Exercise - Measuring Exposure

Part One -

Dark

Dark - Clearing
f/22  1/320  ISO-3200

This was taken not long before sunset, with the sun low and to the left of the frame. While parts of the frame are actually light, much of it is in shade so there is a contrast between light and dark areas.  I think you do get a sense of fading light from the image.  This is what I wanted to convey, and for this reason did not lighten the shadowed areas.

Dark - Mask
f/4.5  1/15  ISO-3200

 The light source, a window, is about 15ft from the subject which itself is dark,as is the background.  In fact, there was just enough light to take the photo.  I could have used flash but this would have lit the eyes and shown the background behind them.  There is a certain darkness about the mask, and not just in colouration.  I wanted to capture this, by limiting the colour and seeing the eyes filled by dark shadow.

Light

Light - Sculpture
f/5.6  1/8  ISO-400

 The subject was positioned on a shelf.  I directed the flash on to the shelf above, so the light would bounce off it, back down on to the sculpture and also light the background.  The light feel to the image and background creates a contrast to the apparently anguished pose of the figure.

Light - Surrey Hills
f/22  1/400  ISO-3200

A darker exposure would have given a higher contrast between the lighter green areas and the slight red colouration.  However, I liked the subtle blend of tones and softness created with this fairly light exposure.

Part Two

I generally aim for slight under exposure, on the basis that alterations can easily be made later.  If an image is over exposed, darkening it post production can be quite ineffective.  Each of the series of photos in part two of the exercise were set around the "best exposure" being -1 (slightly darker than average) on the exposure scale. 

Dried Sea Urchin (1)
f/14  1/100  ISO-100  ISO 3200

Sea Urchin (2)
f/13  1/80  ISO-3200

Sea Urchin (3)
f/11  1/80  ISO-3200

Sea Urchin (4)
f/10  1/60  ISO-3200

Sea Urchin (5)
f/10 1/50  ISO-3200

In the Sea Urchin photos, I found the shots half a stop lighter or darker to be acceptable.  The central exposure was much what I expected, perhaps lightly brighter in some areas.  The lightest image had too bright a reflection on the surface, and the darkest seemed a bit flat.

Garden Framed (1)
f/14  1/100  ISO-3200

Garden Framed (2)
f/14  1/60  ISO-3200

Garden Framed (3)
f/14  1/50  ISO-3200

Garden Framed (4)
f/14  1/30  ISO-3200

Garden Framed (5)
f/13  1/25  ISO-3200

The central exposure in the Garden Framed series was a little darker than expected. I put this down to standing under dim lighting, with brighter light behind the window frame.  The darkest shot was not appealing.  I found all of the others acceptable, although actually preferred the shots half a stop and 1 stop lighter.   These gave the window frame a whiter appearance and are more balanced.  The photos were taken through the glass of a kitchen door leading on to the sun lounge, with the window frame opposite.  

Green Candle Bottle (1)
f/22  1/25  ISO-3200

Green Candle Bottle (2)
f/20  1/20  ISO-3200

Green Candle Bottle (3)
f/20  1/15  ISO-3200

Green Candle Bottle (4)
f/18  1/13  ISO-3200

Green Candle Bottle (5)
f/18  1/10  ISO-3200

The central exposure of Green Candle Bottle is a touch darker than expected.  The two darker exposures don't work for me, and I find the lighter two work best.  The darker exposures lose any warmth from the green and yellow colouring.  I used natural light, but on reflection bounce flash would probably have worked better.

Tree Statuette (1)
f/18  1/25  ISO-3200

Tree Statuette (2)
f/14  1/25  ISO-3200

Tree Statuette (3)
f/11  1/25  ISO-3200

Tree Statuette (4)
f/9  1/25  ISO-3200

Tree Statuette (5)
f/9  1/15  ISO-2500

The central exposure of Tree Statuette is as expected.  I think all of the other images work, apart from the darkest exposure.  Image (4), half a stop lighter, is the photo I would pick, with the lightest picture second choice.  

Weathered Door (1)
f/22  1/25  ISO-3200



Weathered Door (2)
f/18  1/25  ISO-3200

Weathered Door (3)
f/16  1/24  ISO-3200

Weathered Door (4)
f/13  1/25  ISO-3200

Weathered Door (5)
f/10  1/25  ISO-2500

The Weathered Door images were taken in fading light, under cloudy conditions.  I think there is potential for a more satisfying image in bright sunlight, towards the end of the day.  The central exposure is as expected.  However, I do prefer the lighter images.  The exposure half a stop darker is OK but one stop darker is too dark.

Reflections on Part 3 and Assignment - Colour

Having completed the previous assignment in black and white, the chapter on colour and the following assignment required a fresh perspective.  It took me much longer to complete, finding an abundance of some colours and combinations, with others harder to find and requiring more consideration.
Certainly, searching for various colour combinations, it was found in some unexpected places.  I learnt to appreciate how much there is around us that could easily be overlooked, or taken for granted.  Understanding the different relationships between the six principle colours that form the colour circle, I feel I have developed my composition of images in colour.  This will help make more informed choices of when to use colour or monotone, although I appreciate that any desired message or theme may also be considered.
Good use of colour may not simply be aesthetically pleasing, it depicts a mood or ambience.  The colours in an image themselves can contrast with the subject matter, sometimes to dramatic effect.  Overall, I am pleased with my assignment for this chapter.  At times I wondered where I was going to find all of these colour combinations.  However, I kept looking in different places, experimented and persevered with the winter weather.  Certainly, the weather conditions and time of day, creating different lighting conditions, effect natural colours outdoors.  Similarly, lighting has a big impact on the intensity of colours chosen for indoor photography.  I often favour natural light, but with one still life image, in dull light, found how the use of flash really brought out the intensity of the colours.  So this moves me nicely on to the next chapter on light.

