Assignment 2: Exposure - Light, Colour, Texture, Patterns

Assignment:
Observe how light interacts with object creating shadow and sense of depth. How colours change their saturation through dawn to dusk. How light create patterns and how shadows make texture feel tactile.

Explore image capture techniques to create sense of space and time of real world in your prints.

This assignment is primarily for you to get familiar with image capture equipment, to understand limitations of image capture devices, and to understanding basic limitations of capturing real life in a print.


first time using my DSLR (just got this baby at comex! saw familiar faces there haha :D), i really REALLY don't know what's going on. i so happily lugged my new camera to arab st, thinking how hard can it be, since i had tons of digital cameras before. oh man i was so wrong. upon reaching there, my eyes found so many wonderful things/ppl/actions/movements/etc to capture, but i just couldn't get the appeture, the shutter speed, and especially the focus right. immediately i fell into panic mode and well, convincing myself that in all cases it really does take a 1000 shots to get one good one, i started snapping things that i believe would tell of great stories of the past if they have a voice.

i have a weak spot for old, abandoned things/ppl, moments of the past. just like the love for second-hand books - i'll read them thinking about how the previous readers would have felt when he/she is at a certain page. i like to see things in different perspective, and if only inanimate objects could talk, i'm quite sure we'll hear of great stories.

but anyway, back from digression, the pictures turned out pretty bad. i was kind of in delusion (haha), thinking they're quite nice. guess it was just the first timer thing, oh well. here's my pieces that i presented in class.

there is a lack of focus. yes yes it's way obvious. i should have read the manual! the feedback from class really helps. ALOT. thank you! :) and gerald too! definitely. for giving me a crash course on metering :) these are basics that all SLR users would know (i presume none of you are like me :/), so for now i would hold back the details till i have a lighter workload and more time!

i'm particularly attracted to chew yue's brown sugar crystals picture. the texture of the grains makes them stand out, as though i can reach in to sink my fingers in. and somehow it makes me feel like i can practically taste them (good photos bring out vivid imaginations!). yes it's exactly like Samantha said - it's food photography! rating: 8.5/10

i like paul's wall picture too. another picture of his - blue metal door with coffee sock, yellow oil tin and egg crate, is also another of my favourite. love the vibrancy and yet simplicity present in his shots.

for this assignment, i'm rating myself a 6/10. reason: for the effort, the time, and again more effort to try take pictures with a story to tell. a little ambitious maybe, for i think i should learn about focus first before venturing outdoor. nevertheless, i try not to be too hard on myself, since this is the first experience with a DSLR. hopefully it'll get better!

anyway, just fyi, after all the feedback, i was so intrigued by the focus thing i can't wait to try taking nicer photos :D went to take a whole truck load of revised photos. will post them soon! :)

Assignment 1: Photogram and Photographic Drawing

Assignment:

You’ll make your first photogram using flat bed scanner instead of photosensitive paper. The theory is similar. By placing objects directly on the scanner bed in an interesting composition you can create an image without a camera. You can make a "self portrait personal photogram" using objects that say something about you.

it was thanks to luckk that i found the objects to use for this assignment :) . i was racking my brains on which object to use to best suit me, and just when i was about to give up, brush teeth and hit the sack, i went to play around with my tube of toothpaste and toothbrush. there was zero expectation, just a one last try kinda thing, but it turned out rather nicely so i added more stuffs to spice things up :)

the idea here is to show the cleanliness freak in me. haha. i think everyone brushes teeth and bathes twice a day or so? but i do that 4 to 5 times a day! guess i'm a little weird right.. :/

so it started out with only a toothbrush and the tube of Colgate. added the comb and the cloth in as i thought that the patterns on them would work quite well in the scan. i like the way they made the photogram looks messy yet there exudes a feel of the need for cleanliness and tidiness (must be 'cos of the black and white too!). the white hurricane-like mess at the bottom is done by smearing toothpaste on a transparent file. was just experimenting, but i thought it looks quite unique. i took quite some time to assemble and reassemble the objects :/

i hope it does not seem too messy! i attempted many combinations and this was my favourite piece:) the Colgate's bright words bring attention to the centre of the piece, and following the toothbrush, the viewer is led to look at the cloth, then to follow the flow of it to the comb, finally to the hurrican-ish toothpaste. i chose black and white instead of colours so to bring out the stark contrast in lines and patterns, and to enhance the clean cuts that signify cleanliness and neatness. do feedback if you think otherwise, thanks!

anyway, just for the fun of it, i put my mini perfume bottle in the centre of the scanner face, while opening the lid of the scanner. it turned out nice! i quite like it at least :) but it was after many attempts have i then gotten the 'dividing' grey light to be in the middle of the scan, falling right on the bottle. couldn't reduce the noise in the photogram though :/

i really like xinying's piece! her idea to use bubbles and and soapy water is brilliant; i can't imagine myself being able to venture so far in the field of creativity :( the vibrant colours, the way the bubbles are similar yet unique in their own ways (i.e. circular yet of different sizes and colours - just fyi for those who don't get me haa), the way it glows and stays shaded at different areas, her piece really shouts liveliness and makes me feel so merry somehow. and yes, i agree on the 90/100 grading! in fact, she deserves more i think! the effort, the creativity, let's not forget the risk to nearly killing her scanner, yes you should be highly graded :) love the art!

about grading my work, i'm not so sure how to go about doing that; hers is about colours, life, vibrancy, while mine speaks of daily life routine. it's subjective i believe, but anyway i have to grade :( i'm giving myself a 7/10, for the many experiments i had done before this final piece. you won't be able to imagine how many objects i've tried to suffocate my scanner with. and altho simple this may look, i really do like the way the shadows play around in the scan. so yup, feel free to comment!