DPP-Part 4; Exercise 4

Exercise; Addition

There are two parts to this exercise, the first part is about adding elements from different images. I have to take a landscape shot, with ¾ of the image to be sky. When taking the image, I had to use a tripod and in one, get the correct exposure of the sky and in the other get the correct exposure of the foreground, then splice/merge them together to create the perfect image.

 

Part one;

This image was taken in Park Guell in Barcelona. This particular image is a perfect exposure of the sky.

 1/250 seconds at f/22.0

This image is perfect exposure of the foreground.
 

1/250 seconds at f/11.0

 

 

 

This is the final image, when splicing both of the images together to create the correctly exposed image.

With regards to the final image, I did use some curves on it to enhance the contrast of the whole image just a bit.

Part two;

Now, I have to take a different image of the sky and splice it with the foreground of the image in part one. I have chosen the following sky, as I wanted to get a really different look and to see if I could achieve it.

 

And this is the final image of the splicing.

To be able to make the image look as natural as possible, I had to use the underexposed foreground, I then used a fill mask to darken and lighten different areas of the foreground to be able to successfully merge the sky with the foreground.

With all of the splicing, I used the quick selection tool and refined the edge.

DPP-Part 4; Exercise 3

Exercise; Enhancement

I took an image of a person close up (Head and shoulders) with face in the shade and not receiving direct sunlight, without a flash or any other light source, the eyes to be clearly visible and to then do have the following adjustments.

Original image;

This was taken at a wedding where my friend was the bridesmaid, it was a very sunny day and I managed to get a shot of where she was in the shade.

1/400 seconds at f/10.0

 

 

First enhancement;

This enhancement is solely on the face, in which I used the selection tool and enhanced the brightness and contrast, trying to keep it looking as natural as possible.

1/400 seconds at f/10.0

 

 

Second enhancement;

I had to enhance the eyes and exaggerate the colour of her eyes by increasing the saturation and brightness.

 

1/400 seconds at f/10.0

 

 

Third enhancement;

I had to change the colour of the eyes, by adjusting the hue; I changed her eye colour to hazel as it seemed the most natural.

  

 

1/400 seconds at f/10.0

 

I think that you most defiantly have tampered with reality in the entire image, however, is it legitimate? Again I think this comes down to personal preference, I think sometimes when you alter the reality of an image, it could be that it needs it, or simply, you are trying to achieve a specific look for that particular image. No one questions when a painter adjusts there art work to an altered reality, so why should it be any different for a photograph which is also art?

 

 

 

 

DPP-Part 4; Exercise 2

Exercise; Improvement or interpretation

I had to use an image that was described in a previous section of the course file, in which there is a person in shadows of a detailed background and then I had to use a manual selection method to enhance/adjust the person in the image to make the person stand out, by using either the lasso tool or mask painting with a brush. I decided to use the latter method, as it is one that I am familiar with and I believe produces the best desired result.

I did experiment with the lasso tool, but on this occasion the mask painting worked better for the result I was trying to achieve. This image was taken in Barcelona.

Original image;

 

 1/125 seconds at f/7.1

 

Edited image;

1/125 seconds at f/7.1

The parameters I accept with this type of editing is to be able to adjust it to a degree, but not so far that it alters the image massively, I know that a camera has a limitation as to what we actually see, therefore, I believe that this kind of local adjustment is acceptable and in this case, the person still looks natural and it works very well.


 

DPP-Part 4; Exercise 1

  

Exercise; Correction

Wow…where do I start!?, it’s been a roller coaster of a few months for me, I have moved up to London, got a new job where I’m working 12 hour days 6 days a week and I won a weekend away to Barcelona, which I managed to take, only to badly sprain my ankle at the airport on the way back!, so trying to take photographs has been a bit difficult, however, I have used some of the images that I took in Barcelona and some afterwards, were I Managed to hobble around!.

So, the object of this exercise is how to correct an image that is technically “faulty” the first in this exercise is dust specks. I have chosen an image that I took in Barcelona. I unfortunately didn’t realise until I got back, how any dust specs there actually were, it does however, work for this exercise.

