Hi, I'm Alice Palice

Assignment 5: Colour

2008-06-09T22:32:00.003+01:00

WHY could I not have gone through the course at this rate the whole way through?!

This week was all about colour, learning how to saturate and desaturate images. I loved learning about these things.

The assignment this week was:

Go out with your camera and look for colour. Take photos close to subjects, so that the colours fill the frame – it doesn’t matter if the viewer cannot immediately tell what the subject is. Consider the following guidelines:

Look for images composed of vivid colours (highly saturated) as well as more muted colours.
Look for complementary colours (those opposite each other on the colour wheel) and harmonious colour combinations.
Consider images that consist of single colours and multiple colours.
Think about balance, unity, dynamism and focus of attention when composing and editing your images.

Assignment 4: Depth of Field

2008-06-07T13:42:00.002+01:00

Sheesh, when will I be on time with things? The fact that we have an assessment to hand in has made me go "AAAARGH" and I am trying to catch up major-stylie while trying to organise my sons birthday party, birthday, and packing for our holiday.

So this week (well, week 4!) was all about depth of field, something I like the results of immensely and is what attracted me to the world of DSLR in the first instance.

This first picture, "Taraxacum Maximus" is a macro of a dandelion - I picked it outside then brought it in, placed in in a bottle and used my macro lens and a large aperture of f/4 to compensate for this I used a fast shutter speed of 1/200. The seeds on the dandelion are very soft, and I wanted to compliment this using a soft focus which I got from the large aperture. As I was inside with bright lights on the ISO was 100. I didn't need to do any work on this - this shot is straight from the camera.

""Stand back", he said..." is a picture I set up specifically for this assignment using some of my sons' toy men. I used my light tent to ensure a clean background and efficient lighting and, keeping in mind the lesson taught in Week 4 of using the longest focal length length to achieve a shallow depth of field. I used my telephoto lens at a focal length of 92mm. As I was using the light tent with 2 lights, I set the ISO to 100. As I needed a large aperture to create a shallow depth of field I set it at f/5 with a shutter speed of 1/200. I cropped the shot to remove some of the excess background using PSE6, and curved the corners using flickr (must learn how to do this is PSE6!)

"CrAyOnS" is another I set up with this assignment in mind. Using my light tent and lights, I only needed an ISO of 100 and used my macro lens to achieve the kind of close up I was after. I used an aperture of f/2.8 to give a really shallow depth of field, and a shutter speed of 1/200. Looking at it on my computer, I think the shot looks slightly over exposed, but I did have a play with the levels in PSE6 and it didnt look better! I'm not keen on the reflections on the crayons. If I were to set this shot up again I would try to use different settings so I wouldn't need to use a flash.

A Rule to Remember

2008-05-26T20:23:00.001+01:00

Here's something I just read that I wanted to note for future reference:

"There is a guiding rule in photography to counteract camera shake that says you should ensure that the shutter speed is at least the reciprocal of the effective focal length (1/EFL). So if you are using a lens with an EFL of 300 mm then you should take hand-held images at a shutter speed of 1/300th or faster. Similarly, if it were a 28 mm wide angle lens then the shutter speed would need to be 1/28th of a second, which rounds to 1/30th."

A Reflection on Week 3

2008-05-25T13:32:00.001+01:00

Well I know I haven't actually finished the assignment yet, but I am worried about falling too far behind. I will complete it but I want to get cracking with Week 4's material.

Week 3's apeture stuff really had me stumped - I just dont *get it*! I am going to read my 'Understanding Exposure' book, because I so really do want to understand it.

I enjoyed learning about the histograms and levels in Photoshop Elements and it all seems pretty common sense.

One thing I did learn this week which I had no idea about before, was the little scale on the LCD display that tells you when you are getting correct exposure. Only taken 5 months, doh!

Assignment 3 (A3) - Exposure

2008-05-25T13:31:00.002+01:00

Assignment 3 is as follows:

Capture and share two well exposed images from at least two of the following categories of varied and challenging lighting conditions:

* Creative motion blur in low or normal light conditions (e.g. walking, cycling, cars, sugar falling from a spoon, running water, car lights after dark). For this task you will need to steady your camera by either resting it on something or using a tripod. Avoid camera shake.

* Low light, high speed (high ISO) still photography (e.g. moonlight, street lights). This can be hand-held if the shutter speed is fast enough or using a tripod or other camera support as appropriate. Avoid camera shake.

* High contrast photography (bright indoor lights, or bright daylight, or highly reflective subjects).

So far I have only managed one... more to follow

A Spoon-Full of Sugar..., originally uploaded by AlicePalice.

Blimey O'Riley!

