Mounting filters [front/lens
mounted]
- Check that the filter is the correct size for the
lens.
- Screw onto front of lens. (Ref. 144)
Combinations of filters
This
is usually possible. It works for filters of the same size if the first filter
has an outer thread as well as the inner one that joins it to the lens.
Shapes and gradients What part of the filter is covered by
the colour or effect
Solid
Graduated
filters; (aka. âHalf filtersâ)
Graduated
filters are most commonly used in landscape photography to control actinic
light from the sky.
Pink; Gives the look of dawn.
Tobacco; dusky, nice nicotine
stained sky.
(Ref. 157)
Centre Spot
Basically
the filter has a hole in the middle, so the centre of the image is not effected by the filter. Can be colour or
effect spot. âSoft focus spot filtersâ are common.
(Ref. 157)
Dual
These
come in a variety of colours. Note that the wider apertures and longer focal
lengths result in a more graduated colour transition.
(Ref. 158)
Colours and effects note that these can come in solid,
graduated, spot or dual.
Polarizing - 
Reduces glare from reflections on
non-metallic surfaces. Note that polarised light is light in which the photons
are aligned. Circular polarizers should be used unless your camera is manual
focus without a beam splitter. If your lens had a focal length of 28mm or wider
on a 35mm camera a wide circular polarizer should be used.
(Ref. 144)
 Circular polarizer
 Wide Circular polarizer
 linear polarizer
Coloured filters on b/w film - 
Filter lightens like colours and
darkens complementary colours.
 (Ref. 144)
filter       Â
#Â Â Â Â Â Use
Orange 
YA2 Adds contrast between red and            yellow. For
outdoor shots with telephoto lens.
Yellow
15Â Â Â Â Â Sky/cloud contrast
8Â Â Â Â Â Â
Red     
25Â Â Â Â An exaggeration of the
effects of                      yellow.
(Used to get a stormy day                    photo
in 40ْÂ heat, or
moonlight                    motif at midday)
Neutral density filters â 
are
those that do not change the hue, they are useful in cases of extreme light
intensity.
ND2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
ND4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
ND6Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
ND8Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Ultraviolet/skylight/sky filters
-
This is probably the most
important filter of the lot. This protects your lens as well as cutting out the
ultra violet rays that cause the blue haze over distant objects such as
mountains or hills on the horizon.
Ref. 344
Skylight;
1AÂ Â Â only minor filtration
1b    Outdoor colour.
Absorption spectrum  peaks at green.
p230
L1bc
Colour correction and balance
filters -
Some film is designed for taking
pictures in a particular quality of light. If you need to take a picture in a
different environment you must add a filter to correct the filmâs natural
balance. As the filters a removing light, extra exposure is needed depending on
the filter. Usually it is about 1 stop. Cooling and warming filters are plain,
pale filters (often CMY or orange) that slightly warm or cool the colours in
the photograph.
(Ref. 156)
   #     Use
85b. [Type B
colour film in daylight] Reduces from 5500k to 3200k.
80a  [Daylight film in 3200k lights]
80b  [daylight film in tunstan light. Changes 3400k to
5500k for photoflood lights.]
81a  slight warming
81b  slight warming
? 812Â Â Warming filter
82a  Cooling
flw   [Daylight film under fluorescent]
fld    [daylight film under warm white or white fluorescent]
X1Â Â Â Pleasing skintones
outside       Â
??        âenhancing
filterâ Enhances autumn colours.
Special Effects filters
Close up filters -Â 
these
are an extra little lens added to the main lens.
 500D
 250D
Diffraction filters -Â
Contains no colours, but splits
the spectrum through diffraction. Sometimes this is accompanied with multiple
image effects.
âStarâ filters - 
Multi
pointed, oval, etc.
A point of light becomes the
specified shape.
Multiple image focus -Â
Come most commonly in 2, 4 or 6
image variety and is most effective with a bright subject against a very dark
background.
Soft focus - Â 
Causes slight diffusion. I have a
general dislike of this filter. Spot form is quite common.
There are lots of others,
including;
Promist, Soft FX Filter, Centre spot focus, Hot mirror, etc.
Terminology;
Actinic light is light that reacts with the film.
