Different Lenses (LO1)

In college, we have access to the Canon EOD 650D Camera

Which can be used with multiple types of Lenses.

Standard Kit Lens (18mm to 55mm)

This is the lens that came as the standard for the camera, which I will implement mostly for my photographs on Identity.

Telephoto Lens (50 to 300mm)

This lens zooms in quite heavily, making further away places look closer, without losing quality or resolution. I imagine taking advantage of this as my ideas include high buildings at some point.

Portraiture Lens (50mm)

This lens is used to take advantage of depth of field, but with a shallow depth of field, so this is used for portrait photos. I don't imagine myself using this too much, as while portrait is a genre in my ideas, I feel that my idea is too much to do with locations and people together, rather than strictly one or the other.

Fish eye lens

This lens gives images a very curved, wide field of vision, creating a bit of an abstract effect. I do not imagine myself using this, but I still don't completely have my ideas developed so anything I could think of which includes this lens would be considered, just I don't want to use it when it's not needed. Plus there's only one in the college so getting it may be a task.

Macro Lens

This lens too has a wide field of vision, however it is not used for an effect, rather it is used to make small objects appear large, mainly used in nature/wildlife photography. Like the fisheye lens, if I have any ideas for it I will try to use it.

These photos were taken with a standard camera lens 

This photo was an accidental duplicate of the original photo.

These photos were taken with a Telephoto Lens

A Telephoto lens has an incredibly extended zoom, allowing for objects further away to be seen from a closer perspective, without a loss in quality or resolution like you would find in a digital zoom.

This photo was out of focus and taken accidentally.

This photo was taken accidentally as it looks as if it is pointed to the sky, or a wall, with nothing to see.

This photo was taken accidentally as it is zoomed in quite a lot on some bricks, with the reflection of the window on top of that.

These photos were taken with a macro lens.

A Macro lens has a wide angle, allowing for a wider field of vision (meaning more is shown horizontally)

This fulfils LO1

Identity Bubbl.us

LO2 Photography ideas - Identity

1. Various pictures of Sheffield that range from the pleasant looking places with the very unpleasant ones. Identity of class.

2. Identity of several people that have different characteristics conveyed by them in different places with different things added in photoshop.

3. Pictures of different areas of Sheffield photoshopped and taken to look like fantasy locations like Tolkien fantasy, a Science Fiction-like fantasy,  apocalyptic, and a mixture. Identity of perception of the world.

Photography Terms LO1

This is a bubbl.us diagram of various photography terms.

 

This fulfils LO1

Simon Kennedy Photography (Architectural) LO1

A: Photographic Category

Simon Kennedy specialises in Architectural photography.

B: Purpose

Simon Kennedy's photography would be used in such things as magazines with London as a focus (such as The London Magazine) or possibly an Instagram account, and it could be used as promotional image for a building being sold or a company showing their building (such as Sky, where Kennedy had taken a picture of the Sky building).

C and D: Image Analysis and Meaning

The composition of this image denotes various buildings with round or curved shapes, with the rule of thirds focusing more on the foreground and background than the focal points. Some attention has been put into the colour blue for the centre of the image though, adding a warm and cool colours meaning to the image, possibly connoting the comforting and the new since blue is a colour that for the most part has been relevant more to the modern day than to the past. It is framed to include multiple buildings, though one of them is cut out by the image's edge to include a road. This could be due to Kennedy's location, though it could also be used for meaning, as if Kennedy is connoting significance to the road. The road does have a curve which fits very well with the curved buildings, so maybe Kennedy wants to create meaning from these curves, as if he is trying to make out that the looping structures could be a modern thing relevant to London as traditionally buildings are more of cuboid structure and roads are more like grids. It also could be dedicated to the craftmanship of these buildings. For lighting, there is low key lighting in the image since it looks to be taken at around evening (as the sky has red, perhaps just after a sunset), though it isn't too low key as the buildings light up the building with both warm and cool colours (further connoting said meaning). For shutter speed it looks like Kennedy used a very slow shutter speed for the road as there are light trails found, explaining the framing of the image. This could be for a meaning of things moving forward, as it contributes to the round buildings. Also the slow shutter speed can explain the large amount of light shown to the buildings.  For aperture I image a high one at around f.4 since the light is very clear and visible for the time the image would have been taken, though no depth of field effects are found here, and for ISO I imagine a sensitivity of 2500 or so would have been used for clear sight of the buildings at coloured lighting. The orientation for this image is in landscape as a wide variety of buildings are shown rather than just one, as portrait would only be able to capture one well, which wouldn't work for the use of warm and cool colours found here. 

Duncan Philpott write up (LO1)

Sports photographer, Duncan Philpott came into UTC to discuss photography, how he uses software and answer questions. During his presentation, Philpott expressed that while he was a sports photographer, a better definition would be something along the lines of an adventure photographer, as he takes pictures of mainly sports that are in specific, adventurous locations like a forest or cliff.  Sometimes he may have to use a specific method of taking some photos, like a large tripod that is way above him to take a picture of the top of a mountain or something. His work has been on things like Nike's instagram account. He uses a software called Adobe Lightroom where he demonstrated how he navigates to his photos, through both colours that he chooses for specific categories, alongside a 5 star rating to filter what he likes the most. He also demonstrated the way he lights things through lightroom's tools, like emphasising the green in a woods photo, lighting up parts that were darker etc.