Exercise - Colours into tones in black and white

 The original colour photo

2013.01.05.ColoursIntoTonesInB&W
f/6.3  1/30  ISO-2500

Neutral tones in black & white

2013.01.05.ColoursIntoTonesInB&W-neutral

"Red filter" in black & white

2013.01.05.ColoursIntoTonesInB&W-"Red filter"

"Green filter" in black & white

2013.01.05.ColoursIntoTonesInB&W-"Green filter"

"Blue filter" in black & white

2013.01.05.ColoursIntoTonesInB&W-"Blue filter"

This exercise really showed me how much control you can have over adjusting tones in an image.  Unfortunately, Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0 does not have a 'yellow filter' slider in its grayscale converter, so I was unable to create an image with a higher relative amount of yellow.  However, I did notice while creating the 'red filter' image that the tones of the lemons were also lightened as more red was added.  Similarly, with the blue and green filters they were less effected by alteration of the independent filters than the red and yellow subjects.  Each colour filter slider has an effect on all of the colours, lightening the tone of the corresponding colour and darkening the others. 

Different moods and impressions can be achieved through variation of each colour slider.  The image in neutral tones is the least dynamic in this exercise.  In my view, the most interesting images are the 'red filter' and 'blue filter' photographs.  The stronger contrasts are quite eye catching and bold.  The simplicity of fewer, bolder tones works rather well.

Exercise - Colour Relationships

 Primary & Secondary Combinations

 

Red & Green

2012.12.02.ColourRelationships-Red&Green
f/14  1/100  ISO-500

The bright sunlight shining on the post box made the red colour appear weaker.  The top of it benefits from a higher saturation, and blends well with the richer green of the top half of the hedge.

 

Blue & Orange

 

2012.12.22.ColourRelationships-Blue&Orange
f/8  1/50  ISO-3200

This is a slightly abstract shot of an orange watering can and the blue wires of an extension socket.  With nothing else in the frame, the relationship of the two colours is intense and the main focus of the image.  The dark shadows highlight the blue, as well as accentuating the diagonals and curves of the watering can.

Yellow & Violet

 

2012.12.22.ColourRelationships-Yellow&Violet
f/8  1/50  ISO-3200

Although the ratio of yellow to violet is perhaps more than 1:3, this is compensated by variations in the intensity of violet, due to lighting, and the brightness of the yellow.

Other Selected Colour Combinations

 

Red, Yellow & Blue (with a touch of beige / brown)

2012.12.17.ColourRelationships-Red, Yellow & Blue
f/10  1/60  ISO-1250
 

The three primary colours of red, yellow and blue are at work here, while not in accordance to the ratios suggested by J W Von Goethe.  With the biggest area covered by the yellow wall, the red stands out the most, althouth the yellow writing is well balanced against the red. 
I think the blue of the girl's jacket works better with the yellow, than the red.  With yellow being a much brighter colour, there is an imbalance from the small amount of the much darker blue.  It's more or less a role reversal in this colour relationship, which I feel adds some interest.  The soft beige coloured elbow and shoulder pads complement the blue and are highlighted by a similar shade within the shop.

Pink & Silver / Grey

 

2012.12.23.ColourRelationships-Pink&Silver
f/8  1/30  ISO-1250

I like the contrast of bright colours with soft, neutral colours.  The pink only fills a small part of the frame, and so is well balanced with the silver can and soft, shaded background.

 

Yellow & Orange

 

2012.12.25.ColourRelationships-Yellow&Orange
f/6.3  1/30  ISO-3200

 The two brightest colours of the colour circle.  I feel that bright colours can work better together that dark colours, or certainly more appealing to me.  There is a slight imbalance with the yellow marginally dominant in terms of space covered, which ads to its intensity.  Alos, the positioning of the central lemon, gives the yellow extra potency, and dominance over the orange which becomes more of a background colour.

 



Exercise - Primary & Secondary Colours

Primary & Secondary Colours

Green

Green-1: Normal Exposure

Green-2: Lighter

                         

Green-3: Darker

Orange

Orange 1: Normal Exposure

Orange 2 - Darker

Orange 3 - Lighter

Red

Red 1 - Normal Exposure

Red 2 - Darker

Red 3 - Lighter

Violet

Violet 1 - Normal exposure

Violet 2 - Darker

Violet 3 - Lighter
 

Yellow

Yellow 1 - Normal Exposure

Yellow 2 - Darker

Yellow 3 - Lighter

 Blue



Blue 1 - Normal Exposure

Blue 2 - Lighter

Blue 3 - Darker

Tackling this exercise in winter, there was not the abundance of colour that could have been available a few months ago.  The photos taken for orange, perhaps appear more brown than orange.  I'm fairly sure brown does derive from orange though, and it's the closest I could find from natural subjects, without resorting to shooting something man made.
Looking across the range of colours, it appears that bolder contrast between colours can be achieved with normal to darker exposures.  Lighter exposures appear much softer and with certain colour combinations could work well.  Overall, I generally prefer the stronger colours created through normal or darker exposure.  However, a lighter exposure can create an appealing mood or atmosphere, which may be more appropriate for certain images.