March, 2015:
This semester I’m undertaking Digital Photography, each week we are given a keyword to inspire the photo we take.
These photos are being taken on a Nikon DLSR Camera and will be edited using a combination of Camera Raw, Adobe Bridge and Adobe Photoshop.
– Emily Jean
STREET – ‘THE STREETS WE WALK’
I chose this shot because it is a street I walk down most days and I like the fact that its got the Fremantle Herald Newspaper building in it which is a very iconic part of the Fremantle community.
The road leads the eye towards the back of the shot and shows depth of field quite nicely giving the photo a 3D effect which is accentuated further by the tall buildings on either side.
The light post is a fantastic ‘street’ feature and by increasing the contrast I was able to highlight the architecture of the Fremantle Herald building as well as the older building on the opposite side.
- Aperture: f/10
- ISO: 100
- Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec
- Shot in RAW
DECAY – ‘THE BEAUTY IN AGING’
To me there is a unique beauty in the process of decay and aging, with it comes a peeling of layers and new perspective.
I took something that is universally viewed as beautiful – flowers and in particular roses and showed it in its decaying form. I attempted to take what could be perceived as a dying vase of flowers that needed to be thrown out and tried to capture the beauty which still existed.
The rose was the centrepiece of the shot, showing the changing hues of the petals from deep red through to softer pinks and yellows.
I brought up the contrast to get the brilliant blue in the background which perfectly accompanies what is occurring in the foreground.
- Aperture: f/3.5
- ISO: 100
- Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
- Shot in RAW
MOTION – ‘FLYING DOG’
When given the keyword ‘Motion’ I immediately thought of my dog and how fast and active she is.
I chose this particular shot because of how high she is and because you can see the droplets of water coming off of her which was a nice effect.
With motion you can either choose to blur it or try to freeze it. I wanted to try and freeze it which is why I chose to use my iPhone this week because it can take photos so quickly allowing me to get the shots I needed to come up with this weeks photo.
I choose to do this in the late afternoon so that the shot would have strong natural lighting to enhance the colours in the sky, grass and the gold in Ruby (the dog).
Taken on an iPhone 6
WATER – ‘THE VIEW FROM BELOW’
This photo was taken on Rottnest Island on a fairly cloudy day so it was a matter of waiting for a window where the sun would come out (which lasted about half an hour).
I loved the structure and patterns of the jetty and the light streaming through it which created shadows and shafts of light, which was the feature of the shot. I also wanted to capture the movement and patterns of the water as the tide came in and went back out again.
By having the jetty as the focal point, I was able to show the length of it, creating depth of field, as it extended out to sea and also the aging of it, focusing on the rusted bolts holding it together and the details in the wood itself.
- ISO: 100
- Shutter Speed: 1/200
- Aperture: f/7.1
- Shot in RAW
SHADOWS – ‘THE SHADOWS MIRRORED’
This shot is the remnants of a relaxing bath… I loved the way the shadows created by the vertical blinds were reflected into the water below, by the light streaming in through the window.
Because the window was frosted I was working with diffused lighting which is much softer, so editing was critical this week in order to end up with the shot I had envisioned with bold shadows and clean sharp lines.
I took several shots at different times of day for different lighting and settled on this one because it showed the shadows and reflections most vividly.
I decided to go monochrome for this shot because it was more effective in highlighting the original shadows and the reflections of the shadows.
I also increased contrast and clarity in order to further bring out the shadows and reflections.
- ISO: 400
- Shutter Speed: 1/100
- Aperture: f/5.0
- Shot in RAW
LANDSCAPE – ‘A PEACEFUL BAY’
Taken on Rottnest Island on a cloudy afternoon. I chose to take the shot from the top end of the jetty, from this position the symmetry of the jetty going out to sea showed great depth of field and a sense of space within the shot.
It leads the eyes outward, so the viewer is left with the sense that they could walk into the photo and find themselves there looking out to see. .
Because the sun was high in the sky I was able to focus on and bring out the varying colours and shades in the water.
I think that the sky is the real hero in this shot, I focused on bringing out the detail and definition in the clouds as well as enhance the blues in the water to match what they were like on the day.
- ISO: 100
- Shutter Speed: 1/320
- Aperture: f/9
- Shot in RAW
SMALL – ‘THE SWEETNESS IN THE TINY’
This was taken in my garden on a bright sunny day which helped to light and accentuate the bright colours of the leaves and the whites and pinks in those beautiful tiny flowers.
I loved how small these flowers were and the way they pop against the bright green of the leaves behind it.
The flowers and buds as well as the intricate spider webs was the focus for this shot.
