Assignment 5: The Finale

The Challenge

Black and white photography. What a thing. This project honestly didn't really give me much insight into what this field of photography is all about, but it is a start. The thing about black and white pictures is that there's no colour. I may sound foolish making that observation, but when you have a collection pixels on a screen, compiled to create something we mentally register to be a form of art, it needs to be interesting, and without color that field of creativity definitely shifts. Pictures start to become something more than colours on a screen.

Without different hues, something else in the picture is forced to be present. This is composition. This is content. This is symbolizing something through your photo. Black and white photography causes us to stop and consider all those other elements of the picture that are not colour. In this way, circumstantially, monochrome images can speak louder than polychrome images; interesting isn't it?

The biggest challenge I faced in this module was the need for something more than nice colours. I started thinking about the other aspects of the image, such as lighting and composition. I've done a lot of nature photography because it's the most passive photography, and yes, I do have pictures of branches and plants that aligned so beautifully. But most of my pictures were based off of color; the rich saturation of natural earth. All of a sudden I was lacking this main aspect of my photography, causing a forced change from passive to active photography. I needed to put something in front of my lens instead of going to the content. This improved everything about the images.

As a photographer I must consider each detail of an scene before I capture it. The more the scene is created by me, the more intention there is to the image. This causes the quality of my images to rocket. More than a challenge, it was a stepping stone to becoming a better photographer, because imagine what could happen when I combine this thought out method of designing my picture and colour! It's wonderful what this activity can do, expanding your borders and leading your mind all around. You'll start to notice beauty in the everyday; the world will come to life and you'll never be the same.

Photos

This isn't the best black and white edit, but I chose it for its details. The cloud over the sun is a pretty fantastic image. You should see this in colour, it's beautiful. Each little wisp of white is interesting too as the light and dark contrast well. The premise of this picture is seeing what light does, along with a tad of composition. Honestly, I took this picture last week and thought it might look alright converted. This means that the purpose was to capture the sunset. It was incredible. I did meet my own expectations when later editing this on my computer. The colours and power to this shot alone makes me so happy.

Metadata
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 200
Shutter Speed: 1/80 second

I chose these settings because I wanted a strong picture. To do this I had to isolate both the light and the shadow enough that you could tell them apart. This blew the colors through the roof. In a black and white conversion the high contrast, that is mostly natural, allows for an interesting photograph.

A Window to the World

This picture was fun. I'm quite the sucker for good shadows and soft light. This picture gave that to me. I did indeed meet my expectations, as they were to make a thoughtful shot of me, with excellent lighting. Composition did actually pose a problem. At first I wanted a full body shot, but the stuff surrounding this part of my living room isn't nice looking to me. Because of this I decided to zoom in a bit and take a closer shot. This really captivates my emotion. Also, I was hungry for a clean, sharp focus and a decent blur in the background. I didn't get much bokeh in the trees like the picture in Assignment 4. This is probably due to the high aperture, which I didn't actually take into consideration. I just wanted a darker picture to really accentuate that light.

Metadata

Aperture: f/7.1

ISO: 800

Shutter Speed: 1/25 second

Referring to that bokeh again, I realize now that I could have turned down my ISO to compensate for all the light. Ridiculously enough I was causing this problem by myself! I slowed the shutter down because I wanted rich saturation and lots of light, but not too much. Some. Lots. Much. Enough.

The Skeleton of a Peanut

I'm incredibly proud of this picture. After seeing this skeletal form I grabbed a sheet of white paper, put it on and grabbed some excess peanut carnage for the background (I was snacking). I also used my reading lamp to effectively light this, as it was already evening and winter in Alberta doesn't give enough daylight hours. Anyways, I played with the macro and took pictures every which way until I was satisfied. I actually believe I exceeded my expectations for this one. I'm very pleased.

Metadata
Aperture: f/5.6

ISO: 1600

Shutter Speed: 1/125 second

The aperture allowed for some blur. I couldn't go lower because of the room I was in. The ISO was nice and ramped, because I can do that with my SLR (without grain)! I had a fast shutter speed because I am always unsteady when taking macros. I wanted a good picture. If you'd like to see the color version, visit my Food Photography Assignment post! That's all.

"Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones"

This is a driving bokeh I liked. I really wanted to incorporate one of these into the project but wasn't sure how. I knew it had to be composed to be interesting without color and well shot so the lights made distinct circles. I knew what I wanted, and I think I got it. Excuse the crack, that's our windshield. I did meet my expectation here as I absolutely adore this style of shot and nothing less would have sufficed. The curve and slow fade of the street lights perfects it, I feel.

Metadata

Aperture: f/5.6

ISO: 1600

Shutter Speed: 1/125

So my aperture was as low as it could go, because it was dark out. My ISO was high, also because it was dark out. The shutter speed was quicker because I was in a car. That's all. The colour version actually has a really nice dark blue color tone to the whole picture. Quite nice really. Next!

Recycling Bodyparts

This is really similar to my other macro, of my sister's eye, and I apologize. This fact is tribute to the caption. Here I just got in close and made sure I had a nice focus. I had good light and well set manual focus. I let my camera do the rest. There's not much else to this picture. I was going for a direct focus when I took this picture, and I think I achieved as much. The light gradient is direct as well and her dirty blonde hair mixes well with it. That's all I think.

Metadata
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 1600
Shutter Speed: 1/125 second

Here I wanted lots of light, obviously, but because I was holding my camera, and I had enough light to compensate for a quicker shutter speed, allowing a crisp picture without darkness.

Lights won't guide me home this time because I took this in my house..

I liked this one. Tea candles can be so pretty. I experimented with a lot of different angles and focuses but none seemed to work very well. This was the best I came up with. I can't say I met my expectations because I didn't quite capture the picture I wanted. Maybe next time. This though, is alright. I enjoyed the fade out and somewhat homely cupboard in the background. It creates a sense of calm with the black and white conversion. All of it ties together in the end. This is a good use of light in the black and white. #rhymes

Metadata
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 400
Shutter Speed: 1/40 second

So here we see some values I don't usually use. This picture was taken with specifically chosen settings. I wanted light from the candles, but not much interference from the room's light. To do this I had to get close to the candles and darken the picture. My aperture was still pretty high but I wanted a strong blur, which I wouldn't have gotten with a higher aperture. I considered heavy post-processing but decided on a naturally contrasted photo. I did still edit this, but not as much as if the picture had been much brighter.

Mmmmm pretzel sticks

So this picture! I had the idea in my head, you know, when people take end-on shots of chopped wood or large logs? This is the same premise, but I merged it with a straight on shot of coffee, because I didn't have a stack of chopped wood on hand.. I set my lamp behind the mug to give the distinct shadows you see. As the caption says, these are actually pretzelly sticks. Sticks of pretzelness. However you'd like. Our nice wooden table provides a contrasting texture to the porcelain mug. I do have to admit, this picture is twelve times better (exactly) in colour than black and white.

Metadata
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 1600
Shutter Speed: 1/125 second

The shutter speed was quick because I was hovering over the mug. The ISO was high because I wanted lots of directional light. My aperture was low because I really wanted the intentional field of view you can see here. It's VERY shallow.

ONE LAST POINT. Remember when I said I was hovering over the mug? Well I positioned the lamp so I could be like, standing on the mug, and my shadow wouldn't be seen. That's really critical, and I usually mess up on that. Expectation = Succeeded.

This is the last. I'm probably the happiest with this, as it's a provoking picture. The black background with white smoke really brought this home. I actually had a pretty cool setup. I didn't have any black foam or anything actually technically used for photography, so I draped a black t-shirt over my sister's music stand and that became my background! As for the smoke, I took my lamp (trusty lamp) and put it just outside the picture to catch the smoke. The challenge here is that I didn't want the background illuminated. Just looking at this now, I realize it actually came out really well. I did process it pretty heavily, but I didn't have to replace anything. This is an original with contrast and hues changed. I'm pretty proud.

Another challenge I had was putting out the flame while preserving the smoke (we don't have a snuffer for some reason). I had my sister put out the flame with her breath, but she'd blow the smoke away no matter how hard she tried not to. Eventually we got a socket wrench with a larger socket and used it as a makeshift snuffer. This is pretty lame, but it can be cleaned and it really worked! I used my camera's continuous shoot ability to capture each stage of the candle's smoke drifting away. I could make a stop motion video. That'd be cool.

