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!