TYPE A Colour film; balanced to artificial light at a colour
temperature of 3200 degrees kelvin.
TYPE B Colour film; balanced to
artificial light at a colour temperature of 5500 degrees kelvin.
Below
are images by Justin Marshall and Charles Mazel.
^White light^
^night-sea blue exciter
filter^
^Blue exciter + yellow
barrier filters^
Planning and Anaysis.
|
Planning
|
Analysis
|
|
Shots;
Two shots are needed.
The first is for my main piece and should include an
elf-like person.
The second is to be selected from available images from my
other tasks, since the subject matter is largely inconsequential
|
I found the elf-like person required in Perth,
waited for some sun and took a photo of the girl with her boyfriend. I am
quite happy with the result. I used 400 speed colour film because I was
partly undercover on an overcast day.
The second shot is my warm image in need of enhancement
for another assignment.
|
|
Gather examples from a magazine and write about them.
|
I was perhaps too enthusiastic in choosing images since I
ended up with rather more than six images.
|
|
Prepare and create display examples. Preferably ones that
didnât work out as well as I would have liked.
|
There arenât as many as I would like, though that may be a
good thing because it means I donât use too
excessive an amount of ink.
|
|
Construct a table of commands. I may use screen shots to
illustrate my work.
|
Was slightly more difficult than I had anticipated as some
of the function names change between programs making it hard to find the
correct path.
|
|
Main piece final. A progressive display towards a final
image.
|
Grainier than I would have liked as I used 400asa film,
but I ended up using this as a feature by emphasising it with several
functions and filters.
|
Task 1 Examples â
âMarie Claireâ magazine
1.1
I â Texture /pattern overlay
II â soft focus
III â colouration
IV â Super imposed images (?)
I, II and IV are probably done digitally. III could have
been done quite easily manually or digitally.
I â An inbuilt filter could have been used, or, the pattern
may have been created in black/white or black/transparent, inserted beneath the
text layer and had the opacity set at the artistâs discretion. This is what I did in my still life with the light and dark
billowing effect of the flag in my still life advertisement.
II â Could be achieved either manually with a soft spot
filter attached to the lens of the camera, or digitally with a blurring effects
filter or with the use of a âquick fixâ wizard.
III â Could have been done with a filter, or have been
subtly present in the negative and then enhanced digitally. This would probably
be brought out during the alteration of contrast and levels.
IV â Note that these butterflies are of varying opacity levels.
This suggests that they were systematically pasted, refocused and had their
opacity set individually, or that the butterflies were printed on the fabric
and some wee in the folds. The second is most likely, because it would be far
less tedious, but the first is the one I used on the arrows at the bottom left
hand corner of my still life advertisement.
1.2
Colouration - Reached very simply by reducing the range of
colours, then tinting or changing the hue and increasing the saturation.
1.3
Colouration â Grey tones are changed to blue tones either by
way of a gradient map or a tint. The later is more probable, though both are
simple processes. Tints can be made through the âhue/saturationâ function window, by
checking the âcolorizeâ box.
1.4 â This one is probably most relevant to my final piece.
Note that it was;
- Taken
in light that matches the direction of the âfalseâ point of light.
- A
point of light has been added digitally, and glows from within.
- There
is a faint graininess that softens the look or the image.
- The
highlights of the shin have been made to âglowâ more than is natural, as
is apparent at the tighter transitions between light and dark,
particularly around the base of the nose.
1.5 â The centre piece is blurred and enlarged. This image
shows the effect of adjustments against the original image.
1.6 â This dual toned image is possible to attain using a
graduation made of both of the blues, black and white. Below is a possible
gradient map.
   Â
1.7
and 1.8 â 1.7 is simply the reversed image of 1.8 with
the colours inverted, the hue brought back around [+or-180] and the CMYK
channels slightly offset. The later may have be achieved either by way of an
inbuilt filter or by moving the individual channels, which has the disadvantage
of the need to crop very slightly, and also is not possible in PS Elements.
1.9 â Interesting merging of the two backgrounds, the
straight edge suggests a transparency gradient was used, or the area was
selected and deleted with âfeatherâ set.
