Reflections - Theme Photos

Five-Four-Three-Two-One More Time

Final Theme Photos - Reflections My theme is reflections, which I decided on because everyday on the bus I pass this marshy area of ground, where trees sprout from the water and create pretty reflections, particularly when it ices over (however my immune system decided to be inconvenient and I was too sick to go out when we had snow).  I did try to get photos of it more recently but although I clambered down the embankment and made my mum wait at the side of the road, I didn't have much luck.  The sky was all cloudy and the weeds were too tangled to get a good reflective picture.  I did see an abandoned fridge though, that's not a sight you see everyday.   final photo vs the original This photograph is of a magnifying mirror on the ground in the woods near my house.  I originally wanted to put several small mirrors together, but as it was getting dark the logistics of using my phone's torch with six shiny reflective surfaces were a bit of a nightmare (and really hurt my eyes, you'd think I might have learned by now).  Funnily enough, the white torchlight somehow made the picture seem really sunny, which I think makes the juxtaposition of the two colours more prominent.  I set the camer to "cloudy" mode, which was the closest it had to dark without the light trace setting. I did edit this photo.  I boosted the colour in the Windows Photo Application, which made the image slightly brighter and the reflection more defined, and applied a selective focus to the mirror to make it stand out more. - final vs original I said I wasn't going to do trees because frankly I'm sick of them, all there is around here is trees or sheep, but what do I do? I have trees in more than one of my final photographs.  I don't even know anymore. I took this photo because I saw the reflection and thought it looked really nice, then I realised that it made an arrow shape.  It's pointing towards the road, and, interestingly enough, home.  This is just off the A701 and makes for a good walk, although perhaps not when it's as muddy as it right now. I don't actually know how to work Windows 8.1 (I'm an unwilling and reluctant convert), so I don't know how to double check the photo information.  I do remember choosing the setting for bright light and altering it and the ISO to factor in the annoyingly white sky.  As for editing, I boosted it to bring all the different colours out and I increased the brightness (+10) and the contrast (+20).  I also cropped it to try to move the bank from the middle of the photograph. - This was taken maybe fifty yards before the last photo.  I like how the edges of the trees seem to frame the tree in the middle, a bit like a vignette.  Although the reflection is cluttered with weeds and leaves in the water, I feel like it provides more of a contrast with the relative clearness of the clouds.  The reflction is still recognisable and I really liked it when I saw it. I didn't edit it because I thought it was fine as it was and I didn't want to mess around with it too much. - final vs original I took this picture when I was leaving the house because I was struck by how perfectly the street was reflected in the glass of the car window.  I really like how it appears like a mirror, blocking your view of anything in the car.  It is squint because that's how it appeared on the glass.  I suppose it's kind of like a flatter fisheye lens (but I don't even know what I'm talking about).  I left the camera on auto because some of the other settings ruined the reflection and I was worried about clouds messing with the light.  The colour of the street goes well with the clouds in my opinion, and it seems as though the picture is in thirds with the sky, houses and gravel.  I cropped it to remove the window sticker but I left the reflection of my hand and the camera to show that it is a reflection - although I suppose the squint picture also shows it.  I'm not sure why the final one appears brighter because I didn't edit that on purpose, so maybe it automatically did it or something.  Spot the confused Windows 8 user. - final vs original Here I decided to drag a mirror outside and see what I could do with the reflection.  It was not as good as I expected, as the mirror was heavy and I had to climb over a fence with it so I didn't go too far, but I kind of like the effect it has.  I made sure the tree trunk wasn't directly in the middle and I tilted the mirror away from me so I wasn't in the photo.  It took a couple of tries to cancel out the bright light - seriously, when are we going to get proper weather? - but once I took the photo I reasoned I could darken it and edit the contrast a bit.  I'm fairly pleased with how this one turned out, and I like how dark I managed to get the reflection.  I increased the contrast by 25 and lowered the brightness by 20 to get the lighting down to a more "normal" level.  I then decreased the highlights by 60 to make it even more contrasting.  I quite like how the grass seems bright and artificial, especially when compared to the darkness of the trees. - I didn't use a tripod for any of the pictures because mine is very short and wouldn't have allowed me to take half of these photos.  I considered using other techniques such as macro but I didn't feel that I could take good photos with that.  I suppose all of my final photos are landscapes or still lifes and I'm not too bothered by that really.  I think they all fit in to my theme quite well. - So these are my theme photos, and overall I'm happy with them, although I did have to reject a lot of ideas because it was always too dark by the time I got home.  I think I did alright with the theme of reflections and I think I might have to try some of my ideas again in the future.  If it hadn't failed so spectaularly, I was going to include my attempt at an "infinity photo."  There's always next time I guess. - THE NOT AT ALL AMERICAN REJECTS I took so many photographs for this that I thought I'd post some of the ones I rejected.  They are unedited and are included solely for interest. The reflections on the water were really impressive. EDIT: I realised that all of these photos contain trees, I'm so embarrassed.  I want to change my theme to "Anti-Trees".

