Photography 1: TAOP, Ex Outdoors at Night

Project: Available light.
Exercise: Outdoors at night.

For this exercise I took pictures to explore the variety of lighting effects and colour in artificial light.  When taking exterior pictures at night that include the sky, I ensured that the sky was not completely black.  Dusk was the best time, when there was just a hint of light in the sky, and the building appeared more clearly.

The photographs taken are shown below:

5675.jpg; F11; 3s; Daylight WB

5676.jpg; F11; 3s; Tungsten WB

The two photographs above were taken at dusk from outside a brightly lit house.  The first photograph was taken using a white balance setting of daylight.  For the second,  the white balance was set to tungsten.  The tungsten white balance setting gives an attractive blue cast to the night sky.  In order to achieve a bold blue colour, there must still be some brightness in the sky.

1936.jpg; F2.8; 1/50s

This image was taken from a poorly lit underground car park into the entrance of a Chinese supermarket.  The colours are predominantly yellow.  The light is provided by relatively harsh fluorescent lights.

1939.jpg; F2.8; 1/80s

This photograph was taken in a busy, brightly lit Chinese supermarket.  The overall yellow colour of the image is mainly due to the bright yellow coloured floor.  This colour is reflected onto the ceiling by the bright lighting.  There is some relief from the yellow colour from the red items and clothing of the people within the store.

Auckland at Night; F27; 3s

The photograph above of the Auckland skyline was taken just as the light from the sky was beginning to fade.  Some light remained in the sky and this has helped to show the outlines of the buildings more clearly.

Candle Lamps; F22; 2.5s

The photograph above was taken outside at night.  The only light available was from the candles.  The candles provide a warm yellow light.

1940.jpg; F4.8; 1/5s

The photograph above is of a floodlit pub.  The photograph was taken hand held and this has resulted in a slightly blurred image.

1941.jpg; F2.8; 1/10s

This image is of a floodlit hotel.  The cars parked in front of the hotel helped to hide the floodlights.

1943.jpg; F2.8; 1/8s

1946.jpg; F2.8; 1/4s

The two photographs above were taken at Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire.  The building is now an upmarket hotel.  The hotel owners have lit each of the majestic buildings with warm white lighting.  This lighting gives a more inviting feel to the buildings.

1949.jpg;F2.8; 1/8s

This church in Harpenden is floodlit with a yellow light.  This form of lighting, although possibly cheaper to run gives a harsh colour to the building.

1952.jpg; F2.8; 1/40s

This Chinese restaurant has been floodlit with sophisticated white light.

5677.jpg; F22; 6s

5681.jpg; F22; 8s

5679.jpg; F22; 8s

The three photographs above were taken from a flyover above the M1 in Bedfordshire.  The lights of the cars and slow shutter speed have produced interesting effects in the images.  In the third image, (5679)  the lines of light have a zigzag effect.  This was due to a car passing over the bridge I was on during the exposure.  I have included it due to its interesting effect.

What have I learned from this exercise?

The variety of colours present at night are many.  Many buildings look more impressive when floodlit at night.  The choice of floodlight colour is important to achieve a desirable effect.

Shops and internal spaces are often more dramatic when brightly lit and viewed from the dark street outside.

When photographing a brightly lit interior of a building, setting the white balance to tungsten gives an attractive blue cast to the night sky.  In order to achieve a bold blue colour, there must still be some brightness in the sky.

Photography 1: TAOP, Ex Symbols

Project: Illustration
Exercise: Symbols

The idea of this exercise was to find symbols for a number of concepts.  Below I have suggested symbols for each concept, and added a short note for each explaining how I might use them in a photograph.


Growth  A seed or seeds starting to grow.  Although this is quite a cliché a photograph could show an acorn starting to grow with a shoot and small leaves visible.  Also plant shoots appearing through soil in spring time would symbolise growth.

Child outgrowing clothes.  A person bursting out of too small clothes could be used as a symbol of growth.

Excess  Cup running over.  Liquid poured into a cup or glass, and beginning to overflow would be a strong symbol of excess in a photograph.

Overeating.  A photograph of a person eating an excessively large sandwich would symbolise excess.

Drunken reveller lying in the street.  A person clearly drunk, lying in the street would suggest excess.

Crime  Broken window with a hand reaching in.  A photograph of a broken window in a door, with a person's hand reaching in to steal something would be symbolic of crime.

A police officer handcuffing a prisoner would symbolise that a crime may well have been committed.

Silence  Silent forest.  An image of a misty forest would suggest silence.

A still, snowy scene would impart a feeling of silence.

Silence could be symbolised in a photograph by having a person using sign language toward to viewer.

Poverty  Down and out begging.  A photograph of a down and out or tramp begging on the street would symbolise poverty.

Hungry children.  Children shown looking thin a staring at an empty plate would imply poverty.

