Week Two has concentrated on ISO settings and composition. Denise spoke early on about the ‘safe’ shutter speed for handheld shots (1/60th of a second) and I realised that ISO was an element that I had overlooked in my photography. When I took photographs on film, you had to source the type of film suitable for your needs. My main purchases were between 100, 200 and 400 ISO; depending upon subject. You would know the sort of photos you were aiming to take (holiday in the sun for example) and buy accordingly. With the advent of digital systems, the ISO settings became less important – I could ‘leave’ it to the camera to choose the correct one. By going over this area in some detail I recognised that I was missing an important resource for my work as a photographer. We set our cameras (not to stun – yet) to the ‘P’ (Programme) mode, a change from my normal setting and looked at a few images from other types of photographers, as well as those we had all brought into class, in order to begin to understand how composition within the camera using the correct settings could enhance an image. Looking at Eugéne Atget’s work was a revelation. I have always enjoyed two main subject areas – sunsets (with a side order of landscapes) and architectural subjects. Atget’s pioneering work taking photographs of the city of Paris before the areas he thought were historical and worthy of recording, were at first discarded and believed irrelevant during most of his lifetime. Week Two concentrated on ISO settings and composition. Denise spoke early on about the ‘safe’ shutter speed for handheld shots (1/60th of a second) and I realised that ISO was an element that I had overlooked in my photography. When I took photographs on film, you had to source the type of film suitable for your needs. My main purchases were between 100, 200 and 400 ISO; depending upon subject. You would know the sort of photos you were aiming to take (holiday in the sun for example) and buy accordingly. With the advent of digital systems, the ISO settings became less important – I could ‘leave’ it to the camera to choose the correct one. By going over this area in some detail I recognised that I was missing an important resource for my work as a photographer. We set our cameras (not to stun – yet) to the ‘P’ (Programme) mode, a change from my normal setting and looked at a few images from other types of photographers, as well as those we had all brought into class, in order to begin to understand how composition within the camera using the correct settings could enhance an image. Looking at Eugéne Atget’s work was a revelation. I have always enjoyed two main subject areas – sunsets (with a side order of landscapes) and architectural subjects. Atget’s pioneering work taking photographs of the city of Paris before the areas he thought were historical and worthy of recording, were at first discarded and believed irrelevant during most of his lifetime. Jean-Eugéne-Auguste Atget [1857-1927] had the majority of his photographs published by Berenice Abbot (who also worked with Man Ray) after his death, but some young artists – especially those interested in surrealism – did recognise his talent in the last couple of years of his life, and he was an inspiration for many following the wider acclaim that his photographs received after his death. Sadly, he did not live to benefit from this recognition, but he sold thousands of his negatives to institutions and became financially independent. Working with painters, architects and even stage designers, his documentary style meant that nothing was not within his purview to record – he even produced a series of photographs of Parisian prostitutes. Abbott said this of him: “He will be remembered as an urbanist historian, a genuine romanticist, a lover of Paris, a Balzac of the camera, from whose work we can weave a large tapestry of French civilisation” We also reviewed some of the work of Eadweard Muybridge [1830-1904] who, whilst having an entertainingly foreign name, was actually an English photographer who viewed photography as a means of recording motion (as well as an early pioneer of motion-picture projection). Muybridge, who I believe can safely be called a true British eccentric, was actually born Edward James Muggeridge, but adopted the name he is best known by as he believed it to be the Anglo-Saxon form of his name. However you wish to call him, Muybridge took up professional photography in 1871. He used the wet-plate collodion process and has at least two British patents for his inventions to his name. Being acquitted on a serious charge in 1874 (on the grounds of ‘justifiable homicide’) he travelled in Central America before producing over 100,000 images of animals and