Vee Speers

I like these images as they are different. They show a different story to every viewer this is what I would like to portray in my work. The sense of innocence but with a darker deeper inner story. I would like my photographs to show colour so then the story is abit more ironic and also catches the viewers eye. What drew me to these pictures were how all the models are centrally positioned this once again shows that they are the story to the viewer. I would like my models to be the story within my pictures. Each child has a very emotionless expression on their faces and the colour seems to be very dull. 

This photography is very plain, I think the photographers is trying to make the girl very unnoticed, she has a sad expression on her face and her body language is lifeless and quite closed. She is also centrally positioned and is photographed about the knees like all of the rest of the photographs. The tonal range is very white based. I think the focial point is the mask as it is very unusual. Unlike all the rest of the photographs the girl has her head looking down to side and her eyes are pointing at the floor.

The composition of this picture is very centred but you can only see half of her body. The colour of this photograph is very dull, they is no bright colours which stand out but I think the focial point is the scissors and the long hair as it makes my imagination run wild, just thinking of what she could be doing with the scissors. Could she be ready to chop off her long hair or maybe even hiding them as they are behind her back.

I like this photograph because it is unusual. The photograph is very questionable, the rat and the gas mask bring a sense of mystery to the photograph. I think the focial point on this photograph is the mask, it is very dark. Like all the rest of the photographs the colour is very dull, the tonal range is very white based. I think the photographer shot this photograph from the side to see the detail of the gas mask and the rat.

John Shaw

John Shaw is a professional of nature photography, that started in the early 1970's. His work has been published in many books and magazines including the National Geographic. He has done a variety of nature photographs across the world, some of the locations including Ireland, Japan and Antarctica.

 In 1997, Shaw received the first-ever Outstanding Photographer Award given by NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association) then later on in 2002, Shaw was chosen as Nikon's Legend Behind the Lens for his work. Later on in 2006, his work got recognised again by Microsoft who designated him Icon of Imaging.

He became Nikon Professional Services member since 1976. In 2001 he became part of Epson's Stylus Pro fine art print makers. 

John Shaw is an author of six books on nature photography and has 2 ebooks, "Lightroom workflow" and "Photoshop Techniques". John also does photo tours, workshops and seminars. 

John Shaw uses a Nikon D3s and a Nikon D3x with a variety of lens. He always uses a tripod to make sure that he gets good quality photographs.

John Shaw believes "The more you simplify your vision, the stronger your images will be," (Nikon: 2012: 29/1/2012)

I think the focal point of this picture is the pebbles and water as they are very close. The colour of the water is very clear and the colour of the grass is very bright. I love the old building in this picture as it adds character.

I love the bright green colour of the 3 photographs above. 

I think this photograph draws in the viewers imagination and sense of mystery as you can not see where the road is leading to. The trees adds spookiness to the photograph. It is a very dull picture as the grey from the tree and the colour of the road dominate the picture. The focal point of this picture is the road as the it has a linear perspective.

I hope to capture photographs similar to the one above and below. I love the different range of colours.

I like the orange and yellow colours of the trees. The focal point of the picture is the road as it takes up most of the photograph. The road also adds a sense of mystery and imagination as you can't see where it leads to. 

I love the exciting bright orange colour of the leaves as it's a very autumn colour. The tonal range is very bright and the natural day light makes the colouring stand out more rather than if it was at night.

In most of John Shaw's photographs he mainly takes photographs of areas with just one main building which stands out and capture the viewers eye. I hope to capture a few photographs similar to this.

Reference: Shaw.J (online) John Shaw Photography. Available from: http://www.johnshawphoto.com/ [date accessed: 13th October 2011]

Nikon (2012) John Shaw: John Shaw: A Photographer's Vision Simplified. Available from: http://www.nikonusa.com/Learn-And-Explore/Photography-Tips/g1attuky/all/The-Essential-John-Shaw.html [Date accessed: 29th January 2012]

Shutter speed

Shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a camera's shutter is open. shutter speed is the length of time that your image sensor ‘sees’ the scene you’re attempting to capture.
Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or in most cases fractions of seconds. The bigger the denominator the faster the speed (ie 1/1000 is much faster than 1/30).

