18th April 2014 (Week 10)
Seow Jie Yi (0318873)
Introduction to Photography
Final Project Process

WORK

REFLECTION
The theme that I have chosen is 'Beauty in Nature'. Although nature is supposed to be greeneries but there is none of it in these photos because we are needed to take photos using the black and white setting.

When I first walked to the park, I felt embarrassed when people were staring at me while I was taking photos. It bugged me to the point where I would just skip some beautiful sceneries just because I was ashamed to take photos of it especially where I have to stand at the edge of the rock just for some photos. But as the time goes by, I felt like I was in my own world where I did not care about the joggers and cyclists that passed by me and not to forget their stares. Furthermore, I actually walked back to the places that I had skipped earlier on and I did not regret the photos that I captured.

The hardest part of taking this photos is that there are a lot of people walk, jog, and cycle around this park. Therefore, giving me all the difficulties in producing my desired photos because I do not want any people nor pets in my photos. Sometimes I had to stand there and wait for the joggers or cyclists to go far enough so that I could not see them in the photos but after taking just a few shots, another train of people passes by. I could not blame those people either as the park is a public area and people are living a healthy lifestyle by exercising.

Other than that, the second and third photo took me quite some time to get the shot. Luckily, the insect was still there after I had managed to get the right lightings and the focussing of the lens. I was also at an awkward position just to get these shots but to me, it was worth it. I do not own a zooming lens and so I had to angle my camera as close to the insect as possible while hoping that it does not fly or crawl away.

FEEDBACK
Mr Vinod commented on our photos that we edited through Facebook after we had posted it onto our photography class' Facebook group. He said that my picture was edited a little bit too much as he said he could not see the right exposure for the picture anymore.

I was actually confused when he commented that because I heard Mr Vinod saying that he wanted us to edit our photos but also maintain the exposure. But after that he changed his mind and said we could edit it however we want so that we can take this ungraded assignment as a chance for us to explore and play around wit h photoshop for us to get used to it and therefore I edited it a lot.

11th April 2014 (Week 9)
Seow Jie Yi (0318873)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise: Editing Selfie

INSTRUCTION
1. Take selfies using both camera and phone.
2. Edit it with Adobe Photoshop.
3. Post it onto Facebook as profile picture.

WORK
Before:

After:

Screenshot of homepage:

Screenshot of results:

REFLECTION

This week's assignment was pretty difficult for me and i believe it was also the same for most of my classmates as this was the first time we have ever used photoshop. Though using photoshop was new to me, I was willing to learn because it seems interesting to me.

When I first used it, I feel so lost. I did not know most of the functions in the software and the way to use it. I spent my weekend playing around with the functions before I officially start with my assignment. Although Mr Vinod explained some of the functions but my friend and I was not there as we have gone out of the class to explore for places with suitable lighting to take the photos required for this assignment. When the both of us went back to class, the lecturer was halfway through with the functions in photoshop. I remembered he was explaining about the usage of layers and feathers.

Due to the lack of understanding of photoshop, I did some research on it. For example, I searched for the shortcuts to undo and redo which is essential for editing. Furthermore, I read about the usage of the layer tab as I had difficulties to insert a background for my photo at first. I also went through tutorials on how to create some effects that I wanted to try editing onto my selfie.

Initially, I planned to use a black and white photo of myself before I found out a function to make it into the result of my editing. Besides that, I was using the lasso tool to crop my face and it did not turn out well. I then found out there was a function called magnetic lasso tool where you could crop your photo easily without getting worried that you might not get the lines right.

Nothing could be done according to what you want on your first try and I was no exception. I saved my progress even if I only edited a little bit because it took me so long just to do a small part as I was still unfamiliar with photoshop. I have done a total of 3 slightly different editing.

I was not satisfied with the first one that I edited. Therefore, I made a second one but unfortunately I was still not satisfied and I went on with the third one. Editing it carefully and fixing the parts where I was not satisfied with by comparing the previous edited one and the one I am currently working on. In my opinion, photoshop is a very useful software if someone would like to edit and make the photo seem surreal and more appealing. I would also like to do more research so that I could make myself familiar with the functions in photoshop.

FEEDBACK

Specific feedback: This week, we had out feedbacks through the projection so that everyone could see what the other classmates had done and how they portrayed their principles of composition. Overall, the photos that I have taken and chosen for the previous assignment were good and that the principles that I have stated for the photos were accurate except for the one that I have chosen under the principle of domination. Mr Vinod said that domination should be a close up photo whereas the subject matter should be obvious. Therefore, I have changed the photo that he mentioned was incorrect and replaced it with another photo.

21st March 2014 (Week 8)
Seow Jie Yi (0318873)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise 4a: Rule of Thirds

LECTURE
Today we started off with quizzes about The Zone System through Twitter. After that, Mr Vinod started the class by saying that what we have learnt during Principles of Design about the Rule of Thirds is applicable to this week's introduction to photography class.

He explained that having a subject matter in the middle, as the image above, makes the photo looks still, mundane and uninteresting. 

