Landscape Photography

 #1

 #2

 #3

 #4

 #5

 #6

 #7

 #8

 #9

 #10

 #11

 #12

 #13

#14

Living in the Northeast Kingdom, there are certainly no shortage of landscapes to photograph.  Finding a decent day with adequate sunlight however...

Getting the perfect shot is far from easy and there are only a handful above that I truly think I accomplished that. Lighting is key in landscape photography and mother nature doesn't always want to cooperate.   

The photos above with the exception of 1,2, and 5 were all taken this past Friday night.  It was a beautiful sunlit night so I suggested my family and I go for a hike at a nearby waterfall. The woods surrounding the waterfall proved to be just as aesthetic to photograph as the waterfall itself.  I think #4 turned out best due to the lighting, viewpoint in which it was taken, and the overall balance of sky, water, and greenery.  #5, the old sugar shack, is also one of my favorites because of the elements within (shack, old road, and prominent tree in the center).  I love places that seem as though time has forgotten them.  

The website cited in this week's assignment sums up sort of what I've thought all along in that "what I see is a measure of who I am, what I value, and what I know." I couldn't have said it better myself.  

Rule of Thirds

 

 

 

I took many photos of this little arrangement I made and settled on the two above.  I certainly see how the "rule of thirds" works and how it adds interest to photographs.  I chose the one on the left because it had another rock on the right side of the photograph to balance it out.  I was happy with the lighting and how the red and green contrast so well with the drab rocks and paver.  I took it pointing the camera straight down while standing over it.  I attempted quite a few different angles and ultimately decided this to be the best.   



 

 

 

                                                                          



Framing

 

 

#1

 #2

#3

#4

#5

 

Finding good framing shots was tougher than I expected.  Maybe it's not.  Maybe it's just me. 

 

#1 was from inside a dugout at my daughter's school.  I saw that one right away however I wish it had a more interesting background. 

 

#2 is looking down my driveway.  It was evening sun and I liked the angle of where the sun was. 

 

#3 consisted of me climbing into my kids' playhouse and using the window as a frame for my photo. With this one, I like the background and what's framed however I do not particularly like the frame itself. 

 

#4 is looking down the path of an ATV trail.  My husband and I enjoy taking a ride every once in a while and before I even said anything, he stopped and let me get off to take the photo.  I'm standing in an opening in the woods and the trees on both sides form a natural tunnel feel as you're entering it.  By far my favorite. 

 

#5   again consisted partly of my child's playhouse.  Instead of simply a tree in the background, I placed the bubbles in the center of the frame to draw your eye to something.  Not sure if it worked that well and in hindsight, I should've picked something different there.  





Week 5

Composition and Aesthetics

Assignment #1

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."  -Ansel Adams

I saw statements similar to this in several websites I visited while researching composition and aesthetics.  It seems to be a popular theme in the photography world and I'd have to say I agree.  Although not a quote about aesthetics per say, I found it attributed to one of my favorite photographers, Ansel Adams, and decided to use it.   

"Aesthetic" by definition pertains to the sense of beauty or the philosophical theory or principals governing beauty but really, isn't "beauty" subjective?  What I may find beautiful someone else may find it simply okay or so-so.  I love nature photography but others may like portrait or abstract better.  Does that make Adams' photographs any less aesthetically pleasing?  To some it may. 

I found the articles pertaining to composition extremely helpful and after reading about them I realized, without knowing exactly what the techniques were called, I have been performing a few of them for years.  Taking photos from different viewpoints has always been of interest to me.  I enjoy a little abstract in my photos and often get on the floor/ground or stand on a table or elevated place to take photos of my children, dog, husband, or whatever else I personally find aesthetically pleasing.  The rule of thirds is something I have also realized I've been doing for a little while now without knowing the actual term for it.  I've been placing my photographic objects of interest off center or to the side which I think immediately makes my photographs more interesting. 

Leaning how to frame my photos better as well as balance them are two aspects I'm excited to start putting into motion.  Ansel Adams, watch out!

 

 

Week 4 Assignment

Part Two

It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to photograph three times in three different lighting configurations but I decided to settle on painting hanging on my kitchen wall.  It is hanging in a place that allowed me to easily configure many different lighting situations and I thought my plant curled around it added interesting focus points as well. 

#1

In photo #1, I simply used my husband's large flashlight and had him hold it directly underneath the painting pointing upward.  I also turned off all of the other lighting in the surrounding rooms.  I played around with different positions underneath the painting such as placing it a few inches from the wall, placing it a foot or so from the wall, and I tried canting it toward the painting from underneath.  I also took a few shots with a white pillow case placed over the flashlight to act as a "diffuser."  In the end, I simply placed it directly underneath, against the wall with no diffuser material over it.  The shadows portrayed also add volume to the photograph.  Some parts of the painting are dark and some really bright which I think, coupled with the shadows, makes for an interesting photo. 

#2

In this photo, I took another tip from the reading and used some crumpled up tin foil however I did not used it the way described.  I crumpled it up and then spread it out and again tried bouncing the light of the flashlight off of it.  I took several photos that way and was not satisfied with the results.  I noticed after un-crumpling it that there were a few holes and tears in the foil.  I then had my husband place the flashlight behind the foil and shine it toward the painting from an angle approximately 3 feet away and down to the right of the painting.  I snapped a few that way and chose this one to portray.  The shadows of the plant are more crisp than in photo #1 and even though there is some direct light from the flashlight, parts of the foil blocked some light and gave it some interesting shadowing over the painting itself. 



#3

I really wanted to portray this final photo with natural sunlight as there is a window that receives morning light nearby.  The weather however had other ideas and I was stuck with an overcast morning.  Instead I used the kitchen lights available to me later in the day and since they are on a dimmer switch, I played with various settings until I decided I liked this one the best.  The light bulbs in the kitchen lights I used are simply 12 watt halogen bulbs inside a glass casing which softens them. 

I broke out and dusted of an old tripod I hadn't used in ages which really seemed to help steady my shot.  I have a feeling I'll be using it a lot more now!

 

Week 4 Assignment

Part 1

 

Complementary Colors

Red/Green



Monochrome Colors

Brown Scale

With this task, I found it hard to find an analogous color scheme in nature.  I knew I could probably manufacture a photo with various things around the house but that is not what I wanted.  So I chose to represent the other two.  I enjoyed playing with the lighting on the monochrome photo.  I must have taken 20 photos in various different lighting but decided on this one because it accurately showed the different hues of brown I wanted to express.  I used a soft light that was slightly raised to front/right of the trumpet. 

The complementary color photo was an easy one in my opinion.  I took photos of 10 sets of things I found to be complementary but settled on this one.  There is plenty of green around (finally) and it just so happens I have a set of red Adirondack chairs on my porch. I took the photo in the late evening of an overcast night.  I may replace it later with a photo lit with early morning or late evening sun but I thought this one turned out decent. 



My Photo Collage