Shutter Speed in isolation from the other two elements of the Exposure Triangle (aperture and ISO) is not really a good idea. As you change shutter speed you’ll need to change one or both of the other elements to compensate for it.

For example if you speed up your shutter speed one stop (for example from 1/125th to 1/250th) you’re effectively letting half as much light into your camera. To compensate for this you’ll probably need to increase your aperture one stop (for example from f16 to f11). The other alternative would be to choose a faster ISO rating (you might want to move from ISO 100 to ISO 400 for example).

Reference

Digital Photography School (2011) Introduction to Shutter Speed in Digital Photography. Available from: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/shutter-speed [date accessed: 10th October 2011]

F/stop

The f/stop regulates how much light is allowed through the lens by varying the area of the hole the light comes through.
F-stop or the maximum aperture of the lens. This figure is derived from dividing the focal length of the lens by the aperture opening of the lens.
The aperture is the opening formed by a system of metal leaves in the lens that open up and close down to control the volume of light passing through the lens. It is the lens's equivalent of the iris of our eye.
The photography term we often see in photo magazine "opening up 1 F-stop," means making the aperture size larger to allow more light through the lens and "stopping down" means making the aperture size or F-stop smaller to allow less light through the lens. A larger aperture size is represented with smaller number hence f2.8 is larger f-stop than f5.6.

Reference

Cole.M (14th May 2011) A Tedious Explanation of the f/stop. Available from: http://www.uscoles.com/fstop.htm [date accessed: 10th October 2011]

STsite.com (2011) F-Stop and Aperture. Available from: http://stsite.com/camera/cam04.php [date accessed: 10th October 2011]

ISO

ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor.  The lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain. The higher the number, the more sensitive to light the film is.
A low sensitivity means that the film has to be exposed to light for a longer period of time than a film with a high sensitivity in order to properly expose the image. With a lower sensitivity you also get a better quality image too which is why you should always try and use the lowest sensitivity you can get away with.

Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds (for example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze the action in lower light)

Situations where you might need to push ISO to higher settings include:

• Indoor Sports Events – where your subject is moving fast yet you may have limited light available.
• Concerts – also low in light and often ‘no-flash’ zones
• Art Galleries, Churches etc- many galleries have rules against using a flash and of course being indoors are not well lit.
• Birthday Parties – blowing out the candles in a dark room can give you a nice moody shot which would be ruined by a bright flash. Increasing the ISO can help capture the scene.

Reference
Digital Photography School (2011) ISO Settings in Digital Photography. Available from: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/iso-settings [date accessed: 10th October 2011]

Ian Phillips-McLaren

Ian Phillips-McLaren was born in Glasgow in Scotland. At the age of 18, Ian was studying photography. In the second year as a photographer he had his own TV programme made about him by the BBC called 'A Style of One's Own'. He moved to London in 1991 to continue his career shooting portraits of artists, celebrities and people.

I love the contrast of the dark dress against the white background. I also like the natural pose and expression that the model is doing, I aim to duplicate this pose in my work.

The photograph is very dull in colour as it has been changed to black and white. I will be using this pose and expression in my photoshoot. Once I have done my photoshoot I will edit the photo to black and white to create this effect. The tonal range of this photograph is very dark as it's mainly grey and black. 

I love the colour of this photograph, the black and white colours really shows the darkness of the photo. The tonal range is very dark as the background and the model's outfit is black. The 

 

 Fashion Shoot For Elizabeth Emanuel
I like the pose on this photograph and aim to use it in my work.

 Fashion Shoot For Elizabeth Emanuel

                                                           Fashion Shoot For Elizabeth Emanuel

Fashion Shoot For Elizabeth Emanuel


Phillips-McLaren.I (2010) Ian Phillips-McLaren Photographer. Available from: http://www.ianphillips-mclaren.com/ [date accessed: 6th October 2011]

Phillips-McLaren.I (28th July 2011) Ian Phillips-McLaren Photographer. Available from: http://www.ianphillipsmclaren.blogspot.com/ [date accessed: 6th October 2011]