Music Photography + Adam Elmakias

Music photography is taking pictures of bands and concerts.  Although some bands or concert venues stick to the "three song rule" for photographers, some bands will take their own photographer on tour with them.  Often limited press photo passes will be given out, unless it's a big show at, for example, the SSE Hydro.  Music photographers aim to create aesthetically pleasing crowd or lighting shots, or clear pictures of the band members performing.  A lot of this type of photography is based on luck, as well as where you position yourself and if you backlight the stage or not.  Photographers will generally move around the venue and take lots of shots from different perspectives, and they may leave remote control cameras around the venue as well.

usic photography is used by music magazines and websites as well as bands themselves.  Fans also practice concert photography to a certain extent, though not quite to the standard of professional photographers.  Unless you have a press pass, you are not allowed any camera better than a phone, iPod or point and shoot camera.

You Me At Six, 2013 (my photo)

Adam Elmakias is one of the most well-known music photographers in the rock community.  From Madison in Wisconsin, America, he has been taking photographs since 2006 and building a wide network of contacts.  He prefers to cultivate a relationship with bands instead of being a one-off photographer, and has known the bands he tours with for more than five years.  He works a lot with bands such as A Day To Remember, All Time Low and Of Mice And Men, but he also takes clients from other bands etc. worldwide.  I became aware of him in much the same way as Tom Barnes, through magazines and the bands interacting with him.  He's built up his brand well and has even released a DVD of photography advice, which he put up on the internet for free as he wanted everyone to have access to it before it went out of date.

All Time Low on tour (Adam Elmakias)

His live photos are great because they show how how much fun the band and crowd are having, how many people are gathered together under the lights, how intense the moment captured is.  He may rely on luck a lot of the time but his knowledge of where to go for a good photo and how to get one is A* in my opinion.

I really like concert photography, particularly at festivals, because there's so much going on and it really freezes the second in time.

Adam shooting the stage at an All Time Low concert 2015
(Adam Elmakias)

Pierce The Veil, 2012 (Adam Elmakias)

This photo he took shows the lead singer of Pierce The Veil onstage mid-concert.  The fact the photo is in black and white makes it more dramatic and draws your eyes to the centre of the picture, with the help of the beams on the ceiling.  I like that he captured the confetti and the way the singer is obviously connected to the crowd with his arm up.  It's a good photograph and expresses the feeling of standing on stage looking back at the crowd well.  I especially like how the singer's arm lines up with the beam above him.

I also like this photograph he took of A Day To Remember.  It's also in black and white, lending it a more personal feel and providing stark contrasts between the lighting and the surrounding dark.

A Day To Remember singer (Adam Elmakias)

The different shades in this are very nice and it's nice how the people in the crowd become more distinct the more you look at it.  It's a good photograph too and even when I'm not particularly a fan of the bands, I'm always impressed with the photography.  The composition of both is done very well and in this picture I like that the viewpoint is from sidestage as it shows both the singer and the fans raising their arms back to him.

Sources used:

Adam Elmakias
Adam Elmakias II
Alter The Press
Wikipedia
Elmakias Tumblr

We are here somewhere to the right of the stairs
- ATL at Glasgow (Adam Elmakias)

Portrait Photography + Tom Barnes

Portrait photography is when photographs are taken of a person or people instead of being drawn or painted.  They can be shot inside or outside, in a studio or anywhere else.  A fast shutter speed is often used to capture these images to compensate for changes in facial expression or fidgeting.  The practice of taking portraits was popularised with the invention of daguerreotypes - photographs created through a chemical process involving mercury vapour - in 1839 by Louis Daguerre.  This meant that the lower classes could afford to have a picture taken too.

A portrait by Tom Barnes

The National Portrait Gallery in London is dedicated to portraits of people of historical importance to the UK.  It houses more than 250,000 photographs.

An example of a portrait photographer is Tom Barnes, an England-based photographer who works internationally shooting bands, models, animals, and ordinary people.  He has shot for as diverse a range of clients as Rock Sound, Channel Four, Q Magazine, Drop Dead, and Roadrunner Records.  He also shoots people and things he finds interesting for himself, posting them on his website.

Self-taught while doing an urban land economics degree at university, he has been taking photographs since around the age of four.  Now, having spent over £25,000 on his camera equipment, he is a renowned portrait photographer sought out for press, editorial and advertising.  I discovered him originally through his close relationship with the band You Me At Six and by seeing his photographs in publications such as Kerrang!.  I like what he does with his surroundings and light to take engaging photographs.

