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Don’t worry if it feels like your kit is not complete. This feeling will never go away. In fact if you can always do the best you can with what you have you’ll do just fine.
Here is some info on Macro Photography.
Here is some more info on Neutral Density Filters.
I don’t have any specific plans for a lesson dedicated to storm or lightning photography. To be honest I have concerns about safety. All I can say is you have to be extremely careful. Storm and lightning photography is very dangerous.
Hi Ruth,
Thanks for submitting your assignment for lesson 3.
Here is the EXIF data for these images:
http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/shallow-DOF-lesson-3.jpg
Date Time Original: 2016:04:10 16:44:33
Exposure Time: 1/400
F Number: f / 18
Exposure Program: Manual
ISO Speed Ratings: 640
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire
Focal Length: 80mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D200
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 1936
Pixel Y Dimension: 1296
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 1
Maker Note: 808
User Comment:
Date Time Digitized: 2016:04:10 16:44:33
Subsec Time: 41
Subsec Time Original: 41
Subsec Time Digitized: 41
Max Aperture Value: 3
Light Source: Cloudy weather
Sensing Method: One-chip color area sensor
File Source: DSC
Scene Type: Directly photographed
CFA Pattern: 27770
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Exposure Mode: 1
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 120mm
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Gain Control: Low gain up
Contrast: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Subject Distance Range: Unknown
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Orientation: 1
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Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2016:04:10 16:44:33
Software: Ver.1.00http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Lesson-3-pic-1.jpg
Date Time Original: 2016:04:10 16:40:38
Exposure Time: 1/100
F Number: f / 22
Exposure Program: Manual
ISO Speed Ratings: 125
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire
Focal Length: 80mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D200
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 1936
Pixel Y Dimension: 1296
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 1
Maker Note: 808
User Comment:
Date Time Digitized: 2016:04:10 16:40:38
Subsec Time: 78
Subsec Time Original: 78
Subsec Time Digitized: 78
Exposure Bias: -0.33
Max Aperture Value: 3
Light Source: Cloudy weather
Sensing Method: One-chip color area sensor
File Source: DSC
Scene Type: Directly photographed
CFA Pattern: 27672
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Exposure Mode: 1
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 120mm
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Gain Control: None
Contrast: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
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InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 27640
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Orientation: 1
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Date Time: 2016:04:10 16:40:38
Software: Ver.1.00Generally speaking you will have an easier time trying to achieve shallow depth of field shooting wide open at like f1.4 or f1.8 or whatever your lens allows. Shooting with at something like f18 will increase depth of field all else equal.
Remember this portion of the assignment. When it comes to f-stop Small number = large opening / shallow depth of field Large number = small opening / deep depth of field.
All of that said you did manage to create the look of shallow depth of field here which is good but you’ll have an easier to with the lower f-stop number.
In terms of the motion portion you did well. I see that you had to a little trouble with too much light and you overcame it by shooting at f22 which gave you the option to shoot at a lower shutter speed.
With motion it’s interesting because a very fast shutter speed will freeze motion and a slow shutter speed will cause motion to blur all else equal.
So if you want to make a photo of a waterfall where all the water is blurred you will need a very slow shutter speed. This becomes a problem because there is often too much light! So you will learn to deal with this problem more effectively over time but for now just understand that sometimes you actually want to try to show motion as you did here.
Other times you want to freeze motion in sports.
The reason this is so powerful is because you can make the camera see things that the eye just can’t see. When you freeze a 1/1000th of a second and encapsulate it in a photograph you are doing something the eye really can’t. Or when you blur out water with a really long exposure you can’t do this with your eye either…
Just be aware that the slower the shutter speed the more likely it is that you will introduce camera shake. In fact the slower the shutter speed the more likely you’ll want to use a tripod. Ie the blurred out water concept…
One quick thing here.
When it comes to shooting children you really want to be careful. As a general rule you should always ask permission of the parents and even the kids.
You have to remember you are an ambassador for photography when you’re out there shooting so you always want to do the right thing.
This lesson is hard and if you feel you don’t have a good grasp of it yet that’s ok. If you want you can even re-shoot and submit new images.
The trick is that you just need to keep working on it.
Isolating just one variable at a time is a great way to practice. So go full manual and just try to change one thing and shoot the same thing. This really forces you to see what’s happening.
You are on the right track here and you’re doing well. Keep practicing and shooting all the time!
Hi Ruth,
Can you tell me why you decided to shoot the shallow depth of field portion of this assignment at f18?
Hi Ruth,
It seems like you have an interesting and varied past and that’s great. It’s wonderful that you had someone in your life that was inspiring to you as well.
I believe you meant to say a mamiya rb67 but I’m not sure.
http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/legacy_RB67.aspThis is a medium format camera as I’m sure you know and medium format cameras are excellent for capturing exquisite detail. I often shoot with medium format when trying to achieve maximum sharpness and quality of in my photographs.
