Derwent Water in the Peaks.

Another attempt at venturing across woodlands to try to capture semi-decent photos. This time I decided to get up at 5:30 AM and drive straight to the destination just in time for dawn break. Luck didn't seem to be following me however, as I chose to go out on the foggiest morning I have seen this year so far. Typical. I am a fan of foggy days mind...Just I couldn't really see anything in front of me, at all... in the slightest. Still, I carried on, determined to get some successful shots and hoping the fog would die out. It did a little...yay! The remaining fog gave the photo's more of an edge, so all in all it was a success. 


Checklist:

• Charged battery and new spare battery the previous night.
• Tripod intact. 
• Manual guide for my specific camera in case.
• Suitable clothing ( A warm coat, walking attire and Gloves!)
• Plenty of space on memory card. 
• Spare memory card.

I really wanted to capture some shots focusing on the Colour contrast. The whole reason I chose Woodlands/Forests for my assignment was to capture the tree populated areas and to show how they can change during one season on to the next. For example how the colours change and how a forest rampant with growth can change to a seemingly impotent skeletonised version of itself whilst still retaining a sombre beauty.


In these following three pictures I have changed the White Balance, Shutter Speed, Aperture, Colour Intensity  (on the last one) and ISO. I pictured the same spot just to show how you can create a different atmosphere just by changing the light exposure, colours etc. On all three of these photos I used my tripod (it is my new best friend).

                                                                   
                                        Shutter Speed: 3 Sec F/10 ISO 200 WB: Cool-White fl.

                                            Shutter Speed: 10 Secs F/22 ISO 100 WB: Cloudy.

                                             Shutter Speed: 10 Secs F/10 ISO 100 WB: Cloudy.
                            Here I intensified the red in my Filter effect options on my camera.
                         To me the colour contrast was shocking to look at and I wanted to show 
                          this as the colours didn't look as radiant once the photo had been taken.

                                       Shutter Speed: 4 Secs F/13 ISO 100 WB: Cloudy.
                             I took this photo on my Tripod but from a low angle to exaggerate 
                          the length of the tall trees compared to the small tree situated central.

                                         Shutter Speed: 1.3 F/5.3 ISO 400 WB: Cloudy.


Overall I felt I had quite a successful trip. I find one of the most challenging things is to try and take shots that are quite different from eachother. On one of my new outings I plan to take some of the different aspects of a forest besides the trees. I may also try to shoot during sunset to allow even more new exciting colours to come into the frame. I quite like the Idea of doing a close-up or an Abstract image in one of my final six photographs.
                               

Researching Begins - Harry Callahan.

The Photographs of Harry Callahan that I am particularly interested in are a series of  landscape photos donated to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. They cover five decades of his work.


Callahan was inspired by Ansel Adams but was interested in the minutiae of his local landscape. His photos dwell on specific details of the landscape and become abstract in their attention to simplicity. The detail that he achieves renders the simplest things complex and forces the viewer to see that which he would not normally notice.


His choice of subject matter seems mundane and he often will photograph it twice.



Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 from 'Detroit 1942'.

 

For example the photos above are both of the Leaf on a section of snow. One was clear and pronounced whilst the other , though similar looks more abstract. His photos seem to invite the viewer to really "see" the subject. He offers us the ordinary and the overlooked and allows us to see it with fresh eyes. As John Szarkowski wrote, " He has demonstrated that the most accessible subjects, approached with the most transparent of Techniques, can be made new again each day by precision of feeling".

Callahan adopted Adams ethic of clarity in his own work. Adams was a founding member of the F/64 group, named for the small lens aperture, the result of which was called " Straight Photography". The idea being that the final photograph would be complete from every aspect without being manipulated afterwards. This raises photography to the realms of a pure form of art. He achieved this with a view camera purchasing first a 8x10" camera and then a 4x5" camera. The larger film allowed better image quality and for each negative to be processed individually.

At first glance his photos do not seem to offer us much to see, but on reflection they allow us to see worlds within worlds. His photos of Leaves, Plates 5, 6, and 7 Chicago appear to be the same, but upon observation they contain both similarities and differeces. The viewer is drawn into the texture, shape and the play of light and dark. Unfotunately I can only find one of these photographs to upload.

Plate 6. Chicago, 1950.

Another of his inspirations was Stieglitz and his cloud pictures titled " Equivalents" - which rather than being literal were more mood forming. If you look at Callahan's series "Ansley Park, Plates 34-37, shot looking upwards at trees and thier branches, you are drawn to the line and form rather than the knowledge that these are trees.

Ansley Park, Plates 34-37 1991.

I do have a fascination of taking pictures looking upwards, especially with trees. I think I have a few similarities in my own work to that of Harry Callahan's 'Ansley Park' photos. By transforming my own digital images into black and white there probably wouldn't be much difference except I tend to single out one tree.

Here are some of my own images.

Light Drawing Session.

A couple of weeks back we experimented with Light Drawing. I found that it is quite addictive. The only hard part is using your imagination to come up with new Ideas. We firstly had a go with the torches in the Studio. We set the cameras to Bulb Photography and then whoever would hold the Shutter down for any length of time that we needed to create an image with the torches/glowsticks etc. We all individually came up with some images to create and then we came together as a team to transform the images in the dark. For example we tried to do a boat out at sea on a summers day which I will display further on in this post. Each one of us would concentrate on just one particular part of the image to draw with the torches. After a couple of attempts I think we finally got there. Another picture we decided on doing was a Christmassy theme and so on...

Shortly after working in the Studio we ventured outside to see what other pictures we could design. We came across the park which was deserted and decided to use this as our base.

Effects...etc.

