Lesson 3

[Nigel]

having difficulty loading files so hopefully this has worked. 2 images – slow shutter speed giving some life to the water without losing all the detail and having a white blur. image of the vintage car has very low depth of field which allows the shape of the radiator and badge to form the key part of the image and the background (ie windshield) showing it is a car…cheers

[Duncan Rawlinson]

Fantastic work on both of these images.

Considering you haven’t reached the black and white photography assignment yet, you’ve done a great job of incorporating the most important technical elements of black and white photography into this assignment.

You’ve been able to find natural environments with a wide, unbalanced tonal range, which has made both the compositions very dramatic and interesting. The deep blacks in the foliage contrasted against the bright whites of the stream help make this a very exciting black and white image.

Secondly, the direction of lighting is fantastic. Shooting under such heavy foliage is often very interesting because light changes based on how much is allowed through the leaves, wind and time of day. That all being said, this natural location is full of texture and interesting secondary objects to look at. Of course the stream of the main area of interest, but the leaves, rocks and plants are all very interesting to explore as well. This is a beautifully lit photograph.
The second photograph has the same dramatic tonal range as the first, but instead of using texture, atmosphere and light, you’ve decided to use pattern and line as two of your primary design elements.

I’m also very impressed that you were able to find such a broad tonal range without going over the top in the white end of the spectrum. ‘blown out” (i.e. overexposed) images are common in black and white photographs as photographers try to make the whites jump of the page and properly expose some of the darker tones.

We’ve written an entire article on avoiding this mistake here:

http://photographyicon.com/blog/2008/11/26/digital-cameras-latitude-dynamic-range/

I highly recommend you read this.

Great work!

[Author]

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