Saturday, 28 September 2013

Exercise 14 - An Organised Event

What: The main brief of this exercise was to photograph an organised event.
Where: Edinburgh, Outdoors
When: Afternoon on a mild overcast day.
How: I looked over a number of public events and chose one where there would be a number of people moving around and a number of varied activities.

I decided up on the Edinburgh Mela as it ran over several days and had many differing events on during the run of the Mela festival.

Armed with a number of differing lenses I wanted to use as many differing lenses as possible and in varying styles to capture the crowds and the performers.

Even as we approached the site I could see that people were rushing to get into the site.

DSC_0046
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 14mm (35mm equivalent 21mm), aperture f9.5, speed 1/30 second, ISO 400, Daylight white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 11-16mm lens,

DSC_0046

Once I started to focus on the passersby, everyone was enjoying the day and meeting with their friends and family.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 46mm (35mm equivalent 69mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/90 second, ISO 800, Daylight white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 18-70mm lens,

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I almost abandoned this shot, but I feel that the branch obscuring the second individuals face gives the image a little bit of fun mystery. I also liked the look on the left hand subjects face.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 195mm (35mm equivalent 292mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/350 second, ISO 2000, Daylight white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 270mm (35mm equivalent 405mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/1000 second, ISO 2000, Daylight white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

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I then went to one of the main performance tents and caught the last part of the Chinese dancing. The girl on stage was performing the peacock dance.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 240mm (35mm equivalent 360mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/125 second, ISO 2000, Auto white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

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After the dancing the stage was reset for the arrival of the local Chinese choir who sung traditional fishing and farming songs.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 122mm (35mm equivalent 183mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/60 second, ISO 2000, Flash white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

DSC_0128

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 155mm (35mm equivalent 232mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/45 second, ISO 2000, Auto white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

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I was particularly pleased with the composition of this shot as I managed to get all the singers as they focused on the conductor.

While the singing was going on I turned and started to photograph the crowds looking for suitable interesting individuals or groups.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 92mm (35mm equivalent 138mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/500 second, ISO 2000, Auto white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 155mm (35mm equivalent 72mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/125 second, ISO 800, Auto white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 18-70mm lens,

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 13mm (35mm equivalent 19mm), aperture f9.5, speed 1/30 second, ISO 400, Shade white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 11-16mm lens,

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Back outside the tent a couple stilt walkers were dancing to the tune played by a wandering obo player, as she danced and played the stilt walkers talked to the crowd and lifted children into the air.


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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 19mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/750 second, ISO 2000, Shade white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

DSC_0148

DSC_0152
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 210mm (35mm equivalent 315mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/1500 second, ISO 2000, Shade white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

DSC_0152

DSC_0167
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 220mm (35mm equivalent 330mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/250 second, ISO 2000, Shade white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

DSC_0167

Towards the end of my visit I went over to the second performance tent where local musician were playing a combination of African and folk music.


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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 450mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/60 second, ISO 2000, Fluorescent white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

DSC_0170

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 450mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/60 second, ISO 2000, Fluorescent white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

DSC_0174


I particularly enjoy watching musicians as they play, as you can watch them get lost in tune, the rhythm and the memories of the music

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 260mm (35mm equivalent 390mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/45 second, ISO 2000, Fluorescent white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 260mm (35mm equivalent 390mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/60 second, ISO 2000, Fluorescent white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

DSC_0180

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 450mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/45 second, ISO 2000, Fluorescent white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

DSC_0185

I enjoyed this exercise as I had worked out in advance what I wanted to capture, the crowds and the performers. I was pleased that I was able to find location to photograph from that allowed me to observe and photograph without interrupting people.

I also enjoyed the challenge of photographing the performers in different lighting conditions as they were set for the performers and not really for photography.


Friday, 20 September 2013

Exercise 13 - Standard Focal Depth

What: The main brief of this exercise was to set the focal length of the camera lens as close to “standard” focal length as possible.
Where: Edinburgh, Outdoors
When: Afternoon on a mild overcast day.
How: I held my camera in portrait position and with both eyes open I moved the focal length of the lens so that the scene I was looking at the camera focal length matched that of my normal eyesight and they looked the same.