Coins in a hand.  A few, low value coins held in a dirty hand would give the impression of poverty.

What have I learned from this exercise?

In order to symbolise a particular concept in a photograph without being either too clichéd or too obscure is quite difficult.  In order to work, the symbol must be recognisable.  The best way to come up with an original photograph is to research the subject thoroughly and too think laterally.

Photography 1: TAOP, Ex A Narrative Picture Essay

Project: Narrative
Exercise: A narrative picture essay.

For this exercise I chose to photograph an event.  The event I chose was the Really Wild Food and Countryside Festival held in St David's Pembrokeshire in July.  The event is held over two days and includes interesting foods, rural traditions, storytelling and alternative lifestyles.  The event aims to Promote and showcase locally grown or produced food, or wild ingredients foraged from the hedgerows, coast, beach and river.

I have arranged the images so as to tell a story of the event:

Pembrokeshire Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers.  Using traditional hand spinning wheels to spin sheep's wool ready for knitting and weaving.

A Guild member hand spinning dyed wool for weaving.

The dyed and spun wool is woven into cloth on a hand loom.

Alternative lifestyles were displayed such as this Yurt.  The Yurt is designed for year-round living.

Small portable ovens allow food to be cooked near to where it is found.

Pembrokeshire Falconry displayed a selection of hunting birds and owls.

Large Eagle Owl.

Large Owl

The Icelandic Horse Society of Great Britain were present with a number of their horses.

The Icelandic is the original horse of the Vikings, taken to Iceland over a thousand years ago and pure bred ever since.

There were activities for all ages, such as this artificial climbing wall.

Interesting food was cooked to order.  The food available included locally caught seafood and food gathered from the hedgerows.

Food cooked in the open air.

Many stalls selling home made delicacies were to be found in the main marquee.

Photography 1: TAOP, Ex Cloudy Weather and Rain

Project: The time of day.
Exercise: Cloudy weather and rain.

For this exercise, I photographed the same scenes in sunlight and under cloud.  The white balance was set to sunlight/daylight.  The subjects chosen were a building, a person, and a street scene.  These pairs of images were put together and the number of f-stops' difference between the sunny and cloudy versions was noted.  Also I looked to see whether there was a colour difference.

5636.jpg; F13; 1/250s; Sunny

5660.jpg; F9.5; 1/60s; Dull

For each reduction in aperture, the amount of illumination entering the camera halves.  This is because the area of the circular opening is halved.  Also the same effect is achieved through each change in shutter speed.  In practice, one stop down to a slower speed accompanied by one stop down to a smaller aperture makes no change to the exposure.

In this pair of images there is a difference of 4 stops due to shutter speed and 2 stops due to aperture.  This gives a total difference of 6 f-stops.

The image in dull light is slightly bluer than the image in the sunshine.  I prefer the image taken in the bright light because the form of the objects in the scene are better defined.

5628.jpg; F8; 1/180s; Sunny

5608.jpg; F8; 1/20s; Dull

The exposure difference between the two images is 6 f-stops.  I prefer the image created in the dull light as the model's features are softer and there are no severe shadows.

5636.jpg; F13; 1/250s; Sunny

5660.jpg; F9.5; 1/60s; Dull

The exposure difference between the two images is 6 f-stops.  I prefer the image created under the bright light because the form of the building is better defined.

When clouds cover the sun, the shadows are softer and the shadow edges less distinct.  The subject is more evenly lit but not so definitely "modelled" - it looks flatter, with a less obvious form.

White Tree Flowers

This image was created under dull light.  The subtle colours and textures are clearer under subdued light than they would be under bright light.

Next I took 3 photographs outdoors, on an overcast day, that make good use of the enveloping, shadowless light.

5621.jpg; F8; 1/125s; Cloudy Conditions.

The shadowless light in this image has allowed the fine relief on the thorn branch to be seen clearly.

5618.jpg; F8; 1/90s; Cloudy Conditions.

Here the different textures can be clearly seen under the subdued light.

5612.jpg; F8; 1/60s; Cloudy Conditions.

The strong colour of this flower is seen to good effect in the shadowless light.

5639.jpg; F9.5; 1/60s.

Rain drops on a black car bonnet.

5651.jpg; F8; 1/60s.

Rain drops caught in a spider's web.

What have I learned from this exercise?

The exposure difference between a photograph taken in bright sunlight and under cloud is approximately 6 f-stops.  Images created under cloud are very slightly bluer.

Photographs of people and brightly coloured objects are often better when created under overcast or cloudy conditions.

Rain can produce interesting visual effects, so poor weather does not forbid the taking of good images.

For each reduction in aperture, the amount of illumination entering the camera halves.  This is because the area of the circular opening is halved.  Also the same effect is achieved through each change in shutter speed.  In practice, one stop down to a slower speed accompanied by one stop down to a smaller aperture makes no change to the exposure.