For my "artist choice" blog post, I chose to feature my photographs from the sumer of the Teton Mountain Range in Wyoming. Since my personal favourite type of photography is wildlife and nature photography, I enjoyed encapsulating the natural beauty of the Tetons with my lens. In each of the images I chose above, the Tetons serve different photographic purposes. In the first photograph, the Tetons are a stately backdrop of the image of buffalo grazing in the lush green field, yet still are a prominent focal point in the image. In my second photograph, the mountain range provides contrast to the two pelicans in flight. I find that the juxtaposition of the relative sizes of the birds in flight and the mountain range provides an interesting dynamic to the photograph. As well, I liked how the mountain peak aligned with one of the pelicans wing bends, accentuating its form. My third photograph is one of my favourite photographs. Using a large aperture, I was able to focus in on the beauty of a wild yellow flower, with the bluebird sky and blurred outline of the Teton Range serving as the backdrop. As I was in close proximity to the flower, it achieved prominence in my photograph despite the grandeur of the famous Teton Mountain Range in the back. In my final photograph above, I opted for a black and white landscape shot of the Tetons, my inspiration being Ansel Adams. I found that the black and white tones added needed simplicity to the image and also enhanced the structural features of the Teton's rock formation. The Grand Teton National Park is one of my favourite destinations to visit for it is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty. Its raw natural splendour makes it a photographer's paradise!
This week’s assignment “The Beauty of Rain” involved capturing puddle reflections and photographing water droplets. As it did not rain before this assignment was due, I created my own puddle on the street where I live, so it was not that big of a puddle, but sufficient to satisfy its purpose. Capturing puddle reflections was initially challenging trying to find the right shooting angle to optimize the reflection. Once I found a suitable shooting angle and properly distanced myself from the puddle I was able to capture the images I sought. Initially I stood far away so the reflection was visible in the puddle and I was able to capture it as part of the landscape. After experimenting with several shots at different distances away from the puddle and bringing my camera lower to the ground I found I preferred a greater proportion of the puddle in the photos to optimize the reflection. For the water droplets photography I used manual focus, a steady hand and a much-needed gardening foam kneepad to get close in to my subject matter. I gained a new found appreciation for the patience required to capture discernible and defined water droplets. The purple pansy, bamboo leaf and green grass strand’s natural coloring and textural beauty were showcased with water droplets, however the spider’s web, was my favorite as the water appeared to decorate the spider’s wondrous web, making it appear like multiple strings of pearls.
With regards to camera settings, I found the optimal settings were an f stop value of 5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/250. I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment in capturing the splendour of fall. The colours and textures characteristic of autumn are captivating and beautiful to showcase in photography. I tried to experiment with all of the different tones, colours and textures of the images to enhance each photograph. I also employed various depths of fields and focal points in my images to show the diversity in possible perspectives of capturing fall. It was very hard for me to single out a favourite shot as each technique (slow shutter speed and zoom twist, macro-lens, manual focus, varying the aperture, placement of subject, cropping, editing) added different dimensions to each photograph. Unlike the bold and bright colours of summer, autumn showcases rich yet subdued tones of oranges, reds, deep yellows and fading greens. To me, these warm colours are visually calming and are representative of nature signalling the time of harvest and the imminent onset of winter. It signals a time to shift indoors, bring out the sweaters and stay closer to home. Fall is a time when I also enjoy walking through the woods to take in the beauty of the changing colours of the leaves. Pumpkins are an important symbol of fall be it Thanksgiving with its traditional pumpkin pie, or Halloween's Jack-o-Lanterns. I took photographs of pumpkins, leaves, the debris of fallen foliage, deciduous tree-lined paths, as well as decaying buds. I like how the colours of the images compliment one another, creating a cohesive collection of photographs. Happy Fall to Everyone!Panning is a photographic technique employed to freeze the motion of moving objects while creating artistically conscious blurred backgrounds. I was looking forward to our new photography assignment of panning this weekend, but