Category: Photo II

You learned the basic use of a flash unit earlier in the semester, but thereʻs more! Itʻs easy to use a flash in dim light because the only light source (as far as the film is concerned) is the flash. That makes it easy, even when you bounce the light or add the diffuser.

Photographers, however, often use flash units to create fill light, to fill in shadows when they are making portraits. In other words, they balance TWO light sources to enhance the lighting of a portrait. Used in this way, the flash is the secondary light source, not the main light source. Hereʻs how:

Step I

Load a roll of 100 film, 25 exposures and attach a Sunpak 383 flash with diffuser.

Step II

Set the flash to 100 ASAand select the orange f/16 setting. Set your camera to its “flash sync” setting. For older K-1000 cameras this is 60th second. For newer ZX-M cameras, this is 100th sec. Do not change this setting during this exercise or something bad will happen. Ask me and Iʻll be happy to explain what will happen.

Step III

Since you have to leave your camera at 1/60th second, you cannot do this assignment in full sunlight. Your task is to go on a search mission, to find lighting that will allow you to balance your cameraʻs needle, even when the shutter speed is at 1/60th (or 1/100th for the ZX-M). Bring a willing model with you and find that light! Hint: think of shadow areas next to buildings, or places under the walkways. Try to pick a place that also has a subdued background.

Step IV

Leaving the diffuser on, take some upper-body portraits with the camera held in the vertical position.This time, however, take four shots of each pose and bracket the flash strength: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and  1/16. Why bracket? We donʻt know exactly what is the correct setting. When you develop the roll and make a contact sheet, we will notice which strength produces the most attractive portrait.

What should you see?

Your final contact sheet of about 24 frames will show six different poses in six different areas or with six different angles. The four shots for each of those poses will be correctly exposed (because you took a meter reading and balanced your needle before shooting.) However, the upper body and face of your subject will be lighter than the background, as though you had dodged the person in the darkroom. You are aiming at getting a portrait with the personʻs face slightly lighter, but not so light that it looks washed-out and fake.

Your camera has a manual setting that allows you to control shutter speed, so why not make it work for you? You’ve done this before, probably in Photo I, but this is a skill that needs lots of practice. Sometimes a blurred action makes the difference between an OK image and a spectacular one.

Follow these steps:

• Load a roll of film that has a low ASA number, like 100 or 50. Why? A film with a low ASA number requires more light to register an exposure, which means that you can select a slow shutter speed.
• If you wish, you can use 400 film as well, but you will then need to do this exercise in a spot with low light, like Keku, the auditorium stage or in a classroom.
• Use these shutter speeds: 1/60, 1/30, 1/15 and 1/8.
• You need a tripod! This exercise asks for blurred action, but if you think about it, the blur needs to contrast with the surrounding details that are not in motion. Those need to be as sharp as possible.
• As with some other exercises, take six different shots. This might mean that you are photographing the same subject, but that you have arranged it in six different ways.
• In each of the six sequences of shots, bracket your shots. Most of the time, bracketing means changing the exposure slightly, but for this exercise bracket your shutter speeds without changing exposure. Different shutter speeds will result in different images, with the amount of blur changing in each shot. Be sure you adjust the aperture each time you change the shutter speed, so that the film receives the same amount of light in each shot. If this doesn’t make sense, think about it for a few minutes and then ask me to explain.

What should you see?

In each of the six groups you should see one shot that hits the “sweet spot,”  with just the right amount of blur but not so blurred that nothing is recognizable. It may be harder than you thought to hit that sweet spot because three factors influence the degree of blur:

1. the shutter speed
2. the speed of the motion
3. your distance from the subject (The closer you are, the more the blur.)
   

Make a poster on standard-sized poster board that illustrates one of the following topics. You will need to make several “before” and “after” prints for each of these, depending on which topic you select. Print in 5×7″ size, to allow room for text on the poster.