Part One;

This is the image with the dust specs.

1/320 seconds at f/25.0

As there are birds in this picture, I have attached a magnified image to be able to see a bit clearer which is which.

Here is the magnified image.

 

 

 

This is the final edited image, with all the necessary corrections made.

 

1/320 seconds at f/25.0

I used the spot healing brush tool to correct all of the dust spots, the tool worked so well, I had no need to use the clone stamp tool.

 

In the exercise it poses a few poignant questions, firstly, is using the clone stamp tool as innocent as using the spot healing tool?.

I have used the clone stamp in the next image and in the past on a number of occasions, I think, for me personally, I see no difference in using the spot healing brush tool to the clone stamp tool, in both cases you are still correcting/altering the image in two different ways, which leads on to the next question; - is this speck real from the scene, or caused by dust on the sensor – should you remove it and does it bother you?.

I would like to answer this with personal feeling, as this is a question of personal/moral values, I feel that the specks are different from the scene and only an artefact caused by dust on the sensor, which, no matter how many times you try to correct it, by cleaning all the time and taking it to a professional to get cleaned, can’t be helped, therefore, I have no problem in removing that speck from the image.

On the other hand, with regards to the clone stamp tool, when using it, I sometimes feel guilty!, especially when I am replacing sections of an image to improve it, for example, after I have cropped an image by rotation, and the shot would look better if it had the top, bottom or sides of the image, rather than another crop, I will sometime replace the corners, that’s when I think, I should have taking it correctly in the first place. Then there are times when I feel it is necessary and not a moral issue, if it improves the image due to circumstances out of your control then I feel it is justified.

Part Two;

I had to use an image that had a polygon flare and use the clone stamp tool to remove the flare. Here is the original image, taken at sunrise on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Northern Utah.

1/160 seconds at f/8.0

 

Here is the edited image.

 

1/160 seconds at f/8.0

 

I have stated my thoughts about the clone stamp tool in part one of this exercise. I think with this particular image, I prefer the flare, it makes a great lead in line and gives the sense that you are actually there, it adds to the image. I think that a flare should be left in some cases and some cases, maybe not, it is all to do with personal preference and if the image lends itself to it.

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

DPP-Assignment Three

Assignment Three; Monochrome

Object of assignment three

This assignment is about the different creative effects of a monochrome image, I should have already had the opportunity to discover what makes a good subject and picture conditions to create a good black and white image. I have to choose my own subject that I conceive, shoot and process solely in black and white, attempting to bring out the monochrome images of form, tonal contrast and texture. I need to produce between 5-10 images and write an account of why I chose my theme/subject.

For this assignment, I chose to do a cityscape, rather than a landscape, which was my original thought; however I have not really done one before, so I wanted a bit of a challenge. I chose Dublin at dusk, I chose this theme as the ha’penny bridge was beautifully lit up at night, the sky was amazing when I was there and Dublin has some detailed structures, which I believe makers for great black and white photography. I shot at dusk as I wanted to capture the darkness of black and white with shadows from the artificial light, I do have a daytime shot in my set of images as the sun was low and reflecting off of the subject extremely well.

I used my 18-200mm lens for this assignment and my tripod due to the low light, when taking the images I used the exposure bracketing function on my camera as I wanted to see how the black and white image looked on my LCD screen to see which exposure enhanced the beautiful menacing look I wanted to achieve.

Monochrome
My Friend recently bought me a book called “Through the lens, National Geographic greatest photographs” it’s an amazing book and with this assignment in mind, I mainly concentrated on the black and white images. Although some of the images were taken at a time when colour was not available, or limited, I found a few images that were purposefully taken in black and white, in studying them closely I realised they are better in monochrome and would not suite colour. I think this is due to the contrasting shadows in the images and the feeling of monochrome, by this I mean, it suites a more dramatic and melancholy mood, for example, one of the images taken was at a campsite in Minkouala, Gabon. It had various people standing and sitting around, from different ethnicities, with smoke rising from the fire in the middle of the jungle and not a single smile in sight, they looked like they had a long day from their research expedition. Now that particular image would not have worked in colour, as you can feel they are exhausted and the monochrome enhances that feeling. (There was no reference of who the photographer was)  

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed”

(Ansel Adams)

 I chose a quote from Ansel Adams as, I’m sure anyone who reads my assignments, is aware he is my hero but also he relates strongly to monochrome imagery. I can honestly say that looking at his black and white images take me away and also influenced me in my decision making to go to the USA. With that in mind, I think his monochrome images are a powerful tool. 

