My Final Images

Health & Safety

All photographers need to understand Health & Safety rules and should be capable of assessing and managing the risks and potential dangers associated with the use of electrical lighting, equipment and props. Photographers may be subject to physical stresses from carrying heavy camera equipment and lighting, indoors and out, in all seasons and all environmental conditions. They should therefore seek advice about appropriate techniques for lifting and moving equipment. There may also be a range of other risks specific to their area of work and they should seek suitable training in appropriate risk management procedures and best practice.

For me most important of all regulations for now perhaps is:

•  looking well after my camera-(Do not let it get wet or overheat, do not drop it. Get it cleaned by professionals at least once a year.);
•  look after myself when taking a shoot - (specially outdoors, when different whether conditions and different locations can provide various hazards).

As in a time when I will become more professional I will have to be more careful as I really looking forward to do travel photography and this means When you're traveling and wanting to take pictures, there are several things  need to keep in mind at all times, and the main one - of course - is again  own safety. Obviously, - camera is important too, but that can be replaced -Own safety is paramount - so need to be  aware of  surroundings.
When you're in a foreign country, or even somewhere in your own country that you don't know, you don't have the local knowledge to be aware of what's a bad or dangerous area. You might have gone out walking, looking for scenes that would make good pictures, and not given any thought to where you are. So need to keep alert, keep your senses sharp. You could be somewhere that will put you at the mercy of thieves, or possibly where you can be attacked by animals. Before you go out, ask some questions and do a little research! It could make a huge difference. 

So in my opinion the best thing to mind a Health & Safety is by careful planning every shoot, before even consider to go somewhere to take photographs, be prepare for everything.

Assignment 104 - INTRODUCTION TO CLOSE-UP IMAGE CAPTURE- Final images

It`s nearly there....the end of Level 1- Introduction to Photography...I really enjoyed every minute of it and already looking forward to do Level 2.
As I was doing Introduction to close-up image capture I present you with my final 6 images. It was very hard for me to choose which ones to select for final...I hope I did the right choice.

For my main theme choose my favorite things....I have a lots, but the most important is only few, which I captured and bring into a different light... Everyone has something special in the life....something which as a guard is always near, even if its not every day, but still has something what you admire and try to keep close....memories and objects that come to surround a person throughout their lifetime as the inspiration to build a unique portrait of that individual...probably I am too sentimental, but that's me...everyone is different...no one is the same.

Cup of coffee....Every morning for me starts with it....I am so in love with this drink that that`s make me addicted .... probably more than to cigarettes... and I can imagine my life without it .

"morning...gorgeous"

Camera Mode:     Manual

Shutter Speed:   1/8

Aperture:        F 5.6

ISO:             100

Lens Length:     300mm

White Balance:   Cloudy

Meter Setting:   Center-weighted

Picture Control: SD - standard

Color space:     AdobeRGB

Quality setting: RAW

Light:           Daylight only

I did this shut in the morning ( when light, in my opinion, is the best)  placing my cup of coffee on storage unit by the window...the light was very diffused coming from outside, so I get very soft quality. I set my WB to Cloudy setting as that day was really gray.

Placed the focus point on the edge of the cup I made a various images choosing this as the best.

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God ...There are over six billion people in this world and each person has his or her own thoughts about God. How can a person know for sure what He is really like....no one has a answer....but God is very important in my life....I cant say that I am very religious, probably opposite...by religion I am Orthodox, from my mothers side...my father was Lutheran...all my other members of family are Catholics ... but from all religions for me closest is the Buddhism. As I am baptized already I cant choose - no more...so I had to develop my own relationships with God which include something from all mentioned above. That`s way I chose to take a picture with Rosary beads. Prayer beads or Rosaries are used by members of various religious traditions such as Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Anglicanism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and etc.... Faith to count the repetitions of prayers, chants or devotions and also be used for meditation, protection from negative energy, or for relaxation.

"time to pray"

 

Camera Mode:     Manual

Shutter Speed:   1/30

Aperture:        F 5

ISO:             100

Lens Length:     240mm

White Balance:   Auto

Meter Setting:   Spot

Picture Control: SD - standard

Color space:     AdobeRGB

Quality setting: RAW

Light:           Daylight only

I took this image in the same morning placing Rosary on the window sill. The Auto WB did a pretty good job of rendering the correct colors in the scene, witch was lit by a natural daylight.

