PROJECT FOUR: LIGHT, MEASURING EXPOSURE

LIght is photography. in my manual it was described as the raw material of photography. In his book "Understanding exposure" (2010) Bryan Peterson explains that achieving a creatively correct exposure is paramount to a photographers ability to be consistent. He goes ahead to point out why the photographer should determine what kind of exposure  opportunity he/she is facing. either shallow or great depth of field, freezing action, implying motion or panning. Once those are determined, the real question should be "from where do i take my meter reading?"(Peterson , Bryan,Understanding exposure, 3rd edition, page 103).

Light has the greatest impact in photography. In this project, i will demonstrate effect of light on my photographs. I will take pictures at different times of the day and see the effects. As Photographers we know that the best images are the ones shot in the early mornings and late evenings when the sun is not too harsh. By midday when the sun is overhead, light becomes too harsh and does not give us very good pictures. So we see that shooting in the best light can disrupt normal schedules.

To be a successful photographer, you need to understand how the different elements of aperture, shutter speed and ISO combine to produce balanced exposures. But as an amateur photographer, i have made effort also to understand my camera and how it works . This is very important. A successful photographer needs the eyes to see what others can and as well use his tools to capture his art or images.

The concepts of aperture, shutter speed and ISO need good understanding. When i started out they seemed quite confusing but as i read the more i began to understand. What sets a good professional photographer part is his or her ability to adapt these settings when taking pictures to produce excellent images.

In " Understanding exposures, third edition by Bryan Peterson, p 16, a correct exposure is defined as a simple combination of the three important factors of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. These same factors have always been at the heart of every exposure whether that exposure was correct or not. So put another way exposure to LIGHT is determined by these three factors.

In my OCA reference manual on page 106, its mentioned that the amount of light determines how a photograph can be taken and even whether it can. Camera sensors are designed to work optimally in normal daylight, just as are most films. We are told that the quality of light can also make an essential difference to a picture being often the one element that can change significantly in a view.

My first exercise was to produce 4 to 6 photographs which are deliberately lighter or darker than average and then state the reasons why.

I chose a pool side to demonstrate this at noon when the light was already hash and the sun was at highest inclination

Image 2: ISO 100,50MM, 0 EV, F/5, 1/640

Image 1: ISO 100,50MM, 0 EV, F/5, 1/320

Image 3: ISO 100,50MM, 0 EV, F/5, 1/1250

Image 4: ISO 100,50MM, 0 EV, F/5, 1/2000

The Images above from 1 to 4 were taken by a swimming pool side and in manual mode. I enjoy taking pictures with my camera,s manual mode because it gives me the greatest flexibility. It also helps to build my dexterity with the camera. It was 12 noon and the sun was hot. I set the camera to the lowest ISO 100 and using a constant aperture of f/5, i continued to vary the shutter speed with varying  results of light and dark images.

The shutter mechanisms function is to admit light into the camera for a specific length of time.Shutter speeds are indicated on the viewfinder as whole numbers such as 60,125,250 and 500 but they are actually fractions of time e.g 1/60,1/125,1/250 etc. In the brightest image above i used a shutter speed of 1/320s while the darkest image has a shutter speed of 1/2000s meaning it allows much less time to hit the sensor, hence the dark image.


SILHOUETTE

Silhouette images i find very appealing. I learnt to take silhouettes at the London school of Photography when i attended a five day program in April 2011. The course was to basically expose me to the rudiments of my new DSLR the nikon D7000. You set the light meter on  the camera to zero against an illuminated background and then focus on the subject and shoot. I tried taking a picture of my son in front of a window.

Image 5:ISO 200 ,50MM, 0 EV, F/16,1/15

Image 6: ISO 200, 50MM,0 EV, F/16, 1/15

The light meter takes the reading outside and when the camera is re-oriented, the sensors pick -up the in metered part of the image resulting in the image above. The the green foliage behind which contrasts sharply with the young mans dark outline. Am still practicing to take silhouettes in unconfined spaces.

