The final entry for the course

Well the video doesn't show the images very well, and you can't see the text. Here are all the images in JPG format. But really to do them justice they need to be seen in print. This can be done at the Epsom library until the 2nd of December.

The course has been everything I wanted. I started not knowing how other photographers works was better than mine, and what I needed to improve on. Since then I have learnt to be more patient, to take my time with a photo, come back if necessary and wait for the right light. I have dabbled in areas that I never thought I would. My level of confidence has risen dramatically and I feel I am more able to cope with situations I get into to make an image. I know my camera more intimately, and have a craft I can build on to tell the stories I want to.

Here are the images that are the final portfolio.

Enjoy...

Its done and here is the video

I have the book from the printer and I like it. The images are a very good quality and the mood and flow of the book is good. The fact it is only sheets folded and stapled doesn't make the end result too cheap, and I am pleased with the process. As my photography gets better I will be able to repeat this process and have it bound as a beautiful work of art.

I thought it might be a nice touch to say a few words about the portfolio, excuse the quality as there are file size limits to what I can upload.

The Book of Familiarity

I didn't like the photo albums I could afford and I wanted a book. Then I remembered my local printer, would he be able to print a copy of my images in a book. I gave him a call and yes he could. So I had a crash course in using Indesign and started to add images to pages. I added some text as well to support the story. I created a PDF and got a test print done.

Well, the images needed some work, but the quality was good enough, and overall it had a good look to it, low cost but still with a sense of elegance. I touched up the images, and changed one image to another. Some of the text needed a rework but a few days before everything was due I had it back at the printers to print...

I waited and worked here on my visual diary.

Final Edit where it falls into place

I did prints of all the images I had and layed them out on the table. I took my time and started to see what would go together. Once I had them grouped I then looked at how they could be sequenced. What would be my opening image, how would they flow to the last image.

It took a couple of days of playing with them, a good distraction from how I was going to present them which was still undecided.

This is the part I really like, and when I say really like I mean REALLY like. It all came together in a moment of joy. The story unfolded and I had a series of photos that told a story, my journey of familiarity through Auckland..

More presentation woes

I thought "yes Trade Me will have the answer" and I started searching for a photographic portfolio. I found the $17 plastic A3 folder but too cheap and it wouldn't do my prints justice.

I started to think maybe I should just put them in a box with white gloves. Mount each image on card and have them loose in a box. But where would I get the box? Simon had some ideas and I thought of talking an ordinary cardboard box and applying a textured coating to make it pop.

But after a few days I came back to the portfolio, I wanted a book to capture a moment in time in my progress as a photographer, and something to remember Auckland by. I looked at book binding but again I came up with the cost issue, but the quality of some of them is beautiful.

http://www.barbaraschmelzer.com/books/tuibrandplan.php

I never asked how much, these will have to wait.

so back to Trade Me and I found a simple black card A3 folder. They could even put one of my prints in the cover. This was going to cost around $40 then the prints on top, still too expensive...

Presentation and portfolio

With around 30 images to work with to get my final 15 I started to think about how I would present them. The idea of a photographic folder didn't appeal yet it would make it easy. I looked online and talked with a friend who did weddings. I found some amazing high quality portfolios but they were very expensive. Here is a site that was recommended to me.

http://www.queensberry.com/albums/digital-flushmount/


The only problem with these is the cost. Getting an album and then getting the photos printed professionally would cost hundreds of dollars, outside my budget. I looked at how I could print at a lower cost and decided that it would be the most cost effective to print to my own Epson R2880. Even with buying 25 sheets of quality A3 paper would cost around $80, but this worked out to around $5 a print, cheap compared to a pro lab, or even Harvey Norman. Yet it was still too expensive...

Final shots and starting to edit.

I had to start editing and after spending hours with around 90 photos I had it down to just 24. But I still needed something else, I didn't have everything I needed. An extra night of shooting and only 10 days before the portfolio is due, but it was worth it.

At Wynyard quarter there are these water reed ponds. At high tide, and with a good sunset something beautiful can be captured.

Simon had told me about how the moonlight does weird things, so I wanted to see what I could do with it. Here is my first venture into shooting the moon. It was very tricky to get the exposure right.

This shot is one of my favourites. I had taken a number of shots that I really liked, and I was standing there enjoying just being, breathing in the experience. As I was enjoying the moment I glanced at the dark sea, and noticed how the light from a motorway light was casting ripples. I wondered how it would look in a photo.

It looked good.

Enough of the sea and mist

I had enough sea and parks with mist to sink a small battleship and I needed something else for the portfolio. Something that captured the urban and concrete that Auckland has. I shot down at Wynyard Quarter over three days from late afternoon to just after sunset. I was able to capture some of the old container buildings, with shadows and curves that intrigued me.

Bold and foreboding, if only I had got a person in front dressed in bright red.

I love the shadows and how the light highlights the blue. I was trying to use a ladder for this shot, but it was too unstable so I ended up with the tripod on a step.

If only this pair of steps had a sun setting behind them, but I ran out of days to shoot and I had a portfolio to create.

Getting my focus

When I first started taking shots at night I would often have out of focus images. I found it hard to look through the viewfinder and see clearly enough what I wanted in focus. I tried using the auto focus but the camera struggled with being able to know what to focus on.

