Unit 23: Photographic Media Planning a shoot - Lake District

For this part of the unit, I have decided to do a location shoot in the Lake District.  I will be visiting the Lakes around the middle of April so will be using this opportunity to do my shoot.  For the shoot I will be using my Canon 500D with a Sigma 10-20mm wide angle lens which I will borrow from college.  The wide angle lens is great for landscape photography so will be ideal for my shoot.  Some of the other equipment I will be using includes a tripod, remote shutter release, Graduated grey filter and ND filters.    

There are many advantages and disadvantages of using film and digital cameras.  However, there are key differences which can influence one's decision on whether to use film or digital.  One of the main factors to consider is image quality - as I'm going to be doing landscape I would like to have the highest quality image possible, and there are a number of factors that can determine this.  One of them is the pixel count on a digital camera, in a film camera this is dependent on the area of film used to record the image.  The higher the pixel count the better the image quality, the larger area to capture more information.  Some of the medium format cameras have resolutions of up to 50 mega pixels, whereas large formats can go up to 800 mega pixels.  For my landscape shoot it would have been good to use a full frame or medium format camera as they have a large sensor size to capture a lot of detail and for producing high quality images.  Film cameras can also be quicker to operate as the image doesn't have to be compressed or saved to a memory card.  This isn't something I would have to worry about too much as I can take as long as I need when doing my landscape images.           

Colour reproduction (gamut) is something else to consider when deciding on film or digital.  When using film, the colour reproduction is entirely dependent on light conditions and the quality of film used, although film does have the capacity to produce a broader range of colours, unlike digital, which poorly produces stronger shades of colours such as red.  However, when working with digital it is easier to work in RAW format which allows you to choose the colour space at the post processing stage.   I will be shooting my images in RAW to allow me the flexibility to adjust the colour space in Photoshop.  This will be particularly helpful if the weather turns out to be dull and grey during the day of my planned shoot.

Other factors which affect image quality is the ISO or film speed (sensitivity to light) as well as the developing, processing and printing methods you choose to use.  The higher the ISO/speed the more chances of getting images with noise/grain.  This is sometimes desirable in film photography to create atmospheric images.  Noise can be removed from digital images in PS but it can definitely effect image quality. It can also be added to give an artistic feel although it doesn't quite look the same as it does in film.  Noise can be a problem when working in lowlight as the sensitivity needs to be higher, so in theory it could affect my shoot as I'm planning to shoot late afternoon/early evening.  The reason for this is so I can try out my ND filters. I will do my best not to go over ISO 200 and using a tripod with remote shutter release will enable me to use a slow shutter speed to expose for longer without suffering from any camera shake or blurring.

Dynamic range is another important factor affecting image quality.  This refers to the difference between the darkest and lightest  parts on an image.  If an image exceeds the dynamic range then it could look too dark or completely washed out.  The key is to control the lighting and to try and underexpose and correct the tones in PS.  For my shoot I will be using my graduated grey filter to control any highlights and overexposure.  I can also adjust the exposure compensation in camera to make sure the highlights don't burn out.  Exposure bracketing and HDR are other ways of ensuring even exposure when shooting in difficult lighting conditions.      

The other problem you could encounter with digital is the 'moire pattern' this occurs when one pattern is overlaid with another. This usually occurs with patterns on buildings and metal structures and can be avoided by adjusting aperture, camera angle as well as shooting in RAW.  Fortunately I feel I won't experience such issues as I'm shooting landscape and the textures are completely different.      

Some of the disadvantages of film is that the image quality may degrade over time, whereas a digital photo can be stored on line and then backed up to prevent losses.  there's a lot of cost involved in processing film and even then the result is completely dependent on the developer unless you have a dark room at home, where you can control quality and develop the images to your requirements.

I will be using my digital camera for convenience and ease of use and also because I'm a lot more familiar with digital than film.  I can instantly view results and make any necessary adjustments to the white balance, composition, shutter speed and aperture to get the best result.  I also don't have access to a medium or large format camera so couldn't use one even if I wanted to.  The good thing about using digital camera is I don't have to spend money on developing images I'm not happy with. I can select the best images and print as necessary.

My reasons for wanting to shoot landscape is because it's one area of photography I thoroughly enjoy doing and get a lot of pleasure from.  I am also heavily influenced by landscape photographers such as Ansel Adams and Edward Weston who are known for their iconic landscape images.  Alongside Chris Friel, I also like the work of Charlie Waite, a well established British landscape photographer, known for using a painterly approach with his images.  I very much admire their work and hope to produce work inspired by these masters of photography.

A very well travelled man, Charlie Waite has produced some lovely images which have a calming effect and have a picture postcard look to them.  They are great for promoting the beautiful scenic  British landscape.  They are very colourful and working on film using a Hasselblad, his images are very vibrant and have a great colour rendition.      