Metadata
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 3200
Shutter Speed: 1/200 second

I needed a quick shutter to catch the smoke in mid drift but an incredibly high ISO to keep the light up.  I kept my aperture low to help with brightness. The focus didn't matter here because of the miniscule amounts of detail (smoke excluded). I just needed the smoke and candle in focus. All in all I am very happy with this photo. The next time I attempt this I will have more directional light to specifically lighten the smoke. I'll put my camera closer to the smoke, because I don't need to see the candle and the closer I am to the smoke, the more detailed it will be! I met my expectation although now seeing a fully finished product I can set my sets higher!

Conclusion

This is it. The black and white module was a very good project and I have improved by looking into a different field. There is always more to learn, but I am making progress. This is the end of my photography course. I'm alone here in the classroom, just writing my last words because I wanted to be here. I chose to try my best, to give my all. That probably doesn't sound like much when referring to photography, but it does mean I tried. This class really did help my photography capabilities. I will leave this course knowing more, and wanting more; wishing to achieve the once unachievable. I do give a big thanks to Mrs. Stoyko for all her work. No student can excel without an excellent teacher. I think this is all I have to say.

David, out.

Assignment 4: Black and White Edits

Here I have two different edits, an infrared black and white picture, and a manually converted black and white image. Enjoy!

 This is a macro, enhanced with the effect. I thought the eyelashes would really compliment the infrared as everything is glowing and kinda blurred except the eyelashes. It's a nice contrast. Also, the monochrome allows for a glow that doesn't overpower the picture with colour.

And here's more of an interpretive photo. I just went for my standard edit by enhancing the darks and lights with "Curves" and then increasing the offset just a tad, to give it that overall grey melding. When I converted it to black and white, I wanted to keep the bokeh in the trees, so I just minorly adjusted each colour scale, to further increase the contrast. I also wanted to preserve that little bit of light on the hands. I feel like these two images almost go together. What about you?

Assignment 3: The First Three

These first three images were converted using Photoshop's "Black & White" option under "Adjustments". Once this was opened, I hit the Auto button, and voila! I notice they're black and white, grayscale images. The advantage of using this setting, is that you get an image that is successfully converted with no knowledge required! You don't have to know how each colour in the colour model affects each aspect of the black and white image. It's easy. The disadvantage to a technique like this is that you have no control over anything. If you want deeper blacks and lighter whites, or maybe a creamier gray sky with a sharp, detailed portrait of your best friend, you have to manually convert the image. To do this you have to understand how different colours apply to different shades of gray in your image. In the end, the only downside to automatically converting a colour image is that you have to know a little bit about colours and Photoshop. Honestly, it's not that difficult and every step you do by yourself leads to a better end result than if you let Photoshop do all the work for you.

This is the first. I notice the automatic conversion leaves the sky really white, and the lights are almost under detailed because of the over-shading. I like how smooth the black is, with a subtle light gradient on the crest of the light coverings.

I feel this macro's shades leveled out pretty nicely. The sky is a creamier gray that melds nicely with the other background objects. Nothing is too stark, and though not all pictures will look good like this, I feel this one looks alright.

Laaaaast one of the three. Here we see a fairly boring picture. There's a plain white wall and a face. The top of my bed's headboard does create a nice line in the background. The colour conversion does bring the picture together though.

Assignment 2: Colour-Full

Colour-Full

                The world consists of so many colours, and these are what make life so interesting; so awake and different than forlorn desaturation. This comparison is used in so many writings and metaphors of life. In this we understand how deep the idea can be. In photography colors are also very important. Speaking of my previous writing, we know that taking pictures and editing them is an incredibly creative thing, and this is very exciting. Knowing this we can include grayscale images in our creativity, though it is very different than colour images. Everyone sees things differently and black and white photography is just as unique as colour photography. Right now we’re looking at different color models. RGB (Red-Blue-Green) or CMYK (Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Key Black)?

                RGB is common to me, as Photoshop and all other editing programs I’ve used, manipulate this model by default. Also, this is the colour model you learn about in your junior high art class, and even elementary.  Red, blue and green, the primary colors and their overlaps are secondary colours. All other colours are derivatives of these six. Cool right? In photography a camera’s sensor will pick up tons of different colours that could never be generated on a computer’s screen. This is why we have colour models, which then convert impossible colours to an alternative colour, that a computer is able to process. The RGB colour model is an example of this. It is commonly used in camera-to-printer photography, where a photographer will take a picture and print off the memory card. The model is called sRGB, created by HP and Microsoft, specifically for digital screens, printers and the internet. It’s convenient in this setting because of its compatibility with commercial photo printers (studios and kiosks in stores like Wal-mart­ or Staples), which print in sRGB. Note that sRGB is a digitally compatible colour model; the same as RGB, just for technology. As I mention just before, the RGB model is also used for online work. All colors seen, are generated using the RGB model, because it’s bright and sharp, contrasting with CMYK which does take a more shaded appearance.

