A critique, see what others say

Cool Video for my class

Steve McCurry: A Retrospective from leica camera on Vimeo.

Macro

Macro photography involves making an image on the film (or chip) that is life-size, or 1:1, on the capture medium. Since the image is life-size on the negative, when enlarged the photo shows much greater detail than is typically seen. Macro photos typically have very shallow depth of field, since the focussing is so close. In the flower example you can see the pistels quite large with the background quite blurred. Other typical subjects include coins, stamps, jewelry, and other small objects.

Dodging and Burning

When we "dodge" part of a print, we are removing light from that part of the print by using our hand or a piece of cardboard to block light from hitting the light sensitive paper. The opposite is "burning" part of a print, in which we add light to that part of a print by blocking light everywhere else from hitting the light sensitive paper. Obviously these are two sides of a coin.

To determine the necessity for dodging and burning, you must evaluate your print and your negative after going through the steps of making a good "straight" print. Where the shadows (blacks) are too deep to show detail, consider dodging. Where the highlights (whites) are blown out and show no detail, consider burning. A print may need both to be successful.

Ansel Adams said "the negative is the score and the print is the performance", putting photography into musical terms. What he means is that the negative is the starting point for creating a print, but as you work on the print you must "interpret" it in order to bring out the subtleties.

In the example we made in class, the straight print (made in 2002) used a 2-1/2 filter for 12 seconds at f/8 (good thing I wrote it down, because I sure wouldn't remember). The straight print is on top, with my interpretation notes written in. I dodged the rocks in the lower right for 3 seconds (-3), withholding light so more detail would show. I then burned in the sky for an additional 12 seconds (+12) to bring out the clouds, which are totally absent in the original print.

Lines

Happy New Year! Our next assignment is seemingly simple... shoot a series of pictures made up of lines. What type of lines? That's up to you, but make each photo unique, make a good exposure, and shoot it by Monday! Leave a comment on this blog as to what you've shot, so you can each see what your classmates are doing.

Contrast Filters

When we take photographs we are often at the mercy of the available lighting conditions. This can result in a negative which shows either a great deal of contrast or very little contrast. Bright sunlight usually provides high contrast, with a wide range between the darkest blacks and the whitest whites, and not usually much grey in between. Indoors, a portrait shot next to a strong light can also provide a very "contrasty" negative.

If our contact sheet shows us a great picture which seems to have too much contrast, we can adjust the contrast, to some extent, in the darkroom on the enlarger. We have contrast filters which, when placed on the enlarger between the negative and paper, can reduce (or increase) the contrast inherent in the negative. The filters with numbers from 0 to 2 lower contrast, while those from 3 to 5 increase contrast. Reducing contrast means toning down the blackest blacks and whitest whites while allowing for more shades of grey. Increasing contrast means stripping out shades of grey and forcing the darks tones to be darker and the light tones to be whiter.

When you make a print which looks like it has too much or too little contrast, you should re-make the print using a contrast filter to adjust in the direction you wish.

The examples in this post show what happens with the contrast filter. The beach scene was taken on an overcast day, subduing the tones. By using a #3 filter I was able to boost the contrast to give the picture a bit more "pop." With the waterfall, there is a great deal of contrast between the whites and blacks, so I reduced the contrast with a #1 filter to bring out more of the various shades of grey.

Many of your photographs can be improved by using contrast filters to deal with the lighting conditions you find. Remember though, that contrast filters can't put information in the paper that isn't on the original negative.

A to Z Project

Your new assignment is to shoot objects (non-human or animal) whose name begins with each letter of the alphabet, ie. apple, ball, compost, etc. PLEASE make these pictures interesting, as you now have enough tools at your disposal to take more than eye level snapshots. Use depth of field, rule of thirds, ant/bird's eye, framing, and leading lines to create an interesting composition. Remember the the three checkpoints: Know what your subject is, Bring attention to your subject, Simplify. The examples on the left are cases in point (so to speak).

P is for Pencil. Photo #1 is from eye level shot at f/8. Everything on the desk is reasonably in focus, but what's the subject? Is there any way for a person to know that the pencil is the subject? Couldn't it just as easily be the desk, the calendar, the cardholder? Photo #2 is the same exact subject in the same exact place. Shot at f/1.8, the point of the pencil is in focus while the rest of the photo is blurred. Taken from almost desk level, the line of the pencil leads you in to the blurred line of the calendar, which keeps your eye moving. Since only the point of the pencil is in focus, your eye naturally gravitates to it.

Keep these ideas in mind for EACH of your 26 photos, as you now have the necessary tools to create interesting photographs.

Light Considerations

There are three things you need to take into account when looking at light: color, quality, and direction. Since we're now shooting black and white film, color won't enter into our conversation until later when we shoot color.

When we talk about "quality" of light, we are referring to how "hard" or "soft" the light is. Hard light is often "direct" light, while soft light is often "diffuse" light. Go outside right now and look at the trees. If it's noon and sunny with no clouds, you're likely to see "hard" shadows under the trees. If it's 4:00 p.m. and cloudy, you may see no shadows. If it's 9:00 p.m., you're likely to see shadows again, this time caused by streetlights. Let's consider each lightsource and the quality.

Bright sun at noon: the light source is small (the sun, so far away) and direct, creating hard shadows under the trees. This is "hard/direct" light.

Cloudy sky at 4:00 pm: the light source is huge (the cloud cover, diffusing the sunlight, much closer to you) and indirect (coming at an angle as the sun sets). This is "soft/diffuse" light.

Night: The streetlight is similar to the sun... small and direct, creating hard shadows where it hits the trees.

Which light is better? None is better or worse, they are just different. Hard/direct light is very dramatic, with great contrast between the lit and shadow areas of the subject. Soft/diffuse light is very flattering, with small contrast and even lighting across the subject. It really depends on the subject and the mood you wish to create.

Here are some samples we shot in class of hard and soft lighting. Be sure to notice the shadow areas IN YOUR VIEWFINDER before you snap the shutter. Even better, move your subject and/or yourself to create shadows where you want them to be, before you look through the viewfinder.

Here are some samples from class.

Film Speed

Film is made up of grains of light sensitive silver suspended in a gelatine emulsion. The grains of silver react when exposed to light, and clump together when put in the chemical developer. Different "speed" films have different size grains, which allows for a faster or slower absorbtion of light. "Slow" films, such as 50, have small grains, which absorb light slowly. Faster films, such as 400 or 800, have larger grains, which absorb light more quickly. When enlarged, "grainy" films such as 400 or 800 show visible grain, while slow films, such as 50 or 100, will show very little grain. The downside of a slow film is that because it absorbs light more slowly the shutter door must be open longer, and with a longer shutter speed there is a greater chance of blurriness. This is great if your camera is on a tripod and you're shooting a waterfall, but not so great if you're shooting a soccer game.

Think of film grain like a sponge... a sponge with big holes ::::::::: will absorb water quickly, while a brick (with small holes) ::::::::::::::: will absorb water much more slowly. The holes in the brick are less visible than the holes in the sponge, particularly when enlarged.

Here are two shots of your classmate, one shot at 400 speed and one at 3200. Notice how much "grainier" the 3200 shot appears.