I think I may have had a slight problem here as due to my topic pupil the focal depth of my vision is abnormal, as the pupil is being crushed by the eye muscles I cannot focus my eye properly.

Using a kit 18-70mm lens on my camera I found that after a few adjustments that my focal depth is somewhere around the 40mm range on this lens rather than the expected 27mm to 32mm range.

While at a community gathering in Edinburgh, I went around the entire site looking out for subjects or actions that I found interesting, once I had spotted something I noted the location and came back later where I could find a position to be inconspicuous and where I could photograph without attracting too much attention.
The requirement to have little distance to the subject did not allow for clear and concise framing, by hanging the camera a lower position meant that the frame could be interfered with by practically anything from passersby and the simple fact  that I had to shoot and trust the I had captured what I wanted.

While circling back around the site I noticed someone trying to attract people to attend a nature event.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 44mm (35mm equivalent 66mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/180 second, ISO 800, Auto white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 17-80mm lens,

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The subject made eye contact a number of times and I waited until they went back to attracting visitors before I fired the shutter. I wanted her to be relaxed and comfortable with being photographed.

I had noticed a person dancing to the various musicians and performers through the day, I wanted to get close and photograph them as they danced but they were just moving too fast and I could not keep up.

I waited until they stopped dancing around the site and had settled in one position and was dancing with a large piece of white cloth which caught the slightest breeze.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 44mm (35mm equivalent 66mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/100 second, ISO 800, Shade white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 17-80mm lens,

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I had to crop the shot down as I was still too far away, but I am much happier with the framing and action within the frame. The subject is caught within their thoughts and movement to the music and is not focussed on what is going on around them.

I am much happier with the second image as it really keeps the attention on the central subject. Using a zoom lens would probably have created a large amount to bokeh in the background and would have isolated the subject completely from their surrounds. Up close with a wide angle lens may have produced quite a dynamic image but it would have distorted the subject if I had tried to compose both the dancer and the cloth within the frame.

Exercise 12 - Close and Involved (Wide Angle Lens)

What: The main brief of this exercise was to get close and involved with the subject by the use of a wide angled lens
Where: Edinburgh, Outdoors
When: Afternoon on a mild overcast day.
How: I had a found already to my cost that using a small point and shoot camera would be of no use, as even thought the images were coming back as having a focal depth of 17mm or 18mm when in  fact the find image was nothing of the sort.

Example of the point and shoot at apparently 17mm

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Kodak Easyshare, Exposure Mode Auto, focal length 17mm (35mm equivalent 96mm), aperture f5.2, speed 1/250 second, ISO 250,Auto white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera.

 100_0709


Possessing the widest angle lens for my DSLR that I had, I decided that this may be of better use as it was a 11 mm-16 mm meaning that I would have to get close.

I had already tested the suitability of close up photography with a visit to Jupiter Art Land where I took a number of closeup shots of statues in the woods using the 11-16mm wide angle lens and I knew that I was going to get within three feet of people to obtain a close image.

DSC_0018
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 13mm (35mm equivalent 19mm), aperture f16, speed 1/6 second, ISO 800,Shade white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 11-16mm lens,

DSC_0018 

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 11mm (35mm equivalent 16mm), aperture f16, speed 1/30 second, ISO 800,Shade white balance, Center Weight metering, Hand held camera, 11-16mm lens,

DSC_0041

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 11mm (35mm equivalent 16mm), aperture f16, speed 1/45 second, ISO 800,Shade white balance, Center Weight metering, Hand held camera, 11-16mm lens,

DSC_0044

These images are from a visit to Jupiter Art Land, I found myself always within about 3 feet from the statues when I photographed them as it allowed the full statue to be contained within the frame.

I visited a community gathering in Edinburgh where I hoped that there would be a number of events and enough people where I could use the lens without attracting attention when trying to photograph someone within a few feet away.

I was again at the disadvantage of my disability so I knew that I to balance the twin objects of obtaining the photographs without being knocked to the ground by accident.

My first attempt to find a number of locations to shoot from did not work as I could not get close enough to anyone quickly and take the shot as they passed as the lens is very slow to focus. I managed to obtain a number of close-ups of subjects but they were all blurred.