2008-05-21T16:23:00.003+01:00

Just as I was feeling better, along came another illness to bite me on the bum. I'm feeling semi-human so I figured I neeeeeeeeded to get on with Week 3, printed it all out... WOAH! It certainly is getting a little more tough!

This week we are learning about exposure. The whole aperture thing has always confused me - the smaller f-stops referring to large apertures and all that, I can't seem to make logic of it.

I had to write some notes while reading the aperture section. I am adding them here so I will always have them if I need to refer to them:

Brighter light = smaller aperture (large f-stop number which results in not much dof)

Need longer exposures in low light - slower shutter speeds to allow more light to hit the sensor

Flash used in daylight is called "fill in flash". Useful when taking close up shots of a subject that is back lit

Small f-stops refer to large apertures, large f-stops to small apertures

Aperture f-stop numbers measure the ration of the focal length to the effective diameter of the lens, i.e. f/4 = aperture is 1/4 of the focal length of the lens. (e.g. diameter of about 25,, on a 100mm lens) f/8 = 1/8th. 1/16 = 16th etc etc

As an equation, f = focal length, / = divided by. So with a 100mm lens and an aperture value of f/8, f=100 divided by (/) 8 (f number) = 12.5, so 12.5 is the physical opening for the 100mm set at f/8

All doubling and halving of aperture is called a stop

Each full stop doubles the area of aperture, and so doubles the exposure. Slowing shutter speed from 1/60th sec to 1/30th sec also increases exposure 1 stop, as does ISO 100 to ISO 200

Important to identify intervals of one stop on f scale:
f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22
Some cameras offer 1/2 and 1/3 stops

Larger apertures = "faster" - less time for same exposure of sensor

Aperture area doubles as you reduce the f-number by 1 stop, and halves as you increase the f-number by 1 stop.

Arghhh - brain ache!

A Reflection on Week Two

2008-05-16T15:28:00.003+01:00

It all started off so well - I had the course material printed off, I was reading through it at a rate of knots.... then I got tonsillitus. Week 3 should have started yesterday but I only finished off the last half of Week 2's material today.

I didn't do any of the small activities that were part of the reading material, and although they are things I might have done before, I was determined that this course would make me take lots more photos.

I would have loved to have spent the 4 hours which was allowed on the Week 2 assignment - I just felt too rough.

Anyway, I'm feeling loads better this afternoon so hopefully 3rd week lucky!

Assignment 2 (A2) - Favourite Things

2008-05-16T15:17:00.003+01:00

The Assignment for Week 2 was as follows:

In this session's photo assignment you are asked to take two pictures of someone, somewhere or something that you really like. You can take two pictures on the same topic or go for a combination of pictures. In at least one of the images you share, use the cropping tool to boldly crop the image in an interesting way. Make sure to add that it is cropped in the description. Spend up to four hours on the assignment.

I have been ill this week so was slightly restricted to photographing in the house, and not for very long as I felt rubbish. Still, I had one of my favourite boys to hand, so did a little shoot with Louis. Somehow I accidentally switched the ISO to 100 mid-shoot, I know it definitely wasn't set that way when I began, so the pictures weren't exposed correctly but I had a little play in Photoshop and I am pleased with the results.

I was so upset when I imported this shot to my computer - I thought how perfect it would have been if I had checked the ISO. To try to rescue it I thought I would use the wrong exposure to my advantage, and now I think it looks quite arty and I'm very pleased with it! That was the shot I cropped by the way.

What I love about this photo is it captures 2 favourites for me. Obviously my son is a favourite of mine, but I just love his cute little things he has picked up. I managed to capture him cheering and saying "Yay!" at something that happened on the tv.

Poignant Poem

2008-05-14T16:44:00.002+01:00

I saw this poem elsewhere, and wanted to save it forever and thought here was as good a place as any!

Photographs are smiles that last forever,
Snowmen that can never melt away.
Birthday celebrations caught in amber
Rescued from the vaults of yesterday.

Faces that were once more dear than diamonds.
Boys who kept you up until the dawn.
Houses filled with bicycles and babies.
Ghosts who left their shadows on the lawn.

Photographs are holes in time’s grey curtain.
Through them we can peek into the past.
Call upon our parents and our children.
Pop a cork with members of the cast.

There they are, the days of jazz and joy-rides.
Snaps of magic moments lit hy laughs.
If you ever find my house on fire,
Leave the silver,
Save the photographs.

By Fran Landesman

Catching Up

2008-05-13T21:43:00.003+01:00

The weekend consisted of gorgeous, gorgeous weather, which, as it was the first nice weekend of the year, meant I made the most of it and sat outside. This also meant not a lot of course-work got done, but I did manage to get a few pictures of an infestation of spiderlings which had hatched in our garden. They have gone now. I hope they all haven't grown miraculously fast and are crawling round my garden in their thousands. Minggggging!

