Dancers

Diary Entry:

This project was a lot of fun. I enjoyed taking pictures of a subject in motion, rather than a stationary pose. I had a little trouble printing the photograph of the dancer with the lower shutter speed (the second one on here). Even after I am finished I am not very happy with it. The other photograph, with the higher shutter speed was much easier: I had a low exposure time of 12 seconds and no filter was needed.

Contact Sheet:

Composition:

This test strip was taken at aperature 5.6 with 10 - 40 seconds of exposure time.

This is the final print, at aperature 5.6 and 12 seconds of exposure. I'm pretty happy about the way this photo turned out.

This is an A4 print, with aperature 5.6 and 60 seconds exposure time. I put a low filter in and increased the aperature to try and get some better contrast.
This is a test strip at aperature 8, filter 1.5, and 150, 160, 170, and 180 seconds of exposure.This is the final print, with aperature 8, filter 1.5, 150 seconds. I'm still not completely happy with it, and I would have liked to have more time to work with this print.
Theory Notes:
In black and white photography, three common filters are used. They are magenta, yellow, and cyan. Filters are used to create more contrast in a photograph by darkening complimentary tones of the filter, and lightening similar tones. In this way, a magenta filter darkens green and yellow hues while lightening red, blue, and obviously magenta hues. A yellow filter darkens blue hues while lightening yellow, red, and green hues. A cyan filter darkens red hues while lightening blue, yellow, and green hues. The filters may also be put together in different combinations to create a variety of intensitites for darkening and lightening the different hues. When you use a filter, you have to increase the exposure time because some of the light is lost on the paper. Also, be careful when using a filter because sometimes the image may turn out grainy.

Image Bank:

Tribal Dance (Africa): This a cultural dance of this particular tribe in Africa. The costumes look like traditional tribal red clothes and beads. This picture was taken of a man in midair during the dance, with other tribe members watching right behind him. The lighting was natural by the sun high in the sky, judging by the shadows on the ground. The angle of the photograph is almost straight on, but slightly to the right side.

Tango: This is a traditional Latin American dance. It is meant to be very sensual and romantic. The costumes are usually black pants for the males and a flowy top, and bright or black dresses and high heels for the women. This photograph has a very interesting composition. It shows only the dancers' feet and legs, and cuts off at the hips. The woman's legs are wrapped around the male's in an action shot. The lighting looks very natural, and gives perfect contrast to the image. This one is my favorite photograph in the image bank.

Russian Ballet: The Russian Ballet is a very famous classic ballet group. The costumes are traditional, skin tight leotards, tights, ballet shoes, and tutus for the women. This looks like a studio image, the dancers posing in an impressive stance. The background is softly lit, darker on the left side, with a soft pink glow. The lighting seems to come from the top left, to create shadows on the ground and a brighter central point in the background.

Line Dancing: This is a form of dance used in Canada and the U.S. to compliment country music. The costumes are usually denim jeans or skirts, big Western belts, and cowboy boots and hats. This image looks like it was taken by a spectator using a bright flash in a dimly lit location, judging by the darker background and washed out legs in the front. It was taken at a caddy-corner angle, giving depht to the photograph, and allowing the viewer to see the second and third rows.

Hip Hop: This is a very modern form of street dance used all around the world. Dancers usually wear baggy clothes and street clothes. This picture was taken in the middle of an "up in the air" move, and makes for a very interesting image. There is also another guy on the dance floor who looks as if he is complimenting the main dancer. Spectators in the background are watching. The lighting is soft, and looks like it comes from the front side and from the top, judging by the shadows on the wood floor. The angle is straight on the dance floor, but behind the dancers, in order to capture the spectators.

Belly-dancing: This is a form of cutltural dancing in India. As depicted in the image, dancers usually brightly colored, flowy costumes, bangles, and bare feet. Like the name implies, the dancers midriff is unclothed. The dark background in the image creates a nice contrast to the bright pink costume. The lighting here is soft, creating a subtle shadow on the dark floor. The photograph is taken at an unusual angle, from the side and back, which makes the image more interesting.

Flash Unit No. 1

Image Bank

Richard Avedon was born in New York City in 1923. In the early 1940s, he served in the U.S. Merchant Marines. In 1945, he became a staff photographer for the Harper's Bazaar - a job he kept up until the mid '60s. Apart from printing, Avedon has also written a couple of books about being a photographer.