1.10 â In the background all but the cars have been severely
desaturated, nearly to the point of being monochrome.
The woman has been pasted in front of the image with slowly lessening
saturation moving down from the vibrant colours of her hair to eventually match
the tobacco colour of the road below.
1.11 and 1.12 â The pale colours
give a soft peaceful look. Note these images also have the feature point of
light of my main piece. The golden tones also aid the tranquil mood to the
image.
1.13
â A simple effect to obtain with a white and transparent overlayer
with a gladwrap filter and a drop shadow. For full layer drop shadows and other similar effects in PS
6.0 double click on the layer in the âlayersâ toolbar. In PS Elements,
this must be done in the âlayer stylesâ tool.
In
the image left, I have created an image by this method from the one below.
Adobe (!
FIND)
Main progressive(!IMAGES)
It isnât quite raw because the film scanner itself makes
minor adjustments. This is the image as imported into Adobe Photoshop.
- Cropping,
Equalising and Level adjustment.
- Diffuse
Glow effect filter and slight colour adjustment. [Overdoing it at
this stage could cause problems later.] The diffuse glow filter has three
variables; Graininess, Glow and Clear.
- Lens
flare added
- A
semi-transparent white shape has been superimposed over the lens flare.
Colour etc have been readjusted.
- Eyes
and lips have been tinted [there are many ways to do this] and the image
is cropped and resized. [A significant loss of quality results from this.]
Colour
Cast
Elements;Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Enhance/Colour/Colour Cast
PS
6.0;Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (N/A)
Click
an area that should be of a neutral colour value. Make sure that âPreviewâ is
checked. You may need to click more than once for the desired cast.
Hue & Invert
HUE: Ctrl+U
Elements;
Enhance/ Colour/ Hue/saturation   Â
PS
6.0;Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Image/ Adjust/ Hue/saturation
INVERT:
Ctrl+I
Elements;
Image/ Adjustments/ Invert
PS
6.0;Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Image/ Adjust/ Invert
Invert affects shade as well
as colour. Hue can be used to compensate as well as change colour.
Gradient
Map
Elements;Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Image/ Adjustments/ Gradient Map
PS
6.0;Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Image/ Adjust/
Gradient Map
Basically
aligns the palette with the chosen gradient and transfers between. Note that
you can also create your own gradients by double clicking on those provided.
The top line shows the opacity settings (darker is more opaque, white is
transparent) the lower line shows the colour.
Landscape Photography(!IMAGES)
Photographer Steve Hoffman has a great page full of tips and
hints, not only for taking landscape photographs but also for planning and
enhancing them. - http://www.sphoto.com/techinfo/phototech.html
Advice from an experienced photographer; [Stephen Hoffman]
âA subject that is just average at noon in mid summer may look dramatically
different in late winter at dawn or sunset. Try to visualize what different
lighting and weather conditions may do to each scene or subject you are
interested in.â
ââF16 and be there an hour
early". You don't want to be fumbling with tripods, camera bodies and
lenses while that 30-60 seconds of flaming red sunset
sky is gradually fading away.â
Hints from The Photographerâs
Handbook
·
Find key elements ⦠and position them in
dominant positions relative to their surroundings.
·
Use Recession of shapes and patterns to give
depth through a change of scale.
Lighting â Weather and Time
Landscape photography [LP] almost
invariably depends on natural or available lighting. This means that weather
conditions and time of day is a vitally important part of planning and of
shooting such photos. Generally speaking, midday
is not the best time of day for LP. At Dawn and dusk, however, shadows are long
and dark and the sky is more vibrantly coloured. This presents a far more
dramatic image then one taken at the same location at noon. The seasons and weather conditions also bring out
different colours, light density as well as the condition of the land itself.