In fact this notion of detail seems to a be a theme in your piece. The importance of detail and texture can’t be underestimated when it comes to good photography.
Capturing details that may go otherwise unnoticed is of the great powers of a photographer. In fact if you can learn the skill of removing all that is non-essential from the frame of your camera you are on your way to making good images. It seems so simple but when it’s all happening and your senses are overloaded with stimuli it can be a real challenge to get this right.
This is why practice is so critical. I’m sure Mr Simmons practiced very hard and shot quite a bit to create the images that inspired you. Practice is one of the most underestimated elements of learning photography. Most people think you just need to get your settings right and you’ll get there. What they don’t realize is that getting your settings right is actually the easiest part. It’s everything after settings that’s truly essential and can only come with practice.
Have you spent much time looking at the works of the Masters Of Photography? If not I recommend that you take some time and do so. I’ve found that physical books are the best way to do this.
If you’re asking yourself why does inspiration matter take a look at these videos.
Nice work here and see you on the next assignment.
(Remember you can always email questions to office@photographyicon.com to get help!)
Hi Maggie,
Thanks for submitting your assignment.
For this kind of thing there really is no right answer. Much like photography itself. Every image can be made many different ways there is not one correct way to photograph a scene.
I would recommend you spend some time looking at the works of the masters of photography. This may not be obvious but if you can pull on threads of inspiration and follow them it will dramatically improve your learning.
I’m glad to hear you we’re supporting the last photographer who influenced you by buying prints.
I believe this is the image you referenced.
http://romanbuchhofer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/nova-scotia-landscape-photography-41.jpg
Here is the EXIF data from that photograph:
Date Time Original: 2000:01:01 00:05:20
Exposure Time: 32
F Number: f / 22
ISO Speed Ratings: 100
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 10mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 60D
LensInfo: 10/1 20/1 0/0 0/0
LensModel: 10-20mm
LensSerialNumber: 0000000000
Lens: 10-20mm
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Date Time Digitized: 2013:08:13 09:09:29
Shutter Speed Value: -5
Aperture Value: 8.92
Focal Plane X Resolution: 5728.18
Focal Plane Y Resolution: 5808.40
Focal Plane Resolution Unit: 2
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
ExifIFDPointer: 208
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 300
Y Resolution: 300
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2014:12:03 16:05:54
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.4 (Macintosh)
DateCreated: 2000-01-01You are indeed correct that this is a long exposure photograph. It was a 32 second exposure at f22. This was likely shot with an ND filter.
If you like this type of work and are looking for more have a look a the works of Michael Kenna:
http://www.michaelkenna.net/imagearchive.phpFor something different take a look at Sigumoto:
http://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/portfolio.htmlWhat’s more you seem to also enjoy the works of a generalist photographer. So perhaps take a look at the works of Jay Maisel.
http://www.jaymaisel.comOverall you’ve done well here. Like many students you may not know what you don’t know. In other words, if you’re not familiar with the works of the great photographers of history you may not know what has come before you. In fact you might not even care and that’s ok too. I would just recommend you spend some genuine time either buying books or looking at the works of the true greats. There is so much to learn by just studying their works.
If there is anything you can glean from this it’s that you have an interest in long exposure landscape photography. More often than not this is done with the use of ND filters. Sometimes with graduated ND filters as well. Often they use wide angle lenses as well. Do you have an ND filter or a grad ND and a wide angle lens?
Also important here is the love of nature. What is more beautiful than mother nature?! Even beyond this photography has been a critical part of the conservation movement and it is a very powerful tool to help protect nature. Just look at this:
http://vault.sierraclub.org/history/ansel-adams/You may be asking yourself why though? Why should I care about being inspired when it comes to photography? Well inspiration is massively important. Just take a look at these videos.
The path of learning in photography pretty much never ends so you’ll want to remain inspired.
Overall you’re doing very well and would encourage you to tug on those threads and see what unravels…
Remember if you have any questions or are getting stumped by anything just send an email to office@photographyicon.com to get some help. See you on the next assignment!
I actually prefer if you don’t process the photos very much or not at all. In fact if you want you can even send the raw file.
Also, I would not recommend that you wait to get going on your next assignment. Keep up the momentum and start on your next one as soon as you can. Many people lose the momentum and stop working too early….
You can get lightroom for a low monthly fee with the creative cloud photography plan.
Oh yes this is indeed much better.
Notice the slightly larger depth of field here.
Also notice how much cleaner the image is (less noise at lower ISO)
Try to remember always shoot at the lowest ISO you can given all else. In other words if you’re shooting something that does not move and you’re on a tripod you should try to shoot as low of an ISO as you possible can. Some cameras even have an ISO 50 setting…
What’re more for this type of symmetrical still life photograph you really want to take your time to ensure everything is lined up.
Many cameras will even overlay the rule on thirds on your camera screen. I think this video applies to your camera if not something similar will apply. These grids help for composition and lining things up!
Overall you’ve done a fantastic job. You are playing around and you have dramatically improved this one photograph just by making a few small changes.
