Bracketing

This class was about photographing one subject by finding the zero light meter, and then over and under exposing by a number of stops.  Depending on the direction and intensity of your light source, you might under or over expose on purpose.  I chose a 5-step bracket (as opposed to a 3-step bracket). 

0)   1/160 @ f/11, ISO 200, 44mm

 

+1 stop)   1/160 @ f/8, ISO 200, 44mm

 

+2 stops)   1/160 @ f/5.6, ISO 200, 44mm

 

-1 stop)   1/320 @ f/11, ISO 200, 44mm

 

-2 stops)   1/640 @ f/11, ISO 200, 44mm

Portraits

This assignment had a lot of rules, and it was harder than I thought!  After about a zillion shots, these are the four portraits I chose to show in class.

1/320 @ f/8, ISO 400, 50mm
This is under exposed by about 1 stop. At zero, the white hat was too blown out. Unfortunately, this caused her face to be too dark. Now I see why it's hard to photograph someone in white. Maybe I should've thought of that when I wore white for our family pics yesterday.

1/640 @ f/8, ISO 400, 24mm
This is zero exposure.  This was everyones favorite (of mine) in class.

1/1000 @ f/5, ISO 400, 18mm
This is zero exposure or possible under exposed by 1 stop to accommodate for the bright sunshine.

1/125 @ f/5, ISO 400, 46mm
This is over exposed by 1 stop. I wanted to emphasize his white markings.  This one was everyones second favorite (of mine) in class.

Shutter Speed and Aperture to Control Motion and Depth of Field

This class was all about utilizing shutter speed and aperture to control the artistic element of a photo.  In addition to controlling light, shutter speed controls motion (or blur) and aperture controls the depth of field (shallow or deep). 

The assignment was to choose motion or depth of field.  Photograph the same subject.  Change the shutter speed and aperture in stops to create equivalents of the base exposure. 

I chose motion, so I photographed a flag in the wind, using shutter speed as my priority.  In the flag, you are looking for evidence (or lack of) motion.  I started with a fast shutter speed, which will freeze motion.  As you lower your shutter speed, the motion (blur) becomes more evident.

1/1600 @ f/4, ISO 200, 28mm



1/1250 @ f/4.5, ISO 200, 28mm

1/400 @ f/8, ISO 200, 28mm

1/125 @ f/14, ISO 200, 28mm

1/40 @ f/25, ISO 200, 28mm

Shutter Speed and Aperture to Control Light

Photography class #2.  Moving into manual mode...

We practiced adjusting the shutter speed and aperture to create an image with the "perfect" light - which is an exposure level of 0 (zero).  The assignment was to photograph images, making sure the light meter read at zero.  These aren't "technically" correct; just practicing with shutter speed and aperture to create a zero exposure.



1/30 @ f/32, ISO 200, 55mm

1/30 @ f/22, ISO 200, 39mm

1/30 @ f/22, ISO 200, 23mm

1/50 @ f/22, ISO 200, 18mm

Move Around the Subject

Assignment: Photograph one subject from different angles.  Move around!  Get close, move back, lay down.  Rules: Keep the camera in the auto setting but NO flash, no automatic zoom, no stabilizer.

 

These are my photos of an old tricycle at my mom's house.  They were taken around 11:30am on Sunday, 3/30/13. It was sunny and windy. 

 

1/160, f/8, ISO 100, 55 mm

The "big picture" (my own words) so you can see my primary subject (the old tricycle) and the surroundings.  I like the shadow.

 

 

1/200, f/9, ISO 100, 27mm

Focus is on the seat.  I like the line from the handlebars.

 

 

1/160, f/8, ISO 100, 45mm

Focus is on the seat.  The teacher wasn't fond of the giant, unfocused branch in the foreground.  She did like the lines of the handlebar and the bars behind the seat.

 

 

1/200, f/8, ISO 100, 55mm

Focus is on the seat.  Good shadows and texture. 

 

Overall, they were decent pictures with good use of the manual focus.  My teacher liked the use of light and shadows, texture, and some of the lines of the bike and handlebars.  She wasn't sold on the clutter of branches around the tricycle, but said it told the story of the old bike in the brush.

Lethargy

I'm very tired.  That is all.

Good night!

New kicks and big girl clothes

Chloe, the head of the family, sported her first new pair of shoes today.  It's only appropriate that they have a little cat on them...since her third word was "kitty kitty."  Oh, and she absolutely loves our cat, Zella.  We think these Robeez are pretty darn cute. 

 

 These shoes were one of the first steps (no pun intended) in Chloe becoming a big girl.  Yesterday we switched out some of her baby clothes and replaced them with 12 month stuff.  My eyes may have welled up a couple of times, sorting through those tiny little onesies.  I even found one of her newborn diapers!  I'm so grateful, happy and blessed that our daughter is growing - because that means she's healthy and thriving.  But it definitely pulls on my heart strings to know how fast it's going.  I just LOVE that little girl....and no matter how old she is, she'll ALWAYS be my baby.