[i.e.; foliage (new growth, flowers) water (lakes, puddles, wet ground)]
Â
Overcast days both diffuse light and
increase the saturation of the higher energy [green-violet]Â Â colours
in colour photography. Cloud cast shadows can also be very useful to help
highlight changes between hills and generally bring interest to a plain
landscape.                                                   Â
Pre-storm
lighting can create a very dramatic effect in colour photographs, particularly
if the storm interferes with atmospheric natural light and brings gold high
lights. At night, or a dark day, a lightening storm can make an incredibly
dramatic image is the shutter is open over a large period of time and captures
multiple strikes and their varied angles, intensities and locations.                                     Â
Best colours 2-3 hrs. before sunset and after dawn.                                                                                         Â
Composition;
Despite the popular belief that the only really
important part of LP composition that is important is the placement of
objects of interest, I believe it to be the horizons, shapes and flow of the
image that is key to a good photograph. (The former is
important, but I wonât go into that much further than to point out the âhints
from TPHâ near the top of the page.)
My main rule is to always remember rules of thirds and to deviate from this
only with the rule in mind. The rule of thirds is more complex the commonly
recognised pair of vertical lines, or the four evenly spaced dots. These should
be markers for lines and the horizontal lines (less common part of RoT) can be used as a basis for the positioning of
horizons.
     Eg. Looking
down at a beach â Eg. Sky line, hills or tree line.
â Curved lines
Landscape photography is much like
fishing. You do your research to find a lake or stream where you think you'll
find some fish. Then you check out that particular lake or stream for the best
spots. Finally, you drop your line in. Some days you get skunked. Fish just
aren't at your spot that day. However, tomorrow the biggest hungriest fish in
the lake may cruise by that spot. You've got to be patient and keep trying. Day
to day and minute by minute changes in the weather and cloud formations make
getting great landscape, sunsets and scenic shots 50% luck and 50% planning and
skill.
-quote Steve Hoffman
Prints by Steve Hoffman;
Landscape problem solving / preparation for presentation
Preparation for presentation of Wildflowers
Problem:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Right
side too pale, left too dark. Resolution is too high to manually dodge, burn or feather a selection sufficiently.
Solution:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Create
duplicate layer, equalise to right side, use gradient to remove the right hand
side, balance the layers with opacity settings.
Preparation for presentation of Valley
Problem:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Sky
washed out
Solution 1:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Crop
out sky
Solution 2:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Manually
colour sky. (Magic wand and gradient)
Note:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â I
used solution 2, but am not particularly pleased with the result.
Preparation for presentation of Green against Magenta
Problem:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Equalisation
has too strong an effect.
Solution:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â For
a more subtle effect I created a duplicate layer (called âEqualiseâ) and
equalised this. I then set the opacity of this level to 11%.
Note:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The
hue/saturation adjustment layer is unrelated.
Ã
Over equalized
image
Layers toolbar Ã
Preparation for presentation of Flowers and Ticks
Problem:
         Dust marks from scanning
Solution:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Use clone tool to remove major marks.
Note that using âDust and
Note:Â Â Â Note that using the âDust and Scratchesâ
filter (Under âNoiseâ in the filters menu) can cause a loss of quality and
sharpness.
Broad
Lighting;
Main
light illuminates side of face turned toward camera.
Widens
Face.
Narrow
Lighting;
Main
light illuminates side of face turned away from the camera.
Narrows face. Emphasises contours.
Butterfly
Lighting;
Main
Light directly in front of subject so that shadow is in line with the bottom of
the nose.
Feminine
glamour.
Rembrandt
Lighting;
Main
light above side of face that is away from camera.
Near
cheek in half shadow causing 'illuminated triangle.'
Lighting
Ratios;
The
strength on the Main light: strength of Fill light. [M: F]
Other
light sources are ignored.
M/2
= S (S is stops difference)
Ratio   S         Description
1:1Â Â Â Â Â Â 0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â flat
lighting
2:1Â Â Â Â Â Â 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â for
basic colour
3:1Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.5Â Â Â Â Â Â for
basic monochrome
4:1Â Â Â Â Â Â 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â low
key/ dramatic
8:1Â Â Â Â Â Â 4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â low
key/ very dramatic
Equipment;
Reflectors;
Metal 'bowels' that attach to a light and redirects light forward.
Soft
box; a 'box' that attaches to a light for diffusion. The further the diffusion
surface from the light the greater the diffusion.
Umbrella;
A silver umbrella often used as a reflector for an electronic flash and in portraiture.
Provides uniform diffused light and is reflected in shiny objects.