I chose this photograph in particular because the lighting really caught my eye, and that is what we have been working on in class. I also think the pose is very interesting, as is the facial expression. Of all the photographs I have seen doing my image bank, I think this one is one of my favorites.

source Contact Sheet: A 5.6 F 4 T 4
Printing Compositions:

This test strip was exposed at aperature 5.6, filter 4, and 2 second intervals from 8-14. I took the lowest time and made an A4 print.

This was an A4 print, exposed at aperature 5.6, filter 4, and 8 seconds. It was a little dark, so I cut off a second for my first big print.

This is my first full sized print. It was exposed at aperature 5.6, filter 4, and 7 seconds. It is kind of dufficult to see on this scanned image, but there is little clear definition between the subject's coat and the bushes in the background. So, for my final print, I just subtracted some time.

This is the final print, with aperature 5.6, filter 4, and exposed for 5.5 seconds.

Diary Entry

I had to reshoot for this project because I didn't like the first set of pictures that I got. We shot in the studio, with the studio lights and flashes, but I felt like the lighting on my portrait could have been much better. I shot my second set of negatives outside on a grey and dreary day. I still used my flash, and I positioned it so that it would shoot off and reflect from the bushes in my front yard. I also crouched down and shot at an upwards angle, so I could enhance the shadows o the neck and the eyes. I liked these pictures much better than the first set. I did not have too much trouble in the darkroom. The only problem was that I struggled to properly define the line between the black coat and the bushes that formed the background. That was easily solved by subtracting a few seconds from the exposure time.

Theory Notes

Fill-in-Flash: Used to show the details (i.e. eyes and facial expression) that would normally be lost to shadows and the contrast between light and dark. The fill-in-flash helps the user to find the middle ground of lighting. A general guideline for using the fill-in-flash technique is to reduce your flash exposure by 2/3 of a stop. Another helpful tip would be to put a "warming" gel on the flash to lighten or "warm" the scene. If you look at the image below, you can see the exact effect of the fill in flash. The picture on the left uses no flash, and the woman's face falls completely in teh shadow of her hat. The image on the right, uses a fill in flash, and the details of the face are more easily seen.source
Built-in Flash: These types of flashes are already somehow attached to your camera. Some built in flashes are completely inside the camera, whole other may pop up. Even though, they are built in, there is usually a way to change the settings of the flash, especially in modern digital cameras. The top image is a camera with a pop up flash resting just above the top of the camera. On the bottom, the flash is located to the left of the lens, and is completely built in.

Flash Guide Numbers: The numbers indicate how much light will be emitted in relation to a specific filmspeed. The higher the number, the more powerful the light is. You can also use the numbers to determine the proper aperature by dividing the guide number by the distance from you to the subject. This is an image of a flash with digital guide numbers, but on some flashes instead of the digital screen, there might be a chart to read the numbers instead.source

Narrative Photography

Contact Sheet

Diary Entry

I really enjoyed the shooting for this project. I liked having a story line to work with and found myself paying a lot more attention to the composition of my photographs. I also worked with my flash, and that did wonders for my negatives. I usually have a lot of trouble in the dark room getting the timing and the exposure right, but this time I finished fairly quickly. I also started immediately working with filters. I think from now on I will do that because it really makes a big difference in terms of contrast and lighting.

Theory Notes

Narrative photography encompasses a series of photographs in a logical sequence that essentially tell a story. I took photographs that I hope will convey the progression of a young couple's love. My first print is an image of a young man collecting donations - in this way he meets a young woman. The next step is a date between the two, sipping a smoothie together. I then took pictures of each of them talking on the phone to each other, showing a lapse in time and a growing sense of relationship. The next print is a kiss, silhouetted in the window. The final part of my story is the proposal. It is a simple and cliche story, but I think that will help the viewer in their understanding of the narrative.

Printing Compositions

Scene 1: Collecting Donations at the Door.

A4 F4 T 90-100-110
Final Print: The first print was A4, F4, T115. It was too light, so I increased the time to 165.

Scene 2: A Smoothie and Two Straws

A4 F4 T165Final Print: I used exactly the same settings as the last print, and it came out very well:

A4 F4 T165

Scene 3: Talking on the Phone

A4 F4 T165

Final Print: Again, I used the same settings: A4 F4 T165.

Scene 4: Playing Play Station

A5.6 F5 T140-160
Final Print: I had to change the settings for this one, because the lighting was different. The fisrt one is A8 F5 T230, but it had too much time, and was still too light. The second one was better, with A5.6 F5 and T170. It was still a little light, so I added 20 more seconds. The final was: A5.6 F5 T190.