after taking what seemed like hundreds of shots in different locations with dismal results I became disappointed with my efforts. I initially tried using automatic focusing but found that the subject and background were both blurred, I then tried manual focus which produced a few relatively focused shots with the effect of blurred background, but I had to continue to fine tune my shutter speed and aperture. The important take away from this assignment was there is no magic shutter speed, but to me it was the most important aspect of taking a good panning shot. The tripod was important for achieving the proper panning technique, as well as pre-focusing. Patience and perseverance were also vital in this assignment, in waiting for the right opportunity to shoot, as well as persistence in continuing photographing. Although it took me time to adapt to this new photographic technique, it was a stimulating challenge and I was happy with my final results. I find it wondrous how you can freeze an object in motion. As well, I found the blurred background characteristic of panning shots to be intriguing and artistically captivating. It was thrilling trying to capture such fast moving subjects with my camera! I felt very engaged! My first round of images featured balls in motion (a football and a basketball) in the air. They did not turn out as I had hoped, but they allowed me to experiment wit the technique. My second round of images featured subjects of motorcycles and cars on the Trans-Canada highway. I found it exciting to photographing the vehicles, as they rushed past me. From my vantage I was able to pan the moving cars before releasing the shutter, which allowed me to gauge their relative speeds in order to determine how fast I needed to pan my camera to capture a shot with precision. I especially liked how I was able to capture some of the motorcycle shots. In terms of camera settings, I varied both the aperture and shutter speed to try and find the optimal pairings for my panning shots. After many trials I found that the settings, which worked best, were: an f stop value of 13 and a shutter speed of 1/60. Even though this assignment was challenging in nature, I found it to be very exciting in the end! First Round - Football & BasketballSecond Round - Cars & MotorcyclesThis past Sunday, September 28th marked the rare astronomical event of a total lunar eclipse with a super moon creating the appearance of an abnormally large, or swollen moon covered in a copper red light. The Province newspaper reported “this combination has not happened since 1982 and will not occur again until 2033.” What a historical photographic opportunity this will present to everyone in class. On Saturday night I decided to head out and take photos of the moon, as a trial run for Sunday. I wanted to experiment with aperture values, shutter speeds, ISO values and positioning of the tri-pod. After honing in on the ideal camera settings, I was able to photograph the moon and refine the f-stop value and shutter speeds to further enhance the image. The result was a crisp shot of the moon, where I was able to distinguish its colorings and identify some of its craters. I continued taking several shots before I decided to vary the composition and included nearby tree branches to slightly eclipse the moon, in a way foreshadowing the lunar event to unfold Sunday night. On Sunday night, I headed out excited at the opportunity to photograph this historical event, knowing that the next time I would see this I would be 34 years old! After refining my shutter speed and aperture, with knowledge of approximate settings from the previous night I switched to manual focus for more control. I was so excited just at the prospect of shooting the moon, that when I saw the results I was even more elated. You can see my photographs from Sunday night below. In my photographs, I aimed to zoom in as far as I could with my 400mm lens to capture a close in shot of the moon. I also found that 400 ISO worked best with night photography, as well as a high f-stop value and ¼ shutter speed. I tried to vary the composition by placing the moon in the center, as well having it as an asymmetrical shot (taking into account the law of thirds). After reviewing my shots, I preferred the asymmetrical shots, finding they led your eyes more readily into the photo and were hopefully more compositionally appealing to the viewer. I found shooting on Sunday night to be more challenging than Saturday night. There was highly diffuse light, coming up from the city, immediately below where the moon was positioned tonight. It was notably easier last night to capture images of the moon with the absence of tonight’s varying shades of red. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of history this weekend. I felt inspired and connected to the universe being able to capture images of something more than 350,000 km away. After Sunday’s event, I wish to continue lunar photography and further explore and experiment with my SLR with night photography shoots! Here's a few shots of me with my tripod!
