Took me long enough to get to this, so here it goes.
Simple shot really. I was asked to take some photos of a couple of fresh roses. I decided that since this was going to be a single light shot, I’d go for a black background reminiscent of many macro shots, but obviously this isn’t a macro shot. If I had a second light I would probably have thrown some light on the background to add some interest and depth.
Read more…
Update: Sunday, May 6, 2007: I’m extending the deadline for this
project another week, as I spent the last one preparing for and
shooting the Air and Sea Show.
Seeing as how my last little assignment didn’t pan out quite as I wanted it to we move to assignment 2b. Yes, b, as in backup. Or as my handy manual for stuff says.
Plan C: Always have another plan. See: Plan D.
Yes, so does that make this plan b or d? I don’t know but if you’re not confused yet, you should be.
| Deadline |
Sunday, May 6, 2007 Sunday, May 13, 2007 |
| Objectives |
Abstract texture and lighting |
| Assignment |
Photograph some texture, it could be a rock, a sheet of crinkled paper, a board or anything else. The catch is you have to light it in such a way as to bring out the texture. |
| Constraints: |
Texture, nothing else. |
| Deliverables: |
A shot of something textured |
No you wont be using that good ole on camera flash for this one folks. You’re gonna need to get creative to figure your lighting out if you don’t have a flash you can take off camera. Things to think about: The sun at dawn/dusk, a desk lamp, a mirror.
Something else to think about, color can dramatically affect your output, you may not want to balance for a neutral white on this one.
This shot focuses on nailing the shot when it counts. The photographer should focus on producing a shot that is properly composed and exposed (as always) which any light sources (flash, hot-lights, etc.) balanced properly.
| Deadline: |
Sunday, April 8, 2007, Sunday April 15, 2007, Sometime in the future |
| Objectives; |
Exposure, Metering, Composition |
| Assignment: |
This assignment’s focus is on producing a correctly exposed photograph of a single scene in 5 frames or less. That means that for a given scene you may press the shutter button at most 5 times to arrive at the final product. You may use the alloted frames to ballance light levels, adjust composition, or adjust the exposure. The subject of this shot is left to the discression of the photographer. |
| Constraints: |
You may only shoot a given scene once. If you fail to achive the requisit product in the alloted 5 frames, you must develope a completely new scene from scratch. |
| Deliverables: |
The final shot, plus all of the precursor frames (remember limit 5 total) plus a description of what changed from each frame (i.e. 1/100th@f/4 -> 1/125 @ f/4, moved key light closer, etc. ) |
Time is up, drivers start your engines shooters post your pictures.
Canon 400D (Rebel XTi) with Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact macro
(1/1600th @ f/8, ISO 400, 5600K)
I felt that the first shot was the strogest out of the set of 22 that I shot. Especially when cropped to the square format that it’s presented in.
Canon 400D (Rebel XTi) with Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact macro
(1/100 @ f/8, ISO 400, 5600K)
This second shot I liked for the contrast that I felt existed in the subject being a flower but having the likeness of a tree.
As I said, I shot 22 frames on this shoot, with 2 frames being “keepers” for a total success ratio of 0.9% (Of the 22 frames all were sound in terms of exposure and focus). For me this assignment was successful.
McBaine (blog linked in links section) also participated in this little adventure. His entry about his experiance is here, and his images are here. Of the 6 frames he posted I felt his traditional shot of a rose was the best.
The first in a new series of photography projects presented by us here at cult-of-tech.net with the goal of improving the skills of amateur photographers who are yet unmotivated to go out and create their own assignments.
| Title: |
Macro Flower |
| Deadline: |
Sunday, April 4, 2007 |
| Objectives: |
Exposure, Metering, Focus, Depth of Field, Composition |
| Assignment: |
You are to photograph a technically correct (in terms of exposure and focus) a macro or near macro photograph of a flower. In addition to the requirements the final shot must have a clean background (i.e. it must be uniform or nearly uniform so that the flower stands out against it.) There are no other rules or requirements for this assignment. The flower does not necessaraly need to be in it’s natural environment. There are no restrictions on lighting tools or techniques. More than one “final” picture is acceptable. |
