speed 8.0, f/22 I asked Pela to take a step every 2 seconds Shutter speed 7.0", f/22 Pela started walking through after 3 seconds, ...

Week 1 This week we are looking at Shutter speeds.   The shutter speed controls the durations of the exposure.  It is the length of time the shutter is open and where light can get in through your sensor. Less light 1/1000 sec - freeze action More light 1 sec - artistic blurs Our exercises in class this week was to play around with different shutter speeds.   It’s my first time using a proper tripod and I must say it’s a wee bit more sturdy and fiddly then the budget ones I’ve used before.   It’s a bit daunting setting up a shot with all this fresh info churning around in my head.   On top of it all there’s a knob for everything on this darn tripod – eek!!! i feel for my poor models having to wait patiently while i sort it all out.   Sorry guys!  Anyway here are some examples of shots at varied shutter speeds I've taken during the week. Still portraits Shutter speed: 1/80", f/10 Shutter speed: 1", f/36 As you increase ...