A-B-C-D...One two three shoot!

Previously, before the strike of the typhoon 'Glenda', I have written about our discussion and trial shoots using different lighting patterns. I have also posted the photographs of my mother that I have taken. Then on Wednesday, we were tasked to do compositions photography. 

Our facilitator had shown us sample pictures that he had taken. He started with letter 'A' down to letter 'Z'. Afterwards, we head on to maximizing our time searching for subjects that look like letters. During the start of the practical session of shooting, my classmates were saying that it would be hard to find something that may look like 'Q'. Meanwhile, right after they said it my sight focused on the umbrellas they were letting to dry in front. Since I was seated there, the letter was clear to me but somehow it also wasn't (if you get what I mean) so I just continued looking around for the other letters.

Usually, I go outside of the Mass Comm Lab to find subjects and take pictures. But in this case, for no apparent and unclear reason I have chosen to wander around inside and just outside the door of the room to take pictures. The spots where I have been taking photos from were rather accident prone areas. It was because when I was shooting the curtain above the doorway I was startled with Ting, a classmate, who opened the door not too softly. My heartbeat was still fast but, on the process of telling her my reaction I also thanked her because I have found two more letters, at the door!

The second accident was when I was taking pictures of the floor on the outer side of the door. I have seen an indistinct scrapes or bumps on the ground that appears to me as a letter but then I almost got my own bumps on my forehead because our instructor opened the door. Anyway, we just laughed with the happening and to myself knowing that I really tend to be absentminded when I am absorbed doing something.

These were not actually the ones I have included in my alphabet collage.

Setting aside the photography lessons for a while, I have perceived myself to have a good spatial skill since the world begun. This should also be the reason I believe I am a paranoid. I tend to see faces looking at me on the tiles of our floor and of our comfort room. I even saw a half-body Genie on our restroom just under the soap dispenser and yes he was staring at me (past tense because we already changed the tiles). Having this belief I did not dwell too much on how will I find subjects that are abstract enough and that look like letters. Rather, I realized that perception also applies in composition photography. What you see is different from what others see. I may see this certain subject is a letter but there will not be an assurance if they see it the same way. Therefore, I must conclude that the crucial part of this kind of photography is not merely your subject but how you take it.

I am still a learner so I admit that I did have a hard time looking for letter subjects particularly ‘K’ and ‘Z’.


Note that most or half of the pictures in this collage were taken only with the use of a point and shoot digital camera because I was not able to borrow a DSLR. Also, most of my subjects were taken from our house and from our classroom (Mass Comm Lab).



Here's my alphabet collage:

Beauty from different talks of light (Lighting patterns)

On our previous meeting we recapped the light painting activity we had. Sir Rey discussed some of the positive and negative points of our trials and works we published on our blog posts, as usual. Not long after we moved on to our next practice—the different lighting patterns for portraits. There are four basic lighting patterns: split, butterfly (paramount/glamorous), loop, and Rembrandt. To be able to practice using these we were permitted to find our suited partner taking the role of the model and the other as the photographer and then vice-versa.


I’m going to start with the easiest pattern for me. Rembrandt. It was just basically the pattern of lighting a well-known painter used (from whom its name originated), it was his trademark, which was later recognized as a formal lighting pattern in photography. It pertains to the kind of lighting wherein the shadow contouring one cheekbone is prominent and forming a triangle between the nose and the cheek. It was easier for me because all I have to do was to have a dim studio, a studio light, the model, and a little re-positioning and I can take a photo using this pattern. I often did it accidentally. Even when I was trying to use another pattern but it would end up it was Rembrandt. It happens especially if I’m trying to shoot a picture using the loop pattern which has similarity with this. Yet, in loop lighting the nose and cheek’s pattern would not meet, creating only a subtle shadow or contour on the cheekbone (under the eye). It was funny though, because I know that the outcome of my attempt should only be satisfying if I achieved what I was hoping to for my subject.


Next, was the Butterfly lighting. This is one of the most crucial for me because this is where the complexity of different models with different features takes place. It was also called as glamorous and or paramount. It was named butterfly since when used there would be a shadow below the nose that forms a butterfly. It was hard because people have different facial features especially the nose which is the identifier of this pattern. However, Filipinos are characterized to being ‘pango’ or having round and a bigger nose. Thankfully, later on I succeeded to learn a technique on how to use it. What I do before was to take from above eye level it turned out to be all right. Then, when I tried shooting from below eye level I got a clearer butterfly shadow with my model, Eunice bowing a bit. The last one is split or side lighting. Split lighting pattern makes the subject look slim. It exposes the model more prominently on one side while the other is silhouette creating a dramatic or mellow mood. I was actually having this idea that people who read this will master using split lighting. Then, before we were dismissed some of the different magazine-cover-look poses that Sir Rey knows were shared to us and all us girls even demoed.


And because of this activity, we were tasked to shoot portraits of a family member using any of these lighting patterns. This is a difficult task for me due to my lack of equipment to use and and a studio where I can use studio lights and have spacious area to take pictures comfortably. With this being said, I have to adjust (for the nth but not the last time) to the resources I have: a tiny room, natural light (sunlight from the window), a couple of improvised lights, my beloved mother as the model, and the camera I borrowed from the school. I thought of strategies on how I would shoot with alternatives for a studio light indoors.


So, I came up with the plan to do the photo session at night when it was dark. I turned off all the lights in our room leaving only my small USB LED lamp connected in my computer and the also small flashlight my father lent me. It was tiring for the arm and for my model’s legs since she was standing for quite a while. Like usual, I had a hard time getting the right setting. Then, I had come up with the conclusion that maybe using natural light would be easier and more effective to our very constricted working place.



