Wedding Photography

This has completely changed the way I think of wedding photography. Absolutely amazing pictures.

http://jeffascough.typepad.com/jeff_ascough_blog/wedding-portfolio.html

Tanvi

Tanvi
Originally uploaded by Sharanjit

We have a winner.

This will be my entry for the student show at the end of term (details to come).

It took some whittling down, and was a painful process, but helped me clarify what I'm aiming to achieve with photography. Well, at least I know the area - B&W portraiture, with an environmental feel. And of my shots in this category this is clearly the best. I have some other interesting shots - mostly architectural, but I realised that whilst they were good shots, they didn't excite me in the same way.

Tanvi graciously agreed to let me use this shot. I like the lines, the light, and especially her expression.

Now it's just a race to get it enlarged to the right size and entered on time.

Martin Place GPO

Originally uploaded by Sharanjit

Taking around my Olympus Mju:II has been a rather hit and miss affair - mostly miss. I really am starting to see the limitations of a point & shoot compared to an SLR.

However, here's one of the hits. I loved the shot - even though it required a lot of post-processing to clean out the results from the expired film.

Camera Craft 2 - Assignment 3 Cont

Originally uploaded by Sharanjit

Second choice, or perhaps first. My wife prefers this one and she definitely has better taste.

Camera Craft 2 - Assignment 3

Art Gallery of NSW
Originally uploaded by Sharanjit

This week's subject was "Rules of composition". I took a lot of shots that I'm very pleased with, and which went down well with the class. This I think is my strongest shot, though I think most people prefer the staircase one that I'll post tomorrow.

It's coming close to the end of term, and next week I'll have to choose my single entry into the student exhibition.

Luckily it'll be a hard choice.

Camera Craft 2 - Assignment 2 - Cont(2)

 

Some scans of the slide film shots over the weekend. There's something quite magical about using slides - much more attachment to these shots than both the negative film and the digital shots. Not sure how to describe it, but it's surely something to do with putting far more thought and feeling into taking these shots than the almost laconic shooting that is digital.

The exposures are too dark, and I suspect I'm hitting some limitations in my camera's meter. Glad I didn't use velvia, but looking forward to trying again.

Camera Craft 2 - Assignment 2 cont

6.05 AM
Originally uploaded by Sharanjit

Woke up at 5.30 AM to take this final digital shot in the series at 6AM.

Managed to catch a plane coming into Sydney airport.

The set is looking pretty good I think however, it would have been better to get more of the sky in as the colour change in the day is not so visible. Luck was also with me with the full moon, so I have a nice shot showing moonlight as well as the sodium vapour street light. On the not so lucky side it seems like the drain only pours out water in the early morning, so the later shots just look like shots of dry drains, which is slightly less interesting!

It'll be very interesting to see how the slides come out from my other camera. Again, not sure I'm going to be able to get them developed in time for class on Wednesday.

Camera Craft 2 - Assignment 2

7.00 AM
Originally uploaded by Sharanjit

The Colour of Light

Use colour slide film or a digital camera set to Daylight white balance.
Set up your tripod and photograph the same scene from before sunrise and through the day at 2 hour intervals until it is completely dark.

Here's the first shot taken at 7 AM this morning (dawn was earlier than I thought!). Will continue till this evening, and then tomorrow morning.

On reflection, it's possibly not the best shot as the sky is only a small part of the picture, and I'd expect that to have the most change in colour. However, it was certainly more interesting than the other shots.

Taking my camera down to the beach to take photos so far hasn't been any trouble. But I'm wary. I suspect some people might be suspicious of my intentions. Luckily it's not an airport or a dam as I'd probably need to shave off my beard before attempting that sort of thing!

Doing both digital and slide film. Kept away from the expensive Velvia 50, and am using Sensia instead. Figured it wasn't worth it for my first attempt. Only worry is getting it developed in time for Wednesday as Monday is a public holiday and all the labs I've called are closed. May need to take some time off work on Tuesday to get it done.

Camera Craft 2 - Week 2

Originally uploaded by Sharanjit

Ok, it didn't turn out too bad in the end, as the teacher wasn't too fussed about keeping to the subject matter. I ended up doing two mini-series:

1) Katoomba shop windows. These shots showed the windows, the reflection in the windows, and often the people inside the shop as well as reflections in mirrors inside the shop. I liked that multi-layered aspect, though really I'm not sure it's naturally pertinent to Katoomba.

2) The bookcase series. Some great shots came back from the roll of film I had developed - particularly those of my friend Shawn. Martin was also very pleased with his portraits. The bookcase background worked well.

Details here

Next week - Colours of Light.

And I also got the bad news - they've cancelled the B&W course I was really looking forward to next term. I'm going to try and get a course in somewhere else, as I want to start developing my own photos. I've had recommendations for Point Light , and will call them to see what they do.

Camera Craft 2 - Assignment 1

This week I have to do one of:

• Photograph within 2 blocks of your home; or
• Photograph a community

Seeing as I was away this weekend visiting friends the first one wasn't an option for once! The second one is harder - I have so many pre-conceived ideas about what community means, it's getting in my way of just shooting.

