HDR.

Most people have probably heard of this way of processing multiple exposures years ago but I've only just become aware of it after reading about it in The Digital SLR Expert. Basically what you do is take as many exposures as you like keeping the framing the same, then using a piece of HDR software (I'm using Photomatix but there's many different ones out there) you can combine the shot to produce some really stunning work.


For example above is a very dull uninteresting shot of a falling down barn, yes its alright but it doesn't jump out and hit you.

While here after using the software and combining a couple of exposures the colours become so rich and the sky adds drama to the overall image (has that real wow factor or i think it does anyway).

Again here similar to the first example the colours feel dull and the sky seems a little over exposed.

Then again with a little time and processing look what can be achieved.

I know that some photographers don't like or don't feel you should alter your work in this way and that how it comes out the camera should be right first time meaning you shouldn't have to do this but personally i think that if the tools are available then why shouldn't you use them to improve your work. I like to think i have all the creative options open to me so i can produce the best work i can.

Project 15- Planning Your Portfolio.

For this project you had to produce a shot that you'll use in the final portfolio show colour change throughout the seasons. Although this is something that I've already focused on with the other three shot I've chosen to make up my portfolio i have tried to find a view with the shot below that will change as much if not more then the other depending on the weather during the year. By this i mean that if we have a dry warm summer then then the grass will become very brown and dead looking, this will also mean in the autumn the colour of the leaves can become more intense.

Winter- Taken on a very cold snow December morning.

Autumn- Taken as the autumn colours begin to take hold.

Summer- Taken on a warm summers evening.

Spring- Above is my image of spring with the may blossom out on the Hawthorne and buttercups growing on the river bank.

Look at my final Portfolio for more information and thoughts on these shots.

Project 14- Changing Light/Changing View.

For this project the aim was to be able to understand how as the light changes through the day by moving your position you can take advantage to produce different images of the same location. I chose to use the local church as the focus for this project but have struggled with the weather of late so i haven't completely finished yet (will post the rest later), what I've produced right now I've put below. I decided to produce my work in black and white because i think it shows the contrasts much better then in the original colour version.


The first shot was taken early in the day but what differs from the evening shot is that the view isn't spoiled by the amount of shadows produced by the surrounding trees. I chose to compose the shot this way because of the way the light was catching the side of the building but was also not producing enough shadows to completely put the area containing the grave markers in the dark.

With the sun heading towards the horizon and shadows becoming to great close to the church i headed up a nearby hill so i could take advantage of the way the light was falling on the one face of the building making it standout strongly from the surrounding background. What i do like about this shot is the way the trees have such a variety of shades produced by the light and the way the church seems surrounded.

Other Photograhers Work.

In an email from my tutor he said that i should explain more what draws me to the list of photographers that i have on the right of my blog so here I'm going to do my best to explain why.

Darwin Wiggett.

When I'd chosen to do this courses on of the first things i did was to get my hands on some extra reading to gain a little more understanding of what goes into a good landscape image, one of these books was The Digital SLR Expert Landscapes. In it i found a range of work by a Darwin Wiggett and was instantly draw to his work by his use of colour either as a strong background for a shot as above or as the contrasting effect of the vehicle in thee grass in the first shot above. I have obvious look at more of his work since on the Internet and find that he clearly has a very good eye for the light to be able to capture the colour as he does.

Edward Weston.

Weston was one of the greats of the 20th century using large format cameras and the natural light to produce as above that showed off the natural flow and shape of the landscapes he saw, he was a real artist and deserves all the credit he receives because along with Ansel Adams (who I'll get to later) create work with such beautiful contrast that still today there seen as some of the best and most influential landscape photographers. What you really have to appreciate is that with modern cameras and software we can always tweak our work to get it looking just right but they had to get it right and know that it was right because there was few second chances.

Galen Rowell.

With Rowells work it has to be the locations that appeal and with the shots above the hostility of the environments that he chose to work in. Some of them such as for example the figure on the mountain top you have to look at and think that it must have been a hell of a climb with all his camera equipment to get this particular shot but hell it was worth it. Again as with Wiggett someone who has complete understanding of colours and how best to use the light conditions to get the results he wants.










Ansel Adams.

You can't look at Landscape photography with out seeing some of Ansel Adams work somewhere as he is regarded so highly as a true master of the art. Just the few examples that I've selected above show that he new how to use the environment around him and then wait for the light to be perfect to capture truly breath taking images. Enough has been written about his work and how it is so perfect that i don't think i can add any new perspective but i would offer this link that can do a better job then mehttp://www.masters-of-photography.com/A/adams/adams_articles2.html

One thing i have be come aware of from just doing this piece is that i seem to be draw to photographer that work in the field of what I'd call Wildness photography. By this i mean thous places where still the landscapes there shooting can seem untouched by humans and still have their natural beauty that is sometimes lost when we move in.

Project 13- Throughout The Day.

