Contrast and Shadow Fill

Understanding contrast and shadow fill.  The images below were taken as follows:

• No diffuser
• with diffuser
• with a white reflector about 3ft away
• with a white reflector close
• with a gold reflector
• with crumpled foil as a reflector

The last three images are similar. With the light reflected back both sides of the hat are well lit. The first image without diffused light has the most contrast and the right hand side of the had has light shadows.  The pictures were all taken during the day so there is a lot of ambient light, so while the image shows contrast it is not as strong as if the light was darker plus the walls of the room are white. So while I attempted to control the light I still had a lot of light being bounced into the pictures.
I'll do this exercise again with a model when it is darker to demonstrate how much light can be controlled.

Technical problems

Grrrr Hours spent trying to get paper profiles form Epson. They are the most unhelpful help desk ever. I have to download new print driver but their site crashes. The US site hase the icc profile I want but that just crashes as well. I recall having problems with their site before.Despite asking several times they will not email me the profile I need. Why? Because they can download it at their end. Such a simple request. I have spent too long trying to resolve this issue. Have had to resort to solution used in the past with Epson. Get someone in another country to download the file, zip it and email to me. Why Epson can't you do this??? Why can't you zip the file in the first place?

Exhibition - Terry O'Neill

A visit to the Little Black Gallery to see Terry O'Neill's work was very inspirational. As I have been taking photos of smokers for around a year now I was particularly keen to see the most iconic smoking photo of all time. that of Bridget Bardot. Even more impressive is that Terry only had one shot left on his film when he took this shot. I break out in a sweat even thinking of the pressure to get something perfect in one attempt. I love the angle of this shot as well. Must try it out on the next person I accost on the street. Well maybe 2nd 3rd or 4th person. I must also study the images of the Marlborough Man.

More on the Lighting Angle

I tried a different set up to try and show texture with my lighting.  I used an ordinary tungsten desk lamp and placed a gel sheet in front of it to act as a diffuser.  I placed the light at 90 degrees and level with the weta. I chose AV 5.6 focusing on the eyes. This made the foreground and background soft. The position of the light cast shadows on the edges of the legs creating nice texture.
I want to experiment with adding a small amount of another colour into this type of shot if my idea for the assignment is going to work.

The Lighting Angle

Although I have been busy focusing on other projects in the past few weeks I had not totally abandoned the work required for this module. Lighting is one of the most important things to get right in photography. I've been reading several books on lighting. Researching on the web, Spending lots of time fondling lights at the lighting centre that are way too expensive for me at the moment. The book 'Light Science and Magic' has confused me more than helped. I've spent ages trying to get the family of angles into my head.  I understand the general principal but trying to set up the positions is not as easy as I thought. I've had a few attempts to try and meet the brief for this exercise while also trying to apply the techniques I have been researching.
The images below are from one of my sessions. (my model had enough by the last picture and ran off. Says she doesn't want a career as a model. Guess my next session will be an object.)
Take a picture with the light front on. Yet you shouldn't have the light next to your camera. Light from behind, but you don't want to take a picture of the light! The solutions weren't immediately obvious to me, but I did get there, well somewhere on the way there after a few trials. Back lighting - turn the light around and light the area behind the model.  Front lighting - put the light in front of the model but move your camera and have the model turn slightly so they are facing the camera.  I need to experiment a bit more with this if I am to achieve the ideas I have for the assignment.

Recent events

A frantic time recently. My laptop became such a problem that Lenovo agreed to replace it. Finally have new one up and running. Takes forever to get all the sofware reloaded.
Finally handed in my project for my diploma course.
I've had 2 photos selected for the L.I.P. annual exhibition.
Now I can concentrate on getting caught up on assignment 4

Exhibitions - Project based

Two exhibitions I've seen this week that have made a big impact on me in terms of the powerfulness of a good project.
The first is Anders Ryman's work 'Rites of Passage'. A fantastic open air exhibition on near City Hall (Riverside). Seven years he spent on this project, travelling around the world, witnessing and photographing all sorts of rites of passage.  They are incredibly powerful images, but also what a powerful subject.  Something everyone can relate to no matter what culture or country you live in. You can relate to your own, even laugh at some of them.  Others though can make you feel decidedly uncomfortable. To have taken the pictures he has he has to have spent quite a bit of time with people and gained their trust.  In one shot he has to be inside the grave! (It was a reburial).

