Photoshoot - Theme One Cannock Chase

Aims

For this photoshoot I aimed to further improve my photography on nature. Here I aimed to take photographs of trees that were stand alone and centered in the shot. I aimed to gain similar works to the likes of Ansel Adams and John Shaw. I attempted this type of work when I went on another recent photoshoot but was unable to find a standalone trees with a good background so there was a lot of objects interupting the photographs making them look very crowded.

Equipment

* Canon 1000D

* Standard 18-55mm Lens

* 70-300mm Zoom Lens

* Tripod

* Spare Battery and Memory Card

Safety Considerations

Safety considerations played quite a big part on this photoshoot for many reasons. The first main reason was the setting. Cannock Chase is a huge area that has many different types of terrain. So I had to be wary of my bearings and took extra care when walking around the different areas. Again like my other photoshoot it was very hot and where there is a lot of pollen present so I took extra precautions when walking around to make sure my hayfever did not affect me to a dangerous level.

The Photoshoot

1/500, F-Stop 7.1, 400 ISO

This is the first photograph I have chosen from my collection. Personally, I am very happy with how this photograph turned out. I manage to include everything in the photograph that I intented to. I managed to centre th main focal point in the photograph and managed to take the photograph with a perfect, bright and colourful background. I took the photograph with the view of land in front of the tree to lead the viewers eye upto the main focal point which completely dominates the photograph. It was very bright especially in the background because it was just clear sky so a fast shutter speed was needed here.

1/500, F-Stop 7.1, ISO 400

This photograph takes a similar approach to the last one. The only difference is that there are three trees present instead of one main tree. This was intented as I have postioned them correctlty from left to right within the photograph instead of dotting them all over the place. This creates a lovely postional shot again with a beautiful background. Again colour also played a big part within this photograph from the different greens from the grass to the blues in the sky.

1/640, F-Stop 6.3, ISO 400

1/500,  F-Stop 7.1, ISO 400



Again, similar to the first photograph I aimed to get the tree centred in the middle of the photograph without any distractions interrupting the shot. Here I have focused highly on postion of the main focal point with the same amount of space between the tree and the edge of the frame on the left and right of both photographs This is pretty much equal making them look even more centered. Again, I have the ground leading upto the main focal point in both photographs creating a small lines that guide the eye compostion.

1/50, F-Stop 5.6, ISO 400

1/160, F-Stop 5.0, ISO 400

These two photographs are of the same theme but just a little bit different. Similar to Ansel Adams work I have attempted to have the main focal point right at the front of the photograph with the background becoming slightly blurred out as you go deeper into the photograph but still creating a pattern effect from the different tree barks. This didn't work too well on the first attempt but on the second attempt it seems to have worked quite well. This required quite a low shutter speed as these trees were very tall and blocked alot of the natural sunlight. I also had to use a low F-Stop so that the background would be out of focus.

Evaluation

Overall I am very pleased with how the photoshoot turned out. I was able to go out with a plan of what sort of photograph I was going to take and I was able to attempt these without any problems what so ever. I feel that I have managed to succesfully research a certain photographers work and was able to go out and attempt it myself. If I was to attempt this photoshoot again I would probably attempt the close up shots again. I would attempt this again as I feel I could experiment with my camera settings and positions a little more deeper to gain different results. I will be also looking at a few of my photographs that I have taken and making them black and white to match Ansel Adams work even more to see if the results are similar.

Practice Nature Photoshoot

Aims

On this photoshoot I was aiming to concentrate on making the main subject of the shot being centered in the photograph. This style was used within the photographs of Eliot Porter so I will be looking at his style and doing the same sort of work. So below are a few of my own photographs that I feel are of the same style of Eliot Porters work.

Equipment

* Canon 1000D

* Standard 18-55mm Lens

* 70-300mm Zoom Lens

* Spare Battery and Memory Card

Safety Considerations

With these photographs being taken out deep into fields there will not be anyone around so there are alot of safety considerations to take on board. The main consideration is the fact that there isn't anybody around so I will be taking someone with me just incase something happens whilst out on the shoot. It is also going to be very hot so I will be very protective for myself and my partner with me on the shoot making sure the heat doesn;t get to us. I am also a hayfever sufferer so I will be making sure that I take that into consideration before going out by taking my medication so that I am less effected by the surrounding pollen.

The Photoshoot

1/200, F-Stop 10,  ISO 400

Here is a prime example of what I am trying to achieve from this type of work. I went out on the photoshoot to mainly concentrate on not only my positioning but the positioning of the main focal point. As you can see it is centered in the photograph and the tree covers most of the photograph from left to right. This was achieved from where I was positioned. Again, like normal colour was also a main factor for this shot with the different greens from the tree and the white/blue background to make the tree stand out.

1/500, F-Stop 6.3, ISO 400

Here I aimed to try one of the photographs from Eliot's collection. What I have done is use a higher F-Stop so that the background is also in focus and not just the main focal point. The reason I have done this is to concentrate on colour in the photograph. As you can see the colours from the tree blend in with the background colours creating a warm and bright photograph blend.