TUTOR FEEDBACK

My tutor feedback came on February 11, 2013 for assignment 3 which i submitted a week earlier. This is 10 good months after my last assignment. He was not quite impressed with the quality of my work and i quite understand that. The important thing here is to take in all the advice and suggestions he put forward.

1. Improve picture composition

2. Spend more time looking at examples by professional practitioners

3. Do plenty of research and independent learning to enhance my creative,theoretical understanding an practical approach to photography.

4. Make more detailed reflective notes and develop my thoughts about how to approach a subject.

He mentioned though that i have demonstrated an understanding of color relationships, but some of my interpretations are quite loose and no diagrams were submitted. This was partly because i was unable to navigate the blogger page to create diagrams.

With all these at the back of my mind, i proceed to the next project on Light.

ASSIGNMENT 3

In assignment 3 i am expected to show command of color in photography . The following photographs will show the use of colours in deliberate relationships.

Image 1 Complimentary colours: ISO 2500, 50MM, F2.8, 1/30

The image 1 above captures the complimentary colours red and green dominating the picture and giving it a unique look. As stated earlier colours that are opposite each other in the color circle appear ton balance each other and are called complimentary.

Image 2 Colours spaced about a third of the way: ISO 1250,300MM,F/25,1/160

The next one above shows coliours spaced about a third of the way around the circle, very different from each other but not quite complimentary. The relationship is not quite harmonious but is eye- catching.

Image 3 Colours near each other on the color cycle: ISO 1250,86MM,F/22,1/320

In this photo above, i try to show colours near each other on the color cycle as in cool or warm range of colours. Though its the same tower, it is quite interesting to see that parts of it are trending yellow while some parts are still green following the maturity cycle of the plant.

Image 4 One color sitting on top another :ISO 1250,50MM,F1.4,1/3200

In image 4 , i try to depict where one small area of color represented by the mans blue hair sits against a much larger background of another color (his red top) as a spot  or accent. I took this picture at covent garden in london .

Image 5 Colour harmony through similar colours:ISO 64,4.3MM,F2.4,1/1577 using iPhone camera

Image 5 depicts color harmony through similar colours on the color cycle. This was a brocade material i tools from my wife to illiustrate the point. As can be seen the green and yellow colours are side by side in the color cycle.

Image 6: Colour contrasts through contrasting colours:ISO 64,4.3MM,F2.4,1/345, IPHONE.

Image 7: Contrasting Colours

Image 8: Contrasting colours

For contrasting colours I did not want to use only  still life but something realistic. This photo of a muslim praying ground depicts my idea of contrasting colours coming together. I would have loved the picture to be a bit more close-up but that may also not depict the contrasts. gaily dressed men and women coming out pray.

In Image no 8, which i took from my hotel room window, a typical market scene in lagos is shown with people and hardwares in different colours all contrasting sharply with one another. This photo trends more towards the street photography genre but i hope it shows examples of contrasting colours.

Image 9: Contrasting colours red and yellow

Image 10: Colour accent: the white color of the mans dress is out of proportion to the space it occupies. The color accent demands attention.

I hereby submit the assignment at this stage hoping to get your usual sincere critique. 

COLOURS INTO TONES IN BLACK AND WHITE

I am sorry for the long period of dormancy due to work commitments. Any time i find myself lagging behind, something comes up to inspire me the more like the recent story i read in the dailymail online about the Legendary Photojournalist Art shay who at 90 years of age is still practicing Photography. It was an interesting read.

My Photography interest has also drawn me to writing and blogging which i probably would not have ventured into without taking this course.

In this  next exercise, we are demonstrate colours into tones in black and white

Image 1: ISO 2500,50MM, F7.1, APERTURE:1/8

The picture above was from my refrigerator fruit basket to demonstrate colours in black and white tones.