I have tried catching up with my video tutorials on Photoshop Elements. The differences are the course material / dvd was written for PC users using PSE5, and I am using a Mac and PSE6. One of the tutorials were about making 'collections' in 'organizer', neither of which I could find in my PSE, so I went into the First Class forums and asked and someone in my group came back with this link so I downloaded the chapter for Mac users and it is *the* most useful thing I have read this year! I love it, the style, how easy it has been to understand, I am definitely going to buy the whole book.

I did print off the reading material for week 2 which has made a difference no end, I have two hours where I have nothing better to do and am forced to sit and make my own entertainment.

Meanwhile I now have tonsillitis, which isn't doing much for my get-up-and-go. Hmmmph.

A Reflection on Week One

2008-05-08T15:24:00.003+01:00

Well Week 2's material should have been started today which I hadn't realised until logging on to the T189 site this morning, que a lot of panic from me and a quick read through what I could on my lunch hour. I still haven't watched the video tutorials as most of my reading has been within my lunch hour and so I don't have Elements here, or any of my snaps to put the lessons into practise. I think I have about 4 to view still, I am aiming to try and go through them all tonight.

I would like to print off Week 2's reading so I can learn while commuting. The OU's guidelines are 10 hours of week per week, and I'm not sure I did that this week. If it comes to it I will have to allocate times when its my photography time and nothing else.

Onwards and upwards!

Assignment 1 (A1) - Letters

2008-05-08T15:01:00.004+01:00

We were given a choice of 3 different assignments to choose from. Initially I thought I would be adventurous and do them all, but I realise now, that I am having to catch up on Week 1 reading when Week 2 material should be being started, that maybe that was just a little ambitious!

This is the assignment I chose to go with:

Select two letters from the alphabet and take a picture for each letter. Do not just look for letters on signs; think creatively about the shapes in nature and of objects – for example a rope laid on the ground may become an 's' or a 'w'.

I ended up with 6 different shots. See if you can guess which letters I saw...

Answers:

Log Pile = O
Tiny Foot = A
Lily Stamen = T
Spooky Tree = W
Hole-y Log = O
Angular Ceiling = T

Blogger has pixelated the images slightly - if you would like to see them better quality, or larger, please visit my OU Letters Set on Flickr

1.7.1 Message in a Bottle

2008-05-07T20:54:00.004+01:00

We have been given an assignment to take 3 photos of the same bottle. Each photo must concentrate on 3 different qualities - light, colour and point of view. The 3 shots should take no longer than 20 minutes.

It took me ages to realise I had lots of bottles in my make up drawer, I was struggling to think which other bottles I had besides the baby variety!

Here are my attempts:

Light

Colour

Point of View

I decided to take the 'light' shot outside, as the lovely sunny weather meant maximum potential for being well-lit. The 'colour' shot I found quite hard as I was working with a colourless liquid. I played with putting brightly coloured patterns under or behind it to get them reflecting through the glass but in the end I decided this was the most effective. The strangely shaped bottle allowed me to get an abstract 'point of view' shot.

A LIFE Lesson

2008-05-02T11:44:00.000+01:00

Something to remember when taking pictures...

Look – to find the best angle of view and the best framing
Interest – find something interesting to take (or an interesting way to take something)
Focus – make sure your camera is focused on the main subject
Exposure – make sure that the balance of light and dark in the picture works for you

1.1 Exploring Images Online

2008-04-30T14:16:00.008+01:00

Spend an hour looking at photos on Flickr. View as many images as you can, and pause on the ones that interest you in some way.

Choose five images and then think about why these images have caught your eye and also about how they might be improved.

Five images which caught my eye:

1. Look Ma, No Hands by thehalfshow.com

I really love how the photographer has managed to take a self portrait, in such an original way. The fact that he has frozen the time to capture the movement is amazing, especially with no protection for himself when he falls!

I think the shot could be improved with less of a distracting background, although this highlights the fact that this is a real shot and not photoshop enhanced, which makes it all the more appealing.

2. Reflection Kiss by Firenzesca

I think that this image is beautiful. It has so much going for it - the amazing colours of the sky, the reflections in the puddle, and the way the couple have become silhouettes cut-out against a dramatic backdrop. I also love how the sun is peeping out on the horizon. The kiss adds to the general feeling of loveliness that this photo has.

I don't think much could be done to improve this shot, apart from enhancing the colours of the sky to make it even more dramatic.

3. new*shoes by october rain

I really like the simplicity of the shot. The subject is something basic but the picture is still very effective. The contrast between the spotted floor pattern and the bold colour of the shoes is what I like best about the picture.

