MEDIA 203 - Week 3: HDR and Local Scenes
Below: Scenes along Clear Creek Trail (lower Harrison marsh area) - Silverdale, WA
Below: Scenes along beach at Port Williams - Sequim, WA
Analysis of Work
Feelings/Mood - What is being communicated
Throughout the forest series I was working with bright lighting. The images were taken around noon on a clear day, so the sun was piercing through the foliage. One of my goals for the quarter is to work with sunlight (since this has been a challenge for me) and this particular day provided the perfect opportunity. I found that the sunlight in the forest created fantastic definition, but it since there were layers upon layers of fauna, there was often too much to look at. Constantly redefining camera position for the right frame and depth of field made a great difference. There were plenty of images that I threw out – some due to uncommunicative shots in the field and others due to incompatible HDR merging. Of the ones that I decided to present, the strongest is the flower. The shallow depth of field brought concentration on the subject, the back lighting created a spotlight effect, and the backdrop of green against the pink (a red based hue) of the flower showed color opposites. My intent throughout the forest series was to showcase a welcome of Spring. Since there were few flowers in the forest, the presence of other beginning buds accompanying the flower in full bloom with the sun beaming down gives the idea of warmer days ahead.
In the beach series, the location presents a convergence of two worlds: land and ocean. Along the beach are subjects such as luscious grass, jagged cliffs with trees living on the edge, debris washed upon the shore, and driftwood – images of the course of nature between life, death, and recreation. Even the driftwood shows how the churning of the sea can make something dead look beautiful – nature’s own memorial service. The composition that was most appealing to me was that of the young tree growing out of the fallen log. My intent throughout the photo shoot was clear, but was a matter of business until I ran into the young tree. It presented the idea of reproduction that animals and plants alike go through. Parents in the majority of species will put themselves in harm’s way in order to give their young a chance. The salmon is a great cross reference, which in its final moments lays eggs and then dies. It fights all odds to give their young an opportunity at life. Humans have a different life cycle, but give up many of their own opportunities in order to give their children success. We are willing to give our lives in exchange for our children. The fallen tree impressed upon me the same idea, and I decided to concentrate on the young tree in order to show the reward of self-sacrifice.
Subject Placement - Important areas of the images
In the flower image, the subject was placed towards the left in order to create a sense of motion. If it had been placed in the center of the frame, the image would appear static. The eye would not need to move since there would be perfect suspension. In this case, the viewer is left to wonder what else is out there, which creates a sense of interest. The camera was brought in close to the subject with a concentrated focus in order to separate the flower from the clutter of the background.
The tree is a different case altogether. The expansion of branches go beyond the frame in order to show the return on investment for one’s sacrifice. There are more elements included, such as the dead tree, the shore, the bay and hills in the background, rocks – much more working together to tell the story. My intent with this image was to project a concert of imagery rather than a solo performance of a single object.
Multilayered - Multilayers of meaning in photographs
Much of the meaning in each image has already been addressed. The forest images show the beginning of Spring with the lack of foliage, but the presence of buds highlighted by intruding shafts of light. Additionally, the isolation of the follower shows the welcome of Spring.
Along the beach, there is a scene of life and death. The inclusion of HDR to the imagery heightens the vibrance of foliage and increases the separation of shadows to give the idea of what is present and what has already passed.
Depth of Field - Areas of focus
The flower was brought into focus against the background to give heightened concentration on the subject. It was also intended to throw out the “noise” of the background to give the idea of a quite forest sanctuary.
There was greater depth of field in the tree image in order to give a more broad sense of the location. The concentration was not so much identify location of Port Williams, or even the Pacific Northwest, but rather to identify the cycle of life at the shoreline.
Light - Light sources utilized
According to the instructions, no flash was executed. The forest images worked with sunlight and often involved harsh repetition of shading. The camera typically had difficulty focusing in this setting, but some images worked out with mechanical cooperation.
The beach images were taken on a cloudy day in light to medium rain. An umbrella was utilized with in order to shield the lens, but positioned well above the picture frame. The subjects were much easier to photograph on this occasion due to easier gradation of shading.
Improvement - What would be changed
The primary change that I would make with bracketing would be to use a remote button to capture images. Pressing down on the button on the camera often caused to the entire unit to shift, which meant that a series of three for HDR would not necessarily have unanimous framing. Additionally, when editing the images for HDR, I would concentrate on making images look natural rather than fashionable. Although I aimed for this output while in the editing phase, editing was more experimental than planned. Experiments in media are important for improving ones skillset, turn-around is essential in business and leaves little room for experimenting when a dead line is approaching.