Books used for this assignment;

·         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

Websites used for this assignment;

http://www.photographyicon.com/anseladams/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Weston
http://www.techterms.com/definition/monochrome
 
So on to my monochrome images, I have put the earlier evening one in first to create a sequence, so they are in order.

1; 1/4000 seconds at f/5.6

This image really stands out for me, I really like it, I feel like the lamppost is sparkling and the detail in it is mesmerising. I did not use a tripod for this photograph as the light was bright enough, for what I wanted to achieve.

2; 1/40 seconds at f/3.5

I saw this lamppost on my way to the ha’penny bridge, I thought it was really interesting, especially with the picture that someone had attached to the light. I tried to get as low as I could without losing the top of the lamppost, I also tried to take the image without the car in, but it was a busy road and it was difficult to do. I would have liked to have gained more detail in the bottom of the image with still obtaining the darkness surrounding it.

3; 1/80 seconds at f/3.5

I wanted to really get the detail of the tree with the light background of the sky. I feel this is an effective image, especially with the river in the frame as well, it makes me feel peaceful.

4; 1/15 seconds at f/3.5

This is the ha’penny bridge, I tried a few different compositions for this, I tried to have only the reflections on the water, which was ok but I feel this image works better, with a lot of the sky being one of the main focuses in the photograph. I used my tripod for this image, although I would have liked it to have been a bit sharper, it was quite windy and my tripod is not as sturdy as I would like it to be.

5; 1/20 seconds at f/3.5

I had a tough choice with this image. I have a few similar ones which focuses more on the ground if front, than the sky. I ended up choosing this photograph due to being able to see the row of the 3 lights, which made the image brighter at the top but you can still see the long shadows from the passersby. I like the long dark shadows in this photograph, it makes the image seem cold and morose.

6; 1/40 seconds at f/3.5

This is a close up image of the bridge itself with all of the ‘padlocks of love’, the bridge is famous for it. Similarly with my previous image, I had to choose between a close up image and this one. I chose this photograph in the end as I like the slightly ostentatious detail of the metal and the sky in the background.

DPP-Part 3; Exercise 8

Exercise; Colours in to tones 2

The objective of this exercise is to practically use the channel sliders in Photoshop raw in the black and white section, to generate an image in one of the following subjects;-

·         A landscape in which you emphasis the depth by strengthening the visual effect of haze

·         A portrait in which you lighten the complexion without significantly altering the tones of the rest of the image

·         A picture of a garden in which the green vegetation appears light in tone

The subject I chose (which isn’t a surprise!) was the landscape subject, I then have to show a black and white default image that the software choose for me and then I have to generate my own image, with the channel sliders to create a haze.

I choose an image which had a slight bit of haze in it, to see if I could accentuate it, here is the original image.

This is the default image that Photoshop produced;-

In my opinion, it doesn’t really “Pop” for me, the dark is quite dark in the wrong areas and the sun is too bright, the haze is still there but it’s not exaggerated enough for me.

This is the image that I adjusted;-

To create more hazing the image, I wanted to accentuate the sun and darken the sky, so to be able to see more of the rays of the sun.  To accomplish this I did the following;-

Channel sliders darkened

Yellow

Blue

Channels sliders lightened

Reds

Orange

Aqua

Purple

Magenta

I darkened the yellows to quash the intensity of the yellow light slightly and also slightly darken the foreground and I lightened all of the other channels to enhance the haze, without it being too false or overbearing.
 
I think the Photoshop software dose a good job, but if you want to get an image to your specifications, the channel sliders are extremely useful , I believe that if I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve the look I wanted/needed to get the end result. It shows that there are tonal ranges in every image, including black and white.