The other exhibition 'Words of the Century' at the October Gallery by photographer Jimmy Symonds.  has produced has created 10 hand-made artist books for each decade from 1900. He researched new words from each year, reducing the list until he finally produced this exhibition of one new word or phrase from each year illustrating it with a photo. Examples are 'avant-garde' , 'cloning', 'down-turn'. Again several years have gone into this project. It is a really strong body of work.

Seeing these works a few days apart (while I am trying to think of my own project for assignment 5) I am so aware of how a well researched and good subject matter make all the difference to the final work.

Softening the Light

This exercise to take two pictures of a still life. One with the light diffused and one with the naked lamp.
The picture immediately below is taken with a naked lamp placed facing from the bottom left hand side angled down toward the still life.  The result is: dark shadows in top left had side with no detail. Very log hard shadows. The centre of the jug is very bright. I had to take a couple of shots to ensure this area was not burnt out.

Naked Lamp

The second image taken with exactly the same set up but with my new softbox to diffuse the light has softer more evenly distributed light. The dark shadows from the first image are now visible.  the shadows created by the light are much softer and smaller.

Diffused Light

Conclusion:  The diffused light is more pleasing, however the naked light does give a sense of drama that I rather like. I don't like the harsh shadows.  I will experiment to see if a second light would soften the harsh shadows but keep the dark edges to the image.

Softbox

Ok I've now reached the point where I have to do something about photographic lighting. I knew this was a point I would reach and have been doing loads of research. Where I have arrived is: I have saved enough buy a really good light a bravo 1000w quartz halogen for £179. I already have a light stand. I cannot believe the price of a soft box! About the same price as the light.
So I have to make one.
I can do this.
The idea came.  Tinfoil trays. So a trip to Robert Dyas.  2 sets of large trays @ £1.99 each 1 set of flan dishes @ .99p duct tape £4.19.
Joining the trays wasn't as easy as I thought. Tape didn't work. Stapling didn't work. I must have something that will work. Filing clips! Perfect. Strong and metal. Yeah!  Then I pulled them into the flan dish. took a couple of goes but I had these tiny clips in my scrapbooking box that secured those. A sturdy frame has now been created.  popped down to the corner store for a roll of tinfoil .59p wrapped that around my structure.  Fits perfectly on my light.
Now to diffuse.  I have bought a couple of sheets of gel @ £3 each. I attach them with little paper clamps at the top. then back to my scrapbooking box.  I have small 'sticky hoop & loop pads' I use a combination of these and paper clips to attach the gel.
Result:  OK
And: it is kitset, I can take it apart and put it back together.
Total Cost: £12.75

Outdoors at Night

An exercise in looking at various lights at night time. Artificial lights come in so many colours and generally you will get several different lights in the one place, making it very difficult to get the colours right. Although the various colours can be the main objective of the photo as in light trails.

• a floodlit building

Taken as the sky was starting to get black. Auto white balance. As the night gets darker you lose more and more detail in the area not lit by the floodlights.  I prefer the light when the sky has gone a rich blue after sunset and just before it is totally black.

• a brightly lit store front

With street lights and store lights and traffic lights the best results for this image where achieved by using auto white balance. Situations with so many different colours of light are best shot in RAW and adjusted in post processing.  Although the camera's awb does a reasonable job.

• a large interior with many people

Taken in the evening with no natural light. Auto white balance and fluorescent white balance gave the best results for the concourse of this railway station.

white balance = auto

white balance = daylight

white balance = tungsten

white balance - fluorescent

• A raised view looking along a busy road

Taken in the evening from a pedestrian over bridge. All with a shutter speed of 8secs aperture F11. I have changed the white balance to see the effects. From the top going down Auto WB, daylight and fluorescent.  AWB gives the most realistic colour but not are perfect for all the colour.  Given the range of various colours my approach would be to shoot awb and adjust in post processing as different parts of the image require different adjustments.