humans in motion; editing and publishing compilations of his work which influenced visual artists. He would use multiple cameras to capture motion in a stop motion technique and utilised a device he dubbed the ‘zoopraxiscope’ (possibly the first movie projector), which was an inspiration for Edison and Dickson’s ‘Kinetoscope’. A famous image of his is from ‘The Horse in Motion’ [LEFT] (or ‘Sallie Gardner at a Gallop’, 1878). This was a ground-breaking series of images which settled the argument regarding how many feet a horse may have off of the ground at any one time. Muybridge’s technique of placing numerous glass-plate cameras along a track with the shutter release being triggered by the horse as it passed was both ingenious and a revelation. This study showed that the horse did indeed have all four legs off the ground at a specific point in its running, but when the legs were underneath its body rather than when extended as had been previously thought. I had already known and enjoyed the work of Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky, 1890-1976) when some of his work was also shown to the class. He was significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements. Although he considered himself a painter, he was best known for his photography and for photograms, which he termed ‘rayographs’ after himself. Although American, he spent much of his time in France and befriended Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), after which he began to depict movement in his work. His work with the Dada-ists saw him utilise ordinary objects which are selected and modified into art (‘readymades’, similar to his study he called ‘The Coat-Stand’). Man Ray was inspired, imaginative and creative, his work transcended boundaries and although he was a celebrated photographer, his contribution to a variety of streams of art ensured that place in the creative history of the world. Denise spoke about these, and other, photographers and artists and suggested that a work of our own could perhaps be enhanced by subtle referencing of other artists in our own work. To this end, Denise suggested that Walker Evans (1903-1971) would be an ideal photographer to study as this American photographer and photojournalist utilised a range of styles in his work, suiting his methods to the situation he was recording. Walker Evans was a new name to me and my research helped me to recognise that this photographer was another important figure in this area. The three photographs he contributed to the poetry book ‘The Bridge’ (by Hart Crane) were merely the start of his career. Evans took images of Victorian houses in Boston and, I was pleased to note, my initial image of a building in Maldon taken during the introduction week task was quite similar to those he took of the older clapboard structures. Evans was not only a contemporary of Ernest Hemmingway (1899-1961), he drank with him and Hemmingway even loaned him money to enable him to stay in Cuba whilst producing the ‘strident account’ of the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado (1871-1939). Evans work on recording the United States ‘Depression-era’ as well as working for magazines such as ‘Fortune’ and ‘Time’ means that he is a great resource for any photographer who wants to view a wide variety of subjects being recorded by the same eye. Our task for the following week was to take three additional images (potentially of our earlier Weeks One building) but using the ‘P’ setting and at 100, 200 and 400 ISO. Denise also suggested that, if it were possible, a Tripod should be used for these shots in order to achieve a steady shot where the ISO and composition were the main focus. As we also discussed online Photo Galleries, I decided to be brave and sign up for ‘Alamy’ in order to widen my experience and perhaps have an outlet to publish my photographs as I continue to develop any ‘style’ I may have or aspire too. Interestingly, even at such an early stage of the course, I reviewed my images with a far more critical eye; and although I had thought that I had 100’s of images suitable to upload, in reviewing the standards required, and the images already available; I actually found the process interesting but far more difficult than I thought I might! The First 'proper' week was looking at Buildings and Places; how we might take photos and create images by creative use of the functions of the cameras and our own inspiration. We had no specific brief; rather this was a task set by Denise in order to see at what level our There are a significant amount of controls and features available on the 700D, and the pictorial outline of these controls (Fig. 7) demonstrates how complex even this mid-range DSLR offers.