 The second attempt was a bit more successful; I hung the camera around my neck and with one hand to control my balance on my walking stick I placed my left hand around the camera so that the tips of my fingers just touched to the top of the shutter release. This allowed me to move in and out of the people and first the shutter when I thought that I might capture and interesting image.

In the main I was pretty unsuccessful, most of the images were incorrectly framed, blurred or at a completely odd angle. I could get close enough to people but the lens being slow to focus meant that I mainly photographed them as they passed or they adjusted angle of approach at the last minute and I ended up getting a close up of their jacket.
The requirement to have little distance to the subject did not allow for clear and concise framing, by hanging the camera a lower position meant that the frame could be interfered with by practically anything from passers-by and the simple fact  that I had to shoot and trust the I had captured what I wanted.

DSC_0059
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 14mm (35mm equivalent 21mm), aperture f9.5, speed 1/60 second, ISO 400, Auto white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 11-16mm lens,

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 14mm (35mm equivalent 21mm), aperture f9.5, speed 1/180 second, ISO 400, Auto white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 11-16mm lens,

DSC_0062

I noticed here another flaw with using the wide angle lens and that was that some movement caused distortion, here the subjects hand has “jellied” and distended.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 14mm (35mm equivalent 21mm), aperture f9.5, speed 1/250 second, ISO 400, Auto white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 11-16mm lens,

DSC_0065

DSC_0068
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 14mm (35mm equivalent 21mm), aperture f9.5, speed 1/45 second, ISO 400, Daylight white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 11-16mm lens,

DSC_0068H


DSC_0073
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 14mm (35mm equivalent 21mm), aperture f9.5, speed 1/250 second, ISO 400, Auto white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 11-16mm lens,

DSC_0073

DSC_0095
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 13mm (35mm equivalent 19mm), aperture f9.5, speed 1/60 second, ISO 400, Auto white balance, Matrix metering, Hand held camera, 11-16mm lens,

DSC_0095


Re examining the images I see that from the way I had decided to step up the camera and then use a kind of surveillance technique of photographing meant that I could not adjust the settings of the camera; once I had picked an f-stop and what kind of white balance and metering I wanted I could not really adjust anything while moving. Even the focal length was pretty much fixed unless the camera was bumped slightly knocking the lens back from 11mm towards 16mm.

The exercise was quite a challenge not only physically but also mentally as I had to trust my instincts and just hope that I had captured what I wanted.

I am not truly happy with the results of the exercise as I found that the choice of lens was too extreme, at 11-16mm a lot of the subjects were further away from the lens than I had hoped. I may revisit the exercise using something more like a normal kit lens starting at 17mm where I can work between 17mm and 24mm to obtain better framing and composition.

Sunday, 11 August 2013

Exercise 11 - Standing Back (Project Medium Telephoto)

What: The main brief of this exercise was to find a comfortable situation and concentrate on photographing people in “action” without attracting their attention
Where: Edinburgh, Outdoors
When: Morning and Afternoon on a bright sunny day.
How: I had a route planned that I wanted to travel so that I had enough time to locate a photograph subjects that I found interesting.

Having previously used a telephoto lens to photograph people unaware I was reasonably comfortable that I could obtain the objectives of the exercise.

This time around however I did not have the advantage of a slightly higher position to photograph from. This meant that I had to negotiate the foot traffic of passing people and hope that during the photograph that they did not travel though the frame blocking the view.

The extra distance did allow for framing however there were a number of immediate disadvantages, a lower position meant that the frame could be interfered with by items in the foreground as well as items in the background. I did find that I had to “hunt” positions where I could photograph from. Also being low to the ground meant that people did not always see me and occasionally they would walk into me or push me out of the way. When this happened I had to stop and martial my confidence again before bringing the camera back up to my eye.


DSC_0047
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 450mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/250 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

One of the first problems I encountered was that the foreground was not always as clear as I wanted it to be, as in this case I had a metal fence between myself and the subjects. I tried to use the circles and top bar of the fence to draw the eye into the frame, but I am not sure if I succeeded.


DSC_0047

DSC_0048
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 450mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/250 second, ISO 100, Auto white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,
I also found that I quickly lost the bright light, and that personally the weight of the camera and lens was too much when it was being hand held.