1/500, F-Stop 5.6, ISO 400

Here again I have made the main focal point in the centre of the photograph to express the greatness and dominance of the tree. This one didn't turn out too great as it is a little blurry and postioned more to the left than the centre, definetly a photograph that I would attempt again. A high shutter speed alongside a medium F-Stop were used here due to the amount of natural light surrounding the area at the time.

1/800, F-Stop 5.6, ISO 400

Like alot of this style of work from Eliot's work, his photographs would be plain and boring if they didn't include the main subject centered in the middle of the photograph. For example, this is again a photograph that I took trying to attempt the style of his work. As you can see there is a surrounding background of greenery which is great but the main focal point which stands out from the rest of the photograph is the blossoming tree in the middle. This adds a difference to the photograph and it can be expressed at it's best being positioned in the centre of the photograph. The colour of the tree is concentrated aswell which also makes it stand out from everything else in the shot. A high shutter speed was used here because the sunlight was at it's peak so it was very bright.

Evaluation

Overall I am very pleased with the way this photoshoot went. The weather was perfect and the subjects I was taking photographs of were perfectly positioned. It has also been great practice for taking photographs in such extreme light. If I was to attempt this photoshoot again I would take photographs of exactly the same subject but I would attempt them at different postions but still putting them in the centre of the photograph. This would lead to different results due to having different sides of the main focal point and different backgrounds.

Practice Night time photoshoot (Angles, Rule of thirds, Lighting)

Introduction

After researching Ian Aikens night time architect photography. I wanted to attempt these type of shots myself to connect with his work. This photoshoot was split into two halves. The first half was done without a tripod and the second part was done using a tripod. The reason for this is to show how big a difference there is when not using a tri-pod and in general great practice when using manual settings with the tripod. As you will be able to see further down the first few photographs are either a little blurry with the main focal point being out of focus and some just way too dark. After those photographs come the ones taken using the tripod. I will be concentrating on the use of angles and rule of thirds alongside using what natural light is available in combination with the lights outside the church.

Equipment


Camera: Canon 1000D

Lens: 18-55mm standard lens

Tripod


8Gb Memory card with spare 2Gb additional


Spare battery


Safety Considerations


With this photoshoot being taken at night there are a couple of safety considerations that are to take with interest. The obvious one is that it will be dark outside so I will need to be alert and be wary of my surroundings at all times. This will be taken highly into consideration as I will be on my own. One side of the church is near the river which will be ten times as dangerous at night as my vision will not be 100% so i will be taking extra care in that area.

Photoshoot

 

0"3, F-Stop 5.6, ISO 1600

As you can see this shot was taken without my tripod. It is pretty much impossible to get a photograph completely in focus using these settings without a tripod. What I was trying to concentrate on here was the rule of thirds to how Ian Aiken uses in his photographs. In a way it is pretty simple, get yourself in position and practice the shot with the right settings. Really, what I needed to do with this photograph was use a lower shutter speed because the top of the church is way too dark but without a tripod this was pretty much impossible. Although a little out of focus, a black background makes the church stand out a lot more alongside the light shining onto the church.

Add caption

Again, another photograph without using a tripod. This one isn't as bad as there is more light which shines onto the main subject in the photograph. Here what I have done is the same as Ian Aiken style of work with the use of light shining onto the church. As you can tell without using a tripod I was very limited to how exposed the camera was without it turning out blurry so parts of the church have turned out a little darker than normal. This is also a good thing as I have used as much light as I can which has created numerous colours and shades on the church and around the church.

1", F-Stop 7.1, ISO 1600

1"3, F-Stop 7.1, ISO 1600

These shots were taken using my tripod. As you can see there is a noticable difference in terms of sharpness, colour and lighting etc. For this I aimed to use the rule of thirds which worked quite well. I used as much natural light as possible but there was very little. It is easy to say that the light surrounding the church is dominant in this photograph creating different bright shades of yellow gradually going darker when moving up the church. With the background being completely dark it makes the main focal point (church) stand out alot more. A small use of shadows is used here aswell from the trees on the right of the photograph projecting a shadow onto the church. A very slow shutter speed is needed here otherwise the photographs would be way too dark so I feel the settings I used were perfect for the shot to get the right amount of colour and light into it.

3"2, F-Stop 5.0, ISO 1600



3"2, F-Stop 5.0, ISO 1600


These are my final two photographs I have chosen from the photoshoot and they are probably my best ones from the shoot. These were taken of the same church but at the front instead of the back. Here I have again used my tripod but I have slightly tilted it to an angle. This was purley for practice but the results were great. These photographs use a little more natural light alongside the light that was shining onto the church. This is great as it creates really warm smooth colours not only in the sky but on the church itself. I did this by taking these shots just before nightfall, this is the same kind of shot that Ian Aiken has attempted and has come up with the same kind of results.

Evaluation

Overall I feel that this photoshoot has been very succesful and has been a great learning curve for me. I have learned that to get much more better results when taking photographs at night use a tripod. I have also learned new skills when aiming for a specific theme when taking my photographs whilst trying to match another photographers style. If I was to attempt this photoshoot again which I most probably will I will be expermenting with different ISO's to see what different types of photograph can end up with. When I go out next time I will also be concentrating on a different type of style of photograph rather than the ones I have concentrated on this time. This will create different types of photograph and will be good practice.

