The subject I chose to shoot was ‘Shopping’, with a view to overcoming my fear of using a camera in public.
I wrote a list of the types of shots I wanted before going out. These included; shots with blurred foregrounds (MB009), shots with blurred backgrounds (MB011), shots with a wide angle lens and shots with a long focal length, all techniques covered in Part two (Imaginative spaces) By covering these criterions, I am able to show a broad range of skills and their relevant applications. All of the images were shot over a period of two consecutive days.
MB001.PH4EYV-2 Illustrates good depth of field with a wide angle of view (vertical). The strong converging lines coming from the top and bottom of the image augment the Dof very well. 1/45sec, f11, 24mm, OSO 1600.
I have employed the use of linguistic code in the next three images to bring humour to the images.
MB002.PH4EYV-2 I have kept the foreground sharp, but blurred the background slightly so that the ‘H&M’ sign looks more like ‘HIM’. This was classic Cartier Bresson technique; I saw the possibilities of the sign, set up and waited (quite some time) for the boy to come past. Settings- 1/180sec, f4, 105mm, ISO 1600.
MB003.PH4EYV-2 has a couple of ‘signs’ in it. The colour of the Monsoon shop front would be classed as the denotation, when ‘reading’ this image, and the secondary link or the connotation, would be the link between the name ‘Monsoon’ and the waterproof coat that he lady is wearing. This image was shot at 1/30, f13, 75mm, ISO 1600. It was shot using a 75-300mm zoom, because I wanted to maintain sharpness from front to back of image, but compress the DoF so that the connection was stronger.
MB004.PH4EYV-2 Here the juxtaposition between poster and man changes the intended meaning of the poster. It now shows a frustrated woman wanting attention. It was shot at 1/90sec, f5.6, 93mm ISO 1600. The shallow DoF highlights the dichotomy between the two characters.
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MB005.PH4EYV-2 was taken to illustrate depth of field, and was shot at 1/125, f8, 105mm ISO 1600. The composition gives this image its strength.
MB006.PH4EYV-2 I wanted the nearer of the two arches to be out of focus, and the other to be in focus and so shot; 1/250sec, f5.6, 75mm, ISO 1600. A long zoom was used to compress the perceived depth, to accentuate the framing.
MB007.PH4EYV-2 needed the subject to be pin sharp to emphasise the proximity of the smoke to the passing shoppers, but put the smoker in isolation. 1/750sec, f4.5, 130mm, ISO 1600.
MB008.PH4EYV-2 needed a very shallow Dof to convey a sense of the subject being lost in his own thoughts. This was shot from 3.4m to accentuate the out of focus background that puts him in isolation. . 1/45sec, f4, 82mm, ISO1600
MB009.PH4EYV-2 To create intensity I framed the shot, then tracked the subject visually and shot only when he made eye contact. 1/250sec, f5.6,30mm, ISO 1600.
MB010.PH4EYV-2 By shooting when the subject was only 2.7mtrs away gives this image a very personal feel. 1/250sec, f4, 105mm ISO 1600.
MB011.PH4EYV-2 I used the camera settings to obtain an ‘urban portrait’. 1/250sec, f4, 130mm, ISO 1600. Distance to subject approx. 1.5mtrs.
Over all I am very pleased with what I have achieved. I quickly learnt a lot about observing, and positioning and pre-empting to get good shots. I also coerced myself into doing things that I did not want to do. The reward for pushing me out of my comfort zone is reflected in the intimacy of some of my shots. I felt that I ‘got my eye in’ very quickly and was able to spot opportunities. A good example of this is image 004. The most successful image was MB011 in terms of achieving exactly what I set out to do.
Inside the precinct, and particularly early in the day, the light was the limiting factor, so I set the ISO to 1600. I regret that I didn’t adjust it as the light increased. This took the sharpness out of some of the images, notably MB010. I also lost a lot of potentially good shots by not being ready, and being too self conscious to ‘go for it’.
I purposely wore plain clothes to blend in, but towards the end of the second day a security guard stopped me and said that I needed to obtain a permit to take photographs. Having thought about this, next time I would use the opposite technique, wearing a high vis’ jacket with ‘Photographer’ on the back, along with my official permit on a lanyard. This also highlights the fact that extensive planning and research is key to a successful shoot. In future I need to think more broadly in the planning stage.
A more in depth write-up of my experience can be found at: https://eledhwen.blog/assignments/assignment-two-collecting/
Assignment_2_Contact_sheets_finals_(2)
I see! 