Statement of intent 208 Theme 1

Candidate name:-                                      Charlotte Allen
Theme:-                                                    Nature
Title of the theme:-                                   Farm life

Intentions/purpose of the photography to be undertaken

I want to take 10 images of the outdoors this will include animals, wildlife and landscape.
When taking the photos i wish to improve my photography skills.
I want to learn how to use rule of thirds, colour, shapes, composition, frames, focal point, tonal range, texture, form and perspective properly and include these in my photos.


Reasons for selection of theme (including inspiration from the work of others)

I enjoy being outdoor , i like photographing animals and landscape, so i would like to incorporate them together.
I have been brought up on a farm and enjoy photographing farm animals so i would like to include some images in this area.
The person who has inspired me in is Charlie Waite who i have already studied.
I also am interested in Scotland as my brother is a farmer on the boarders and the countryside and buildings are so stunning there. The person who has inspired me in this area is Jonathan Chritchley his work is in black and white i would also like to attempt this in my photography.

The photo imaging equipment and medium that will be used and why

I have got a Canon powershot S5 IS 8.0 mega pixels with a 4 gb sansdis. Unfortunately i can not change the lens on this camera so hopefully i will be able to borrow a camera of my fathers friend this is a Canon EOS 450d with a Sigma DC 18 - 200mm 1:3 .5 - 6.3 lens.
I would like to buy a new camera but at the moment don't really know what i want and don't want to just go out and buy the first thing i see, i would like to learn first what i want to get out of the camera.
As i am shooting outdoor i will take an umbrella with me and cloths to clean the lens just in case the English weather decides to rain.
I would also like to invest in a tripod which will keep the camera nice and still and will produce a sharper picture.

I have now been out and brought a new camara its a canon 550 d with a ef-s 18 - 55 and a canon EF 70 - 300 f/4-5.6 is lens.

Techniques that will be used and how they will help convey the visual message

Close up shots or the use of a telescopic lens to define detail and caricature of the subject.
Black and white to make objects/subjects to stand out.
The use of depth of field to draw the attention to subjects.
Try different levels of light to get different prospectives of the landscape.
Try different times of the day for different lights.
Change the ISO settings and shutter speed on the manual settings on my camera.

How light quality can be used to help convey the visual message

Sunny and bright if possible
Overcast weather might help with the black and white work.
Try different times of the day to experiment with light to create different moods.
Try changing the ISO settings and the shutter speed to get the best out of the camera.

Safety considerations

1) Be aware of the environment around you.
2) when photographing animals take someone with you to watch your back in case the animals become territorial as you are in there environment
3) If going alone always let someone know where you are going and a estimated time for your return.
4) When in the countryside make sure all equipment and litter is taken with you as this could be eaten by animals or spoil the environment.
5) Be aware of where you are going don't go on to private land as this could upset and offend people.
6) Be careful when taking out and putting away all your equipment this is not a danger to yourself or others but could damage your equipment if care is not taken.

Jonathan Chritchley

Jonathan Chritchley was born in Wimbledon London, but since 1998 lives in the south west coast of France.

Jonathan specialises in ocean photography, he says his fascination for the sea was because at the age of 14 he moved to the coastal town of Leamington a place renowned for sailing.

Jonathan's work is simple and mystical with his work being in black and white it looks Eire and sharp which makes you focus on a certain object or point. With using black and white you can create more atmosphere and makes objects sharper as the is no colour that draws you away form the subject/objects you are photographing.

Jonathan chooses to work with low light and when the weather is not at its best, he uses long exposure to create an almost impressive view of his subject.

A part of Jonathan's work is a collection called sails featuring historic sailing yachts from around the world he captures his images by both from the water on a speed boat, and from the air in a 2 man helicopter.

I have chosen these pictures because they are of Scotland which is a country that is close to my heart.

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 This is one of his sails collection

I also have chosen some of horses again being in black and white makes the picture so simple, Sharpe and clear.