Next, he talked about how the image above effects the viewers. When a subject matter is off centre, it makes the viewers curious as to why it is placed off centre. Other than that, it still gives people the feeling of imbalance and it will seem as though it has a lot of white space.

When the subject matter is placed closer to the frame and further from the middle, it gives off an unpleasant feeling and also a sort of tension to it. 

Intersecting lines, as the image above, is called the focal points. These are the strategic spot to place the subject matter to make a photo more interesting and will cause people to think about the photo and feel curious about it.

This is an example of a photo using the Rule of Thirds and intersecting lines. The subject matter took up 2 intersecting points. This photo will make people wonder 'what is he staring at' because there is a lot of spaces on the left side of the photo and also because he is looking at that direction.

This is called a counterpoint where the bigger subject matter is the main focus while the smaller subject matter is the least focus.

This is an example of a photo using the Rule of Thirds and counterpoints. The subject matter on the right is the main focus as it is bigger than the subject matter on the left of the photo.

Besides the Rule of Third, there are principles that can ale be used when composing and considering elements within a photo.

The principles are:

        - Domination / Emphasis

        - Isolation

        - Balance

        - Repetition

        - Alignment

        - Contrast

        - Rhythm

        - Symmetry / Asymmetry

        - Harmony

Exercise 4a. Rule of Thirds

INSTRUCTION

1. Capture 3 images adhering to the Rule of Thirds.
2. A photo with one person using the Rule of Thirds.
3. A photo with three person using the Rule of Thirds.
4. A photo with a scenery using the Rule of Thirds.

WORK

1 person

Aperture: f5   Shutter speed: 1/650   ISO: 400

3 person

Aperture: f4.5   Shutter speed: 1/1000   ISO: 800

A scenery

Aperture: f3.5   Shutter speed: 1/250   ISO: 200

SCREENSHOT

Exercise 4b. Principles Underpinning Composition

INSTRUCTION

Capture images adhering to any of the mentioned principles below:

- Domination / Emphasis

- Isolation 

- Balance

- Repetition Alignment

- Contrast

- Rhythm

- Symmetry / Asymmetry Harmony

Work

Aperture: f4   Shutter speed: 1/500   ISO: 400

Principles: Symmetry, Harmony, Balance

Aperture: f4.5   Shutter speed: 1/100   ISO: 200

Principle: Isolation

Aperture: f5   Shutter speed: 1/100   ISO: 200

Principle: Domination / Emphasis

Aperture: f3.5   Shutter speed: 1/100   ISO: 200

Principle: Repetition Alignment

SCREENSHOT

FEEDBACK

General feedback: Again, Mr Vinod reminded us that the reflection that we wrote for our eportfolio is important. Therefore, he wants us to write as much as possible. He also said that if someone is not fluent in English and might be worried that he will make a lot of mistakes, he or she is allowed to write in point form. He also generally told the class that most of the photo that we took for our previous assignment is kind of mundane. He wants the photo to be more interesting which also requires more imagination and creativity. Hence, he told us that we could redo the previous assignments if we want to. 

Specific feedback: Mr Vinod said that exercise 3a, which is the previous post in the blog, is relatively accurate except for the dark shade which did not seem to be dark enough. Besides that, he said that the photo that I have taken for exercise 3b was mundane and lacked imagination. He also told me that I may redo it if i want to.

REFLECTION

Throughout the lecture and the assignments that I have done, I have learnt and expanded my knowledge about photography. In this specific assignment, I have learnt the Rule of Third. I noticed that if I applied the Rule of Third into my photo, it makes my photo much more interesting than the subject matter that were plainly taken in the middle of the frame. This also arises questions and curiosity of people about why I decided to take a photo with the subject matter at either the left, right, bottom or the upper side of the frame.

When I went through my album, I realised that I do take photos with the subject matter off centre. It occurs to me that sometimes I should take the photo with the subject matter not being in the middle. I only realised this when my sister asked me 'why am I not in the centre' and I told her, ' I don't know, but I think it looks better' and she also agrees to my answer. Usually, I would first visualise it in my mind about how I want it to turn out before I take a photo of something and it unknowingly told me to adjust the subject matter onto the side. Furthermore, I have always liked it better with the subject matter being on the right side of the frame, which is the first column on the right of the gridlines. 

I first heard of the Rule of Thirds during Principles of Design class and it was just the day before Introduction to Photography classes. After learning about it, I understood more about the Rule of Thirds and I hope I could apply more of this rule into my future works in order to get more interesting and creative photos.

14th March 2014 (Week 7)
Seow Jie Yi (0318873)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise 3: The Zone System

LECTURE
This week,  Mr Vinod told us about the zone system. The zone system was created by Ansel Adams, he is a great photographer.  He mentioned that the light meter in our camera is not trusted and we should not take it for granted that whatever reading the camera gave is correct. This is actually caused by how the camera functions as it assumes all background has the same tone which is in zone 5, also known as middle grey. He explained that when the light meter is 0, it mostly signifies that the photo is in zones 4, 5 and 6. Besides that, we were told that each zone is equals to 1 stop of the aperture.