David Chang – Doc/fest photographer presentation (LO1)

We will be having a presentation by David Chang, a Sheffield based photographer who specialises in a variety of genres and styles, such as landscape, wedding, and macro.

1. I've seen you take a large variety of photographs in different genres, which ones are you interested in the most and why?

2. In what ways do you try to add creativity to your photography and how?

3.  Are there ways you can modify lighting while taking the photos or is it more of a post production, editing software thing?

Steve Winter Photography (Nature/Wildlife) LO1

A: Photographic Category

Steve Winter specialises in nature/wildlife photography.

B: Purpose

Steve Winter's photography would be used in such things as promotional material for a nature related brand like National Geographic (or possibly an Instagram account), and it could be used in a museum (like the Natural History museum) or educational books (Animal Encyclopaedia by National Geographic) and websites to teach people about animals and possibly their characteristics (BBC Nature).

C: Image Analysis

Steve Winter specialises in nature and wildlife photography. His style does vary from photo to photo but each of his photos share similarities. Typically he takes advantages of framing, like how
 the image of the woman with the scope tool has an over-the-sholder view, with a low angle since she is aiming at the animal high up in the tree, which you can also clearly see in this photo. Another example of him taking advantage of what is shown by a use of framing is the image of the monk praying to the mountain, where his hands look like the shape of the mountain so Winter cleverly framed the mountain to be exactly where his hands meet, alongside a somewhat low angle to connote the power and scale of the mountain. Since this is nature photography, natural lighting is what you would mostly find in Winter's work as there won't be many man-made light sources, if at all. This works though as he may take advantage of something like the moon to help connote a narrative or emotion, and it stops the areas he takes photos of from looking fake. His photography fits purposes such as education as he demonstrates characteristics of animals like climbing up and down trees, it fits something like a National Geographic promotion as a lot of his work contains not only an animal but the landscape around it, which seems to fits for a promotional image on something like instagram as a caption such as "The mountain finding its way" or something.

The composition of this image features the monk on all four focal points when it comes to the rule of thirds, making this an equal image that lets the viewer see the monk straight away. It is framed to include monk in the foreground, directly behind the mountain and clouds above in the background, and the hands of the monk make the shape of the mountain. In terms of lighting, it is natural but more low key than high, making it seem the ISO would be at around 1100, with the aperture being small (like F.10) since there's a deep depth of field as well. The monk is wearing a red robe, which is what monks are known for, creating the connotation this is a monk in the first place. The orientation of this image is in portrait as the focus is on the alignment of the monk, praying to the mountain, and so a portrait image puts extra emphasis on this. The shot type is over-the-shoulder to denote  monk's hands (connoting the significance of his prayer), and the mountain (to connote the significance of it, as it could be what he is praying to,)

D: Meaning

The meaning of this particular photo is to connote the survival of the mountain lion during the night. It denotes a mountain lion while a very dark night, lit only by the moon. What makes this interesting is that the moon lights it and the small area around it almost like it is a spotlight during a theatre performance. Generally the spotlight in a dark area in a play is used in an emotional scene for one character, like a character development or a character's tragic scene. The fact Steve Winter denoted this with the mountain lion could be to connote that the lion could be a character in itself, going through its own emotional scene as the lion is alone during the night. As pathetic fallacy would say, the night connotes negative emotions.

Mary Ellen Mark Photography (portrait)- LO1

A: Photographic Category
Mary Ellen Mark specialises in portrait photography.

B: Purpose
Mary Ellen Mark's photography has the purpose of showing a person of importance, sometimes for the person itself 'to use for a biography or website or social media page (like Twitter or Facebook) but also for magazine and internet articles of people without them doing a specific event or something (as in that case there'd be some kind of photo at that event). An example of a sites or magazine that will feature these people would be Heat .

C: Image Analysis

Mary Ellen Mark's portrait photographs on surface level, share many similar characteristics such as the greyscale filter similar to the photography of before colour cameras were commercial, the fact the people shown are generally not doing a major action (this has exceptions though),  and how the locations of the people tell stories on how people are like. As far as lighting goes, despite being a portrait photographer, Ellen Mark relies mostly on natural lighting. A more obvious reason is that a lot of these photographs are outdoors and while studio lighting can be done outdoors and these photographs mostly look planned in advance, even in a studio like Don Ameche's photograph, it seems that the lighting isn't high key. This could be because of the pre-colour style on how Ellen Mark pays tribute to classic photography by not incorporating a more modern aspect like studio lighting.