1. Shallow and deep depth of field (p. 45)

2. Wide angle and telephoto effect.(p. 48)

3. Planned multiple exposures (p. 205)

4. Sandwiched negatives p. (206)

5. Sabattier effect (p. 209)

6. The effect of these variables on action blur

a. distance to subject

b. speed of moving subject

c. shutter speed

7. The effect of dodging and burning on a darkroom print.

Arrange the prints to allow for accompanying text that explains each print and the technique in a clear, simple way. Use correct English and make an effort to create an overall effect that is visually attractive.

Here is a list of student winners of the yearly Scholastic Arts competition and below that, of museums that exhibit photography. Your job is to go image shopping and to locate just three images by three different photographers. Three interesting, provocative, significant photographic images. Images in some way similar to three you have made this semester, or that contrast with your work this semester. Depending on the individual museum website, part or all of the exhibit may be online, or there may be a link to a photographer’s individual website. In any case, pick one image from each photographer, an image that appeals to you and that is close to something you have done yourself (or its opposite).  Follow these steps:

• Open your own images in Photoshop, go to Image Size, set them to something close to 5X7 inches, 300 dpi. Save them as JPEG files. This way, they will be much smaller and will be in a format recognized by MSW.
• Go to Applications / Utilities and run the Apple program called Grab. Use Grab to select and copy three images by three different photographers from the lists below. They can be digital or traditional
• Open a new Microsoft Word document and paste the images into the document. Below them, paste in your own three images.
• Below each image, write

1. The website address.  Copy and paste directly into the MSW document. WARNING: NOT ALL LINKS WORK. CHECK THE LINK BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE. IF IT CANNOT BE FOLLOWED, CHOOSE ANOTHER IMAGE. (SORRY) I need to be able to follow the link to the original image.
2. The photographer’s name and whatever other details you have about the person. If it is from the Scholastic site, add the school, state, award and the year the award was given.
3. Your reaction to the image – one or two sentences
4. A comparison (similarities / differences) with one of your own three images on the page – just a short paragraph of 50 – 100 words.

NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC STUDENT WINNERS

Scholastic 2008 Gold awards in digital and traditional photography
Scholastic 2009 National Portfolio Medalist award winners

LOCAL / HAWAI’I

BISHOP MUSEUM
HONOLULU ACADEMY OF ARTS
CONTEMPORARY MUSEUM
MAUI ARTS AND CULTURE CENTER

MAJOR PHOTOGRAPHIC CENTERS AND INSTITUTES

Center for Photographic Arts
Newspace Center for Photography
Museum of Photographic Arts
San Francisco Camerawork
Museum of Contemporary Photography
Photographic Resource Center
Center for Photography at Woodstock
International Center of Photography
Light Work
Visual Studies Workshop
The Light Factor Photographic Arts Center
Houston Center for Photography
PhotoZone Gallery

NORTHEAST

SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
WASHINGTON, DC • 202-633-1000
WWW.AMERICANART.SI.EDU

GRIFFIN MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY
BOSTON, MA • 781-729-1158
WWW.GRIFFINMUSEUM.ORG

THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON
BOSTON, MA • 617-267-9300
WWW.MFA.ORG

PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM
SALEM, MA • 978-745-9500
WWW.PEM.ORG

HALLMARK MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY
TURNERS FALLS, MA • 413-863-0009
WWW.HMCP.ORG

JANE VOORHEES ZIMMERLI ART MUSEUM
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ • 732-932-7237
WWW.ZIMMERLIMUSEUM.RUTGERS.EDU

THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM OF ART
BROOKLYN, NY • 718-638-5000
WWW.BROOKLYNMUSEUM.ORG

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
NEW YORK, NY • 212-769-5606
WWW.AMNH.ORG

CHELSEA ART MUSEUM
NEW YORK, NY • 212-255-0719
CHELSEAARTMUSEUM.ORG

INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY
NEW YORK, NY • 212-857-0000
WWW.ICP.ORG

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
NEW YORK, NY • 212-535-7710
WWW.METMUSEUM.ORG

THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
NEW YORK, NY • 212-708-9400
WWW.MOMA.ORG

