OCA Photography Blog: DPP-Assignment Three; Learning Log

Wednesday, 27 March 2013

DPP-Assignment Three; Learning Log

Learning log – DPP assignment 3; Monochrome

“…….everything looks worse in black and white”

(Paul Simon – From the song: Kodachrome)

When I read this I laughed!, so I had to include it in my log. That’s not the only reason I included it, because in a way, he is right!. On looking back when I first thought about this assignment, what popped in to my head was ‘Dark, morose, melancholy’ and from what I noted in my assignment, with regards to the exhausted image that I found in my book, would have looked a lot happier, in colour, so in a roundabout way, it makes sense, we sometimes use black and white to portray feelings that are “worse” than what it would be, than with a colour image. I know that’s not what he means by this, as it is from a song, however, I like to look at in a different light!. By the by, the other thoughts I had after the first three above were, ‘dramatic, powerful, detail and contrast’. On that note, I have a happier quote, which I believe and love.

“Black and white photography does more to invoke an emotion and freeze a moment in time than any other medium. Looking back over the decades at such famous photographers as, Steigletz, Weston, Adams and others has helped elevate black and white photography, to a fine art form. The subtle tones of gray’s, the strong emphasis of the blacks and the softness of the whites makes one look much closer at the subject and composition due to the lack of natural colour. Emotions are always much easier to portray with black and white, because of the stark contrasts and the sharp focus on the subject”

(Bob Snell)

With the above quote in mind I refer to an image taken by, yep you guessed it, Ansel Adams, I just love the contrast in his image, the way the sand looks like waves in the sea, the tight composition and the detail is amazing.

My Thoughts

I really, really enjoyed this assignment, I never thought I would and that I would love shooting in black and white, it’s something I rarely do, I think mainly due to all of the software programs that are out there. Which is a shame, however, that can now be remedied!, it was really helpful to look at the screen as to how the image was in black and white, as I feel it really helped my in this assignment.

As I said in my assignment, it was quite windy so extremely difficult to get the sharp detailed images I wanted to achieve, so I feel that I should have had a better tripod. Once I have some funds, this will be on the top of my list to get!.

Strengths on my assignment

I think with this assignment, my strength is in the contrast with each image, I really like how I portrayed the strength of the black and the white, I think using bracketed exposure on my camera really helped and as always, I am happy with my composition. I am really happy with all of my images, but I may have to rethink a few of them, depending on my feedback.

Weaknesses on my assignment

It’s the sharpness and strong focus which I have not ascertained with this assignment, I wish I could go back again and do it on a day which wasn’t windy, or, with a different tripod, however, I think I’ve been enough times this year!. I also wish I could have got the shot of the bridge with the people on a bit better, so that the three lights were in it, with a lot of the ground in front as well. I also think that sometimes it’s a good to have an image which is no entirely sharp, which does actually work well for that particular image.

Some of my research sources-Books, websites and documents

· Ansel Adams at 100 by John Szarkowski

· Black + White Photography: all about modern monochrome by Elizabeth (ed) Roberts

· The Art of Black and White Photography: Techniques for Creating for Creating Superb Images in a Digital Workflow by Torsten Andreas Hoffmann

· Edward Weston (Photo Book Series) Terence Pitts

· http://www.photographyicon.com/anseladams/

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Weston

· http://www.techterms.com/definition/monochrome

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Books Used

Faking it: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop
Portrait of a Young Girl by Mark Niemann-Ross
Photo truth or Photo fiction?: Ethics and Media Imagery in the Digital Age by Thomas H. Wheeler
The Art of Black and White Photography: Techniques for Creating for Creating Superb Images in a Digital Workflow by Torsten Andreas Hoffmann
Black + White Photography: all about modern monochrome by Elizabeth (ed) Roberts
Edward Weston (Photo Book Series) Terence Pitts
Ansel Adams at 100 by John Szarkowski
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson
The Photographer’s Eye; Composition and Design for better Digital Photos by Michael Freeman
Mastering Digital Photography by Michael Freeman
The Digital Photography Workflow Handbook by; Juergen Gulbins and Uwe Steinmuller
The Elements Of Photography: Angela Faris Belt
Mastering Canon EOS Flash Photography: NK Guy
Light, Science & Magic: Fil Hunter, Steve Biver, Paul Fungua
The Photograph As Contemporary Art: Charlotte Cotton

Copyright

All images are owned by me, Miriam Perritt, any person/s who use my work without my authorization will face legal action.