Diffusers;
These even out the spread of light and can soften shadows.
Scrims;
these are essentially a diffusion panel on a stick. Some studios have fancy
frames. Similar to a soft box but without walls and adjustable. There can be
more than one light behind a scrim.
Cones
and snoots; these are attached to the reflector and they narrow the light beam
to produce a spot of light. There are several different varieties available.
Barndoors;
Controls the size of the lit area. These are made up of a frame with two or
four independently moving hinged flaps attached to a reflector.
Reflector
Cards; this is just a fancy name for a mobile shiny surface. They bounce light
back at the subject to illuminate details or fill dark shadows.
'Gobos';
I only just heard of these. They are just a piece of black card and may or may
not be the same as a 'black bounce.'
Cookies;
Something else I don't know much about. Apparently it's a card that puts
patterns or shapes into the background. I don't know how exactly.
Gels;
Coloured gelatine filters for making coloured light.
Some
points of interest;
* Main light should be at 45' from
camera-subject line, slightly above subject.
* Catchlights
should reflect in eyes at either 1 or 11 o'clock.
*
fill lights control contrast. More power = less contrast.
* Umbrellas
soften light and help retain details.
*
Gold reflectors add a warm glow whilst silver reflectors provide a neutral
fill.
Image retouching with Adobe Photoshop
These are examples of the
(more extreme) editing that I put some of
the images from the Christina photo-shoot through.
Before and after
retouching the skin ~ âPortrait of Christina #05â
It does make quite a
difference, I use a mixture of the radial blur, softening, eraser, smudge tool
and clone tool on a duplicate layer to remove flaws in the skin, which
unfortunately, since I like to have a perfect focus on the eyelashes tend to
show up a little. After using the radial blur it is important to bring back the
details on the lips, eyelashes and the general highlights around the nose, and
this is why a duplicate layer of the original image is used. Note that for a
less obvious (more natural) appearance, the opacity of this layer can be set to
a lower percentage. Also note that the duplicate layer does not have to look
nice in itself*, and that here I did manually erase the surrounds, which isnât
something I would usually recommend. In this situation, however, as you are
working with the original background visible, and just removing the parts that
shouldnât be blurred (so you all ready have the tool selected, and if its in
low key lighting the normal methods may be difficult because of the shadows,)
it is an acceptable option. This image had been edited before this process.
* Actually itâs rather embarrassing
to have that viewableâ¦
(Background)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Duplicate
layer)
(completed
image)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Layers
menu)
The
definition of a still life subject is an
image of an inanimate object.
These should follow a common
theme, for example a still life of a musical instrument, sheet music, music
stand, etc., all the items are related to the subject of music. Thus music is a
common theme.
Still life photography can be either studio based or in itâs
natural environment. Usually a plain
background or a shallow depth of
field is used so as the foreground is not interfered with.
Studio lighting
for still life photography;
The often small objects used for still life generally donât
require as much equipment or power as other studio works. Flash guns can be used to fill in deep shadows cast by a constant
light. Delocalised flash units are versatile tools as they can be moved to a
position independent of the camera to give the desired intensity and angle of
light. Reflectors can be used to
diffuse, redirect or focus light. Some reflectors are attached directly to a
light in the studio. These are usually contraptions of heat resistant,
reflective fabric over wire frames, or short, slightly conical metal tubes; the
former diffuse and the latter focus light. The strength and direction of the
light decide the density, sharpness and direction of the shadows cast.
Composition for
still life photography;
Still life images contain very little irrelevant data. To achieve this, the background is
usually plain or out of focus and the subject
fills most of the frame, dominating the scene. The shadows cast by the objects are often key factors of creating a aesthetically pleasing still life photograph. As in the
photograph above by Bob Elsdale, the shadows can add
interest to the plain background without detracting from the subject. Here they
also are falling in a way that creates better contrast in certain parts of the
image.
Photographerâs
specialising in this field;
1 and 2 - Catherine Thompson -
http://nosuch.com/photo/still.html
3 â Catherine Chalmers â RARE museum, New York.
1
 2 
  3 
Uses of still
life photography;
Outside of casual and competitive photography, still life
imagery is often used commercially
in advertisements, instruction
manuals and commonly used items such as cook books and craft magazines.