Even though you have not got the horses head or body in this picture you can straight away know what it is and the textures look so real as if you could stroke it.

This is so simple but so effective, rule of thirds is present, the use of light is good makes it look like the sun is rising.

I like this picture because you get the sense of speed, the use of light that reflects of the horses backs, also the rule of thirds is present in this picture.

LETS HAVE A GO

Have been talking to Steve and i have decided to go out and have a go at taking some photos before next week.

I would like to take some photos of bails in the field but i will have to be quick most farmers will have them in the barns...


The photo i have had inspiration from was this one of Charlie Waite :-

When taking the images i will have to think in squares. 

FOCAL POINT

Focal point 

Where does the eye look first.

What is the central point of interest.

What in this image will make it stand out from others.

Ways to make focal point stand out 

Position  Make sure you put it in a prominent position.

Focus use the depth of field to blur out the other aspects to make the focal point stand out.

Size Make focal point larger

Colour use contrasting colour this can make the subject stand out 

Don't confuse the viewer with too many focal points.

Level 2 certificate in specialist photography and presentation, unit 211 and 208.

I have decided do to Level 2 certificate in specialist photography and presentation, unit 211 and 208.

Unit 208 i have decided to do

1) people and portraits

2) nature

i have chosen these areas because:-
people and portraits as i have 2 children and i have always enjoyed photographing them.

nature because i have been brought up on a farm and enjoy the outdoors and animals.

Borrowed a camera

This weekend just gone i managed to borrow a camera it was a cannon EOS 450 d with a sigma DC 18 - 200 mm 1:3.5 - 6.3 leans.

I decided to go out on Sunday and guess what it was a typical English weather day rain rain and more rain !!

I enjoyed using this camera because:-

1)  It was instant.

2 )  I could use different setting with different lights,

3 ) I thought about the images and composition more.

4 ) Took my time, and framed the images better.

I think i got better results.

Here are a few of what i took:-

This was taken in :-

ISO 1600

AV setting 

This was taken in :-

ISO 1600

AV setting 

This was taken in : - 

ISO 400

Close up setting 

This picture was taken in :-

ISO 1600

in a P setting 

This picture was taken in :-

ISO 400

Close up setting

This was taken in :-

ISO 400

Close up setting 

CHARLIE WAITE

I have decided to study Charlie Waite as one of my photographers, I have been watching the TV program  “how to take a stunning picture” on channel five on a Tuesday evening (www3.fivetv/stunning_pictures/episodes ) He was the landscape photographer in series 3  and I really enjoyed and liked his work and his techniques.

One of the things that I really liked was the idea of taking a frame with you when shooting your photos, Charlie called this a “composition aid” it’s a piece of black card with a hole in the middle to view and imagine your photo even before you have taken your camera out of the bag, I am going to make one of these so I can do the same thing with my photos.

Charlie waite was born in 1949 and worked in British theatre and television for the first 10 years of his professional life. Charlie began his career as an actor and stage assistant, but later switched to photographing actors instead. He soon realised he enjoyed this a lot more and carried on with the photography.

Charlie uses fine grain transparency film, graduated filters and often polarizing filters. The images are drum scanned and then printed by Charlie himself as IRIS prints on fine art paper. “This procedure ensures that the depth and details in the picture are optimally transferred “ .

He is particularly noted for his square format images using a 6x6 frame.

Charlie is a great believer in waiting for the right light and weather; he says “bad weather leaving home great weather arriving on location”. He says wait for the weather look over your shoulder and look to see if the is a break in the clouds and if the is just get ready to take the perfect shot.

Charlie has published 27 books in the uk and Europe all exclusively of his own photography. He also enjoys and encourages other photographers this is seen in one of his books “landscape photographer of the year collection 2 “, the landscape photographer of the year awards was the brain child of Charlie waite. The photos were judged by a panel of judges including Charlie.

Charlie is described in books, TV and on the Internet as one of the most celebrated international landscape photographer. He uses colour and black and white in his work.

These are some of my favorite pictures that Charlie Waite has taken.