I've just been getting to grips with my cameras full potential and playing around with the different effects and all the editing techniques that can be done. Sometimes I find photographs need a little tweaking even though I do love an untouched photo. I've been getting used to using the White Balance also, which I love. I did not realise how much it can help with the photos atmosphere and the intensity of the colours within the photo. I have also experimented with the monochrome and Colour enhancement. By just changing some of these elements, the photo takes on a whole new personality.

I took some pictures indoors of a room before a halloween event. Changing the White Balance from Automatic made the photos take on a new feel.

F4.5
Shutter Speed: 1/200
ISO: 100
WB: Incandescent.

                
F4.5
Shutter Speed: 1/60
ISO: 1600
WB: Incandescent.

F5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/60
ISO: 1600
WB: Incandescent.

F4
Shutter Speed: 1/200
ISO: 100
WB: Incandescent.











Here are some pictures where I changed the Monochrome...

F5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/60
ISO: 100
Monochrome: Sepia

F3.5
Shutter Speed: 1/500
ISO: 400
Monochrome: Black and White.

Changed to Black and White as I think the lights reflection on the water shows up more and the city in the background holds a nice back drop. 

I like the composition of this photo. I think it is balanced out quite nicely. Changing it to sepia adds a bit more character. It also makes the picture looked aged.                                         

Experimenting with the Studio Lighting.

A few weeks ago we had a little play around with making shadows in the studio by using various objects that we could find. Objects being Bottles, Shells, Fabric, Flowers, Textured Glass etc... We turned the main lights off with just a light focusing on the objects we had focused on. Here are just a few examples that we came up with...I hope you like. I think they look quite effective. The only problem I had with this task was trying be to be imaginative with the objects.

 

                                       

Trial and Error!

Right, a few days ago I went on my first woodland adventure to do with this assignment. I tried to be incredibly organised. I chose a fairly local Forest/walking area which was Cannock Chase. I used it mainly as a practice place. I was familiar with the lay out and just wanted to experiment the basics of photographing woodland areas.

Checklist:

• Making sure my battery for my Camera was fully charged the night before.
• Making sure I had plenty of space on my Memory Card.
• Tripod already packed in the car.
• Suitable clothing as the forecast was Rain, Cloudy and low temperatures.
• Make sure I have my Camera Manual with me and any notes that I need.

I set off around 10:30 AM on my day off and manage to park in a quieter area. Luckily my day off landed on a week day so the Chase seemed to be a lot quieter than if I had gone at the weekend. The forecast predicted the night before seemed to be keeping to its promise with grey clouds looming above. Since I have recently discovered the White Balance on my camera this didn't worry me as I could change the settings accordingly. I tried to take some photographs without the Tripod firstly but this was proving to be difficult as it was a fairly dismal day and the forest seemed darker than usual. I had to really play around with the ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed. I really wanted the colours of Autumn to show through my pictures so it was important for me to get the right lighting. After about fifty attempts at shooting the same spot I managed to capture the individual colours of different trees, plants, leaves etc. The lighting in the Woodland is so drastic in different locations that I had to keep changing the F number and Shutter Speed. I must have stayed in each spot for about half an hour just taking the same picture.

I then tried it out on my Tripod which seemed to improve the situation quite a bit. I was able to get a sharper image as I could slower the Shutter Speed and have a smaller Aperture. Below are some of my examples. Some I have altered and edited just to add more of an effect and character.

                                                     Shutter Speed: 1/160 ISO 400 F8 WB Cloudy

         

                                                                                                                       

Shutter Speed: 1/100 ISO 400 F8 WB Cloudy

(Changed the Monochrome to Black and White)

Shutter Speed: 1/125 ISO 400 F7.1 WB Cloudy

(Monochrome changed to Black and White)

I like the angle of this photo as I think it makes an eerie effect.

Shutter Speed: 1/60 ISO 400 F5.6 WB Cloudy

I like the Colours on this photo; I think it looks like it could have been painted. The tree in the foreground seems to frame the picture slightly.

This is the same picture as above but I have intensified the Colours to make the picture look more defined. I think I let in too much light on the original photo.

Shutter Speed: 1/125 ISO 400 F7.1 WB Cloudy

As if was a fairly dull day, I had to play around with the colours afterwards as the natural light seemed to merge the colours into one.

 

Assignment...

I've decided to chose Landscape as my main assignment theme. This seemed an obvious choice for me as I enjoy the outdoors whether it be City or Countryside. I also enjoy the walking so it gives me plenty of opportunity to take my camera with me.

The specific aspect of Landscape I have chosen will be Forests/Woodlands. Forests/Woodlands have long been held to be mysterious places and I hope that I will be able to portray some of this in my photography. I feel it may be a challenge as Forests tend to be naturally short on light so the exposure may cause a problem. The composition might also be quite difficult as the Forests can be quite dense and busy and finding a focal point can be tricky.

I'm hoping to be able to visit several Forests that have a different arboreal makeup. A Forest of Firs will look considerably different to a Forest of Oaks. Also a relatively new managed Forest will have a different atmosphere and less character that an ancient one.

I'm looking to find variations within the woodland such as textures, colours and contrasts. As well as trees being a main theme there is the Forest floor which includes Boulders, Mosses, Streams, Waterfalls and Fauna. The Forest canopy will provide further interest with unusual angles and the play of light and dark.

For the assignment we each have to end up with six final photographs based on our theme within a theme. I plan to visit a different Forest most weeks when I can and come up with some creative shots. I do like Raw photography but I will also challenge myself to edit and play around with the different elements on my Camera such as Cropping, Monocromes, Colour Enhancement etc...Hopefully I'll manage to capture some atmospheric and haunting shots...