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Stones....I collecting them since I was little some are lost, but some will remain in top spot in my collection. I have stones from Everest in Nepal, from India, Italy, Peru etc ... I have  a passion for traveling, but unfortunately I never had enough money to go somewhere by myself.  So if I know that someone from my friends are going abroad I ask them to bring me a stone. Each stone has is own story, is own life and they are eternal and that's way I admire them. First place in my collection belongs to black, dull stone, which one of my friends - archeologist  give me as a present. That stone comes from Antarctica - the coldest, driest, and windiest continent and I believe that is a black diamond because I can easily cut a glass with it...but even if not for me is the most precious.

"diamond in the rough"

Camera Mode:     Manual

Shutter Speed:   1/20

Aperture:        F 5

ISO:             100

Lens Length:     240mm

White Balance:   Cloudy

Meter Setting:   Spot

Picture Control: SD - standard

Color space:     AdobeRGB

Quality setting: JPG Fine

Light:           Daylight only

It was taken in same morning in same location using daylight only, what came from the window. Couple of images was taken till I choose in my opinion the right one. The focus point was placed in the middle and large aperture opening helped to blur the background.

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Angels -I collect them too...a couple years now....I had this little guardians in various shapes, stiles and sizes. And this below is one who gets the most attention, I had pictures of it in different locations and different times a day....but this particularly one my tutor liked the best, so I decided to put it in my final.

 "little angel"

Camera Mode:     Manual

Shutter Speed:   1/15

Aperture:        F 6.3

ISO:             100

Lens Length:     240mm

White Balance:   Auto

Meter Setting:   Spot

Picture Control: SD - standard

Color space:     AdobeRGB

Quality setting: RAW

Light:           Daylight only

This is also one image from the same morning...I would say it was very productive for me. I use as a background satin material and nylon ribbon...focusing my lens direct to the angel. As I wasn't sure what WB will be the best I set it on Auto, to let camera take a reading of the ambient light and make an automatic adjustment.

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Candles -  Quite simply, but the best ultimate home accessory. With what you can decorate any space in seconds,  transform its mood, and leave a lasting impression. It works for me both ways...specially in winter when everything is so dark I have a special need for some light what candles gladly provide.

"candlelight"

Camera Mode:     Manual

Shutter Speed:   1/15

Aperture:        F 5.6

ISO:             100

Lens Length:     300mm

White Balance:   Fluorescent

Meter Setting:   Spot

Picture Control: SD - standard

Color space:     AdobeRGB

Quality setting: RAW

Light:           Table lamp

Creating a best possible image of candle probably took me a longest of time...I tried capture a different tips of candles, with various aperture and shutter speed combinations...in various light conditions till finally I came up with this image....Usually shooting previous I placed my focus point direct to the candle light, but this time I decade to focusing on candlestick frame and let candle be out of focus - a bit a blur and I am really pleased with result. As it was a evening I used my table lamp as a main light provider.

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Books- this is definitely my favorite thing of all possible....A good book on your shelf is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend...You can learn a lot about a person by what he reads, but its will be hard to check me out from that, because I reed a bit from everything and in three languages so you can imagine, how many I have and how many I will have for future...

"bedtime story"

Camera Mode:     Manual

Shutter Speed:   1/2

Aperture:        F 5.6

ISO:             100

Lens Length:     300mm

White Balance:   Fluorescent

Meter Setting:   Spot

Picture Control: SD - standard

Color space:     AdobeRGB

Quality setting: RAW

Light:           Table lamp

It took me a wile to choose the perfect position for a capturing a book...I tried to shoot from different angles, choosing a different kinds of books...various books together, nothing seemed right, than I tried open a book, capturing only a pages, fragments and finally from all hundreds of non good material I get this perfect image, which I think is one of my best, that is way I adding it as a last.
Image presents pages of Latin Dictionary. My focus point was in the middle of the scene allowing only page edges look sharp. As a main light source was my table lamp placed on one side of the book and creating nice shadows inside a object.

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All photographs was done with my Nikon D3000 camera using Tamron AF- 70-300mm lens, which has a Macro setting. Before taking every image I set up the scene placing my tripod in the right position wide away from the object. Using a tripod help keep my images sharp. Also I turned on the highlight warning, in my camera,  as alert if my image gets overexposed. I used it to check my images on the back of the LCD screen after taking a shot. If I see an area that is blinking I will usually set the exposure compensation feature to an underexposed setting like - 1/3 or 2/3 stops and take another photo, checking result on the screen. I repeated this process till warnings was gone. That help me a lot to produce a good quality photographs .