I have a few options:

• Some shots I took whilst in Katoomba of the shop windows - community through commerce?
• Some pictures of my wife, not necessarily within 2 blocks of my home, but very close to home all the same.
• Some pictures of friends I was in a community with. Maybe. Not many shots though.

I guess this is the best and worst part of doing a camera course. The deadline and set theme both detract from the creative process, and also heighten it.

Breakfast

Getting better results with the Ilford now, so am happy to give it more of a chance.

Also like that this photo has displaced the "cute puppy" photo that was my previous most popular photo on flickr!

Also put in a roll of Neopan that I'd pushed two stops. Will be interesting to see how that comes out. The roll was a gift from my photography teacher, which I thought was very kind of him. I'd been complaining about the cost of B&W processing and developing!

Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney

My first roll of colour film is back from the lab and I'm pretty happy with the results for the first go. The film was a last minute grab from the RBS shop, which made the choice very simple. 24 exposures go fast, especially after tourette-style shooting that is digital, but I'm starting to slow down at least a little. Another roll to come. Thankfully it's so much cheaper to process colour film.

We came late in the day to the RBS, so the tropical area was closed, and the few flowers left in the other parts were made even more drab by the failing light. Better planing required next time.

Martin Place

First photo from the roll of Chromogenic Kodak BW400CN I took last week, and I'm very very happy with it. I think I'll be sticking with this for B&W for a while.

This picture is a good advert for Earth day. Someone should go in and turn off the lights!

Added an abstract crop from this.

Three wise men

Three wise men
Originally uploaded by Sharanjit

These are the buildings I see from my office in the Sydney CBD. I'm intrigued about how there seems to be a glow on each building - no idea how that happened, and wonder if its something to do with the Ilford HP5 plus film I used.

Upgrade Path

I find myself spending way too much time looking at cameras and lenses and figuring out what to buy. I think I have enough gear now, and it's time to focus on using what I have:

Nikon D60
Nikon 18-55 and 55-200 AFS VR kit zooms
Nikon AFS 35mm f/1.8G DX

Nikon F80
Nikon AF 28mm f/2.8 D
Nikon AF 85mm f/1.8 D

However, I have figured out where I want to go next, in case you'd like to buy me a gift :)

1) Panasonic Lumix LX3 - An excellent compact camera with a Leica 24mm f/2 lens, for when I can't carry around my SLRs (within the year)

2) Only full frame AF Nikon lenses - no more DX lenses. Must be compatible with D90 (and so also the D700). Starting with:

• The Nikon AFS 50mm f/1.4G - will work on my current cameras, and is the missing portrait lens I'd like for digital (within the year), and the normal lens I'm missing for Film
  

• A wide-angle lens, Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S, usable on both my cameras, and plus I'm really enjoying the wide angle shots (2 years)
  

• A macro lens, perhaps Nikon 105mm f/2.8 AF or the AFS with VR (3 years)
  

3) D90 - or the then replacement - so I can start to use the AF lenses in digital as well as on the F80 (2 years)

4) D700 - or the then replacement - so I can go full frame (5 years).

Angels

Angels
Originally uploaded by Sharanjit

Some results from excursion last weekend through Waverley Cemetary. I find it a tough place to photograph. I'm desperately trying to avoid the Gothic look, in a place that is almost perfect for Victorian Gothic Chic. Plus the lighting is always tricky - big skies, big ocean. Composition too - hard to avoid distractions in the shot. I think I was more successful this time than I've been in the past. I particularly like the converging diagonal lines implied by the statues and the graves in this shot, that lead the eye through the frame. The sky didn't come out too bad either, and perhaps that's where the Ilford HP5 plus grain helps - I'm not sure.

It's an interesting place anyway, and a great place to spend the afternoon, and not too far from a string of cafes at Bronte Beach.

Man from Armidale

Man from Armidale
Originally uploaded by Sharanjit

I found a few videos on how to use some of the develop tools in Lightroom 2, and played a little with this shot to try and get some better exposure on the face, whilst keeping the detail in the clouds.

Interestingly enough this photo seems to be the consistent favourite of my friends who look at my photostream on flickr.

It's a photo of my grandfather-in-law on his 80th birthday. A man I admire greatly. He's lived in or around Armidale for most of his life, and built many of the roads when he worked for the local council. He spends most of these days walking around the land, which he is so strongly connected to. Racing across the hills, he leaves us younger ones behind.

Bronte Pool & Thoughts on Film

Bronte Pool, originally uploaded by Sharanjit.

Took a new roll on the Ilford HP5 Plus film I got for a low price. I'm still undecided about how I feel about this film. Some shots (such as the one above) work well, but others seem to lose so much sharpness because of the grain, or perhaps because my technique is off. Well I have at least another ten rolls to try out and see if I can improve my results.

Currently I have a roll of Chromogenic Kodak BW400CN to take to the developers. I'm interested to see what that will turn out like.

B&W is expensive to process, and the turn around times seem to be at least two to three days. I've had bad experiences with some labs with excessive dust on the scans and prints. Looking forward to my B&W course at ACP in July, and then I'll get to develop my own.

So far, the Kodak T-MAX 400 has been my favourite, as in this shot of Tanvi.