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More Images from Photo Shoot 1 April 16, 2009

Posted by Leonard Low in Assignment, Contains Images, Indoor, Portraiture, Strobist, Studio, Studio Lights.
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I did shots of each model without light bulbs (in their hands) to test light, get my models more relaxed before doing the “real” shots, and so I could give them each a nice photo of themselves as a “thank you” later. :)

You can click the photos to go to my Flickr gallery where there are additional comments on each photo.

“Light bulb” shots:

Earth Hour 2009 April 1, 2009

Posted by Leonard Low in Available Light, Contains Images, Landscape, Night, Outdoor, Portraiture, Practice, Speedlite.
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I only thought of heading to the top of Mount Ainslie for Earth Hour when there was about 25 minutes left.  By the time I got there, it was right on the stroke of 9:30, so sadly, I missed getting any really good photos of Canberra in darkness. :(   Oh well.  Here is Canberra, less than 5 minutes after the end of Earth Hour:

While I was up there I played around with taking some night-time portrait shots with my new flash.  At first I got some pretty dismal results… but eventually I started getting some pretty decent ones. :)   In this photo, I opened the aperture up, set a high ISO and kept a long shutter speed to get as much light from the city below as possible… but I also used the flash, bounced to the left, to fill the subject in the foreground.  I quite like the effect. :)

Unfortunately the image is marred by a wierd light in the sky above the subject’s head. :(   A number of shots I took had random lights appearing in strange places, but I’m not sure why.  There were no big stars or aeroplanes, and no UFOs I’m aware of!!!

Proposal March 11, 2009

Posted by Leonard Low in Assignment, Contains Images, Portraiture.
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I’m going to do a series of portraits entitled “Shedding Illumination”.  This is a double pun:

So to “shed illumination” could mean to emit light, like a light bulb… it could mean giving up light, as people will be for Earth Hour… or it could mean to emit enlightenment, to “illuminate” an intellectual or spiritual “darkness”.

My portraits will feature people holding light sources: incandescent bulbs, CFL bulbs, etc.  In some of the photos, the bulbs they’re holding will be unlit, and in these images, I’ll light the subjects attractively and try to light them as if they, themselves, are a source of light or “illumination”.  These photos represent people choosing to participate in Earth Hour, people who are choosing to “Vote Earth”. I might pose the subjects in positions that show intelligence or enlightenment – perhaps “classical” poses.

I’ll contrast these with portrait shots of people who are unattractively or harshly lit… these ones will be holding lit light bulbs, and they’ll be representative of people who are not participating in Earth Hour, either because they don’t want to or because they don’t care.  I could pose them so that their faces can’t be seen, in positions that represent apathy or perhaps even death.

If I get time, I’ll Photoshop the images so that the “attractive” portraits have incongruous elements in the background, representing nature or earth, e.g. flowers coming through the carpet, plants growing in the sink; and Photoshop the “unattractive” portraits to have images of desolation in the background, e.g. a suburban background with no plants or animals.

This is a LOT to try to do!!!  And I’m really not sure how I’ll manage the “lit” lightbulb shots.  I certainly don’t want to accidentally fry a model. :(

Researching Earth Hour March 10, 2009

Posted by Leonard Low in Assignment, Contains Images.
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Spent a good few hours on the Web to see what kinds of things other people have done for Earth Hour.  The Earth Hour site itself is pretty good, and has links to lots of promotional images that are available under Creative Commons.  These are dominated by artworks designed by the guy who created Barack Obama’s portrait for the 2008 US elections, Shepard Fairey, with the theme “Vote Earth”.  I found some of his postcards in the CIT Canteen today and will bring them to class to share on Thursday.  This is the artwork on the front of the postcards:

The back of the postcards reads:

Earth Hour

At 8.30pm on Saturday, March 28 2009, millions of people in hundreds of cities around the world will switch off their lights for 1 hour as part of Earth Hour 2009.  We need you to be part of this important event.  Together, our small actions will represent a global vote for action on climate change.

A bio on the artist follows.

Writing my project proposal March 10, 2009

Posted by Leonard Low in Assignment, Contains Images, Portraiture.
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I’ve decided that I’m going to try and think up a portrait photography angle on this assignment.  There are several reasons:

I’d like to have something on paper for our discussion session in two day’s time, so I’ll try to think of a good “angle” on the assignment topic before then. :)

The Brief! March 7, 2009

Posted by Leonard Low in Official Stuff.
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So this is what I’ll have to do over the next few months for my major assignment:

You are to produce a series of photos and one photographic poster (A4 collage) based on one of the photos, to promote Earth Hour… (the images must be tied together with a theme).

The photos and poster can be printed on paper, card, canvas, etc., at the resolution and colour mode specific to the output device and material, eg photographic paper is 250dpi, using CMYK, inkjet printers vary in dpi but rule of thumb is 1/3 of maximum resolution, using RGB (printer software converts RGB to CMYK).  For offset printing (commercial printers) use a resolution of 300 dpi or 150 lpi.  All the images must also be presented on screen either as a Powerpoint, Web based or Multi-media presentation.  The images should be 1024 pi wide with a resolution of 96 lpi.  The software used is up to you (eg Flash, Director), and the presentation maybe as as simple as a slide show.  All images to be stored as JPEGs using the sRGB colour space.

Part I:

Produce a minimum of six (6) colour photos, minimum size 5″ x 7″, linked together through one or more themes promoting Earth Hour.  Use the class discussion times to help you focus your ideas.

Part II:

Produce one collage.  The size of this work of art is up to you, but must be at least A4 in size.  It can be colour, B&W or a mixture, but combines the themes used in Part I – perhaps a summary of all images produced in Part I? You must use at least one of your photos (or part of) created in Part I, along with at least one royalty free image (or part of) purchased from image libraries or from CDs/DVDs that are provided with some software applications, but make sure you understand and follow their copyright/usage terms and conditions. You may also add (combine) text if you wish.  Any software can be used to create this collage, eg Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.  Plus the output doesn’t have to be printed on a single piece of paper, could be a banner, a folding card etc, think about how you would like to present your printed work.  You may also create the collage manually (and will also need to be scanned in).  This collage must also be presented on screen, and can be combined with your Part I presentation.

So to summarize:

  • Minimum of seven (7) images produced – six (6) photos and one (1) photographic collage
  • Collage to include at least one of (or part of) the six photos produced, and include at least one royalty free image.
  • All images to be presented on screen at 96 dpi with a minimum resolution of 1024pi along one axis, as a slide show or multimedia presentation.
  • All images to be printed at high quality (using printer specifications), six photos – minimum size 5″ x 7″ and one collage minimum size A4, prsented to class.
  • All images to be saved as JPEGs (max quality of 10 or greater) using the sRGB colour space at 300dpi for prints and 96dpi for screen based imaged.
  • Maintain and submit a visual diary.
  • Most importantly, have fun with this assignment!

Milestones