Photocell

Photocell is a band that I am friends with. Great people, great band. After class on Thursday, I went to their show at the Tattoo Parlour. Being in the photo mood, I took some pictures of them.

The challenges when taking these pictures were getting the manual settings right (I had to shoot manual because of lighting - I didn't want to use flash). I came across this problem once before when taking pictures of my husband's stand-up show. With Photocell, the flash would have reached them, but I wanted to get the feel of the show, including the lighting. With my husband's stand up, flash was not an option: 1) he was too far away; 2) it would have disturbed the show.

The other challenge was actually trying to get decent shots of them. The stage was a little small for all 5 of them and the mic stands kept getting in the way. I also had a hard time getting pictures of the drummer. I was hoping to get a crazy good action shot of him rocking out, but there was always someone or something (especially amps) in the way. I would have needed a better zoom for those shots. I had the same trouble with the keyboardist who was hidden in the back.

Hope you enjoy!

:) Roon-bop

Photography - Week 4

In class this week we met up at the Distillery district. It was my first time there and its a really cool place. We all just went around for about an hour taking pictures and asking the teacher questions. We had great weather for it too! Below are a couple of pictures I took while I was there. Apparently a couple people in the class were asked to not take pictures (apparently because businesses own the rights to their buildings, they are able to do that).

After our little field trip we went back to class and learned about light: front, back, side, down, bouncing, flashes. Some of it was a bit repetitive from last week, but still good. We learned about programming our cameras white balance to suit the lighting: flash, shade, tungsten, sunshine, etc. I discovered that with my camera I'm able to program in actual Kelvins (measurement of light), so just another manual control to work with.

:) Roon-bop

Profile: Sam & Mary Photography

For my class today, I had homework. Of course, being totally out of it, I forgot all about it until last night.

Our homework was to present 2 pictures we really like and why. Probably the biggest challenge for me is that she (the teacher) wanted these in print. I have some pictures that I've taken that I love and I have pictures I've seen on websites that I love, but I needed to find PRINTED copies. Oi! I found a couple thank goodness, but it gave me an idea to profile a site that I love.

Almost 2 years ago now, friends of mine got married and they hired Sam & Mary to take their photos. Their work BLEW me away. Not only were the pictures flawless, but I hardly ever noticed Sam throughout the entire event. They do amazing work and bring wedding photography (et al.) to a whole new level and that's why I'm profiling them.

I definitely look up to them and only hope that one day I might be able to create photos as well as they do. I wrote an email to them once and they were so nice. Mary told me that she and Sam are self taught, which also blows me away! I love their openness and LOVE their blog. They are great, I just love them! (Even though I've never actually met them). So be sure to check out their website, read their blog & be inspired!

:) Roon-bop

Photoshop - Week 3

Tonight's class was LOTS of fun!! :) We learned how to use the stamp tool to duplicate an image, how to fix up an old photo & how to add colour to a black and white photo. Basically the images below will do all the talking. Again, please keep in mind that I only have limited time to do this work in, so it's not perfect. I was just having some fun.

The first image was made by using the stamping tool to duplicate the image, which I then flipped. I also used the stamp tool for the hats & mic stand in the center.

The 3 images afterwards show progression of what I learned re: fixing up an old photo & adding colour. The first picture is the original old picture (from Photoshop stock photos) and the work that I did on it in the second two.

I had lots of fun and I'm excited to play around more with these tools. We also spoke about our final assignments. We will need to show these skills in it. One is to fix up an old photo & add colour, and the other assignment is to create a photo magazine cover. Should be fun!

:) Roon-bop

Photography - Week 3

In this week's class we discussed lighting, flash & filters.

First we were told about the different types of lighting. Existing / available lighting - outside light; or artificial / flash lighting - you guessed it, light created electronically.

Bounce flashes are really good external flashes, because the photographer can move the angle at which they go to the subject, in order to prevent harsh lighting. If you angle it off a white ceiling on to the subject, the lighting will be softer. If you are bouncing light, it has to be off something white. If you use yellow, the subject will look a little yellow.

The best types of flashes are TTL (through the lens) because then the flash can communicate with the camera and automatic function can be used.

When using artificial lighting keep your subject away from walls to avoid shadows, unless of course, you are using it artistically.

Filters:
Teleconverters - used to magnify. The teleconverter attaches to the camera and the lens attaches to the teleconverter. It is not as good as using a macro lens, but it still works well in many cases.

Polarized Filters - These filters work like polarized sunglasses. They remove flare or glare, cut through haze, and shoot through glass without reflection. They are a little more expensive than most filters, because they have a separate ring that rotates, as you need to get it to the right "focus".

There are other filters as well - diffusers, ones that create stars where light is, and of course many more. The teacher suggested that the very best one to get, the one that will probably get the most use and is the most useful would be the polarized filter. I can see how that might be the case.

During the break I was dinking around with my manual setting and I figured out how to change the focus of a picture. Below you will see that with the first two pictures. Then I was playing around with shutter speed. The other photo is my ghost hand picture. I think it's neat and I'm excited to play around some more with this!

Enjoy!

:) Roon-bop

Cars

There is a Hollywood movie being filmed by my place. As such, there are a bunch of old cars handing around the street I live on. I was hoping that they might inspire me to take some great photos. As it turns out, cars, no matter how old, or how Hollywood, do not inspire me. I've posted some of the pictures. Perhaps I didn't spend enough time thinking about the pictures. When I came back home to look at the pictures I had taken, all I saw was pictures of cars. I did learn a thing or two about being conscious of things around you (reflections in the cars, people walking by, etc) and also working with constraints (some cars had bright orange pylons right beside them, which I obviously didn't want in the shot).

In any case, here are my latest pictures.

:) Roon-bop

Light & Shadow

Today is Victoria day in Canada, so that means it is a holiday, no work, no school - nothing. Theoretically there should be warm weather & cottages & BBQ's, but this weekend was COLD!

I was at a family BBQ yesterday, a great time was had by all. I thought that I would post a picture I took of Dimi, which has use of shadow - and of course, I didn't know what I had until I got home and took at look at the shots. I don't know a thing about light & shadow at this point, but I think it's a great shot.

I hope everyone was able to enjoy their weekend - long or not.

:) Roon-bop