Snow and Ice

Sprout Creek, Lagrangeville

If you haven't noticed, it's cold outside! Snow, ice and cold are the subject of our next digital assignment. Here are a couple of tips for taking snow photos. Take lots of images and post your most interesting "five" to your blog.

1. Control Exposure - Even though smartphone cameras take great photos, it is wise to consider controlling your exposure manually. Light meters in cameras try to expose the large snow areas as 18 percent gray, leaving you with a dark image. With film, photographers will often "overexpose" 2 stops to make the snow appear white. The latest Iphone operating system allows for some control of exposure. If the snow in your digital images appears to dark, you can adjust it in Photoshop using the Brightness/Contrast controls. 
2. Make Sure you have a Subject - What exactly are you photographing? Name it in your mind. Remember the subject is the first thing the human eye will see when looking at your image.
3. Create Depth - Large areas of white can create a flat and lifeless image. Is there a distinct foreground, midground and background in your image?
4. Keep the Sun behind your back. (Bud don't get your shadow in the image.)
5. Best to shoot after a new fallen snow...nice and clean!
6. Branches heavily laden with snow make interesting images. (Contrast with dark pine trees works well too.)
7. Watch where your footprints are, they can ruin a great shot.
8. Capture action shots. (Kids playing, sledding, snowball fights)
9. Try getting a portrait. (See After the Crash below.)
10. Consider using black and white, it will bring out the starkness of a winter scene. 
11. If you use color, add contrast to make the color "pop". Red works really well in snow scenes.
12. Add people to your scene for reference. (In a landscape)
13. Stay warm! Dress appropriately for the conditions.
14. Keep your camera cold, if you keep it warm it will fog your lens!

After the Crash, Holga Photograph

St. Francis Statue

Never Dies

Photoshop Filter Project

Assignment - We will go over this project next week in the computer lab. You must colorize your pinhole image before starting.

1. Duplicate your colorized pinhole image 25-30 times on a 8.5x11" Photoshop document.
2. Manipulate each small image with a different "Filter" effect. 
3. Center on the page.
4. Save as a jpeg file and post to your blog.
5. Add the caption: Photoshop Filter Project.

Photoshop Filter Project

Colorize Your Pinhole Photo

Assignment

Take your Pinhole Self Portrait or Pinhole Close-up and duplicate it. Using the same technique we used on our digital restoration, add color to your image. Post it to your blog. 

You will need this image for the next project! Post it on your blog.

Here is one of my pinhole images. Another art teacher had a bag of old toy baby parts which I used as my subject. Creepy!

Colorized Pinhole Photo

Smartphone Close-up Photography

There are several ways to add macro capacity to your smartphone. Often, the native application is limited in it's ability to adjust exposure or get in close to an object. For the photo of the knife blades, I used an app called Camera+. It's macro feature allows you to get quite close to the image.  I used a headlamp as my light source. The image was edited using the "Ansel" filter.

The image below was created using the lens of a disposable camera. The lens fit comfortably between my OtterBox and Iphone 5c. (the lens can be taped on as well.) I placed the camera on a tripod and used the timer feature in Camera+ to limit camera shake. The composition is made up of some key rings, paperclips and a metal pencil sharpener.

This image was taken hand held. I rested the bottom of the camera on the table and used the headlamp (Any light source will work) to illuminate the dollar. I used the zoom to get even closer.

Your assignment is to create 5 different closeup images with your Smartphone.

Here is a photo of the rig I've built (3) to help you take your smartphone close-ups. Your phone sits on the top piece of Plexiglas and you position your camera lens over the disposable camera lens. The object you want to photograph sits on the bottom layer of Plexiglas.

The thickness of the plexiglass will cause some vignetting.

Use the zoom on your smartphone camera app to crop out the rough edges. Here is the same image "zoomed in". I used a backpacking headlamp to light the objects from below.

I switched to a red light for this image....

Make sure you bring items in to photograph!! I know you won't forget your phone. :)

There are a whole world of small objects just waiting for you to explore.

I used an app (free) called Snapseed to give this image it's rough look.

This is of the circuit board that was inside the disposable camera I "borrowed" the lens from.

In this image I placed the lens between my Otterbox and my camera. I used Snapseed to saturate the colors in the image.

I found that I eliminated the vignetting when I took my Otterbox off my Iphone. I placed a cheap ($1.00) LED light under the paper clips. I placed two sheets of blue tissue paper over the light to get the color in the background. (and diffuse the light). 

Experiment!! Have fun. 

I shot hundreds of images using these techniques.