Throughout the forest series I was working with bright lighting. The images were taken around noon on a clear day, so the sun was piercing through the foliage. One of my goals for the quarter is to work with sunlight (since this has been a challenge for me) and this particular day provided the perfect opportunity. I found that the sunlight in the forest created fantastic definition, but it since there were layers upon layers of fauna, there was often too much to look at. Constantly redefining camera position for the right frame and depth of field made a great difference. There were plenty of images that I threw out – some due to uncommunicative shots in the field and others due to incompatible HDR merging. Of the ones that I decided to present, the strongest is the flower. The shallow depth of field brought concentration on the subject, the back lighting created a spotlight effect, and the backdrop of green against the pink (a red based hue) of the flower showed color opposites. My intent throughout the forest series was to showcase a welcome of Spring. Since there were few flowers in the forest, the presence of other beginning buds accompanying the flower in full bloom with the sun beaming down gives the idea of warmer days ahead.
In the beach series, the location presents a convergence of two worlds: land and ocean. Along the beach are subjects such as luscious grass, jagged cliffs with trees living on the edge, debris washed upon the shore, and driftwood – images of the course of nature between life, death, and recreation. Even the driftwood shows how the churning of the sea can make something dead look beautiful – nature’s own memorial service. The composition that was most appealing to me was that of the young tree growing out of the fallen log. My intent throughout the photo shoot was clear, but was a matter of business until I ran into the young tree. It presented the idea of reproduction that animals and plants alike go through. Parents in the majority of species will put themselves in harm’s way in order to give their young a chance. The salmon is a great cross reference, which in its final moments lays eggs and then dies. It fights all odds to give their young an opportunity at life. Humans have a different life cycle, but give up many of their own opportunities in order to give their children success. We are willing to give our lives in exchange for our children. The fallen tree impressed upon me the same idea, and I decided to concentrate on the young tree in order to show the reward of self-sacrifice.
Subject Placement - Important areas of the images
In the flower image, the subject was placed towards the left in order to create a sense of motion. If it had been placed in the center of the frame, the image would appear static. The eye would not need to move since there would be perfect suspension. In this case, the viewer is left to wonder what else is out there, which creates a sense of interest. The camera was brought in close to the subject with a concentrated focus in order to separate the flower from the clutter of the background.
The tree is a different case altogether. The expansion of branches go beyond the frame in order to show the return on investment for one’s sacrifice. There are more elements included, such as the dead tree, the shore, the bay and hills in the background, rocks – much more working together to tell the story. My intent with this image was to project a concert of imagery rather than a solo performance of a single object.
Multilayered - Multilayers of meaning in photographs
Much of the meaning in each image has already been addressed. The forest images show the beginning of Spring with the lack of foliage, but the presence of buds highlighted by intruding shafts of light. Additionally, the isolation of the follower shows the welcome of Spring.
Along the beach, there is a scene of life and death. The inclusion of HDR to the imagery heightens the vibrance of foliage and increases the separation of shadows to give the idea of what is present and what has already passed.
Depth of Field - Areas of focus
The flower was brought into focus against the background to give heightened concentration on the subject. It was also intended to throw out the “noise” of the background to give the idea of a quite forest sanctuary.
There was greater depth of field in the tree image in order to give a more broad sense of the location. The concentration was not so much identify location of Port Williams, or even the Pacific Northwest, but rather to identify the cycle of life at the shoreline.
Light - Light sources utilized
According to the instructions, no flash was executed. The forest images worked with sunlight and often involved harsh repetition of shading. The camera typically had difficulty focusing in this setting, but some images worked out with mechanical cooperation.
The beach images were taken on a cloudy day in light to medium rain. An umbrella was utilized with in order to shield the lens, but positioned well above the picture frame. The subjects were much easier to photograph on this occasion due to easier gradation of shading.
Improvement - What would be changed
The primary change that I would make with bracketing would be to use a remote button to capture images. Pressing down on the button on the camera often caused to the entire unit to shift, which meant that a series of three for HDR would not necessarily have unanimous framing. Additionally, when editing the images for HDR, I would concentrate on making images look natural rather than fashionable. Although I aimed for this output while in the editing phase, editing was more experimental than planned. Experiments in media are important for improving ones skillset, turn-around is essential in business and leaves little room for experimenting when a dead line is approaching.