Left is an example of still life used in advertising. The product is a Kodak printer. âGoogle Adsâ banner.
The text within adverts is usually large, bold and
colourful. Colour and flow are very important to advertising as they help
direct the viewersâ attention and hold their interest.
Still-life planning
The aim here is to create a suitable still-life image and
incorporate it into an advertising spread such as may be found in a magazine.
Investigation of
still life advertisements;
Written; paragraphs
Contain information about the product, warranty, etc. This
is usually plain, small text on a plain background. The text is almost always
black or white, often columned and usually located in the bottom third of the
page. See examples 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3.
Written; captions
Phrases are bold and obvious. They are often staggered and
contain a variety of font sizes. See âisâ
in example 3.9, as well as examples 3.5 and 3.10.
Illustrative captions are usually coloured brightly and
angled/positioned to give the desired impression. (Eg Brrom
= Brrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooommmâ¦)
Product picture and
brand
If the advertisement is over a still life image that in not of the product itself, there is often
an image of the product and/or the brand /company logo in the bottom right hand
corner spread. The product image is invariably removed from its background,
with the brand below. See example 3.4,
3.5, 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8.
Small print and web
address
This is located lowest of all and can be at any alignment. See example 3.1, 3.4 and 3.8.
Planning; Â
Thought process;
My first thought for an interesting still life was to avoid comestibles at all
costs. This was immediately joined by the idea of âpocket messâ. This could
include watches, safety-pins, bits of
thread, coins and so forth. The
problem with this was that âpocket messâ was rather difficult to link to a
product. Here is where mind association comes in handy â what are you doing if
you are thinking about pocket mess when there are other things to do? â
Procrastinating; wasting time. This makes you late and when you are late you
drive. At this point the solution was fairly clear in my head.
Picture associations; Driving fast = Red cars go faster.
Late/time= Grey clocks.
Lighting; I thought that soft shadows on a white background
would be best, not only in a general aesthetic sense but also because it
doesnât interfere with the objects or detract from the attention given to the
advert itself. Most adverts have soft lighting. (see 3.5)
Studio; Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
*Diffused mounted flash 1.6m above board with scene subject.
*Camera on tripod approx. 1m above subject and outside of
flash path.
*Flash accuracy by x cable and flash meter. Take shot on
indicated aperture and those adjacent to it.
Negatives go through the Epson
FilmScan 200 and enhanced with Adobe Photoshop 6.0 and then captions
and car are added digitally.
Studio; The studio was easy to arrange since we have
one at school. However, should this have fallen through I had two other options
lined up. The first was a photographic store that was closing down, but still
had a rough but sufficient studio that was cluttered but fully equipped with
working lighting and backdrops. I could use this place because I had just
brought up about a third of the places equipment. The second are more likely
but less appealing option was to create a makeshift studio out of my own room,
which I have done in the past and never want to do again. This involves the use
of my own ancient flash â with dials rather than sensors â the tedious lining
of umbrellas with aluminium foil and the diffusion of powerful DeWalt industrial torches â unpleasant yellow colour - with
baking paper. Fortunately it didnât come to that.
Lighting; I had some trouble with this since the
first time I tried to do this assignment shoot none of the schools lighting
equipment was working properly. This was eventually sorted out â I think the
new, working lights were borrowed by somebody â and I would not have had
problems except that this first attempt was rather impromptu - the planning of
something that isnât planned usually isnât very extensive.
Props; My own mobile phone, nappy pin, schoolâs timer
and a borrowed watch that I liked better than the one I had brought in were
quite good for the task, and easily accessible.
Time; Photography takes up most of mine anyway, so
this wasnât much of a problem.
Camera, etc; My Nikon F4 was still in the shop being
fixed at this point so I used a school one. The great thing about school is that
they usually have the basic equipment and some novel extras.
Labelled as Task 4
Roll2 16-02-05 my negatives are on Ilford PLUSS FP4 125 ASA. They are of acceptable quality and all
frames came out as intended. Focus is good, particularly for an old camera. I
have a variety of slightly different compositions to choose from and no
re-shoot is required.