Onto CMYK. RGB model is based on light, meaning the more colour, the lighter a selection will be. All the colours combined produce white. This is unlike CMYK. This model is designed around the premise that colours absorb light, the end product of a total combination being black. Not a definite black though, a muddy gray lacking detail and contrast. The biggest use is in printing, as a colour image is made of ink. Each ink cartridge has a different colour within, each color contributing to that gray I was talking about. This is completely opposite an RGB model, thus why we can conclude that an RGB image viewed on a computer monitor will not be rendered the same, through a printer. This is why you need to look at a photo rendered in the CMYK model on your screen, before you print. This is achievable through changing your editing program’s color space (the color model  your program uses to render an image).

In the end, both color models are valuable in their allotted fields; RGB being used on the internet and low-profile consumer photography (camera-to-printer), while CMYK is used in general printing (printing without focusing on color, like text documents; not photographs). As a photographer I would lean towards the sRGB color model because it’s bright and produces good results when printing a picture. The final result should be rich in saturation and sharp. CMYK just won’t produce that.

Assignment 1: Destructive or Not?

Destructive or Not?

Photography is an incredibly creative field, because of its ability to go anywhere your mind can imagine. Combining the power of a camera and a strong photo-editing program makes anything possible. The only stop to this infinite creativity is wrecking the source of your image. If you’ve done something wrong, on the base file, how can you ever save it?

                There are two types of black and white photography; destructive and non-destructive. Destructive photography refers to the lack of availability to switch back and forth between monochromatic and polychromatic scales. When actively shooting with your camera, taking a destructive photo means that you’ve set your camera to take a black and white image either with the digital filter or a filter over the lens. In this situation, all the pictures you take will not be capable of having colors other than gray. If you take an image with a black and white setting, you will not be able to post-process them back into color. However, shooting non-destructively allows for switching between chromatic scales. This means that when taking pictures, you will be able to later, in post-processing, convert the image to grayscale or remain in the original polychromatic scale you shot in. This is why photographers that are unsure of whether the picture will look better in a mono or polychromatic scale should use the non-destructive method that will allow for the original image to be in color; leaving two options for a final product.

                Now, in post-processing the same concepts apply. Destructive and non-destructive image editing are all based around leaving the backdoor open; the option to have the original image unaltered, instead of playing with the only form of the image you have. Advanced photo editing programs allow for layers and masks. I’m going to describe how these can save you from sure horror. Destructive editing allows for you to edit an image, in a program, but the technique is to play with the image itself and nothing more. If it’s a quick adjustment and you know exactly what you’re doing, editing destructively is perfectly suited. Alas, if you’re a beginner or a professional editing to create an extensively imaginative work of art, the image is not guaranteed absolute safety. Imagine, saving a beautiful typography assignment and spelling something wrong, you only notice it shining brightly on your photography blog. Rushing back to the JPEG image, you open it in Photoshop and see to your dismay that the image is flat and incapable of being altered because you edited destructively. The style of editing is playing with the original image that’s been captured with your camera. If you do too much, and do something incorrectly, you can’t go back and may have even destroyed your beautiful shot completely. This is why destructive editing is not generally recommended.

                On the other hand, non-destructive editing is the best. This technique employs the use of layers and masks (among others), which allow you to play with the photo as if you were affecting the base image, but you’re not! Masks equip you to cut parts of an image out, without actually cutting them out. It visually shows the cuts but only when you choose to apply the mask will the missing parts actually be missing. Duplicating the image in a new layer enables free editing of any sort to that copy layer, because the original image is still safe and sound.

                Editing is an essential part of photography, but you must acknowledge that messing with an uncopied image is dangerous because you can really screw things up and not be able to retrace your steps. Always remember to never alter your original image. Non-destructive editing is the safest technique, I believe, when it comes to messing with an image.