Copyright Law
Issued: April 2000Last amended: 27th November 2009The UK copyright law fact sheet outlines the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the principal legislation covering intellectual property rights in the United Kingdom and the work to which it applies.Introduction Copyright law originated in the United Kingdom from a concept of common law; the Statute of Anne 1709. It became statutory with the passing of the Copyright Act 1911. The current act is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.Rights coveredThe law gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published editions, rights to control the ways in which their material may be used.The rights cover; broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting and lending copies to the public.In many cases, the creator will also have the right to be identified as the author and to object to distortions of his work.International conventions give protection in most countries, subject to national laws.Types of work protectedLiterary song lyrics, manuscripts, manuals, computer programs, commercial documents, leaflets, newsletters & articles etc.Dramatic plays, dance, etc.Musical recordings and score.Artistic photography, painting, sculptures, architecture, technical drawings/diagrams, maps, logos.Typographical arrangement of published editionsmagazines, periodicals, etc.Sound recordingmay be recordings of other copyright works, e.g. musical and literary.Film video footage, films, broadcasts and cable programmes.The Copyright (Computer Programs) Regulations 1992 extended the rules covering literary works to include computer programs.When rights occurCopyright is an automatic right and arises whenever an individual or company creates a work. To qualify, a work should be regarded as original, and exhibit a degree of labour, skill or judgement.Interpretation is related to the independent creation rather than the idea behind the creation. For example, your idea for a book would not itself be protected, but the actual content of a book you write would be. In other words, someone else is still entitled to write their own book around the same idea, provided they do not directly copy or adapt yours to do so.Names, titles, short phrases and colours are not generally considered unique or substantial enough to be covered, but a creation, such as a logo, that combines these elements may be.In short, work that expresses an idea may be protected, but not the idea behind it.Who owns a piece of workNormally the individual or collective who authored the work will exclusively own the work and is referred to as the ‘first owner of copyright’ under the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act. However, if a work is produced as part of employment then the first owner will normally be the company that is the employer of the individual who created the work.Freelance or commissioned work will usually belong to the author of the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary, (i.e. in a contract for service).Just like any other asset, copyright may be transferred or sold by the copyright owner to another party.Rights cannot be claimed for any part of a work which is a copy taken from a previous work. For example, in a piece of music featuring samples from a previous work, the copyright of the samples would still remain with the original author.Only the owner, or his exclusive licensee can bring proceedings in the courts.Duration of copyrightThe 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act states the duration of copyright as;For literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last remaining author of the work dies.If the author is unknown, copyright will last for 70 years from end of the calendar year in which the work was created, although if it is made available to the public during that time, (by publication, authorised performance, broadcast, exhibition, etc.), then the duration will be 70 years from the end of the year that the work was first made available.Sound Recordings and broadcasts50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was created, or,if the work is released within that time: 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was first released.Films 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last principal director, author or composer dies.If the work is of unknown authorship: 70 years from end of the calendar year of creation, or if made available to the public in that time, 70 years from the end of the year the film was first made available.Typographical arrangement of published editions25 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published.Broadcasts and cable programmes50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the broadcast was made.Crown CopyrightCrown copyright will exist in works made by an officer of the Crown, this includes items such as legislation and documents and reports produced by government bodies.Crown Copyright will last for a period of 125 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.If the work was commercially published within 75 years of the end of the calendar year in which it was made, Crown copyright will last for 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was published.Parliamentary CopyrightParliamentary Copyright will apply to work that is made by or under the direction or control of the House of Commons or the House of Lords and will last until 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.Restricted actsIt is an offence to perform any of the following acts without the consent of the owner:Copy the work.Rent, lend or issue copies of the work to the public.Perform, broadcast or show the work in public.Adapt the work.The author of a work, or a director of a film may also have certain moral rights:The right to be identified as the author.Right to object to derogatory treatment.Acts that are allowedFair dealing is a term used to describe acts which are permitted to a certain degree without infringing the work, these acts are:Private and research study purposes.Performance, copies or lending for educational purposes.Criticism and news reporting.Incidental inclusion.Copies and lending by librarians.Acts for the purposes of royal commissions, statutory enquiries, judicial proceedings and parliamentary purposes.Recording of broadcasts for the purposes of listening to or viewing at a more convenient time, this is known as time shifting.Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program.Playing sound recording for a non profit making organisation, club or society.(Profit making organisations and individuals should obtain a license from PRS for Music.)Useful addressesIntellectual Property OfficeConcept HouseCardiff RoadNewportSouth WalesNP10 8QQTel: 0300 300 2000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0300 300 2000 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlightingwww.ipo.gov.ukPRS for Music29-33 Berners StreetLondonW1P 4AATel. (0207) 580 5544 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (0207) 580 5544 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlightingwww.prsformusic.comCopyright Licensing AgencySaffron House6-10 Kirby StreetLondonEC1N 8TSTel. 020 7400 3100 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 020 7400 3100 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlightingwww.cla.co.ukFurther readingThe original text for the 1988 Copyright Designs and Patent Act can be found at the OSPI (HMSO) website, but should be read in conjunction with all the relevant updates and statutory instruments.To avoid confusion, we recommend a copy that includes the amendments since 1988, such as can can be found at the Office of Public Sector Information, http://www.jenkins.eu/statutes/copyright.asp or download as a PDF file directly from the Intellectual Property Office.This fact sheet is Copyright © The UK Copyright Service and protected under UK and international law. The use of this fact sheet is covered by the conditions of a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works License.This fact sheet is intended only as an introduction to ideas and concepts only. It should not be treated as a definitive guide, nor should it be considered to cover every area of concern, or be regarded as legal advice.

Wednesday, 27 March 2013

DPP-Assignment Three; Learning Log

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