Scene 5: In the Window

A5.6 F5 T200
Final Print: I tried out the first one at A5.6, F5, and T220, but it was too light, and did not entirely give the sillhouette effect I was looking for. I changed the aperature for better exposure. The final print was A4 F5 T200.

Scene 6: The Proposal

A4 F4 T170Final Print: These both were exposed at the same settings, but one of them is out of focus. It was A4, F4, and T185.

Image Bank

Lawrence Ripsher is a British photographer, although he currently lives in Seattle. He works with many different types of photography, including sports and narrative. I like his work because I can really see an emotional side to nearly every picture I looked at. I cannot copy an image on here, but his website is : http://narrativephotography.com/ .

James Lomax is a photographer living in Manchester. He currently teaches photography at Manchester College, although he has also taught english, among computer classes. I like this print in particular because there is an element of a story in just this one image, rather than in a series of images.

Kristina Drobny is a narrative photographer from West Virginia. She uses images to tell stories about day to day life and the uniqueness of individuals. I really liked this photograph because it evokes so many questions: What is she doing? What are the wrappers for? Why are there so many of them? http://www.kristinadrobny.com

Claustrophobia

Diary Entry

This project went pretty well for me in the darkroom. The times I had to expose the prints were manageable, and I only had one print that was hard to get right immediately. This was the print with my school books. Once I added a high enough filter (5), even that one didn't take me long to finish. I actually had to add a filter to 3 of the 4 claustrophobia prints, and I have become very fond of the filters because of the enormous improvement it made to my photographs.

Theory Notes

I found this project very hard in terms of composing prints that evoked feelings of "claustrophobia". I ended up looking back at old contact sheets to see if I had anything I could use in there. Two of my prints came from the first lighting project, taken in a forest. I used these because I thought the shadows in the forest could make a person claustrophobic. A shadow moves. Was it the wind, or something else? Alone in the woods, someone can start to feel very claustrophobic and panicked.

The other two I took specifically for the profect. For the print with the schoolbooks, I cleared my floor. My floor was very messy (as usual), but I didn't think it would be a good composition for this profect, because usually I feel comfortable in a messy room. After I cleared my floor, I just scattered around schoolwork (which always makes me feel claustrophobic)I think it worked well. Claustrophobia probably isn't the first thing a person would think of when they see the print, but when they know that is the theme, I think it makes sense.

My favorite print of the project, though, is the fence. This one I was careful and deliberate about. I shot on a gray day, to give it a gloomy mood. When I took the picture, I shot at an agle, to make the fence appear to go on and on and on. I also shot down the middle, where the woodenfence meets the chained one. I liked this because it supports the idea that no matter what kind of a cage you are in, it's still a cage that you cannot escape. If that's not claustrophobia, I don't know what is!

Printing Compositions

First Print: Trees and Road

T 12-18 sec. F 5 A 5.6

Final Print: A 5.6 F 5 T 15 sec.

Second Print: Schoolbooks

A 2.8 F 5 T 100-160 sec.

Final Print: A 2.8 F 5 T 140 sec.

Third Print: Fence Line

A 4 T 200-260

Final Print: A 4 F 3 T 350

Fourth Print: Tall Trees

A 5.6 T 20-80

Final Print: A 5.6 T 65

Image Bank

Teresa Zafon taught herself photography, although she has taken some lessons in the past few years. This print was titled "Nightmare", and just looking at it gives me that unpleasant gut feeling in the pit of my stomach that I get when I know I'm trapped. Creepy, huh?
http://www.teresazafon.com/index.html

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6796451

James Nachtwey also taught himself photography. He studied film and political science in university. He was inspired by photographs of the American Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War. Now, he documents atrocities around the world, especially war. This is a photo of 9/11. I chose this one, even though I like some of the others better, because I remember that day, and how afraid I was. The feeling I remember makes this image the most claustrophobic for me. http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/


Amanda Norman gets her obsession with vampires and graveyards from the horror movies she watched growing up. Some of her images are rather disturbing, but most of them capture the creepy atmosphere of a graveyard. I chose this image because it makes me feel claustrophobic (and very mortal) to think that my name could be on that gravestone. It sort of freaks me out.
http://www.amandanorman.com/

P. S. Maybe our next project can be something a little less creepy...