Practice Photoshoot - St Peters Church

After researching the work of Andy Marshall I was quite inspired to go out and attempt my very own type of church photography whilst using the ideas from Andy's work and implementing my own ideas for some fantastic shots. I was planning on going out on a bright and sunny day so I checked the weather and it said that Wednesday the 16th would be a bright and sunny day so I decided to choose that day to go out on the shoot. But as it happens luck didn't come my way and the weather was incorrect, the weather was mainly cloudy and foggy with not one single split in the clouds. Without being jolted I still went ahead with the shoot experimenting with my camera to see I if could still get some interesting photographs. I used my Canon 1000D alongside my Tri-pod. I also took a spare battery with me jsut incase I ran out of battery as I dont live near this location. I took around 50-60 shots of the church so below are my favourite ones with the settings included and why I have chosen them.



St Peters Church - Rear 1/200, F-Stop 4.5, ISO 400

 This is the first photograph I have chosen from my collection from the photoshoot. My aim here was to get the church in all of its natural beauty. I originally planned to do this sort of shot from the front of the church but there were advertisement posters plastered all over it so that was that idea ruined, luckily the rear looked just as good as the front. Now obviously the church is the main focal point in the shot but I wanted to make the tower of the church look like the dominant object in the photograph. To be honest I think this just came natural just from taking a standard shot in front of the church. There are also patterns included in this photograph from the windows of the church leading up to the church tower. This photograph would've looked so much better if the weather was better as I would've been able to concentrate more on the surrounding colours from the sky but instead I ended up with a big bloch of white. I used a 1/200 shutter speed alongside an F-Stop oof 4.5 due to how bright the natural surrounding light was. Most of the light was coming from the clouds because it was just pure white all around so I had to have a faster shutter speed to not let as much light into the shot. The only problem with this shot is that it gets a little bit too dark in the bottom left of the shot so if I was to take this photograph again I would use a slower shutter speed to let a little bit more light into the shot.

1/300, F-Stop 4.5, ISO 400

1/250, F-Stop 4.5, ISO 400

1/320, F-Stop 5.0, ISO 400

Beacuse of the weather the way that it was, taking straight shots infront of the church were pretty much all looking the same with the same background and they were ending up not proving to be worthy photographs. So because of this I decided to experiment with my camera and tri-pod taking photographs of the church at different angles and to be quite honest I was quite suprised at the results. All of these shots were taken around the same settings. This was again due to the surrounding background light and how much I was wanting in the photograph and to make the church the main focal point. I feel that taking these photographs at these angles conveys a completely different visual message to what they would if taken at a straight angle. By this I mean these angles display there historic patterns and features in all there glory and also showing that it stands over everything else making it look more dominant.




St Peters Church - South West, 1/125, F-Stop 7.1, ISO 400

This was perhaps one of my favourite shots from the photoshoot, I took this shot right at the end of the photoshoot. I used a 1/125 shutter speed because it was starting to get dark and a F-Stop of 7.1 because I wanted to get all the detail from the church and make it the main focal point of the shot although I was standing quite far away from it. I got the idea of this type of shot from some the inspriation of some of Andy Marshalls work. He has the rule of thirds concentrated into his work so I have tried the same thing here with the sky and the church tower being the top two thirds and the bottom half of the church and ground being the bottom third. With the trees either side on the photograph it creates a visual line to guide the eye composition leading up to the church. There is also a even balance of colour starting bright at the top of the photograph and gradually getting darker when moving down the shot.

Photoshoot Evaluation

Overall I feel that the photoshoot went very well as I was able to create a lot of different ideas for different types of shot. I was also able to take these photographs at the correct manual settings without any issues, this resulted in photographs at the right brightness and contrast and without them being blurry. If I was to go on this shoot again I would go when the weather is better as this would create completely different photographs altogether. I would also take more photographs using different ISO's because I only used one ISO. If I had used didfferent ISO settings I could've had different outcomes from the photographs and it also would've been good practice. I would also like to take some interior shots of the church as this would improve my skills the settings area of my camera as there would not be as much natural light inside the church. I would also be able to get all different types of composition in the photographs, so overall it would be good practice.

Equipment

Whilst going through this course I will need a wide range of equipment so that I am able to produce good pieces of work. In this blog I will be explaining what equipment I will be using and why I am going to be using it.

Camera: Canon 1000D

Equipment Spec:


* 10.1 MP CMOS Sensor
* 7- Point Wide- Area AF
* Self- Cleaning Image Sensor
* 2.5" LCD with Live View Mode
* DIGIC III Processor


Lens: Canon Zoom Lens 18-55mm

This is the lens that I will be using. It is a Canon zoom lens 18-55mm. This lens will be used to create some great shots for both of my themes.

Tripod

I don't really need to explain much as to what a tripod is but I will be using this for some of my shots to experiment with what types of different photographs I can produce with it.

Other Items


I will also be using other pieces of equipment such as a spare battery and spare memory card etc just incase I need them whilst out on a photoshoot.