Macro Photography

Macro and Micro photography opens a whole new world of subject matter to the photographer. Most cameras can only focus to about a meter (3feet), but with the additions of diopter filters, extension tubes and bellows a normal camera can take some incredible closeups. 

Your Assignment

1. Each group of 4 students will share a roll of film and make 5 exposures.
2. Find small objects that are significant to you. 
3. Create miniature compositions. You still must thank about balance and the organization of the objects on the picture plane.
4. It's OK for the object to "bleed" off the edge of the picture plane. This gives the illusion that something is going on beyond the edge of the image.
5. Use the school camera with the copy stand. Make sure that the aperture is f16 to increase depth of field.
6. Use the "cable release" to ensure that there is little camera shake.
7. Consider "rim" lighting to create shadows.
8. Metal objects make excellent subjects for this assignment.

Make a 5x7 enlargement and mount in on white or black matte board.

Use a #3 polycontrast filter to give your image a bit of snap. (Remember, the higher the number filter, the greater the contrast.)

Digital Photo Restoration

How it's done!

The early photographs taken during the American  Civil War were often made on glass plates. This image of General Sheridan was borrowed from the American Memory Collection for my students to practice with. Photoshop has a host of tools that allow the photographer to rejuvenate old or damaged images.

The Healing Brush Tool is extremely useful for correcting small imperfections like wrinkles or acne.

The Clone Stamp Tool allows for the creation of "patches" where whole sections of the photograph are missing.

Un-restored Image of General Sheridan

Restored Image

Sepia

Sepia

You may remember the horrible smell that chemical sepia toning created in our room. Photoshop allows you to accomplish the same task in a few seconds.

How to do it:

1. Duplicate your restored image and name it Sepia.
2. Image/Adjustments/Hue/Saturation
3. Click on the "Colorize" button and use the following settings. That's it!

Sheridan in Color

Colorizing

Before the invention of color photography, the only way to get a color photograph was by hand tinting. This artistic process had the photographer paint with transparent oil color paint over the photograph. The resulting images had a soft but pleasing look. (Nothing like today's vibrant color.)

Colorizing with Photoshop is easy in concept. You use the paintbrush tool (with a low opacity) to cover areas in color. The application of color in  a realistic manner requires some skill and patience. Large areas can be selected and filled globally using Edit/Fill.

Vignette

Vignetting is the reduction of an images brightness or saturation at it's edge.  Sometimes vignetting is the result of poor optics (toy cameras). Often it is used to draw attention to the main subject. (As in a portrait).

How to do it: 

Selection Tools

1. Make an elliptical selection with the Elliptical Marquee Tool. 
2. Inverse the selection.
3. Select/Modify/Feather. 15 (or more) pixels.
4. Fill the selection with white.

Vignette

Recreating a Famous Painting

Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earing

I'm always looking for new ideas for a photograph. Last year when searching the web for ideas, I came upon Two Bored Coworkers Recreate Famous Paintings Using Their Office Supplies. Wow, I'll have to try this in my Photography class! Like usual, I test the project first. I solicited the help of my favorite model to try my hand at recreating Vermeer's famous image.

Like the Bored Coworkers, I limited myself to my Iphone 5C and stuff that was around the house. T is wearing my revolutionary war farmer's smock. The blue scarf is a pillow case and the scarf came from her closet. The earring was a donation for her "Earrings for Encouragement" project. She hopes to give earrings to the many woman who finish their breast cancer treatments at Vassar Hospital.

I used a large china cabinet for for the background. The original was a green color, but has mellowed to look like a dark black. Lighting was a table lamp and a flexible desk lamp.

Some Art History

The Girl with the Pearl Earring is often classified as a Tronie. (Tronie is dutch for face.) A "Tronie" is a common portrait that shows an unusual facial expression. Typically, the head or bust if featured and the subject is wearing unusual or exotic clothing.

Process

• For this project we will work in teams of 2. You pick your partner.
• Your team will pick a painting out of a hat. If you want, you may trade images with another team.
• Using common everyday objects and clothing, try and recreate the famous painting.
• Think about the background...you could draw it.
• Lighting - notice the shadows in my image. I tried to closely match the original.
• Use the Focus and Exposure Lock on your camera.
• Take a lot of photos!

• Choose the best one and post it next to the original on your blog. There are a ton of Apps that will create a collage of images. I used Pic Stich to put my images together, but you can just post them to your blog.
• Your post should include information about the artist and painting. (not just names and dates) Include information about your models, location and props.

Good Luck,

Mr. B