All images except stone was shot in RAW image format, to get the best quality possible and greater dynamic range than JPEG processed images. The only downside of that was that I cant open them on my computer I had to go to college to be able to see them...and also I had problem of placing them in my blog. So I went for easiest option - with help of Photo shop I took a screen grabs from all of the final images in order to manage sort out my blog information.

Thees images I will be using for my Image Presentation assignment as well, I just still waiting for them to be printed. I printed some of them but I didn't like the quality so I place an order in different website, but I still not receive them. But I hoping for a best...and also that this time I will be satisfied with image quality...

ASSIGMENT 108 DIGITAL IMAGE MANIPULATION

For this part of assignment I had to provide evidence of digital image manipulation skills in creating images that have been substantially modified for visual effect.

My Photo Shop skills is not the best...in this area I consider myself on a level 0, but anyway using all my basic knowledge about layers, filters and Image adjustments I manage to create 4 images, which been manipulated with necessary standards in order to pass this task.

D I F F E R E N T   S K Y

/Raindrops/

This is probably one of the first and simplest images, what I created....which beautifully presents our Midlands Weather - Rain....I just added a bit of sunshine which is so rare in this part of England.

Originally formed from two different images using Layer tool in Photo Shop:

 1.

 

 /Manulal, F 8, 1/40 sec, ISO 200, WB Manual/

/It was taken Monday 25.October, - last day of sunshine, when I went for a walk with my children to Outwoods Park in Burton. That time I still getting know my camera Nikon D3000, I was experimenting with different aperture and shutter speeds and this, for me is one of my favorite images so far./

2.

/Aperture Priority, F 11, 1/80 sec, ISO 100, WB Auto/

  

/This images was taken in one of the rainy days of November, when heavy rain shower leave me with a beautiful raindrops all over my window...I didn't have think twice, I garbed my camera and make couple pictures...that is one of them./

I put both together with help of Photo Shop Layer Tool, choosing Darker Color setting I came up with above manipulated image.

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 /Angel/

Same as first one is created just adding two photographs together using Layer tool in Photo Shop creating,  in my opinion, very powerful image.

1. 

 

2.

/Both wast taken using Auto mode - same day in same location - near college. We was sent out during the lesson to practice in Composition - make different images using different angles, tones etc./

I put both together in Photo Shop - experimenting with various layers, I choose to go for Darken setting. After I crop off some bushes and wire on the right corner to create more specific feel as a Angel really coming down from the sky. 

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/Cherubs/

This image presents baby angels looking down from the sky....I used Photo Shop Layer Tool to put together 2 images....adjusting color balance, brightness and contrast and in the end using Diffuse Glow filter to make my image look grainy as it was some part of old ceiling painting.

1.

/Manulal, F 5.6, 1/5 sec, ISO 100, WB Flurescent, 300mm lens/

2.

/Manulal, F 22, 1/50 sec, ISO 100, WB Manual/

/Both images was taken by me, for first one I changed my usual Wide angle camera lens for telephoto 300mm lens, using Macro option to make subject appear bigger than original size./

Mu tutor wasn't very pleased with it, but I liked, maybe if I had more knowledge about Photo Shop result will be more satisfied, but still I don't think is too bad.

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 /Face/

This is my favorite...and probably the one that took me a lot more time to create. I used picture of myself taken by me and one of my first images ever taken bu by Nikon D3000. 

/Portrait mode/

Good pictures of me can take only me like I always say...I didn't know my camera so well that time so I used a portrait mode, when camera automatically adjusts the colors to give natural-looking skin tone./

This was original image, but to produce above manipulated image I had to change it, so I use Image Adjustments to make it Black&White and than with Help of History brush tool I bring back some color.

1.

2.

/This second images what I use, was my one of the first taken by my camera ...that time I don't know nothing about aperture or shutter speeds, so everything is Auto mode, but anyway I love this one. This is a view to still sleepy Burton taken not far from where I live around 6am in September./

Inspired by Helen Sear I wanted to create my own original "Inside a view".  I put both together choosing Linear Light Layer option.

....and to make it more stand out I used one of Artistic Filters - Poster Edges...unfortunately I realized that I didn't make a screen grab for that, but trust me on this one...and I hope everyone like it.