Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Wiggle Room

Last week I discovered that my camera has a tendency toward overexposure to the tune of about half an F-Stop. Overexposure is much easier to deal with than underexposure. There is a saying that you expose for shadow detail and develop your film for highlight detail. I have found that if you overexpose your shots slightly, you are much better off than having underexposed the shots. Underexposure means shadow detail will not be on the film due to "thin" negatives. Particularly for a beginner, such as myself, one is much further ahead to err on the side of over exposure. However, there is much more latitude in highlight detail. Therefore, if film is slightly overexposed, shadow detail is plentiful and highlight detail can be obtained with slightly longer exposure times on the enlarger when making prints.

Now that spring is upon us, shooting Black and White film is a whole new ballgame. As I mentioned, my camera tends to slightly over expose shots. This fact helped to ameliorate the problem of underexposure of scenes that are highly reflective of light, such as snowy landscapes. Snow and other highly reflective surfaces tend to "fool" a camera meter into thinking there is enough light available for proper exposure in a given scene. For proper exposure in such a circumstance, it can be helpful to meter the highlights in a given scene and then to meter the shadows. A good place to start is to split the difference, take a shot, open up a half F-stop (or slow your shutter speed if you prefer to use shutter speed as your priority), and then open up another half stop and take another shot. I believe taking a third shot opened up another half-stop is overkill, but I am rather new to photography and may find it is necessary under certain circumstances in the future. This procedure lends itself to giving plenty of latitude, particularly if you may not get the opportunity to take a particular shot again.

There are also some instances where the above procedure is necessary during nicer weather. For example, shots of white sand, sky or other highly reflective surfaces will require this procedure when composing shots that must also include shadow detail. On the other hand, almost any winter shot with snow on the ground is going to require a little extra work in properly setting a camera for the best results.

I did not have to fight under exposure nearly as much as some others in my class just due to the fact that my camera metered "normal exposure" differently than theirs. In other words, by dumb luck, I did not have to fight underexposure to the degree many of the others did. When I found out my camera metering was "off," my initial reaction was that I would have to shoot all of my shots closed down by half a step. I have since decided that I quite like that half stop of "cushion" and I will continue to use it until such time comes that I have found reason not to. In the meantime, I continue to learn and try to keep an open mind.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Spring Break was Refreshing!

Wow! I needed some time off. Spring break came at a great time for me since I found myself burning the candle at both ends. In my last photo class before spring break, our professor displayed several photos from previous student's portfolios. These photos were representative of "A" quality work. I was rather impressed by some of the photos, particularly because most of the students had little or no prior experience in photography. I was left wondering how I was ever going to produce photos that would measure up.

My new found passion for photography has driven me to have very high expectations of myself. Particularly considering I am a newcomer to photography and art. Until jumping in with both feet this semester, the last time I was exposed to art to any degree was on a school field trip in fifth grade. Nonetheless I had made my mind up early on that anything less than earning an "A" in my first photography class would be viewed as a major disappointment.

All of our course assignments, up to the mid term of the semester, had been designed to teach us basics such as lighting, aperture and shutter speed; and their relationships to achieving a desired effect in photographs. While I could see myself growing in regard to technical or mechanical aspects of photography, I was chafing at the bit to begin work on the artistic or creative aspects of subject matter as well as shot composition. I was dying to figure out if I had the requisite creativity to produce decent photographs.

While I am not the type to fall in love with my own work, some of the shots that I was able to capture over spring break were impressive--particularly when I consider that I came into class with virtually no working knowledge of photography whatsoever.

In shooting just two rolls of film, I captured some images that meet the standard of photographs such as those shown to us from previous student portfolios. I was able to capture several shots I can use for my final portfolio for class! Due to the fact that we need to produce two shots for our portfolio per week for the rest of the semester, having a surplus will help to eliminate some of the pressure that I surely would have put upon myself throughout the remainder of the semester. These shots have upped the ante regarding the quality of work I will expect of myself as I continue to improve my photography skills over the course of the semester. As I make improvements in my photography skills, I can pick and choose to replace photos from the pool of photos that already meet the standards required to earn an "A" on my portfolio.

Keeping things in perspective, I certainly have not become Ansel Adams overnight. Small successes have been helpful in building the confidence I needed in order to realize that pursuing my interest in photography is not a mistake, nor wasted energy for which I will never be rewarded for my hard work and dedication. Discovering whether or not I have potential to be a good photographer has been of considerable concern to me since the graduate program I have been accepted to has an option for concentrating on visual communications with a strong emphasis on photography course work.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Mid Term

Well, there is no reason to write a post this week other than it is a requirement for class. It is mid term week and I am busy.....(drum roll, please) studying for mid term exams. WE had an assignment for photography I, but I needed to concentrate most of my efforts to studying for my mid term exam for Art History.

I decided that with all of the time I have spent in the past several weeks with photography, that I had robbed time from my other subjects. This week I will let the photography go and dedicate the time to other pursuits.

One thing I would like to comment on is the fact that composition elements from some of the great art works of the past are still applicable to this day. For instance, I am preparing an essay for the test which compares and contrasts any three works by Michelangelo. His David sculpture, for instance, utilizes a pose where David is resting the majority of his weight on one foot. This pose creates an S-Curve, of sorts because it creates a shift in David's hips that is counter-balanced by his shoulders. Sound confusing? Look at the work and note the curve his torso displays.

Anywho, not much else going on with photography this week. I will likely spend some of my "spring break" catching up on at least one assignment. Knowing our drill instructor, or I mean *course* instructor, we will probably have an assignment due when we come back from spring break, as well.

Another point I would like to make while it is on my mind is that this course should have some prerequisites. The idea behind the course is great, but it is not appropriate for someone, such as myself, that is taking my first art classes during the same semester. It seems it would make much more sense for someone to actually have a body of work or have developed some skills before they attempt to market those skills.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Highlight and Shadow Detail

Our assignment for this week was, essentially, to make prints that demonstrate that we can capture detail on film and expose and develop our film and prints with both shadow and highlight detail.

We were to shoot our photos under four different lighting conditions. Fortunately, the weather was cooperative. That flaming orange ball (sun) actually appeared in the sky this week.

My prints turned out good, considering the objective. Up until this point, we were concentrating on highlight detail. Shadow detail, although taken into consideration, had been secondary. It seems we had enough time to get a decent handle on highlight detail and get a feel for shadow detail and how to balance the need for both.

Shadows and highlights may be a bit more important in black and white photography since shades of gray are all we have to work with. Although I am sure I will continue to get better, I am relatively happy with my progress up until this point in time. There is plenty to digest to start getting average photos and prints. I look forward to progressing well beyond and producing some of the results I have seen others produce given time to learn and develop their art.