Image 2: Neutral version

COLOUR RELATIONSHIPS

This next exercise on color relationships is to produce one photograph for each combination pf primary and secondary colours

Image 1: 50mm,ISO 800 ,F/2, 1/200

This was taken in covent garden, London and what attracted me to the man was his costume. Although blue as a primary color dominates the subject, the presence of other secondary colours adds to the attraction.While the background of the picture has a shallow depth of field because my lens was wide open at f/2, it shows additional primary/secondary combination of red and green  on the plastic dummy.

Image 2:ISO 1250,300mm,f/25,1/160

The combination of green and pink in image 2 above serves to highlight primary and secondary color combinations. Pink is not exactly one of the primary or secondary colours.It is considered to be a tint of red and according to wikipedia, most variations of pink lie within red, white and magenta colors.But its presence in this picture tends to pin the viewers attention to the picture.. I cropped this  to get rid of an electric pole standing in between . I have become very conscious of my compositions ever since the tutor drew my attention to it. Composition is important and am trying very hard to make it second nature any time i put my eyes on the viewfinder.

Image 3: ISO 800,50mm,f/7.1,1/160

The blue and red colors of school children's jackets caught my attention. There are two elements of composition at play here,namely color and line. Though the composition is not too perfect, the the colours on their jackets appear to compliment each other strongly.

In Michael Freemans The Photographers Eye,p.120, color relationships are discussed with the author emphasizing on treating harmony in the sense of pleasing acceptable relationships. One being complementary harmony (hue across the color circle), and the other being harmony of similarity (hues from the same sector of the color circle). The author mentions that in successive contrast, if you stare at colored patch for at least  thirty minutes and then shift gaze to a blank area of white, you are likely to see an after image in the complimentary color- the opposite across the color circle. A similar though less dramatic effect is seen when colors are side by side in which the eye tends to compensate, while in the color circle, mixing two opposites produce a neutral.

Image 4: ISO 2500,300mm,f/11,1/2000

Image 4 is for the second part of the exercise in which am to produce images featuring appealing color images. Well the agama lizard pictured above caught my attention. With its distinct blue color in between yellows. Agama is a long-tailed, insect-eating lizard of the genus Agama. They can be found in many sizes and are widespread in sub-saharan africa. 

PRIMARY & SECONDARY COLOURS

Phew! Back after a long break.I Initially did not understand this assignment maybe because i was not paying as much attention. But i later recognized that i have to find scenes or parts of scenes that are dominated by a single one of the primary or secondary colors. The instructor advises that rather than take pictures of walls and doors, we should find colors that are less arbitrary.
Well i was in London recently and as part of this work, i headed to covent garden where i felt i could get some interesting features. i came across this:

Image 1:135mm, ISO 1000, f/5,1/320 

I have not varied the exposure here. But i wanted to capture the different colors in the dish which made good photographic subject.  I also took pictures of the green lawn in Soho park and varied exposure as shown :

Covent garden has always been a favorite destination for my photography because of the different people you see and colors as as well.

Image 2:ISO 200,70mm,f/4.5,1/125

Image 3:ISO 200,70mm,f/6.3,1/125

Image 4:ISO 200,70mm,f/9, 1/125

In this example above, i varied only the aperture and maintained a constant focal length, ISO and shutter speed to see the effect. Its clear that as aperture decreases and less light hits the sensor, the image gets darker.


I believe the three qualities of color need to be understood very well to progress. These are hue, saturation and brightness.In the Photographers eye by Micheal freeman 2007, Hue is defined as the quality that gives each color its name and is what most people mean when they use the word color. yellow, red, green etc are all hues. Saturation is the intensity or purity of hue, with the minimum being a completely neutral gray, and brightness determines whether the hue is dark or light. Until i read this , i never knew the hue is actually the color of an item or object.

The color circle is shown below which explains how hue is measured.

