Exercise Camwhoring

20/09/13
Francis Jason Wong Chin
(0316060)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise Camwhoring

Lecture:
This week Mr Vinod explained to us basic editing on photoshop. We learnt how to convert to black and white, adjusting level, blur effect and etc.

Instruction:
For this exercise Mr Vinod ask us to take a selfie of ourself and edit it using photoshop.

Here is the result:

Original
f/11 S 1.3 ISO 400

Edited
Adjustment- Curve

Handout: 

Reflection: 

I already knew how to use photoshop before this class. I learnt it during an internship in an advertising agency. But this class was interesting as it shows us the basic tools of photoshop.

Feedback:
The editing was ok but should have been in black and white.

Assignment 2: Final Work

Here is my video I made for assignment 2. I tried my best so here is the result:

For the feedback, Ms.Lisa said that it was a good effort and that some shots was good. 

Assignment 2: Research Work

The work for assignment 2 was was to make a frame using mounting board. The frame was our viewfinder so we had to take picture with the frame and make a composition using the Rule of Thirds.

Our task was to choose a subject matter for examples: shoes, watch and etc. We had to make a composition using the frame as the viewfinder and also taking into consideration the Rule of Thirds. I have chosen shoes as mu subject matter.
Here are some of my first shot:

After the first tutorial of the assignment, Ms. Lisa found some of the pictures interesting as there was a textured background. But the only thing was that in some of the pictures I crop the shoes when taking the picture. She said that I could keep my subject but use different textures for the background.

Before making our video, Ms. Lisa posted on our Facebook page some video of our senior. Some of them really inspired me to change my video. Instead of showing just the pictures, I wanted to tell a story. Thinking what story to tell, I finally got one 'My Daily Life As A Pair Of Shoes'. 

Here are some of the pictures of my daily life as a pair of shoes:

Art Movement Assignment: Final Work

So after different stages, here is my final work

I found this assignment really interesting as graffiti was familiar to me as i did part of my A-level art project using graffiti. It was not that difficult for me to do it. For my self portrait, I really take in consideration Banksy work that is simplicity. My work is not extraordinary but i tried my best to make it. I did not really research on graffiti before this assignment. I did not really know the meaning of graffiti. The only thing I knew was the artists.
For me graffiti was just an illegal way of art expression but I realise that it was totally different when I started researching about it. Graffiti got lot of meaning if you understand the meaning. I was also interested in the illegal thing in graffiti. It is against law but that does not mean I am against law. Graffiti is a technique that can be used in many types but i choose simplicity. Making the stencils was a fum part for me. With the stencils you can do whatever design you want.
Banksy was my main interest but I also research about other graffiti artists like DOLK from Norway, Blek le Rat from France and Seen from Usa.

Art Movement Assignment: Work process

From my tutorial review, Ms. Lisa have found only one of my idea interesting so i tried some techniques how to make the self portrait. After trying with paper i found that the spraying technique did not work so i tried using plastic sheet and i found it very interesting.

Materials used: Plastic sheet, black and white spray and stencils made of paper.

Stage 1:
I trace my portrait onto the paper to make a stencil. I used 2 stencils one for my self portrait and one for my background. Then I cut the stencils using a cutter.

Stage 2:
I used masking tape to stick the stencils with plastic sheet.

Stage 3:
Spraying part. I used black and white as it is the main colour that Banksy (Favourite Graffiti artist) use.
I sprayed a first layer black for the first then finish with white of the background.

The final step was to let the work dry.

Exercise 4 ( The Rule of Thirds & Principals underpinning Composition)

13/09/13
Francis Jason Wong Chin
(0316060)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise 4(a) and 4(b)

Lecture:
The Rule of Thirds
This week class was about The Rule of Thirds. Mr Vinod says that it was more a guide than a rule for photography. The photography rule of thirds tells us to align our subject with one of the points where those lines cross. That means our subject is one third of the way into the picture space from either the top or bottom, and from either the left or right. And that means it’s not in the middle. The picture below shows it:

Not in the middle

Counterpoint

We also learned how to create a counterpoint to enhance the picture composition. It is done by placing a secondary focal point at the diagonally opposite thirds position of the primary focal point like the picture below:

Counterpoint

Triangular Composition

This is a method of placing a secondary and tertiary focal point alongside a primary focal point to enhance the image.This gives a sense of depth into a photo and may show dominance in an image. Credits to Mr Vinod for this.

Principles Underpinning Composition
Principles of Design also underpin composition. These principles can also be used when composing or considering elements within a picture.

These principles of design are:
•Domination/Emphasis
•Isolation
•Balance
•Repetition
•Alignment
•Contrast•Rhythm
•Symmetry/Asymmetry
•Harmony

Exercise 4(a):

The first exercise was to capture 3 images using the rule of thirds:

1. Using 1 person

2. Using 3 persons

3. Using a scenery

Here are the results for exercise 4(a):

1.Using 1 person

f/8  S 1/100 ISO 200

2.Using 3 persons

f/8  S 1/40 ISO 200

3.Using scenery

f/8  S 1/200 ISO 200

Handout:

Reflections for exercise 4(a):

After taking the pictures, using the rule of thirds and the zone system make the pictures look more attractive. The focus point match perfectly with the background of with the secondary focus point. It doesn't create a bulky composition, I can see that the composition can breath. This week was really helpful as I learned how to get a good photo composition.