In the midst of the Saturday downpour, I headed out into the cold on a quest to capture the freighters of West Vancouver through my lens. With raindrops caressing my face, I began to photograph the freighter I identified as my subject. My first photograph (first image below) was one of a typical freighter shot; the beach’s rocks encroaching upon the foreground with the freighter suspended in the backdrop mist of the sea. After taking the cliché photograph, I preceded to craft original shots of the same subject through varying my vantage, composition, angle, and perspective. This assignment challenged me to be creative and investigate how to make a seemingly common photo of a freighter intriguing and unique. In the second photo posted below, I positioned my camera so that roots of driftwood framed the photo. The viewer is able to see the freighter through the keyhole of the textured foreground of the driftwood. I liked how this added dimension and depth to the shot. In my third photograph, the off-centered freighter is balanced by the person perched on the log with the umbrella. I chose to employ black and white editing in this photograph as I found it gave more emphasis to the structure of the shot and made it stronger in its simplicity. In my final photograph, I used textured kelp in the foreground to frame the freighter. The distinct foreground (kelp), middle ground (beach rocks) and background (freighter) in this photograph ads a layered sensation, which I found captivating. This assignment, which tasked us with comparing typical shots to ones composed with creativity, enabled me to explore different techniques of photographic composure and continue my exciting journey with photography!
Investigating symmetry and asymmetry in this assignment, I was able to attain a better understanding of the aesthetics offered by both of these elements of photographic composition. Offering correspondence in form and arrangement of elements or parts on opposite sides of a dividing line, symmetry adds balance. Asymmetry provides impact in photographic composition through featuring off off-centred objects. This off balance can be visually appealing and strengthen photographic design.
I enjoyed exploring how symmetry and asymmetry changed the focal points in my photographs, and added different components and perspectives in my shots. Through capturing the Ambleside Totem pole from a side vantage, I was able to have it off-centered in my photographs. Although I found the photographs where the totem was centred (adding symmetry and aesthetic balance) aesthetically pleasing, my off centred photographs were intriguing in that they showed the range of focal points possible to in a photograph. It allowed me to reflect on the many ways in which I can better craft my shots through employing these elements of design. Symmetry and Asymmetry can serve as tools to help me compose more powerful photographs, through adding strength and beauty in appealing to different visual sensories. I chose to capture the Ambleside Totem Pole in my photographs for this assignment. As well, I employed symmetry and asymmetry in my photos of a car grill. The symmetrical forms of these featured items allowed me to experiment with balanced symmetry, in addition to asymmetrical design through shooting from various angles and vantages. My favourite photo pairing is seen below. I enjoy how the difference in symmetry and asymmetry differentiates my shots, providing them two distinct appearances. The symmetrical photo represents a welcoming balance, whereas the photograph featuring asymmetry invites the viewer into the photo with its off-ceneterd focus. *In my photo pairs, the left photo captures symmetry whereas the right photo highlights asymmetry. 11,000 miles and counting! This past summer my family and I strove to visit as many colleges and universities in the United States, from the humid eastern seaboard to the hot and dry west coast. During our travels we saw many different architectural buildings that further piqued my ineptest in structural engineering. The theme explored in my photographs is "simplistic images belie intricate architecture". From both my east coast and west coast endeavours, I was able to marvel at the diversity of the intricate architecture, while capturing its splendour and simplicity of form through my lens. • The symmetry of the photograph and bluebird sky backdrop emphasizes the simplistic beauty of the ivory Flatiron building in San Francisco.
• In the second photograph,the sun's reflection adds dimension to the structure's intriguing exterior ventilation pattern. • The glorious Memorial Church on Stanford's campus is framed by the main quad's center archway. The photograph emphasizes the simplistic architectural form of the archway and Church, while still showcasing their ornate details. • The sunset glow streaming through this grand archway is in contrast to the shadowed foreground, allowing the simplistic beauty of the arch outline to be accentuated. • My black and white image of St. Patrick's Cathedral in the heart of New York City portrays its architectural splendour. The shot is simplistic in that is focuses solely on the church, and adds impact through the omission of colour. • Peering through the colums at one of Caltech's landmark buildings, this photograph emphasizes the beauty of the curved building's semi-circle ceiling edge cut-outs, as well as its unique, hanging bobble fixtures. • The photograph of Princeton's infamous arches allows the splendour of the walkway to come alive, without the distraction imposed by passersby. • My final shot is looking up at the corner of The Peninsula Hotel in New York City at Fifth Avenue and 55th Street. The uplighting on the building's exterior emphasizes its structural grandeur, as one of the city's iconic hotels. |
Kristine Falck• Gr. 12 Collingwood School Archives
May 2016
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