DSC_0048

I found that this interfered slightly with composition and framing.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 450mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/350 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

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It did however allow for the opportunity to locate and isolate subjects. In this case the subject was handing out leaflets to passing foot traffic and from his expression I could see that it was not fulfilling. I would have preferred to have a f-stop or two more to allow me to isolate him from his background but the long focal length is enough to enhance the focus onto the individual.


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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 450mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/750 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,


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Again the practical difficulty of maintaining a steady hand caused a few problems, on review of a number of images, I found that the camera when set on continuous focus sometimes suddenly adjusted the focus when someone moved into the bottom or side of the frame, this along with struggling to maintain focus on the original subject due to shaking hands and arms meant that I lost the choice of image that I wanted. Here while tracking the walking woman from left to right the camera wanted to refocus on the subjects who entered the frame from the bottom.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 450mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/250 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

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I did find that passers-by and traffic sometimes either blocked the view or entered the frame just as I was setting off the shutter, therefore spoiling the image. In those cases I just had to start again.  Once or twice I found myself being knocked by a passer-by causing me to lose balance and lose the shot.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 450mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/500 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,


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The great advantage of course is that I could pick and choose my subjects without their knowledge allowing for natural un-posed images

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 450mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/500 second, ISO 200, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,



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Overall I enjoyed the exercise, as it allowed me to pick and isolate my subject matter without interfering in their actions. I found it allowed me to be more creative in selection of subject matter and in finding a good shooting position and work from it rather than having to get right into the subject and lose my own personal focus as I have to become more focused on ensuring that I am not knocked over.


Exercise 10 - Capturing the Moment

What: The main brief of this exercise was to attempt to capture the moment.
Where: Edinburgh, Outdoors
When: Afternoon on a bright sunny day.
How: Previously I had passed this location and noticed a lot of activity. Knowing that this exercise was coming up I noted the location and decided to return to see if it was still busy and whether or not it would be suitable for the exercise.

I used a combination of a 50mm prime lens and a 70-300mm telephoto lens.
Although in all of the images I picked out when I reviewed them, the telephoto lens images stood out, as I feel that each image captured the particular moment that I was looking for.

DSC_0054
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 300mm (35mm equivalent 450mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/1000 second, ISO 100, Auto white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

This gent was striding along the street; his hurried movements caught my eye as everyone else was strolling along. He was deep in thought and I wanted to capture his expression.

DSC_0054


Moving along to my intended area, I found that it was not as busy as the previous visit, probably due to it being on a Sunday and the park entrances were taken over by a local newspaper promoting the golf competition which was happening locally.

I found a quiet location and watched people interact with the news sellers, as well as the interaction of the selling team itself.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 135mm (35mm equivalent 202mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/250 second, ISO 100, Auto white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,


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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 230mm (35mm equivalent 345mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/180 second, ISO 100, Manual white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

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DSC_0112
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 165mm (35mm equivalent 247mm), aperture f5.0, speed 1/500 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

I watched a number of people taking part in tutored golf lessons, while watching some of the people I decided I wanted to capture some of the movements of the golfers and the tutors as they worked together.

DSC_0112

This movement from the golfer as she is about to start on her backswing a hit the ball into the net was the one movement I was trying to capture from her.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 230mm (35mm equivalent 345mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/250 second, ISO 100, Auto white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

DSC_0122

Watching the tutors I spotted that they spent a lot of time demonstrating their interpretations of the movements of the golfers. This tutor spent a couple of minutes demonstrating foot positions. His movements were like a little dance and I wanted to capture his twist as he moved his feet.


DSC_0150
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 270mm (35mm equivalent 405mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/750 second, ISO 200, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

DSC_0150

This tutor was showing the golfer the right position to hold the club during the swing, this was the best of the images I captured as I wanted both of them to be focused on the end of the club.

DSC_0154
Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 155mm (35mm equivalent 232mm), aperture f5.6, speed 1/1000 second, ISO 200, Auto white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 70-300mm lens,

While the golfers were being tutored people continued to walk through the park. I captured this couple in discussion as they passed through the park ignoring the golfers around them.

DSC_0154


 I was surprised to find that I had chosen exclusively images captured using the telephoto lens. I feel that it made it easier to monitor and predict the movements of the subjects as well as allowing me time to monitor and compose the image that I wanted. 