(Re-produced from The Photographers eye, Micheal Freeman, 2007)

In my Tutors last feedback, he referred me to the works of some renowned Photographers like Jay Maisel, the New york based  Photographer whom i find to be quite an exceptional guy. Its remarkable that even at 84 , he still shoots and offers workshops. It goes to show the excitement and thrill of this art. I find that he is able to blend composition and a motley of colors into a picture that fixates the viewer.

I have also looked at the works of other photographers with color and am quite impressed with Abiola Lapites photos of a carnival i believe is in the UK. He uses a variety of Lenses but  does an excellent job with the Nikon 300mm F2.8 as can be seen here http://www.flickr.com/photos/abiola/sets/72157624126941763/?page=4


For red color, i took a picture of  a bed sheet in my house which i must concede is a rather boring subject, but since i was unable at the point in time to find something more animating, i went ahead taking 3 shots with constant focal length and shutter speed, but varying apertures by half a stop. take a look.

Image 4:ISO 1250, 70mm,f/20,1/10

Image 5:ISO 1250,70mm,f/22,1/10

Image 6: ISO 1250,70mm, f/25,1/10

The  images were back-lit by the morning sun coming from the window. The image 4 tends to match better with the red in the color circle.


As i try to complete this exercise, i am finding it a bit difficult getting the primary colours to photograph in a way that would be appealling to me. I suddenly discover that finding scenes or parts of scenes that are each dominated by a single one of the primary and secondary colours without photographing a paint manufacturers catalogue is not so smooth after all. Which in my reckoning explains why scenes  like that become a photographic attraction.

The limited flowers in my immediate environment do not give the spectral variety i need to make a good impression on my tutor. I have however managed to take some pictures like the one below which portrays a yellowish green hue:

Image 7:ISO 1250,86mm,f/22,1/320

Image 8:ISO,86mm,f/25,1/320

Image 9:ISO 1250,86mm,f/29,1/320

In page 115 of the photographers eye, the color green is described as the first and foremost color of nature and its associations and symbolism, usually positive, come principally from this. Plants are green and so it is the color of growth, by extension it carries suggestions of hope and progress. It goes further  that for the same reasons, yellowish-green(as in the images above)has spring-like associations of youth.

My intent was to finish The art of Photography in one year, If am able to sustain a little more tempo, i may conclude by September or October, but its looking like a bit later to me. Photography is best combined with writing and putting your thoughts together. My realization is that wildlife photography appeals to me a lot and i have spent quite sometime viewing the websites of accomplished wildlife photographers like Andy Rouse, Moose peterson, Andy Biggs, Boyd Norton, and a host of others. In this genre of photography, i also fine that color plays a prominent role.  It is therefore important that i understand the application of color in photography in order to produce visually appealing pictures.

STRENGTH OF COLOUR

On now to part three after lessons learnt in part two and absorbing my tutors feedback's. Henceforth i will include exif data on all my pictures and short descriptions of my shots. In this exercise , am varying exposures by overriding auto exposure function on my camera. And learning about color and its effect on composition.

In The Photographers Eye (Michael Freeman, 2007) the three most widely used parameters or axes of color  are discussed. Hue, saturation and brightness. Hue is the quality that gives each color its name and is what most people mean when they use the word color. Saturation is the intensity or purity of hue, with the minimum being a completely neutral gray, and brightness determines whether the hue is dark or light. He adds that another way of looking at this is that saturation and brightness are both modulations of hue.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

IMAGE 1: ISO 1600,140MM,0.3EV,F/13, 1/125

IMAGE 2:ISO 1600,140MM,0.3EV,F/14,1/125

IMAGE 3:ISO 1600,140MM,0.3EV,F/16,1/125

IMAGE 4:ISO 1600,140MM,0.3EV,F/18,1/125

IMAGE 5: ISO 1600,140MM.0.3EV,F/20,1/125

From the five images shown above, we see that the actual color changes with the exposure. Under exposure produces a stronger color as seen in image no 5 with the smallest aperture of  F1/20 while overexposure produces faint color as seen in image no 1with aperture of F/1/13 being the widest.