Here are the outcomes…

#LightofMyLife
Copyright MarCaDi



PS:

The shots I had taken during our actual class activity will be attached here to follow when I get the copies.

Let's paint air with light

As it was scheduled, we practiced doing light painting. But, prior to that we tackled a little more about aperture, the shutter speed that also helps you control the ambient light, and discussed the ropes on the usage of ISO (International Standards Organization) which again pertains to the sensitivity of the camera to light. So, the first activity we have on our meeting recently was to take pictures with different ISO settings.

We have encountered the usual problem in the same hour of the day: too sunny; too bright; the weather’s too hot, so again we had made a lot of exhibition first before we can spot a good subject on the right position. And you might tell me that I am obsessed with the koi pond since the picture I have had checked was featuring the mini falls again. But of course, it was of a different angle and settings. The shutter speed was good because the ambient light was controlled and focused on the main subject. But, if not with the age of the camera I used it would not be grainy when zoomed in.

Now for the light painting, our instructor had told initially the technical arrangements we have to know to be able to do a light painting. You have to set the ISO to the lowest which is 100. In our activity I have set the shutter speed at 6” (seconds) and the aperture at (f) 22. Please check my trial shots, the first two light paintings you'll see. A little epic… for these I can let you judge.

Then, luckily yesterday my classmates were attempting to take pictures to post on each of their own blogs. I simply joined them since that was actually what I was waiting to happen.

We were able to do extra work early because most of us were already done meeting for a group project on our subject that time. With so many of us with not much of an idea what to paint, we took turns in doing the task at hand. When it’s finally my turn I was experiencing a little panic because I realized that my idea would not work. So I passed the flash light to a classmate and took another turn later. There was a little situation because there are still others who are meeting. We could not turn all the lights off therefore the depth of field was a bit bright.


You are all free to admire the light don't let your eyes wander anywhere else. Remember just focus on the light!

Mass Comm Lab at the Pacencia Hidalgo Laurel Building, Ground Floor
Lyceum of the Philippines University - Laguna

Heart made of light. Copyright. MarCaDi

Credits to JB's camera :)

Be Still and Shoot as Fast as You Can

During the second meeting, we focused more on shutter speed. After the further discussion we were off to take pictures using different shutter speeds.


It has been a little frustrating because of many things. First, most of us don’t have our own cameras so we settled on teaming up with whoever has and those who have borrowed one. This being said, I actually come up with the idea of posting this on my other blog which is “Cravings” since I crave to have enough budget and be able to have my own camera for personal use. (I might just end up posting another there just to take out my emotions.) Anyway, I joined a group of three. There came the second conflict, we could not quite find a better subject at the grounds of the campus not to add the sun was infuriatingly staring at our backs. So, my basic idea was the place in between the buildings which I call “the Garden” and then the pond which was swarming with koi as the second site. Here’s the third conflict takes place. After choosing our subject we were alternately taking “poses”. It was not because we were taking pictures of ourselves but we find it rather troubling to find the right position where to shoot from. We knelt down a few times. Then looked up high and knelt down again. We stood up at the edge of the pond which is risky for us. One or all of us might get wet and swim with the kois. Then the last and the most obvious problem, is that we had a hard time finding the right shutter speed for each of our chosen subject. Honestly, the one hour limit given to us almost lacked. BUT, in the end, of course we made it. We each had our best taken picture for that activity critiqued by our instructor.


It turns out that my subject was the mini falls at the koi pond. My remarks was rather satisfying because according to Sir Rey the photograph I had taken was good enough since there are ripples of water captured clearly though I can make it even better by a faster shutter speed. It was the one below.


My best shot for now.

Mini falls at the Koi pond at Jose P. Laurel Building, LPU-Laguna.

Falls at the Pond. Copyright. MarCaDi

Credits to Jean's camera :)

Overall, we successfully passed the first trial. Next, the aperture—a harder course.

Having met the Basics

   "Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst..." 

 - Henri Cartier Besson 

It was our first meeting to a four-hour class; Visual Communication, on a Wednesday morning, we started off with one-by-one introduction of our section. We stood and tell our names where we come from and what our capabilities are (including the weaknesses).


There are few of us who has their strength fit for the course. But, for most of us not having equipment individually for us to use is not the only problem alone. Majority has no background at all in the field. Especially, with the basics, in this case so far, it’s Photography. We were introduced to the basics which also stand as the most important factors to learn: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO the factors that forms the Exposure triangle. 

The shutter speed is used to control the light by a fast or a slow motion. If you're in a bright space, set it faster and if you are taking a picture in a dark place (less light) make it slower. Meanwhile, the aperture is a hole or an opening on the lens that lets light in. It varies in different sizes, the smaller the number of the size the larger the opening. The bigger the opening of the aperture the shallower (blurred) the depth of field. Last is the ISO (International Standards Organization), the sensitivity of camera to light. A lower number means it needs less light. ISO 100 to 200 are used in a bright place, said to be best for portraits. For beginner’s use, ISO 400 is suggested (not by me) and ISO 800 and above is to be used for dark or less light.



Aside from all those technical things discussed and some other stuff (which we cannot quite keep up with smoothly still), we have learned that there’s a big opportunity in the field in terms of source of income as well. On the other hand, it was just the first day and all we have done was listen and to have met few of the basics. No application yet. And so far we haven’t started on our quota—10,000 worst shots.