The Battery Pack is an LP-E8 and I always carry at least three spares with me which are fully charged. I also have car and wall chargers in the main case which I usually carry in the boot with my monopod and tripod. The 700D can record in standard high-quality ‘.jpeg’ format (created by a consortium of manufacturers, jpeg or jpg stands for Joint Photographic Expert Group). But it also offers the RAW file format which contains data straight from the sensor. This is a container format which includes metadata (significant information in a variety of formats according to manufacturer) that requires extra steps before it can be displayed on a screen. The jpg format is easier to use in general, far easier to view and edit in most applications; whereas the RAW format is often unable to be opened and edited on standard or many free editing programmes and is thus more difficult to edit – although arguably the resulting photograph is of higher quality as RAW is a ‘lossless’ format unlike jpg (a ‘lossy’ format which can degrade with each editing or opening, similar to a vinyl record). The task we were set for outside of class was to demonstrate pictorially how to change the battery in our respective cameras. I have a range of cameras that I use, including a GoPro, 2 Panasonic Lumix models, the inimitable camera on my so called ‘Smart Phone’ plus a couple of older Canon DSLRs. However, the usual cameras I use are a Canon EOS 700D (although mine is a European model termed the T5i) and a Canon EOS100D (Rebel SL1) which I use due to its smaller lighter weight and my ongoing back issue as sometimes the larger camera is too painful to carry (though I use a shoulder strap now instead of the usual one which does help. As the Canon 700D/T5i Manual has a comprehensive Manual, I decided to use that as a resource. There are a significant amount of controls and features available on the 700D, and the pictorial outline of these controls demonstrates how complex even this mid-range DSLR offers. The Battery Pack is an LP-E8 and I always carry at least three spares with me which are fully charged. I also have car and wall chargers in the main case which I usually carry in the boot with my monopod and tripod. The 700D can record in standard high-quality ‘.jpeg’ format (created by a consortium of manufacturers, jpeg or jpg stands for Joint Photographic Expert Group). But it also offers the RAW file format which contains data straight from the sensor. This is a container format which includes metadata (significant information in a variety of formats according to manufacturer) that requires extra steps before it can be displayed on a screen. The jpg format is easier to use in general, far easier to view and edit in most applications; whereas the RAW format is often unable to be opened and edited on standard or many free editing programmes and is thus more difficult to edit – although arguably the resulting photograph is of higher quality as RAW is a ‘lossless’ format unlike jpg (a ‘lossy’ format which can degrade with each editing or opening, similar to a vinyl record). I always have a camera in the car; it has become habit over the years. This photo was taken outside of the Farmhouse where my daughter had her weekly singing lessons. Trying to capture the vibrant and muted colours, the delicate light and keep the foreground in some sort of detail was not easy... I'll leave it up to you to decide if it worked or not. Welcome to this, my weekly blog. A weekly blog you say? Why? Well, I have been taking photos for over 40 years, I first used a little Cosina CT-1 Super 35 mm camera and used that throughout my teens. I even had my own darkroom(ok it was the bathroom) and I can still remember the smell of the Ilford chemicals I used all this time later!
Anyway, in recent times I adapted to the digital age, first with a Kodak DC280 and then up to a Canon DSLR. I acquired new lenses, accessories and rekindled my love of the visual medium. I've been on a couple of day courses to refine and enhance but, having had to retire from my chosen career early due to ill health, I knew that it would be good for me to have something aside from my writing that might help keep my brain working - to this end my wife brought home a leaflet about taking a photography course, and I went along to have a look and see if it might be useful and enjoyable. I met some great people, all with a range of photographic interests and experience and had the course outlined by Denise Felkin (www.denisefelkin.com/) our Tutor and I knew very quickly that this was the place to be for the next 20 weeks or so! But this first week there was an English and Maths Assessment as well as our introduction to the systems we would be using for the course; the Course Learner Drive, a request to use a USB Thumb (aka Pen) drive for transporting documents and photographs and our introduction to the ILP resulted in us writing three personal goals – mine were:
No home tasks (I might lapse into the age old ‘homework’ at some point…) were set this introductory week, but the list of Fox Talbot, Nicéphore Niépce and Daguerre to research found me sitting comfortably with a hot beverage on my sofa looking through the ‘interweb’ and discovering Niépce for possibly only the second time. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce [1765-1833] was born in France in 1765 to fairly well-to-do middle class parents. He followed a variety of careers (which included teaching) before discovering a love of science upon returning to run the family estate (Le Gras) and working on inventions and experiments with his brother Claude. Although they had discussed the reproduction of images using light sources; both brothers were primarily focussed on an invention (the ‘Pyreolophore’) to propel boats. Yet when lithography became a notable craze in 1813, Joseph began to tinker with what he called ‘heliography’. This resulted in the earliest known surviving photograph created in a camera (produced in 1826 or 1827). Meeting Francis Bauer [1758-1840] in England whilst visiting his own ailing brother, he was encouraged by Bauer to write about this invention who even facilitated Niecpe the opportunity to present his paper at the Royal Society (the scientific place to be in the 19th Century for a scientist). However, the specimens he presented were rejected by the Society as he did not disclose the whole process of creating the specimens which he referred to as: “Les premiers resultats obtenus spontanement par l’action de la lumiere” (The first results obtained spontaneously by the action of light) Seemingly undaunted of this snub by fellow science bods, Niépce returned to Le Gras and continued with his experiments; later forming a partnership with Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre [1787-1851] (who I did have previous knowledge of!). However, once again the fates were not overly kind to Niépce as his dreams of success and financial rewards were thwarted even though he continued to experiment until his death in 1833. However, his partner of some 10 years (Daguerre); became much more successful as his own photographic invention – the ‘Daguerreotype’ – became a commercial success which overshadowed Niépces’ heliograph. Daguerre was another Frenchman, born near Paris in 1787. He was a painter and physicist who refined and enhanced the process that Niépce had utilised but which were required a long exposure (at 8 hours) and which provided a fairly low quality image. Daguerre’s invention was far superior as it ‘only’ took 20 to 30 minutes to produce an image of finer quality. During his experiments, Daguerre had discovered that exposing an iodized silver plate in a camera would create a lasting image when developed by exposure to the fumes of mercury and then fixed by a solution of common salt. This invention, arguably the first real photographic process, was announced at the Academy of Sciences in Paris by the noted astronomer and physicist François Arago [1786-1853]. Daguerre was appointed an officer of the French Ordre National de la Légion ‘dhonneur and was assigned an annuity of 6,000 francs, in 1839. The heir of Niépce was awarded 4,000 francs; both for their photographic process. The impressively named (British) William Henry Fox Talbot [1800-1877] ensured that, at such an early stage of photography, the French did not have a monopoly. Talbot was a renowned polymath; a chemist, linguist, Egyptologist and fellow pioneer of the photographic craft. His major contribution was in refining and improving on the French duo’s work. In the 1830s he developed the ‘Calotype’ (also known as the ‘Talbotype’ and patented in 1841) which involved the use of a photographic negative. This brought the process closer to the system that was used worldwide until the digital formats became popular. The caloptype was a major step forwards as its use of a negative meant that many prints could be made of one image. But like a lot of British scientists, Talbot was late to the party; his more efficient process was announced after Daguerre’s who became known as the founder of photography. Talbot did have one ‘first’ though – he published ‘The Pencil of Nature’ in six instalments from 1844-46. This was the first book to have photographic illustrations documenting the beginnings, through architecture and objects, of photography. Talbots’ discovery of how to take instantaneous photographs by way of his 1852 and 1858 patents of his ‘photolyphic engraving’ process used steel plates and muslin to achieve middle tones in photographs took the process to another level. His advancements were the precursor to the 1880's development of the halftone plates (a technique to break up an image into a series of dots in order to reproduce the full tone range of a photograph or piece of art). Interestingly, about 100 years later, the utilisation of a digital ‘dot’ (or pixel) would create another evolution of photography and bring it to the forefront of social communication. It would allow everyone with a ‘smart’ phone to have in their pocket a camera system that could take a photo and publish it across the world within a few moments; something that the pioneers of the 19th Century would have been almost certainly unable to have dreamt of. Even from the first introduction week, I knew that this was a course I would enjoy and which would enhance any photographic talent I may (or may not) possess. So, having passed the first set of tests; I'll be keeping this blog updated every week and you can come along with me on my journey into a new world of photography as I re-learn old things, discover new things, and explore my creative side...... |
Alan MitchellI'm always trying to capture that fleeting 'moment' in time -whether by taking a photo or writing a poem. My attempts to capture that illusive feeling, sight, sensation or sound in some way is, to me, magical. Archives
March 2023
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