Did you get yourself a copy of Lightroom yet?
Well done here
P.S. Nice usage of the word crisper here too. Nothing like a crisp apple! 馃檪
Hi Ruth,
Thanks for submitting your assignment.
Let’s get right into it.
Here is the exif data for these images:
http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/DSC_0025.jpg
Date Time Original: 2016:03:30 18:53:28
Exposure Time: 1/60
F Number: f / 4.50
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire
Focal Length: 18mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D200
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 2592
Pixel Y Dimension: 3872
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 2
Maker Note: 4976
User Comment:
Date Time Digitized: 2016:03:30 18:53:28
Subsec Time: 41
Subsec Time Original: 41
Subsec Time Digitized: 41
Exposure Bias: 0.33
Max Aperture Value: 3.60
Light Source: Unknown
Sensing Method: One-chip color area sensor
File Source: DSC
Scene Type: Directly photographed
CFA Pattern: 32072
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Exposure Mode: 1
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 27mm
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Gain Control: High gain up
Contrast: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Subject Distance Range: Unknown
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GPSInfoIFDPointer: 32090
Orientation: 1
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Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2016:03:31 08:46:12
Software: Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer 6.1.7600.16385http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/DSC_0028.jpg
Date Time Original: 2016:03:30 18:54:52
Exposure Time: 1/60
F Number: f / 4.50
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire
Focal Length: 30mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D200
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 2592
Pixel Y Dimension: 3872
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 2
Maker Note: 4976
User Comment:
Date Time Digitized: 2016:03:30 18:54:52
Subsec Time: 32
Subsec Time Original: 32
Subsec Time Digitized: 32
Exposure Bias: 0.33
Max Aperture Value: 4.10
Light Source: Unknown
Sensing Method: One-chip color area sensor
File Source: DSC
Scene Type: Directly photographed
CFA Pattern: 28990
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Exposure Mode: 1
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 45mm
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Gain Control: High gain up
Contrast: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Subject Distance Range: Unknown
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 28958
ExifIFDPointer: 2330
GPSInfoIFDPointer: 29006
Orientation: 1
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Date Time: 2016:03:31 08:46:29
Software: Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer 6.1.7600.16385Before we begin I have a few questions for you. Maybe you can email me some responses or just reply here.
What would you like to do with your photography?
How long have you been shooting?
Is there anything stumping you right now?
Are you shooting RAW and do you know what that means?Now the very first thing I noticed here is that you’re trying to do a few things. One is getting a little closer which is almost always good. The next is that you’ve added items to the frame that we’re not there before.
This is potentially a good idea to add interest and I like the experimentation.
There are a few things going on here.
You are shooting in a dark room so your camera is trying to compensate by bumping up it’s ISO to 3200. That is why the image looks kind of muddy/noisy in the dark areas of the frame.
When you shoot with such a high ISO (3200) bright areas can blow out easily. Meaning the bright part of your frame is completely white and has no information in it. This can be problematic if you try to make prints.
One thing to note here is that this room might not “feel” dark because your eyes have adjusted to it. But your camera is nowhere near as sophisticated as your eye and your brain.
Your camera was metering (trying to determine how much light there is) in pattern mode. This just means your camera evaluated the scene and tried to decide what settings to use.
It saw a relatively dark scene and tried it’s best to expose properly.
The reason this type of photo is very hard to achieve in one photo is that your camera’s dynamic range is not wide enough to capture it all. Dynamic range basically means how much information your camera can get in one photo from the darkest dark to the brightest bright parts. In this case that range is too wide. It can’t get all the detail in the bright parts and the dark parts.
Don’t worry if this feels confusing. All of this will make sense over time.
For now just understand what happened here. Your camera saw a dark scene and tried to do it’s best to shoot it. Also remember that dark in your mind is not the same as dark to a camera…
Another thing to take away here is you’ll want to understand how ISO works because this is what is making the image not work here. The ISO is so high that the noise in the photo is the main thing that doesn’t work here.
Here is a page on the topic of ISO.
In fact there are LOTS of pages on this site including this one for all the photography words and terminology.
Another thing here is that the color of the image feels a bit too warm and yellowish. This may be a mismatch with your white balance setting but I’m not exactly sure. Try to match your light environment to your white balance setting wherever possible. In this case it looks like Tungsten.
The absolute most important thing here is that you did really well in completing your first assignment here. You are experimenting and learning and that’s what’s important.
If anything is confusing now don’t worry, it will all become more and more intuitive and clear over time. Like everything, photography takes practice but you’re on the right track and you’re doing great.
Please email me any questions you have or just reply here!
Thanks.
Hi Ruth,
In case you’re getting emails about changes to this thread, I have moved it to here.
Also, in the future please try to use the the new topic button when posting a new assignment under a specific lesson. Don’t worry about it too much though. If you put something in the wrong place I’ll move the whole thread for you. (I’m going to move this thread now) Thanks!