In this particular photo, the subject of the photo is on three on the four focal points when it comes to the rule of thirds which places him as easy to see immediately as he is in the centre of the image. The lighting looks very natural and non-artificial, without being low key or too high key, making it seem like an ISO of around 800 would have been used. In terms of aperture, a medium aperture may have been used at around F.6 may have been used. For shutter speed, a speed of around 1/60th would have been used to make sure a lot of light got into the image since there wouldn't be any motion to avoid capturing. The subject (Don Ameche) is wearing a bowler hat, a blazer and striped tie to connote the classical,  pre-1960s style, found in both Ameche and Ellen Mark's photography. Since the photo denotes just Don Ameche standing without anything in the background, and people standing are vertical, the orientation is portrait as it connotes Ameche is significant as he is just what you see in the photo, not a lot of background imagery or anything. The shot type here is midshot as it looks like it goes down to his waist. The image denotes Ameche holding something, with is either a wallet or piece of cloth, and to make sure it is in the image as well (As it may connote significance to Ameche's personality) a midshot is used.

D: Meaning

In this particular photograph of Matthew Barney, the meaning is to connote multiple personalities. The obvious reason for this is because Barney is in front of a distorted mirror, the kind of mirror that changes how someone is viewed. Because of that fact alone, you can already make that assumption. However, Barney is facing the other way from the mirror rather than looking at it, connoting he is rejecting his other self in a way, and he seems to have an unpleased facial expression to further prove this. This is especially important when you think about how these Mirrors are usually in a circus or a theme park where people would usually laugh at the distortions, making the lack of humour denoted here seem like there is a deeper meaning in this photograph

Walter Iooss photography (Sport) - LO1

A: Photographic Category
Walter Iooss specialises in sport photography.

B: Purpose
Walter Iooss' photography would be used in magazines for the most part as he has few photos of sports during games, rather the athletes in places that would fit for advertisements ,  magazines, biographies, athlete's websites etc.

This photo in particular was taken for the New York Times magazine cover, to connote the significance of the two tennis players. It could mean they just won a big game or are about to play one, promoting the players and it takes advantage of stigma from the players for the New York Times as people will pay for the magazine.









C: Image Analysis

Walter Iooss' style varies from his photos but commonly he uses lighting that's quite dynamic as there are different light sources around some images with shadows used in different places, depth of field isn't used commonly but when it is used, it's used for the sake of the photo's meaning (such as one photo that denotes two photos of Kobe Bryant put together as if there's two of them; has one in the background out of focus, and the one in the foreground is in focus), but depth of field isn't used too commonly as the backgrounds in some of his photos are just as important as the athletes themselves  as when a non-static background is used it is usually in the place where the athletes would play. Framing in Iooss' work has been used to optimise the photo's purpose. If there is a background then the photo would be framed to show the athlete with the background together, sometimes interacting. If an athlete is performing an action like being about to score a touchdown then Cropping in Iooss' photos tend to have everything centred as well as it can while including everything significant like a ball (and the only things cut are small things like people's backs). In photos of more intense moments that are quick, the use of a fast shutter speed will be present.

In terms of composition, there is the proportion which features the player on all four of the focal points for the rule of thirds, The player is wearing his helmet, his protection armour, his shirt, his tracksuits, and his gloves. The location is not completely known, but it is not made to as the focus here in on the clouds in the backgroumd, as they get darker the higher up, to the point where his ball looks like it is controlling the darkness. The clouds (that get darker) and the buildings are what frame the image. The lighting here is natural, but in a more low key way. This could be to connote a negative emotion, as it looks like he is touching down onto something in anger. The depth of field is deep in this picture, and the picture is fairly dark making it easy to see that a small aperture would have been used.  Since there are overcast skies in this image and it is dark, it is safe to assume an ISO of around 1200 may have been used. In terms of shutter speed, it seems like the image wouldn't have been taken by someone who is actually scoring a touchdown so a slower shutter speed could have been used, but I believe it is either a 1/60th of a second speed, or a 1/125th of a second speed. The orientation is portrait as there is an emphasis on the player and the ball which are vertical, so the portrait orientation helps connote the significance of this action. The shot type is a mid shot as the action the player is doing is a lot more significance that his facial expression.

D: Meaning

The meaning of this particular photo is to connote the art of boxing. It denotes two boxers in the middle of the fight in a low angle shot. The low angle could connote the sense that these are two huge figures fighting as the low angle makes things look much bigger than they actually are, almost like Godzilla fighting an equally big monster in this case. This increased looking size of the boxers could create a sense of scale and therefore possible narrative to the photo, as if this is at the final fight of a tournament or something similar. Both of the faces of these boxers are shown, the one in red engaged in the fight with a somewhat look of pain (despite the fact he is the one punching, which could connote taking a hit and giving a hit is pain regardless), the one in blue who looks like he just took a punch has his face looking like it shifted position from the right to the left a slight bit because of his reaction to the punch. The fact both faces are shown connotes they are both equally important in this fight, no bias, and the angle isn't focus on one over the other either. A deep depth of field is denoted to connote everything shown is important, background included, which could tell that the ring itself is just as important as the fighters, as you can tell this by the background obviously, but also the foreground having the barriers of the ring in front.