THE RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART
NEW YORK, NY • 212-620-5000
WWW.RMANYC.ORG

WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
NEW YORK, NY • 212-570-3676
WWW.WHITNEY.ORG

JAMES A. MICHENER ART MUSEUM
DOYLESTOWN, PA • 215-340-9800
WWW.MICHENERMUSEUM.ORG

THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
PHILADELPHIA, PA • 215-684-7695
WWW.PHILAMUSEUM.ORG

THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
PITTSBURGH, PA • 412-622-3131
WWW.CARNEGIEMNH.ORG

RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN (RISD) MUSEUM
PROVIDENCE, RI • 401-454-6500
WWW.RISD.EDU/MUSEUM.CFM

SOUTHEAST

MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART
MOBILE, AL • 251-208-5200
WWW.MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM

BOCA RATON MUSEUM OF ART
BOCA RATON, FL • 561-392-2500
WWW.BOCAMUSEUM.ORG

SOUTHEAST MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY
DAYTONA BEACH, FL • 386-506-4475
WWW.SMPONLINE.ORG

MIAMI ART MUSEUM
MIAMI, FL • 305-375-3000
WWW.MIAMIARTMUSEUM.ORG

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
ST. PETERSBURG, FL • 727-896-2667
WWW.FINE-ARTS.ORG

FLORIDA MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS
TAMPA, FL • 813-221-2222
WWW.FMOPA.ORG

ART MUSEUM OF WESTERN VIRGINIA
ROANOKE, VA • 540-342-5760
WWW.ARTMUSEUMROANOKE.ORG

MIDWEST

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY
CHICAGO, IL • 312-663-5554
WWW.MOCP.ORG

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CHICAGO
CHICAGO, IL • 312-397-4006
WWW.MCACHICAGO.ORG

WEISMAN ART MUSEUM
MINNEAPOLIS, MN • 612-625-9494
WWW.WEISMAN.UMN.EDU

ST. LOUIS ART MUSEUM
ST. LOUIS, MO • 314-721-0072
WWW.STLOUIS.ART.MUSEUM

WEST COAST

THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM
LOS ANGELES, CA • 310-440-7722
WWW.GETTY.EDU

NORTON SIMON MUSEUM
PASADENA, CA • 626-449-6840
WWW.NORTONSIMON.ORG

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE CALIFORNIA MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY
RIVERSIDE, CA • 951-827-4787
WWW.CMP.UCR.EDU

CROCKER ART MUSEUM
SACRAMENTO, CA • 916-264-5423
WWW.CROCKERARTMUSEUM.ORG

SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
SAN DIEGO, CA • 619-232-3821
WWW.SDNHM.ORG

THE CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM
SAN FRANCISCO, CA • 415-344-8802
WWW.JMSF.ORG

SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF ART
SAN JOSE, CA • 408-271-6840
WWW.SJMUSART.ORG

SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF ART
SANTA BARBARA, CA • 805-963-4364
WWW.SBMUSEART.ORG

CANTOR ARTS CENTER AT STANFORD
STANFORD, CA • 650-723-4177
MUSEUM.STANFORD.EDU

SOUTHWEST

LONGMONT MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTER
LONGMONT, CO • 303-776-6050
WWW.CI.LONGMONT.CO.US/MUSEUM

AMON CARTER MUSEUM
FORT WORTH, TX • 817-738-1933
WWW.CARTERMUSEUM.ORG

THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON
HOUSTON, TX • 713-639-7300
WWW.MFAH.ORG

Source:
www.cameraarts.com

CAMERAARTS 67

Here is a list of suggested projects, in no particular order.  Some of these have been used by students in previous semesters to create wonderful images!