 

He shot all the individual
portraits here except
for Oli Sykes. (RS194)

As a photographer, he relies heavily on artificial light over natural.  His signature style uses this lighting to create a sombre effect.  He has an impressive array of photographic techniques and methods and all of his images are engaging and interesting.

An example of Tom Barnes' work

Moreover, he uses his online presence as a way to show his equipment (including his awesome workspace he made himself!), tips and tricks etc.

With portrait photography, the subject(s) can be photographed close up or from a distance.  They are usually shot with either half the body in view or just a head shot.  Portraits are good for school photos, baby pictures, and photographs where you are trying to capture a mood or expression.

Young Guns, by Tom Barnes

This portrait of Daniel Mays is nice because all the colours tie in together, with the brown of the suit and the walls, and the similar colour of the Scrabble tiles and the windows.  I like how it was set up so it seems as if the subject has been interrupted in his game.  The way it includes around half of his 

Daniel Mays (Tom Barnes)

body as well as the surrounding area makes the photo more inclusive, like the viewer is seated opposite him.  The photo has a warm atmosphere and I really like it, along with the rest of Barnes' work.

Sources used:

Profoto

Wikipedia

Tom Barnes 

National Portrait Gallery

National Portrait Gallery II

Fabulous Noble

Smartphone Cameras

Smartphone Cameras

One of the most widely accessible image making methods is the camera found in most people's pockets - the smartphone camera.  Phone manufacturers have now developed smartphones so that all of them carry cameras to rival most point and shoots.  Building on basic camera phones - such as the world's first, the 2000 Japanese J-SH04 created by Sharp, or the slightly earlier Samsung SCH-V200 built-in camera phone (contested as you could only access the photos from a computer) - we have now arrived at phones such as the 16 megapixel, 577ppi, dual LED Samsung Galaxy S6, due to be released in April.

The 2000 J-SH04 camera phone
(Wikipedia)

The 2005 Sony Ericsson K750i
camera phone (Tech Radar)

The 2015 HTC One M9 smartphone
with Duo camera (PC Advisor)

The more up to date phones will have both front and rear-facing cameras, allowing for video conferencing and the increasingly popular selfie, albeit with lower resolution front cameras.  The recent rise in "selfie culture" has led to smartphone makers starting to increase the resolution of thesefront cameras. Smartphone cameras differ from cameras as their main function is not to take photographs.  Although camera technology has improved in recent years to include many of the same features as phones - e.g. posting pictures taken to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. using wifi - smartphones are an easier and more flexible way to store and upload images.  It is faster than using a USB cable or SD card to upload pictures to a computer then adding them to your email or social media, and as smartphones can use mobile data they can take and send pictures anywhere as they don't have to be reliant on a broadband signal.

Smartphone camera comparison (Giz Mag)

I have a HTC One X, which has an 8 megapixel camera (1.3 for the front facing one).

Here are some pictures taken with my phone as an example.  I used the different filters available, which include Posterise, Vintage Warm/Cold, Solarise, Negative and Dots.

There is debate as to whether smartphones can take better photographs than most cameras.  Whether or not that is true is generally up to the user, however it can't be denied that smartphones are capable of creating images of the same quality as point and shoots, maybe even some DSLRs.  Which did a test to see the best camera for taking ordinary shots.  A compact camera won, but as they said, the best camera "depends on the type of shots you want to take".



With many apps available to download, or items such as the Nokia Lumia Camera Grip to help make the smartphone camera experience as close to a "real" camera as possible, it's not difficult to see why smartphones are nowadays becoming more prevalent than cameras.  Part of the appeal may the ease in which photographs can set up and taken on the camera application of the phone.  Settings are more intuitive and are located in the same place, making it a more straightforward process.  Even though there are cameras with touch screens, it can't be denied that smartphones, being multi-purpose (with touchscreens), have the added attraction of being more convenient to cart around and pull out when a photo opportunity catches your eye.  

I don't believe that there is a right or wrong side to the smartphone/camera discussion; I use both, and like both.  For different reasons, they are the most useful for different photographs, and therefore I alternate between them depending on the situation.  Smartphones cameras are getting better and better and I'm looking forward to seeing what phone manufacturers do next to increase their ability to compete with camera manufacturers.


Sources used:

Mobiles.co.uk
Wikipedia
The Huffington Post
Tech Radar
Tech Radar II
Digital Trends
BBC News
Phone Arena
Giz Mag
Wikimedia Content (By Morio (photo taken by Morio) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons)
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