General Feedback:
Mr Vinod said to us to be more distinct and original.


20/09/13
Exercise 4(b): Principles Underpinning Composition

Take 4 Images adhering to any of the mentioned principles below:

• Domination/Emphasis 

• Isolation

• Balance

• Repetition

• Alignment 

• Contrast 

• Rhythm 

• Symmetry/Asymmetry

• Harmony

Here are the results for exercise 4(b):

Domination/Emphasis
f/8 S 1/60 ISO 200

Harmony
f/8 S 1/25 ISO 200

Balance
f/8 S 1/30 ISO 200

Isolation, Contrast
f/8 S 1/60 ISO 200

Handouts for exercise 4(b):

Reflections for exercise 4(b):

During this exercise I learnt  how to use principles when taking pictures. Each composition has its own principles. Too much principles may make the picture look too complicated.

Feedback 4(b):
Principles for picture 2 and 4 did not match. For the other 2 pictures, the principles match but was not so strong.

Exercise 3 (Zone system and Ansel Adams shot)

06/09/13
Francis Jason Wong Chin
(0316060)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise 3(a) and 3(b)


Lecture:
The Zone System
This week, for the lecture Mr Vinod Shows us a slide about the zone system. The first slide was " The first thing you need to know is that exposure meters are dumb, really dumb.They are clueless about what they're photographing. They assume that all scenes have the same average tonal value (middle grey at zone 5 in the chart below)".

  

Ansel Adams developed the Zone system. His technique was to carefully study a scene, visualise the final print, then determine the correspondence between portions of the scene and tones in the print. He would then use meter, overexpose or underexpose the image to get the correct exposure for the image.

The goal of the simplified Zone system is to expose film/ CCD for optimum image quality to make sure all the critical information is present.

Tones in scenes and prints are divided into nine zones, numbered 1 through 9 from dark to light.

Exercise 3(a):

For the first exercise, we have to choose 3 different subject matters o f varying tones. Tones from shades of white, grey and dark area.

Here are the pictures taken for exercise 3(a):

                                Light Tones

f/8 S 1/250 ISO 400
Correct Exposure

f/8 S 1/60 ISO 400
Exposure according to me

                                Middle tones

f/8 S 1/13 ISO 400
Correct Exposure

f/8 S 1/30 ISO 400
Exposure according to me

                                Dark Tones

f/8 S 1/2 ISO 400
Correct Exposure

f/8 S 1/10 ISO 400
Exposure according to me

Handouts:

Reflections for exercise 3(a):

The first picture of each subject is taken with the correct exposure according to the camera. The picture below it, was taken according to my opinion that is I think is correct to me. This exercise shows me that pictures which are under or overexposed can have more tonal value than that which has the correct exposure.

Exercise 3(b):

For exercise 3(b), we were asked to take a picture according to the Ansel Adams shot. Mr Vinod asked to us to sketch the scene and write all the details about the zones assign to each part of the picture according to the zone system chart.

The Sketch

Here is the result for exercise 3(b):

f/8 S 1/1250 ISO 200

Reflections for exercise 3(b):

The zone system gives the picture a more tonal value than taking a picture to normal exposure. It also gives us full details of the subject taken. A depth can be seen in the picture.

Exercise 2.3 (ISO)

30/08/13
Francis Jason Wong Chin
(0316060)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise 2.3

Lecture:
After the shutter speed explaination finish, Mr Vinod explained the next class that is ISO. ISO is the number indicating a digital camera sensor sensitivity to light. The higher the sensitivity, the less light is needed to make an exposure. Shooting at a lower ISO number requires more light than shooting at a higher number.

For exercise 2.3(a), we were told to take pictures using the lowest ISO to the highest. Determine the right exposure (shutter speed and aperture with ISO 100). Then increase the ISO setting to higher without adjusting the shutter speed and aperture again.

Here are the pictures taken:

ISO 200
f/2.5
S 1/60

ISO 400
f/2.5
S 1/60

ISO 800
f/2.5
S 1/60

ISO 1600
f/2.5
S 1/60

ISO 3200
f/2.5
S 1/60

ISO 6400
f/2.5
S 1/60

Reflections for exercise 2.3(a):

During this exercise, I learnt that the higher the number of ISO used, the higher the exposure will be. I saw how an image could be overexposed when using a high ISO. When the picture is overexposed, light make the picture less clearer.


For exercise 2.3(b), we were told to capture the evidence of degradation of image as the ISO increases in sensitivity. But this time we need to determine the right exposure with lowest ISO setting.

Here are the pictures:

ISO 200
f/2.5
S 1/60

ISO 400
f/4.5
S 1/40

ISO 800
f/4.5
S 1/80

ISO 1600
f/4.5
S 1/160

ISO 3200
f/4.5
S 1/320

IS0 6400
f/4.5
S 1/640

Reflections for exercise 2.3(b):

The picture taken may look the same, but when looking closely to the picture, I saw that the amount of visible noise increases with the ISO number. This make the picture less clear.

HANDOUTS:

Handout for exercise 2.3(a)

Handout for exercise 2.3(b)