Project 7

This project explores further the last point in project 6, i.e. the positioning of the subject in the frame, and its relationship with the surrounding area. They are laid out in order of my personal preference. All shots were taken at 28mm, f/22 and 1/200 second.

This has a nice balance between the subject, sky and horizon.

Although the subject is central, I think there is still a good balance between it and the surroundings.

Probably too much sky, and the subject is beginning to wander out of the picture.

Too much of the foreground grass. Almost 50% of the shot is grass and completely uninteresting.

This was perhaps not the best subject to demonstrate the effects of positioning, although it does bring out another interesting point. The subject is, in effect, made up of two parts, the mother and the child. The mother is much bigger than the child, and if you look at the first shot, the mother is off centre, but the child is central. Similarly, in the second shot, the mother is central, but the child is off to one side. This has changed the balance of the shot, and, had the subject been a symmetrical shape, the second shot would probably be less pleasing. (As with the boat in project 6)

Project 6

The four images in this project show the same image from different viewpoints. Changing the viewpoint has changed the subject matter of the picture. Whilst they are all of a boat, the surrounding objects tell a different story about the boat.

This first shot Shows that the boat is moored amongst other boats. the viewer can gain some idea of the size of the boat by comparison to the others. Nothing in the shot gives any information about the mooring other than the tide being out. The subject is clearly just the boat. Shot details, 140mm, f/22 and 1/80 second

The second shot now shows that the boat is moored close inland with a beachy area and hills in the distance. Much more information is available about the surroundings and also the weather conditions. This becomes more a landscape shot with a boat moored in the mid ground. Shot details 300mm, f/22 and 1/160 second

The third shot is a closeup of the boat and the subject now becomes the detail of the boat. The simple cabin area, the bouy on the deck, mooring ropes and rigging. Shot details 180mm, f/22, 1/160 second.

The final shot is the entire boat filing the frame. The landscape is still visible, but the shot invites the view to study the shape and detail of the boat.

Each of the shots have their merits however the second shot, with the landscape in the background is somewhat lacking with the boat in the centre and the landscape surrounding it. By experimenting with cropping, I think this is improved below. All elements are as before, with the boat, background and sky, but instead of the eye just concentrating on the subject in the centre, with everything else around it, the landscape and sky are given equal importance and the result is much more pleasing.

Project 5

Using different shutters speeds whilst panning can give a different effect on the photograph. A fast shutter speed captures the image but with no sense of movement other than implied. A slower shutter speed will blur movement giving a much greater sense of the movement.


The two photographs below were both taken within a short period of time the first using a shutter speed of 1/3200 second and the second using a shutter speed of 1/30 second.

In this picture, the waves, wheels and the horses legs are completely frozen, and the the only way we can tell there is movement is from our own knowledge, i.e. that waves do not stand still, horses do not naturally stand on two legs, and if the horse is running, then the wheels must be going round. Other than our own knowledge of the subject, there is no indication of movement.

In this shot of the same scene the horses legs are blurred and the spokes on the wheel are blurred giving a much better sense of movement. The waves also are blurred although this is as much from the camera panning from side to side as it is from the actual movement of the waves.

Both pictures have their merits and I believe the first (fast shutter speed) is great for a study of the subject that is, if you want to examine any or all of the details. The second gives a much greater impression of speed and lets the viewer almost share in the excitement the riders are experiencing.

Project 4

Different shutter speeds have different effect on movement in the picture, with fast shutter speeds freezing motion and slow shutter speeds blurring motion.

These two pictures of a waterfall demonstrate this. The first was taken at 1/1250 second and each water droplet is clearly visible






The second was taken at 1/5 second and shows a nice smooth flowing action to the water.

Project 3

The pictures taken for this project show the effects different apertures have on the depth of field, that is, the amount, from foreground to background of the picture that is sharp. This can be used to either ensure the whole of the scene is the object of the photograph, or that only a small portion of the photograph is important.

In a landscape, often the whole scene is to be captured, with no one element being of greater importance that the other, but take for instance a wedding photograph taken in front of a church. The important element will be the bride and groom, and the architecture of the church would only distract from this. Therefore, using a wide aperture, the bride and groom can be sharp whilst the background gently blurred.

In this instance care needs to be taken to ensure that the aperture is not too wide otherwise you may find that the brides nose is sharply focused whilst her ears are blurred!

The two pictures below show these effects, with the first being at f 2.8, and the second at f 22.

This image at f2.8,shows that the words in the centre are sharp whereas those in the foreground and background are not.

This image (f22) shows an almost evenness of sharpness from front to back.

Project 2

To demonstrate the effects of different focal points using a set aperture, I constructed an indoor scene over a distance of 5 metres. For all three shots, I set the aperture to f/4.0, the shutter speed to 1/4 second and the focal length to 55mm. To keep the shot identical and because of the slow shutter speed, the camera was mounted on a tripod,a and I used a shutter release cable.

The first shot is focused on the group at the very front of the setting. The midground objects can almost be defined, but the background objects are just a blur.

The second image now shows the midground objects clearly, but the foreground and background objects are less discernable.

The third finally shows the background subject with the others less clear.

I set up this shot to demonstrate the effect, but chose the setting and objects such that they were all related, i.e. the ingredients, the spices and finally, the meal.

Project 1

Following this project I found that the standard focal length of my camera was 60mm

Using my 28-300mm lens, the wide angle (28mm) print had a viewing distance of 50cm, the standard length was 75cm and using the full telephoto of 300mm, I would have had to hold the picture too far from me for a comfortable viewing distance.

Starting off

Well, I've just started on the Art of Photography course with the OCA. The general thoughts are that setting up a blog is the way to go, so.... let it begin!