Studio setup;
Soft light forward right (near) elevated
by about 0.6m above subject. Objects placed on white laminated
chipboard. The âsoft lightâ was a diffused flash. This simple setup works well
for the effect I was after.
Photoshop â Layers When
set to different transparencies and combined make final.
                       Camera Obscura
A
dark room with a drawing surface on one side opposite a small pin-hole appeture. Artists used this meathod to accurtly draw landscapes and even portraits as far back as
the sixteenth century. Leonado Di
Vinci used this process in 1519, though there are rumours that artists were
doing so secretly even earlier.
Mid
1700's      the tale of "Giphantie"   (de
la Roche)
A
story was told; a canvas coated with a mysterious stilcky
substance was able to somehow capture images from nature, but only in reverse.
It was also said that the image would not reveal its mysterious image until
after it had been dried in the dark. The man died several decades before the
birth of photography.
1827               First Photograph          (Niépce)
His
process used a material that hardened when exposed to light, although it
required an exposure time of eight hours.
1835               First negative               (Lacock
Abbey)
This
1" square negative was very poor quality, but it was also
1839Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 'Photography'
Photography
gains a name and becomes known to the public, but it was also the basis for the
idea of the Calotype and replicated photographs.
1839               Daguerreotype             (Paul Delaroche)
A
process that allowed a single print to be created on a sheet of Iodine treated
metallic silver that was then exposed to mercury vapour. If two prints were
required then two cameras had to be set up side by side as the images can not
be reproduced. This process was one of the first to create a permanent image
that would not fade when exposed to light. Paul was originally working in a
partnership with Niépce who unfortunately died. The
Daguerreotype process reduced the exposure time to only half an hour, and found
a way to make the images permanent. Still even with this radically reduced
exposure time the process was only really fit for landscapes or still life
images. Portraits were very rare and usually only contained one subject
rendered in rather poor quality. When the process was advertised to the public
as a process requiring 'no knowledge of drawing' and that 'anybody could
succeed' at making a reflected image permanent, 'daguerreomania'
became a craze overnight, especially amongst the rich. It was however also
considered blasphemous by some. This odd reaction may not seem to make much
sense, but the same ideas seem to have been arrived at in other cultures as
well. The other people who were not particularly happy about the development
were professional painters, who were losing potential employment to this new
process. The process was also used by the military to record landscape images
used for their planning.
1840               Calotype                     (William Talbot)
This
paper-negative process was based on Abbey's original negative. Over the five
years since the idea's birth the process had been greatly improves, though the
resulting prints were still not as impressive as those from the Daguerreotype
as the negatives (treated with silver nitrate and potassium iodide) were
printed on writing paper, so the positives contained not only the desired image
but also any flaws in the paper. The resulting images also had a tendency to
fade over time and the process was only really used for about a decade.
1848               Albumen                                  (Louis Blanquart-Evrard)
Used
into the early 1880's, this process used salted eggwhite emulsion on paper
surfaces. They tended to fade yellow over time, though some were treated with
gold nitrate to prevent this. Gold treated prints were an almost purple-brown
in colour.
1851
              Collodion Wet plate     (Fredrick Scott Archer and Peter Fry)
Transparent
negatives on glass treated with collodion, silver nitrate and potassium iodine.
The plates were exposed while they were still wet. The glass plates were often
painted with lacquer to protect them. Previous experimentation with glass
negatives had failed to make the silver nitrate stick. Used for about thirty
years until the development of the Gelatine dry plate method. Exposure time
with this process was reduced to only two or three seconds. With this
development it became possible and practical to use photography for
portraiture, so it is from about this time that the very group portraits seen
in some museums or replicated in magazines started to appear. Despite the
improvements the exposure times were still far too slow to actually take
photographs in which people are moving, so for the time being photographers
were restricted to landscapes, still-lifes and
portraits.
1854               Ambrotype                  (James Ambrose Cutting)
A
Wet Collodion Plate was backed with black lacquer was essentially a cheaper
version of the Daguerreotype.
1870               Autotype                    Â
Popular
until about 1910 this non-silver permanent photographic process used a sheet of
paper coated with black carbon, gelatine and potassium dichromate. The sheet
was exposed through a negative and hardened proportionally to the amount of
light that fell on it. The prints were black or rich brown and dense enough
that some prints even had slight relief on the darker areas.
