Right Up Our Alley: Single Take Drone Shot

"A single-take video shot with a drone flying through a Minnesota bowling alley has been hailed as "stupendous" by a string of celebrities and big-name film-makers...Lee Unkrich, who directed the Pixar animated feature Coco, said it was "one of the most amazing things I've ever seen."" read more.

Landscape Photography

 Landscape and travel photography were talked about in one package along with some tips from a photojournalism perspective and seeing vacation pictures as a story.  Below are videos we watched and some I promised you.  I also provided links to some of the award winning photos we looked at such as World Press Photos, iPhone Photography Awards, Sony World (World Photography Organisation) and UK Landscape Photograpy Awards.

• World Press Photo Contest
• Sony World Photography Awards
• IPPA Awards (iPhone Photography Awards) 
• Landscape Photographer of the Year

Understanding Light for Better Photos

Lighting is the essence of photography, and when you understand it, your photos will improve.  There are several types aspects of photographic light basics we discussed including:

• The Magic/Golden Hour
• Mid-day Sun
• Open Shade
• Fill Cards and Reflectors
• White Balance and the differences or light temperatures between sunlight, fluorescent light, tungsten bulbs, and candle light.
• Blue Hour
• Direct Flash

The understanding of natural or ambient lighting, that is the available light, is just the beginning.  Flash photography and the use of strobes can take you into an advanced world of studio lighting.  If you want to know more about basic or advanced lighting, I've bookmarked several videos on a YouTube playlist arranged from basic to advanced with a few extended lectures.

Cameras and Lenses

Week 3: Exposure

This week we went over the exposure triangle and went in-depth into shutter speed, ISO and aperture or f-stops.  We discussed the how the time of an exposure, the sensitivity of the film or sensor and the size of the lens opening affects and exposure along with the quality of the image.  Aspects such as depth of field, motion blur and stop action, and grain or noise impact your image.  Here are different short explanations of exposure.

I mentioned camera shake and the resulting motion blur as the most common mistake make by budding photographers.  Some ways to beat camera shake is by using a higher shutter speed if hand holding your camera, a larger aperture, a higher ISO, properly holding your camera and positioning your body, or use of a tripod or other support.

• Four Reasons Your Photos are Blurry, And How to Avoid Them
• How to Avoid Camera Shake for Sharper Photos

If you are using your iPhone or Android as your main camera, there are apps, both free and for purchase which give you manual control. With these apps, you can override your camera phone's automatic settings and adjust the shutter speed, aperture, ISO and focus yourself.

Here are tips on how to shoot a silhouette and action on a camera phone.

Week 2: Composition

In our second class, we talked about the basic rules of photographic composition.  Below are my list along with videos and links.  I've also added a widget linking to a Pinterest page with all kinds of useful charts, graphs and examples.  

I mentioned several photographers, but most notable mentioned were Henri Cartier-Bresson, who coined the concept of the "Decisive Moment" and Ansel Adams.  Others whose work we looked at included: Alfred Steiglitz, Elliot Erwitt, Susan Meiselas, Alex Webb, Paul Strand, Edward Weston who did significant work in Mexico as did Cartier Bresson.  

COMPOSITION is the organization of visual elements used in a picture to communicate visual harmony. They are the ingredients arranged in a photograph to create order and say what you want to say in an effective aesthetically pleasing way
The so-called rules of photographic composition are, in my opinion, invalid, irrelevant and immaterial” – Ansel Adams

1. 1. Intention:  Know what you are photographing.  Make your choice for a reason for photographing.  Have a focal point. Contemplate Your Images. Think. Slow down. 
2. 2. Simplicity:  Keep it Simple. Simplify the scene to your subject/most interesting visual element.  Leave out clutter that takes away from what you want to say.
3. 3. Rule of Thirds (vertical and horizontal) compose at a cross point in your frame. Avoid the middle!
4. 4. Horizons:  use rule of thirds and avoid centering horizons
5. 5. Balance:  keep the visual weight of your pictures equalized.
6. 6. Leading Lines: lines and curves draw you into the photograph
7. 7. Geometry: S-Curves, Cirles, Lines, Triangles.  Use Shapes to draw your viewer in.
8. 8. Patterns:  repeating visual patterns created in the natural and unnatural world.
9. 9. Symmetry:  geometrical balance and harmony.
10. 10. Point of View:  eye-level; worm’s eye; birds eye; side view; back view; close-up; distant. Look for the best, most interesting point of view..
11. 11. Framing:  finding a visual frame in the scene: window, arch, hole and frames within frames.
12. 12. Backgrounds:  clean unobtrusive or interesting backgrounds. Avoid Mergers (things growing out of subject’s head). Look and See!
13. 13. Avoid Mergers:  Watch Background and things growing out of your subject.
14. 14. Rule of Odds  Use an odd number of elements in your composition for more compelling photographs.
15. 15. Silhouettes and Shapes
16. 16. Scale:  show the size and create impact by showing the size contrasts between elements in your picture. Compare and contrast large and small objects.
17. 17. Lead Room:  Leave space to move in the direction your subject is moving either in front or behind showing where they’re going or have been. 
18. 18. Space:  Positive and negative space can be used for strong impact.
19. 19. Color:  use strong contrasting colors to communicate.
20. 20. Texture:  communicate how if feels (rough, smooth, bumby, scaley, leathery, etc.)
21. 21. Depth of Field:  Use selective focus and blur the background to convey your intention. 
22. 22. Fill the Frame:  Think, compose and include only essential photo elements.
23. 23. Layering:  create depth and dimension by layering elements in your photos.
24. 24. Recapitulation:  use elements to draw viewer’s eye around picture like a pinball machine.
25. 25. Break the Rules   After you know and understand the rules, break them.

Photo Class Mexico 2021

Welcome everybody.  For our first week, we started off looking at photos from recent news and their impact.  Pictures we looked at primarily included: an image of U.S. Senate assistants carrying ballot boxes by Caroline Brehman; Leah Millis of Reuters photo of the Capitol draped in smoke; Ashley Gilbertson's photograph of Capitol Police Officer Goodman diverting rioters; and several from Associated Press photographer Andrew Harnik. 

Next, we looked briefly at the history of photography. In the following weeks we will discuss several aspects of photography so you can take better pictures.  

Photography History

Henry Fox Talbot v. Louis Daguerre