Exercise 9 Revisited

What: The main brief of this exercise was to take a number of photographs of people gathered together in an outdoor situation
Where: Edinburgh, Outdoors
When: Morning and Afternoon on a bright sunny day.
How: I had a route planned that I wanted to travel so that I had enough time to locate a photograph subjects that I found interesting.

Having taken a break for several months due to the ongoing progression of my ill health, I decided that I should revisit this exercise and start where I left off.

This time around my confidence was a lot lower; I am uncomfortable directly approaching people and talking them into allowing me to take a photograph. I felt however that I really needed to start rebuilding my confidence again, so I did a mixture of people unaware and people that I approached and spoke to.

As we travelled the route I spoke to people as well as photographed them using a combination of a 50mm prime lens and a 70-300mm telephoto lens. I tried not to use the telephoto lens where I could, but occasionally I had to be out of the main thoroughfare to avoid being knocked over.

It was quite a challenge using the 50mm lens and not to attract the attention of the people being photographed. However as the day progressed my confidence rose as I worked through the exercise as I felt happier talking the photos.


To begin with I found a sitting position where I had 360 degrees of view; I could see quite a distance and because I was sitting away from the main thoroughfare I was comfortable enough to sit with the camera and watch people as they went about their day.

As people passed, I was able to see them come into view and I was able to frame them in the cameras view finder and wait until they became well composed within the view finder. The longer that I sat there the more people started to ignore me and allow me to point the camera in their direction.

When using the 50mm lens, I did not want too great a depth of field but at the same time I did not want it to be razor thin. I decided on an aperture of f/2.8 as I knew that I could obtain the depth of field that I wanted without isolating the subject from their surroundings.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 50mm (35mm equivalent 75mm), aperture f2.8, speed 1/4000 second, ISO 160, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 50mm lens,

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 50mm (35mm equivalent 75mm), aperture f2.8, speed 1/4000 second, ISO 160, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 50mm lens,

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I was surprised by how close I could be to the subjects without them knowing that I was choosing them for the image.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 50mm (35mm equivalent 75mm), aperture f2.8, speed 1/4000 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 50mm lens,

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 50mm (35mm equivalent 75mm), aperture f2.8, speed 1/4000 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 50mm lens,

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I noticed a large number of people who were either concentrating on their mobile phone or talking on their mobile phone and was at this point that I realised that a lot of people were very involved in their own “thing” and had were not really paying attention to what was going on around them.

I decided that for a couple of shots I would focus on the people in my immediate surroundings

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 50mm (35mm equivalent 75mm), aperture f2.8, speed 1/1500 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 50mm lens,

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I was surprised to find that I could photograph people who were in fact quite close to me, and who had been sitting close by for a while and who were no ignoring the fact that I was photographing individuals and were giving their implicit trust and permission.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 50mm (35mm equivalent 75mm), aperture f2.8, speed 1/750 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 50mm lens,

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Having become very comfortable with the concept of photographing people again, I moved on down the street into a local market full of German produce.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 50mm (35mm equivalent 75mm), aperture f2.8, speed 1/3000 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 50mm lens,

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 50mm (35mm equivalent 75mm), aperture f2.8, speed 1/60 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 50mm lens,

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I could see that some of the stall owners were initially watching me as I lifted the camera to my eye, but then just went back about their business. Everyone appeared to be quite happy that I was not intruding and did not notice that I was picking out who I wanted to photograph.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 50mm (35mm equivalent 75mm), aperture f2.8, speed 1/750 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 50mm lens,

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After that I moved onto the main street and continued to photograph.

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 50mm (35mm equivalent 75mm), aperture f2.8, speed 1/2000 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 50mm lens,

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Nikon D80, Exposure Mode Manual, focal length 50mm (35mm equivalent 75mm), aperture f2.8, speed 1/750 second, ISO 100, Daylight white balance, Centre Weight metering, Hand held camera, 50mm lens,

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To begin with I did feel uncomfortable and mostly photographed people side on as they passed as I did not want to attract too much attention, but as I carried on I found myself standing in front of people attempting to catch their expressions. As I gained a little confidence I was happy to see that most people were not too bothered that they were being photographed and some were oblivious at being photographed.


I tried to capture some gestures but did not manage much as lot of people were either on their own or too busy with their own thoughts.