1. X-treme light:  very early or very late in the day, with long shadows and silhouettes.
2. Portraits of people partially hidden or textured by shadows.
3. A particular sport: water polo, softball, wrestling.  Include behind the scenes images from the lockerroom, etc. Canoe paddling works very well. Blur the action by using a tripod.
4. Moloka’i (or Kaua‘i) folks in their daily activities: fishing, swimming, eating, working.
5. Graffitti.  Not the vulgar, bad pieces but the ones that have artistic merit, that have some depth.
6. Streams and other moving water, with the images taken at a slow enough speed to blur the water.
7. People with tattoos.
8. Blurred images of people walking in the hallways, between classes.  The images will be made on a tripod with the shutter speed set very slow.
9. The town of Wahiawa, its people and environment.  Any small town with a distinctive character would work well.
10. Close-ups of plants and flowers, with parts of the images colored by hand (or in Photoshop)
11. Surfers at a particular beach, and the general life at that place, the people who hang out there.
12. Normal things that look like abstracts, depending on the avialiable light.
13. Images taken with a pinhole camera.
14. Behind the scenes at your halau.
15. Hawaiian traditional cultural sites near your home.
16. Landscapes or seascapes with parts of the image colored by hand.  Filters are required.
17. ‘Akahi during lunch.  You will have to use a high-speed film for this.
18. After-school dorm sports and activities, with the action blurred.  This needs a tripod.
19. Browse among the photo books upstairs and locate one photographer with a distinctive style, whose work you like.  Imitate him or her by taking pictures that are similar in lighting, subject matter, angle, etc.

The point of this exercise is to acquaint you with the uses (and limitations) of a flash unit. Of course, you will need to borrow a flash unit to do the exercise.

Step 1
In an older Pentax K-1000, load a roll of ASA 100 film, 20 exposures. Set your camera at 1/60th second and set the dial on the flash to 50. Read off the correct f/stop setting for 100 ASA film and set the camera aperture at that setting. I’ll show you how to do this.

Step II
Go to the MLC basement hallway.

Step III
Take about five images of someone without the difusion attachment.

Step IV
Take another five exposures with the diffusion attachment. BE SURE to adjust the f/stop to allow for the attachment by opening up one stop.

Step V
Remove the diffusion attachment, leave the aperture open the one extra stop you just used, and turn the flash head so that it is pointed up at an angle to bounce light off the white ceiling and onto your subject. Take five more images.

Step VI
Finally, rotate the flash so that light bounces off a light wall and onto your subject. Take the final five images.

What have you just done?
You used a flash to take four sets of images under slightly different light.

What results should you see?
One of these sets of images should come out a little more pleasing and “natural.” One or more of the others may not look very attractive.

What is the general rule?
Soft, diffused light that comes close to filtered sunlight on a cloudy – bright day often is most attractive. Light that comes from above (like sunlight) often appears most natural.

When you take a portrait, the most important technical detail to watch is how many light sources there are, and where the light comes from. That determines what parts of the face or body are lit and what parts are in shadow, and of course that helps set the “mood” of the photo. Because this exercise requires just one light source, the portrait you end up with should have a dramatic mood, with part of the face in total darkness.

This exercise should help you become aware of light. To do this assignment you should have been given some class instruction on bracketing exposures.

Step I
Load a normal roll of 100 ASA film, about 12 exposures.

Step II
Set your ASA to 200, since this assignment will be taken indooors, or at least partially indoors.

Step II
Go to the back of MLC, by the loading dock and place someone right at the back door, so that the light comes in and hits their face. This needs to be done as early as possible in the morning, because the sun is low in the sky relative to that doorway at that time. Be sure to place this person so that at least half of his or her face is lit, and half falls in the shadow.

Step III
Meter carefully, so that you do not “contaminate” the reading with background light from outside. Meter so that you read half of the lit face and half of the unlit face.

Step IV
Remember that shots taken below 125th second may come out blurry and worthless. If your shutter speed needs to be set to, say, a 60th second, brace the camera or borrow a tripod and cable release.

Step IV
Take 12 images of the person. Take upper-torso shots. Vary the poses to experiment with the different effects of light hitting the face and body.

Step V
Bracket your exposures every three shots. This means that one shot will be “normal,” one will be underexposed by one stop, and one overexposed by a stop. Normally, we bracket using f/stops rather than shutter speed, but don’t forget the effect of changing f/stop on your depth of field.

