Project 11: Practice Daytime Long Exposure

Project 11: Practice daytime long exposure" requires special tools. Namely, a tripod and the possible use of neutral density filters to reduce the amount of light reaching the camera sensor.

Long exposures mean the possibility of more camera shake, so a tripod is absolutely essential. Rule of thumb: if the shutter speed is less than the focal length (i.e. 200mm) of the lens, then you need a tripod. Generally, this will avoid camera shake. There are other considerations, however. Wind, movement from your hand when pressing the shutter release, bumping the camera or tripod...etc. all will contribute to a blurry picture when taking long exposures.

The benefits of long exposures: 1. Greater depth of field as you can use a higher f-stop (smaller diameter). 2. Blurring motion, including water, people, traffic lights, etc.

For Project 11, I chose a water fountain at Lucas Digital Arts since it is a cloudy and windy day. I used a tripod, camera shutter release cable and a 6x neutral density filter. the lighting was atrocious and changed so rapidly,  so I wouldn't want to put these in my portfolio)

Here are the results (click on image for larger view):

 

Dropped Out for a While

Sorry to have dropped out for so long. I moved and there were so many things to take care of. I am back on track and will continue with the projects.

Unfortunately, I am still on the section "Learning to See Photographically". Next up, Project 11: Practice Daytime Long Exposure.

Project 10: Practice guessing the light meter reading

"Project 10: Practice guessing the light meter reading" is a time consuming and difficult prospect. It is best to do this with subjects that are static, such as landscapes or still-life.

On a recent trip to Roaring Camp, California to ride in an authentic logger steam train, I decided to try my hand at only shooting in full manual mode to force myself to hand focus and guess the needed light meter reading.

Needless to say, this was extremely difficult in an already difficult shooting situation.

Project 9: Don't let the camera rule you

In "Project 9: Don't let the camera rule you", we are told to practice using our camera in Manual Mode and experiment with over/under exposure.  Ideally, learning to be "more confident with what your eyes tell you."

The following were all shot in Manual Mode this morning in Golden Gate Park. Exposure settings are indicated below each:

ISO 100 1/125 f/5.6 300mm

ISO 100 1/1000 f/5.6 133mm

ISO 100 .4 f/29 90mm

ISO 100 1/40 f/5.6 90mm

ISO 100 1/50 f/5.0 64mm

All images processed in Photoshop for exposure/color and sharpening ONLY.

Impressions: I think this lesson is very important in developing skill with your camera. It is also important to spend a great deal of time learning exposure and your camera. The necessity of knowing what exposure to use in any given situation can mean the difference in getting the shot, or not.

Project 8: Give Your On-Line Account a Professional Edge

Project 8: Give Your On-Line Account a Professional Edge.... in other works, don't make it personal and don't put everything on the site.

Alright, I'll admit it. I have much too much personal information on my website and seriously too many photographs. But this is because the website wasn't originally a portfolio. It was a personal site from way back before there were FaceBooks and Twitters, and such things as these.

"Only show consistent standard of photos", says Mr. Easterby.  By the end of this project (or 150 projects),  this is exactly what my online identity will be.

The FaceBook and Flickr accounts are more or less up to snuff:

That is the whole purpose behind this project, after all. Well, besides talking to myself (is anyone listening to me?).

Next Week:
New Chapter: Uses of Photography
Where we will finally begin the practical educational projects! Starting with Project 9: Practice Guessing the Light Meter Reading.

Project 7: Start an On-Line Account

Project 7: Start an On-Line Account using Flickr, Facebook, etc.

Well, that was easy!

I've already done this and have been busy integrating them. Here's what we have so far:
FaceBook
Flickr
Twitter
BrianLeadingham.com

I have even created a new logo:

When setting up on-line accounts, it is important (according or instruction manual here) to display only your best work. This is where I get into trouble. What I think is the best, and what everyone else thinks....well, you know.

Also, I have a tendency to over saturate with every photograph I like. Instead, I am going to work on narrowing this down as instructed by Mr. Easterby's book, "you should make sure that what your present is something you are happy for others to see."

Project 6: Compile a Series of Leisure Images

Project 6, probably the first real project, instructs us to shoot a series of photographs in a public environment where "people have fun".
We should have a series of 12 images which depict the following:
1. People
2. Places
3. Abstract

I chose Crissy Field and the Marina Green as my locale.

I can't say I did very well:

Some of the images are "okay" by themselves. Most are crap! Together however, I think I would have failed this assignment in class. But since it was "due" today, I turned it in anyway!