The picture looks like it has some kind of white-wash on it, I would be interested to see what the photo looked like without that on. The only other thing I could think of to improve it would be to re-take the shot, but straightening out the bottom of the jeans on the right foot.

4. Who Is The Ferris Of Them All? by Prestidigitizer

I like this shot because of the bright colours in amongst the blackness of the night. The colour of the Ferris wheel and lights at the fair are very striking, and the reflections in the lake are amazing; such warm colours which are helped by the black background of the sky.

There is a little corner of light popping through on the left hand side of the lake which I would be interested to see cropped out.

5. oooo lolli-lollipop by Amy-Rose

The vibrancy of colours in this shot is fantastic. Seeing the multi-coloured lollipop highlights this fact further. The photographer chose to dress the little girl in a brightly coloured outfit, which again, helps carry the vibrant colours across to the viewer. The girl is super-cute which does help!

To improve the picture, I would try to remove the little plant which is appearing in the bottom right hand corner. There are also 2 patches on the wall where the paint has come off which could be filled, although I think this adds character to the shot myself.

What images did you choose? Can you see any pattern to your choices? For example, are they all pictures of the same kind of subject or pictures that are shot in similar ways? How are the images you have chosen similar and how are they different?

I was consciously trying to find 5 very different type of shots, although looking back now, I am aware that 4 of my 5 chosen pictures contained people! I find this strange as I don't take many portraits myself, although is something I would love to improve on.

I think the colours of 4/5 of these shots are what drew me to them - I do love very rich, strong and contrasting colours.

I'm in!

2008-04-30T13:10:00.002+01:00

The course site is now up and running. I kept checking back on Monday, which was the day we were told it would go live. By the afternoon I was getting frustrated that it still wasn't up - I was so excited to see what I had in store!

Anyway, just before bed time I thought I would have another go, and lo and behold it was there! Ironicly enough, since Monday night I have been absolutely non-stop and haven't had a chance to sit down and get started. I downloaded the First Class software, which really makes the forums a lot easier to read.

The website looks pretty user-friendly and easy to read. Like I said, I haven't actually read anything properly yet, but it looks like there is a different topic each week, split into sections, optional activities to do during that week and then a choice of 3 assignments at the end of each section.

Right, I'm off to start reading while I can. I'll be back... hopefully with some snaps!

Getting Exciting!

2008-04-24T15:32:00.002+01:00

Ok, so all the relevant course material is now in my possession. (secret WOOHOO).

As of today I have been granted access to the OU website using my special user name and password they sent out, however at present, all I am allowed to see is the forum for my group. There are 1500 people doing the course so to make it easier for us all we are split into groups with colour names. I am in Green. There are a few other people I know from a photography forum I visit, also doing the course - I hope some of them are in Green too.

I have discovered a Flickr group, which, to be honest, I think I may end up using more than the OU forums, as they look mighty confusing. I will give them a go for sure, but at a first glance, they didn't look too pretty!

We have also been given access to Open Studio - this is a subsite where within your coloured group you are syphoned off into smaller groups of 10 people. This is where you add your 10 assignment photos for the week, and because there are only 10 other people's photos within that group, the idea is that there isn't an overwhelming amount to comment on, and you will comment on lots of pictures. Each week the group changes, but you can add pictures you like into a 'favourites' section, so you won't lose touch with those that you admire or get on with.

Roll on Monday, that is when all will be revealed....

The Story so Far

2008-04-24T14:01:00.003+01:00

I was given a Canon 350D by my Grandad for my 24th birthday, last September. I didn't really get a major attachment for it straight away - I was used to my little Ixus I could pop in my handbag, and this was just bulky and something I didn't know how to use properly.

At the beginning of this year, my Grandad upgraded me to his Canon 400D plus lenses, tripod... everything. He was getting ill and knew he wouldn't last much longer, he wanted me to have the same enjoyment from photography that he did throughout his life.

Knowing that he didn't have long left, and armed with lenses that allowed me to take the type of shots I was interested in, I vowed I would do him proud and immediately signed up for this course. I am so glad that before he died, he knew that I was going to take part in the course - he knew I was serious about this.

I have been experimenting on my own while waiting for this course to start, trying to learn as I go, realising that practise makes perfect and is the way to learn. I had a brief dabble with manual, but with losing my Grandad, I also lost my mojo, and it set me back somewhat in terms of having to re-learn all I had learnt.

I hope that the course will arm me with the tools I need to understand how to take good photos, and solutions for possible problems I may encounter. I am excited about learning how to use Photoshop Elements too.

The course officialy starts on May 1st... I can't wait!