What should you see?
A dramatic image of someone half in light and half in darkness, with just a few details visible in the shadows.

What is the general rule?
A single light source gives the most dramatic, “mysterious” shots. Even when there is more than one light source, one needs to dominate. The other is just there to fill in some of the shadows.

If a single light source yields dramatic images, two sources yield more realistic ones. The shots become less about the light and more about other factors: poses, expressions, backgrounds, surroundings, etc. This exercise still requires a single dominant light source (the sun), but asks you to use a second one as well. Unless you are in a studio, more than two light sources is not a good idea because you lose control over the light and your shot.

Step I
Load a roll of 12 exposures and set your ASA to 100. You don’t need to use the 50 ASA setting because you will soften the shadows another way.

Step II
Get two friends and go outside behind MLC to the loading dock area. Take along one of our large white reflectors.

Step III
Pick the background first: the ironwoods, ‘iliahi, spider lilly, MLC, the AC pump area. Avoid sky as a background for this exercise.

Step IV
Position your subject in full sun, not the shade. Ask the person to turn so that the sun is striking just one half of his or her face, just like the exercise with the single light source. Pay attention. Do you want the sun to hit just the flat of the cheeks or maybe the nose as well? One eye or two? Angle is important here.

Step V
Meter carefully. Be careful to avoid metering the sky, which would throw off your reading.

Step VI
Use the reflector to bounce sunlight into the shadow areas, to fill them in, so that they are not as deep and harsh. You will need the help of a second friend for this part.

Step VII
Take twelve shots of your subject. Again, bracket exposures every three shots. Vary the poses as well.

What should you see?
Don’t expect anything dramatic. These shots should be more “printable” than ordinary sunlight portraits, however. You shouldn’t need to use such a low filter.

Look carefully at shadow areas, such as the place right under the chin or the eyesockets. If the reflector is held corectly, there should still be shadows, but they won’t be as dark as before. More details (called “shadow details”) should be visible.

Overall, tones should appear more even and contrast should seem less harsh. There will be more middle, gray tones helping to bridge the wide gap between white and black extremes.

Your equipment includes a packet holding some colored filters: green, orange, red, and polarizing. These offer some wonderful opportunities to control contrast of specific colors in your black-and-white landscape photos, once you understand how they work. This exercise involves taking 20 shots of the same scene, but changing the filter every four shots.

Step I
Load a roll of 100 ASA film, 18 exposures.

Step II
With your filter kit, go to the rear of MLC, near the loading dock.

Step III
This is an exercise in comparison, in comparing the effects of different filters. To do this, first locate a picture that contains the following elements:
Lots of blue sky, preferably with fluffy white clouds
Lots of green foliage
Some close things (like green foliage)
Some far-away things (like Leahi, Puowaina, etc.)

Step IV
Make sure that you are not shooting into the sun, that direct sunlight is not hitting the glass of the front of your lens. Meter carefully: take separate sky and ground readings and make sure that the average reading falls between those two.

Step V
Take off the yellow-green filter that came with your camera and take three shots of the scene with no filter on the lens.

Step VI
Put the yellow-green filter back on and take three shots of the scene you selected.

Step VII
Take off the yellow-green filter and put it in a safe place, like the filter pouch.Put on the green filter and take three pictures of your scene.
Step VIII
Remember that you need to rotate the polarizing filter to benefit from the polarizing effect. You can select the degree of polarizing effect based on how much you rotate the filter, but for this exercise, select the maximum effect.

Step IX
Do the same thing with all the filters. Note the order in which you take the shots. Label the shots on the contact sheet with the first letter of the filter: O, YG, R, P and N (for no filter).

What should you see?
Your blue sky should appear increasing dark, with greater contrast between sky and clouds. The green filter should have slightly darkened the sky and lightened the green foliage. The red filter should turn blue sky almost black, for a dramatic effect. The polarizing filter should have a similar effect.