The aim of this project was to shot a scene throughout the day so you can gain a deeper understanding into how light conditions can change during this period. In addition it also helps you to see how the light is effected by changing weather (which I've already looked at in previous projects) and how shadow length and strength alter during the day. This project I'd already covered in The Art of Photography so the shots aren't up to my higher standard that i aim for now but they still illustrate the point of the project.


9am- This group of shots where taken in the autumn/winter months so the time period is a little more compressed then it would be now in the summer but you still see the transition of the light during the day. At 9am the angle of the light is still quiet low to the horizon giving good lighting for adding depth and highlighting the shape of objects in the frame. Shadows are very long but the colours appear strong and true.

10am- With the sky still clear and the angle of the light increasing shadows start to loss some of there length. In the shot above you can see that more of the view is being filled by the light but still there are the heavy shadows on the right of the frame.

11am- By this point the sun is nearing its full high for the day so shadows are much smaller, while with the continuing clear skies above the light is strong meaning the colours are beginning to appear slightly weaker than they were at 9am.

12pm- By now the sun is at its maxium high meaning there is very little shadow present and what are are so small they will add very little to the image. You also find that the colours are at there weakest dew to this point too, what you'll find is that in the summer months its best not to shot on clear days like this for these reason but during the winter with the sun being much lower you can just about get away with it.

1pm- Between 12pm and 2pm i always feel there's little change in the little conditions but on this particular day with the cloud cover it acted as a natural diffuser softening the light thus meaning the colours seem a little stronger again while the shadows (what little there is ) appear less harsh. What you i did find was at this time was that the light did give the structures good shape and definition which in the summer months you would probably get till around 7-8pm usually.

2pm- With the cloud cover removed the light becomes stronger and the shadows continue to grow once again as we now move towards dusk.

3pm- The light changes very rapidly at this time of year as is clearly shown between the previous shot and the one above because all of a sudden the shadows appear almost doubled while the colours appear more true to how the eye perceives them. This and around 9am are the best times in the autumn/winter to be out and about with your camera because of the fact that the light can give landscapes the added depth you're looking for while it can also help to highlight a feature you want to really stand out.

4pm- By this point the sun is almost at the horizon meaning extremely long shadows and that the colour of the light can change rapidly. In the above view you haven't really got this but you can depending on the weather conditions get colours ranging through red and pink or all the way to orange. You can make use of this to your advantage with a little pre-planning because on a cold winters day this could make all the difference to quiet a cold shot by adding just enough warmth to your work.

5pm- Now the light is completely gone you're normally unable to carry on working but in reality it opens up new possibilities as although the sun is gone a full moon can produce enough light to work by, but on this day clouds where gathering so the chance of that were slim. What i did find was something i hadn't noticed before in that even when the sun has passed below the horizon some light does remain in the sky for about 30mins. afterwards and depending on the amount of cloud this can reflected or produce different colours in the sky.

When i did this project i did find it a interesting process because its something you don't natural do (well i don't anyway) spending a whole day just observing the light and the effects it has on even a firmly landscape. Again i think its help to reinforce in my mind how important understand light is to producing good landscape work while also knowing how the weather plays its part can lead you to getting the results you want. ITS ALL ABOUT PREPLANNING AND PREPERATION.

Found this article online which again helps to show the points I'm trying to get across a little better than i can.http://www.ehow.com/about_6131528_different-lighting-affect-photography_.html

Project 12- Contrast and Exposure.

For this project you're asked to find a scene with a good range of contrast throughout the frame and then to study the detail visible in the light areas and then the darker areas.


I chose this view because their is the contrast in the light and shadow but also with the colours of the towers against the sky plus the curves of the towers which give the shot a balanced rhythm. The original above i was very pleased with but for the purpose of this project next i had to convert it to black & white.

Above is the original image converted to black & white, what i could see straight away is that there isn't any where near as much contrast visible as with the colour original also it feels alittle single toned in that the whole frame appears to be very grey meaning that I'd lost a lot of the detail on the towers. The good thing about modern photo software is that small problems like this can be easily fixed.

By using the brightness/contrast controls and the levels control you're able to return the lost details and give the shot back its eye catching appeal. Above is an improvement on the original black & white but i still felt that the shadows on the towers weren't as dark as i felt they could be so next i planned to use the levels tool to fix this (at this point had only used the brightness and contrast controls).

The final shot above surprisingly to me i prefer more then the colour original, by using the levels controls i was able to produce a image with far more contrast then even the original ever had. I really like the detail that its managed to pick out on the towers and with the strong shadows and the way the sun is catching the far tower and the steam escaping from them it makes the whole scene seem quiet ominous but yet when you look at the colour photo you don't get this feeling at all.

Of course this whole process was a lot harder and more time consumer before the arrival of the digital camera. People like Ansel Adams had to get there exposure settings just right first time because other than altering the development process there was little if anything he would have been able to do if he'd lost the contrast he was after by over exposing the shot. If anything this project give you an even greater respect for what he achieved because in all his work you have to look and say he got it spot on every time and capture the moments to perfection.