I used differing contrasts and localised brushes to bring up the clarity, highlights and sharpness in order to accentuate and enhance the lines created by the spiderweb and the symmetry of the two flowers.
- Aperture: f/8
- ISO: 110
- Shutter Speed: 1/250
- Shot in RAW
LIGHT – ‘DAWNS RAYS’
This shot was taken at a lookout on Rottnest Island at sunrise.
The focus for this piece was the sunrays peaking out from behind the clouds as the sun rose illuminating the sky, clouds and water below.
I focused on bringing up the contrast levels in the water to enhance the details of the rippling water and the light reflected on the water.
I also adjusted the clarity, brightness and exposure in order to bring more light into the scene strengthening the details in the clouds as the the light filtered through them.
- Aperture: f/4.5
- ISO: 100
- Shutter Speed: 1/5000
- Shot in RAW
An assessment piece for Digital Photography focusing on the importance and impact of lighting in photography, demonstrating an understanding of single source, two point and three point lighting and competency in using direct, reflected and diffused lighting in both interior and exterior locations.
MACHINE – ‘THE BAY’S BUS’
This shot was taken in Coral Bay, on the side of the road where there were two broken down old buses, this was the more interesting of the two due to the artwork covering it and the saying on the windscreen, so I focused on this one.
I loved the artwork that covered this old bus and the quirky details such as the grill at the front and the way the lights seem to be popping out almost like eyes, the old style windows, the patterns in the tyres and the faded sign. All of these elements combined to create a really interesting shot.
Colour was paramount to this shot in order to accentuate the intricacy in the artwork and the main aspects of the bus as well as the brightness of the sky and grass in the background.
In order to punch out those bold bright colours I manipulated contrast, shadows, clarity and sharpness and used adjustment brushes to further bring out the minor details and making them stronger.
- Aperture: f/8
- Shutter Speed: 1/250
- ISO: 100
- Shot in RAW
ABSTRACT – ‘THE VIEW FROM ABOVE’
Taken on a cloudy yet sunny afternoon in Coral Bay.
The bright blue of the sky coupled with the multiple patterns created by the clouds and the bright sunlight which is evident in the right hand corner, all work to create this abstract shot.
I focused on vibrancy and clarity in order to bring out the bright blue of the sky as well as enhancing the shadows and highlights which were created by having the sun directly behind these clouds and shining through.
I have always been fascinated by clouds and the patterns that they make as they slowly move across the sky and so I really enjoyed capturing these ones and highlighting their beauty.
- Aperture: f/11
- Shutter Speed: 1/500
- ISO: 100
- Shot in JPEG
CREATURE – ‘CREATURE OF THE SEA’
A true Creature of the Sea!
This shot was taken at Warroora Station just outside of Coral Bay. With the octopus being the focal point for the shot.
I liked the way the octopus stood out against the red rocks and how the rocks helps to show how big the octopus is.
This shot needed little editing however I did adjust the contrast and vibrancy slightly to make the octopus and the green and yellow on him pop out more.
- Aperture: f/4.8
- Shutter Speed: 1/250
- ISO: 200
- Shot in JPEG
HDR – ‘A STORM ON THE WAY’
This was taken on a rainy afternoon out on a farm in Donnybrook in the South West, I loved how green everything was with the contrast of the bright red of the dirt road and the way the light is reflected into the small creek.
This is a HDR photo which stands for High Dynamic Range and involved taking three bracketed exposures on self timer with two seconds in between each, in Aperture priority mode.
It was harder than I thought it’d be to bring the shots together and when it came to editing the clouds it was quite tricky as they had moved between the first and third shot even though they were taken very quickly.
My main focus was creating depth and moodiness in the clouds as well as accentuating the bold greens, yellows and reds within the shot.
Shot in JPEG.
PANOROMA – ‘THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS’
This is probably the photo I’m most proud of taking during Digital Photography.
It was taken in Coral Bay on the other side of Oyster Bridge during the ‘golden hour of light’ just before sunset.
It is comprised of five portrait shots which were merged together in Adobe Photoshop and edited in Camera Raw and Photoshop.
I think the contrast and texture between the blue silkiness of the sea juxtaposed with the yellow of the sand is the hero of this shot and is what makes you want to keep looking at it.
I accentuated the textures, details and patterns both in the water and the sand, by adjusting clarity, sharpness, highlights and vibrancy to get the right balance in the shot as well as utilising adjustment brushes to bring out the finer details in the sand dunes, tracks in the sand and ripples in the water.
Shot in JPEG.
©SHARP2015
EMILY JEAN 