1872Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Platinum plate
This
incredibly expensive process was commercially available until 1937.
Photosensitive paper was created by treatment with iron salt and a platinum
compound. The prints were developed in potassium oxalate. The prints are
particularly long lasting and had a soft grey appearance. This process is still
used occasionally by a very small number of modern photographers.
1880Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gelatine Dry plate
Replaced
the Collodion method largely because it could be dried and then stored for
several months before exposure. This saved a lot of trouble since unlike wet plates, which
are messy and must be prepared on site, the gelatine plates were relatively
easy to use and allowed certain flexibility for the photographer. These stayed
in use until the early 1920's. Dry plates were made commercially, not prepared
by the photographer. Since the 1860's photographic establishments had been wide
spread, so the market was truly ripe for such commercial distribution.
1920Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Ozobrome
or Carbro transfer print
Similar
to the Autotype, this process created a colour image from a negative made by
photographing through a red, a blue and a green filter, then stacking these
into a single negative. Each image could be reproduced about five times. The
later Dry-transfer prints were in CMYK.
Man
Ray, a Surrealist photographer, was one of those who brought photography out as
a true art form of its own. He invented the Rayograph,
which is artistic use of the Pictogram. This process involves placing objects
on a photosensitive surface and exposing it to light.
Medical
Sciences
1901Â Â Â |X-Ray (Conrad
Roentgen)
Recent |computerized colour X-ray photography
Conrad
Roentgen won the Nobel Prize for his research into X-rays, a type of beam of
light radiation that is able to pass through opaque objects. His discoveries
are highly important in medical diagnosis and microbiology. The development of
computerized colour X-ray photography is used, amongst other things, for the
identification of arthritis and tumour growth.
Physical
Sciences
1940   |Millisecond flash photography (Dr. Harold Edgerton)
The
development of millisecond flash photography allowed scientists to study the
effects of object movement minutely. The technique could be used to record
experiments, such as those conducted in wind-tunnels, where the movement of the
subject must be studied throughout the test.
Astronomy
and space exploration.
1877Â Â Â |photographic mapping of fixed star
firmament.
(More |Skylab
Recent)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |Shuttles and other machines fitted
with cameras exploring space.
The
fitting of cameras to telescopes and development and refinement of optical
technology sped up the mapping and gain of understanding of the night sky.
Hubble, the ultimate camera, produces amazing photographs of our solar system
and even from beyond. Other machines explore space, taking photographs and
readings of planets close up or from angles no amount of magnification can give
us here and send them back to Earth.
Photography's
effects on Politics are mostly war related. Wartime photography fall into three
main groups; Firstly there are those intended for personal use between soldiers
and loved ones, secondly those intended to influence public opinion and lastly
those used for military purposes.
In
the First World War, strategic, topographical maps were created from
photographs taken by planes flying over enemy territory. These were of key
importance in determining troop movements and victory in quite a few battles
has been attributed to the information gained from these maps. Many of the
soldiers themselves exchanged non-reproducible photographs with for loved ones
that were printed on tin sheets. These were called Tinotypes.
John
Heartfeild's montages of Hitler that were spread
around Europe made profound political
statements. These abstracted images gave clear negative portrayal of Hitlerâs
character and intents on a purely visual level. Simpler unmanipulated
images taken directly from battle zones are also powerful forces for
manipulating public opinion. These images can encourage either war or piece,
and has, in the past done both of these. For example Matthew Brady's
Photographic Corps and their gruesome images from Civil War battle zones
inflamed civilian fervour against the 'Other Side,' while the publication of
images from the My Lai massacre are widely thought to have prompted the
American public to put pressure on their government to end any involvement with
the conflict.
My intent here is to take a warm and a cool photograph that
could be used for either an example of warm/cool colouring or abstract. Then,
because 6a only requires one of these prints, I can use whichever one I
feel most suitable for 6b as my abstract image.
Examples and Trends â 6a
Often the relevant associated seasons or elements are
evident in images of specifically warm or cool colouration.
NOTE
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