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/how-to/icons-of-photography/535934/charlie-waite-s-landscape-images-iconic-photographer





http://www.charliewaite.com/gallery

The type of images I'm hoping to produce could be used to market and promote the Lake District and particularly Bowness, which is where I'm hoping to take my photographs.  The Lake District is a popular holiday destination for most people and it's visited by people all around the country.  My images will have a slightly different look and feel to them as I'll be using my ND filters.  The filters are great for controlling light but also for giving images a very soft and smooth feel when used with a long shutter speed.

I could market the images to the Cumbria Tourism board or the many hotels/B&B's and restaurants that rely on the trade from the holiday makers.  As I would be providing digital images, the costing wouldn't be as high as printed images.  There are many ways to sell images on line and due to the supply being higher than demand, I would imagine the prices would have to be relatively low in order to compete with other photographers.  However, when images are re-used by different sites then that would generate a steady income perhaps on a regular basis.          

As mentioned earlier I will be using a wide angle lens to get as much as possible in the frame.  My focal points are going to the be jetty's and the boats on the lakes.  As I will be shooting in fairly low light I will be using shutter speeds around 1/8th and 1/10th of second.  The aperture will be around f/8 to f/10 - this will allow me to capture greater levels of detail in the image.  As I will be using a tripod I can get away with using a longer shutter speed without affecting image quality.  The aim of the images would be to show the unique beauty of the lakes.            

http://www.photography.getitdone.biz/film-versus-digital.html
http://www.ishootshows.com/2012/04/09/understanding-moire-patterns-in-digital-photography/
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/dynamic-range.htm

Unit 23: Photographic Media - Use of Colour Negative film

A few months ago we were given a colour film camera (EOS 300) to shoot any subject matter of our choice.  In theory this was a straight forward task but in reality it proved to be more difficult than I imagined. For a start, I had never used a film camera before, other than that one time I did some black and white film photography in my Level 2 photography course.  I actually got to process the negatives in the dark room but  that was a one off and wouldn't know what to do if I had to do it again.  I've always used digital point and shoot compacts, so this was unfamiliar territory for me, and one I wasn't very comfortable with.  At the same time it was quite an exciting prospect to go out and photograph things and not know how the images may turn out, until after the negatives had been processed.

Using the film camera made me seriously analyse my subject matter and whether it was worth photographing  - because after all, each shot was so precious and I did not want to waste it on a bad shot.  It helped me to realise how we can take photography for granted these days and how not a lot of thought process can go into what we are photographing.

In the age of disposable digital photography it's easy to take hundreds of shots and then discard them at the touch of a button, before starting all over again.  I've done that many a times when I've been out photographing weddings/events etc.  Digital image making is not necessarily a bad thing, it's certainly very practical, convenient and cost effective. But with analogue photography, you as a photographer have a great deal of involvement in creating that image, putting a lot of time and effort in to it.  It's very much a labour of love, whereas with digital there's very little involvement in the process of image making, it doesn't feel as personal when you get that instant result.   

I worked with Sara and we decided to use half of the roll each.  She photographed people on the street, whereas I photographed various objects/items in and around the shops.  Even though we had 18 shots each I struggled to use up the film.  This was primarily because I was so worried about wasting a shot.  I was so careful to take each photograph, I decided to put a lot of thought process into each individual shot.

Below are are some of the images from that day.  John processed the films as there's no dark room facility in college.  They've been scanned using a special bracket to hold them in place.  The scanning mode had to be set to negative so the the images would appear as positive once they were scanned.  The dpi was set to 2400 so the images would be scanned at a reasonable size, otherwise they would appear too small.  This did mean each scan took around 10 minutes or longer! patience is definitely a quality one would need to possess for working with film.  And precisely because of that lengthy involvement, film photography becomes just that bit more special.          

I'm not ecstatic about these images as the quality certainly could have been better, but it was lovely to experience something a little bit different. Many of the images are under exposed and slightly out of focus. Unless you're an experienced film user, it's difficult to get a feel for exactly what you're doing and whether you're doing it right.  However, it wasn't a complete disaster and there are a few images I quite like.

I opened the scanned negatives in PS and adjusted the clarity and contrast to sharpen them.  I also used the unsharp mask to sharpen them further and highlight some more of the details.  Some of the images above could also benefit from reduction in hue and saturation as they've got a bit of a purple tint to them.                

This image is straight out of camera without any processing. It was a dull day so the sky looks quite grey and there's a lot of focusing issues.

I've managed to sharpen this image a little and got some detail back.  I quite like it as it looks a a bit unusual to have a bike on a roof top.

This is another one of my favourite image as I love the contrast between the colours. The composition works nicely and fits in well with the rule of third.

I took image inside a shop.  I like the quirkiness of it, with lots of bits and pieces in the frame.

Recently I have become quite interested in alternative processes and film is definitely something I would consider using in the future.  I'm especially impressed with the image quality you can get when using a medium format camera.  However, until the day I can afford a medium format, I will be sticking to digital!.