These are a few images that was given by Mr Vinod:

Exercise 3.a. Light, Middle and Dark Tones
INSTRUCTION
1. Choose 3 different subject matters of varying tones.
2. Firstly, take a photo of the subject matter that has varying shades of white.
3. Next, take a photo of the subject matter that has varying shades of grey (middle tones).
4. Then, take a photo of the subject matter that has varying shades within a dark area.

WORK

Light

Aperture: f5.6

Shutter speed: 1/60

ISO: 200

Aperture: f5.6

Shutter speed: 1/100

ISO: 200

Medium

Aperture: f3.5

Shutter speed: 1/20

ISO: 200

Aperture: f3.5

Shutter speed: 1/13

ISO: 200

Dark

Aperture: f4

Shutter speed: 1/3

ISO: 200

Aperture: f4

Shutter speed: 1/6

ISO: 200

REFLECTION

From this exercise, I have learnt that we should not depend on the camera too much as it is already proven that the light meter is dumb and it gives us false readings. If we follow the light meter reading of the camera, the photo taken may not be the desired photo as it will automatically change all of the tones of the photo into middle grey which will then make the photo unappealing.

Although I usually would play around with the black and white setting in the camera but I had never heard anything about the zone system. I have always loved this setting because the pictures taken that are in black and white always gives me a nostalgic feeling. When I first heard about it, I only knew that it is meant for the black and white setting but I have no idea of how it works. But after having this lecture about the zone system, I understand more about it and now I can snap better pictures with the black and white setting without worrying taking a picture that looks either too bright or too dark.

SCREENSHOT

Exercise 3.b.

INSTRUCTION

1. Choose a photo or take a photo of either a landscape, still life or human.

2. Sketch the photo that you chose of took and determine the zones that are found in the photo.

3. Write down which zone the shade belong to together with the aperture and shutter speed.
4. Determine the subject that is chosen to be prioritised in the photo.
5. Decide on the final zone, aperture and the shutter speed.
6. Take a photo using the settings that you have decided.

Aperture: f3.5

Shutter speed: 1/20

ISO: 200

REFLECTION
As I have mentioned before in the previous reflection that we could not fully rely on the camera's light meter and expect to get a photo that you desired because the light meter of the camera is dumb. It is not able to show the real readings as it automatically sets it to middle grey. Therefore, we have to learn how to get the photo that we desired by using the metering mode in the camera. Although it may be a little more complicated than just taking a simple photo but by using the metering mode to get the reading from each subject matter and finalising the readings that you want, you can take any photo and it will turn out as you have desired.

FEEDBACK
General feedback: Mr Vinod told us that our labelling of the assignments were a little bit wrong as we should have put 2.a.i. instead of just 2.a because for some assignments there are more than one part for the specific topic. Other than that, he also mentioned that the reflection that we wrote in our eportfolio is very important. Thus, we should try to elaborate as much as possible.

Specific feedback: Mr Vinod said that my reflection that I wrote for the previous post which was about the Terengganu excursion trip was written pretty well. Furthermore, he also told me that the part where I wrote about my experiences of using the camera is what he wanted us to write. Although he said that but he also wanted me to elaborate more if possible. Besides that, he also commented about the photo that I chose for the previous post that I had over exposed it a little bit because the batik is the subject matter in that photo and I wanted to focus more on that. Thankfully, he understood why I did that without me explaining the reason as to why it was over exposed.

14th March 2014 (Week 6)
Seow Jie Yi (0318873)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise 3: The Zone System

LECTURE
This week,  Mr Vinod told us about the zone system. The zone system was created by Ansel Adams, he is a great photographer.  He mentioned that the light meter in our camera is not trusted and we should not take it for granted that whatever reading the camera gave is correct. This is actually caused by how the camera functions as it assumes all background has the same tone which is in zone 5, also known as middle grey. He explained that when the light meter is 0, it mostly signifies that the photo is in zones 4, 5 and 6. Besides that, we were told that each zone is equals to 1 stop of the aperture.

These are a few images that was given by Mr Vinod:

Exercise 3.a. Light, Middle and Dark Tones
INSTRUCTION
1. Choose 3 different subject matters of varying tones.
2. Firstly, take a photo of the subject matter that has varying shades of white.
3. Next, take a photo of the subject matter that has varying shades of grey (middle tones).
4. Then, take a photo of the subject matter that has varying shades within a dark area.

WORK

Light

Aperture: f5.6

Shutter speed: 1/60

ISO: 200

Aperture: f5.6

Shutter speed: 1/100

ISO: 200

Medium

Aperture: f3.5

Shutter speed: 1/20

ISO: 200

Aperture: f3.5

Shutter speed: 1/13

ISO: 200

Dark

Aperture: f4

Shutter speed: 1/3

ISO: 200

Aperture: f4

Shutter speed: 1/6

ISO: 200