Tutor report
Having received and taken on board the comments and advice from my tutor I have made several adjustments to Assignment 1.
All of which will be added to this my learning blog, over the next few days. The changes will be included in the assignment alongside my original submissions.. with information as to what changes I have made and why they have been made.
Dear
Sue
Many
thanks for your first assignment and the link to the blog. It is good to see your work (and get an
insight into Oman as well as your other travels).
If
you have any queries with any aspect of this feedback please do get in
touch. With regard to filters, which I
know you are about to purchase I would again recommend that you look at neutral
density filters and in addition I would think a polarizing filter will be most
useful to help with the glare from the very bright light conditions.
Overall Comments
The
assignment was submitted as a series of digital files via a link on
Skydrive. A link to the blog was also
sent. Accompanying information for the
images was contained in a blog post for the assignment.
The
assignment was clearly presented on the blog with information to explain each
of the images. In your explanation you
are clearly describing your intention with each image. In addition you are starting to reflect on
how you can change or improve your images.
Do continue to do this with future assignments.
It
is clear that you considering your images and taking the time to explore the
settings on your camera. Do continue to
add in the technical settings on your photographs, as it will help you to learn
the f.stops and how they affect the depth of field in images.
The
range of subjects shows a good insight to your various types of
photographs. It is clear that the images
of natural forms – for many,few and rounded are a particular strength.
Assessment
potential (after Assignment 1)
“Formal
Assessment: You may want to get credit for your hard work and achievements with
the OCA by formally submitting your work for assessment at the end of the
module. More and more people are taking the idea of lifelong learning seriously
by submitting their work for assessment but it is entirely up to you. We are
just as keen to support you whether you study for pleasure or to gain
qualifications. Please consider whether you want to put your work forward
for assessment and let me know your decision when you submit assignment 2.
I can then give you feedback on how well your work meets the assessment
requirements.”
Feedback on assignment
Narrow
In this image you have
shown a waterway. This is shown to be
very narrow. The image has a mountainous
background, which sets the context. I
would consider cropping the sky out of the image, as it is so much brighter
than the rest of the image. The crop
then reduces the scene and draws the eye much more to the waterway. This crop could also be used to eliminate the
person as they stand out due to the red clothing. An example crop is below.
Broad
In this image the river
contrasts to the previous. The width is
clearly seen. The pier/jetty at the
bottom right of the frame helps to anchor the image. The soft light avoids harsh shadows and the
image many features soft tones of greens and blues.
Low
This image works well with
the following image due to location chosen.
The low tug contrasts to the crane shown in the next image. The bright
colours dominate. The image is a little
light and could be darkened slightly.
This will help to intensify the colours.
High
In this image the crane is
the ‘high’ point. However I feel that
this needs to dominate the frame more to make the point. One option is as you say to use a longer
lens. Using a longer lens also helps to
compress the distance so that elements within the frame appear closer
together. Another option is to do a
selective crop of the frame. A quick
example is shown below.
Many
This is a very strong
image. The depth of field has been
controlled so that only a few are in focus.
The selection of main flower in the middle as the focal point is well
considered. The exposure is well
controlled. A wonderful image – well
done.
Few
This image contrasts well
with the previous. The use of the sodium
vapour white balance setting gives a slightly unreal effect to the image. The small depth of field has been well
utilized to bring the front bloom to prominence.
Intermittent
A well spotted subject
where you have used the lines of the posts to lead your eye around the
frame. The image is quite light in
some areas. There are several techniques
in Photoshop that you can use to selectively darken and lighten areas. This video gives a good tutorial on one method.
When taking images such as
this, do consider where you put the focal point – this is the part of the image
should go to first. In this image the post
in the foreground appears to be the focal point but is out of focus.
Continuous
This image shows the
rollercoaster to its full scale. The use
of the angle allows the loop to be shown and the straight track. Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Soft
This is a strong pairing
and shows good originality of thought.
The softness of the clay has been captured by the slight blur on the
wheel. The colours are also soft which
further adds to the feel of the image.
The line at the bottom right is slightly distracting but appreciate that
it was probably hard to avoid.
Hard
This image contrasts to the
previous – here the colours and the object are harder in feel. The burner is slightly off centre in the
frame with the right edge clipped – this is something to watch for when
composing images.
Rough
The cable here is shown to
be rough. The composition is good with
the cable at an angle dissecting the frame.
I think you could go in even closer here for a more abstract image. The small depth of field is well chosen to
blur out the background.
Smooth
This contrasts well to the
previous in terms of subject matter. I
think again you could go in even closer here to abstract the object. Assignment 2 is a good place to start with
making abstract images.
Diagonal
This image shows the
diagonal by way of the segments in the fruit.
The use of the purple offsets the green – something you will see more of
in assignment 3. The fruits could fill
the frame more so that there is less of the purple and more sense of the lines
diagonally radiating out. An alternative
would be to shoot a similar shot to rounded but place the object(s) on the
diagonal.
Rounded
This image of the flowers
shows rounded and repeats the shape via the flower centres and the shapes
formed by the petals. The bottom flower
is in sharp focus whereas the top one is out of focus. The lighting is well controlled as harsh
shadows are avoided. There is a small
glimmer of something in the bottom right, which is distracting.
Blunt
A very well executed image
of the pencil shaving. The bright orange
gives a real edge to the image and complements the hint of blurred blue in the
background.
Pointed
A simple but well staged
image that illustrates pointed very clearly.
Well done.
Diagonal and Rounded
The large barrels in the
cellar work incredibly well against the lines formed by the diagonals. The light has been controlled well. The wide lens allows for all the view to be
seen – however do watch for the effect of distortion when shooting very wide.
Sketchbooks
N/A
Learning Logs/Critical
essays
The log is showing good
development of the exercises. These are
being regularly posted. The explanation
is clear and it is good how you are making comments on your thoughts on each
exercise. Please continue to do this. You will find as you progress through the
course and your technical and artistic knowledge increases that you are able to
comment more and more on each of the exercises.
Do remember that you can go
back and add to any part of the course.
No part of the course is ever finished until you submit for formal
assessment!
I did particularly enjoy
the images you took at Portobello Road.
This type of approach is very suitable to assignments later on in the
course.
Suggested reading/viewing
You
are starting to mention looking at the work of other photographers – you make
reference to The Photographers Eye and Johannes Itten in the post on Assignment
1. Do continue to expand on this. It is good to see that you are visiting
exhibitions and including images from these visits.
Pointers for the next
assignment
Elements of Design
For assignment 2 you are required to
look at elements of design. The key to
this assignment is to select from ONE of the group of subjects listed.
Photographers you could look at for
each group are:
Flowers and plants
Niall Benvie; Heather Angel; Ernst
Haas, Robert Mapplethorpe (the flower images only!!)
Landscape
Ansel Adams; Charlie Waite, Joe
Cornish; John Davies
Street details
Lee Friedlander (the urban images);
Robert Frank, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Raghubir Singh,
Raw Materials of Food
Edward Weston (still lifes); Irving
Penn (still lives); for animals look at Steve Bloom; Andy Rouse.
If you wish to choose your own
subject, please let me know in advance.
Regards
Andrea
Tutor
name:
|
Andrea
Norrington
|
Date
|
2nd
April 2012
|
Next
assignment due
|
30th
June 2012
|
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