But with shooting so many nights and having to wait around for the light I played with the live view function. Eureka, I could finally fine tune my focus and make the images crystal clear, and sharp as a pin. I feel in love with photography all over again. I could even zoom in on the image and make a specific part of the subject what is in focus, and with a very shallow depth of field this became a valuable tool.

This shot was taken with f1.8 and the focus is exactly where I wanted it to be.

More shots and the learning of waiting

I spent a number of nights where I would wait for the shot. No longer was I taking many photos on a location, but instead I was taking only 5 or 6. Where I would have taken 20 to 30 only a few months ago. I took the time to get the correct focus, the time to get the correct exposure, and the time to get the composition, just right. Sometimes this created a great image, and other times, well at least the elements were correct even if the subject was a bit bland.

Yes, the side of a motorway, but I had to climb a fence that blocked the way in. Even the kids wouldn't come with me, "its illegal and the police will arrest me". Lucky they didn't and I got to walk along the side of the motorway.

Shoot and reshoot

After reviewing my images I knew I had to go back, and for quite a few days I was up at 5am shooting, and then again at 7pm, hoping for that golden light. Some times were quite depressing, the light wasn't quite right, or I had forgotten something, such as a remote shutter release.

I added Mt Eden into the mix to see if I could build on my shots of lines, maybe a path might present itself, or a cityscape at night. I liked what I could do with the long exposures and the way light and movement can be captured.

Here is an image at night, maybe something I could work with.

I was lucky with this shot, the end of day was drizzly and overcast, but it meant that the clouds were very low. This shot of the path was taken around 6pm and you could see the low clouds drifting over the path.

Deciding the title

I thought about why it was so important to me to capture Auckland in the way that I was. I realised that with moving to Queenstown one of the things that I will miss the most is the familiarity I will leave behind. I have lived in Auckland for almost all my life. I know her quirks, the places that the tourist wouldn't. From this loss a photographic series was born. A series on Auckland called familiarity. The brief to capture images that are a little unusual, capture the beauty of the everyday Auckland that I know.
Here are some of those images.

Under a jetty at Herne Bay


Under the harbour bridge

Another jetty at Herne Bay

Only those who live in Auckland will know where they are, and even then maybe they won't..

My shot list

I decided I needed a plan, a shot list that would make a portfolio of Auckland. I wanted to capture the everyday places, not the fantastic sunsets, or seascapes, but the everyday that Aucklander's take for granted. I had some shots of Cornwall Park that showed the park in a different light, the misty look. after some thought I came up with a plan and went on a recky to visit the places and get ideas on the shots I would take. It took a couple of days but finally I had a shot list. Here it is;

1. Devonport wharf at - sunset

2. Cornwall park early morning - sunrise

3. Herne Bay jetty and around the small bays - sunset

4. New walkway along motorway and Victoria park tunnel - night

5. Wynyard Quarter around the containers - sunset and sunrise

6. Under Harbour Bridge from first turn off after bridge heading north - sunrise and sunset

These areas are where I feel comfortable, I feel that they have a story that I can capture in a photo. My only worry is will I have enough time to make the photos and then edit and print them....

Final decision

Do I shoot using the studio, or do I take  a punt and try landscapes where I am at the beck and call of the light?

At the beginning of this course I had an idea in my head of doing a series that was about the diversity of Auckland, not just the people, bu the places as well. I had not got the chance to do anymore on the idea, and this was going to be my last chance as part of the course. I decided to bite the bullet and carry on with landscapes, and expand and work on the idea of the diversity of Auckland.

After having a look at some of Rita's amazing landscapes I knew that I had to pull something out of the hat, what could I do that would be unique to me...

Portfolio review

After thinking about the work involved with doing more landscapes I toyed with the idea of doing still life instead.

Final portfolio for the end of the course

With the last four weeks of the course here and a final portfolio of 12-15 images to be produced the first thing I wanted to do was go back over all the photos I had taken. There are over 2000, but I have noticed that I take a lot less photos now, and the quality is a lot more. A good reflection of what I have been getting out of the course.

I decided for this part of the course that I would not do any more research around photographers. Having done so much on the last part I thought it was time to focus more on the actual making of photos, from making the photograph, to editing and photoshop work.

I spent a few hours going through my library of images and it became apparent that I had a few good landscapes, so to build on these for my portfolio seemed a good idea. Here are a few of the landscapes I have taken that I like.

The Final Show

At 10pm last night I got my images back from the printer. I didn't want to look, my partner did and she said they were good. Bit I didn't notice her going WOW so I decided to wait until Friday.

Friday, here they are and once they were on the wall I was impressed. I had come a long way from when I started.

Just when I thought it was all over

Having spent hours yesterday doing all the work to be ready for print, today I could relax and work on the word document for my presentation. BUT, and I say a big but, I decided to show people the filtered version of my images (the ones I am NO going to print).

To my dismay they loved them and I was faced with the decision, do I panic to try to redo the images I had already packaged up, with only 5 minutes to cut off?

Of course I like a challenge so I raced home, found the original images, applied the filter and after setting up  a drop box (something I had not done before) I had them uploaded and ready for Delwyn to get for printing. I sent an email and by the end of the day she had them and I could once again relax...

Life is not meant to be easy, and as Niki said, you just have to relax into it.. Either that or go crazy.

Its all about the story, and sequencing

To tell a story their needs to be a beginning, a middle and and end. The images you saw on the last post are not in story mode, the way they will be displayed in an exhibition is something you will have to wait to see..

Final touch Up

The final steps before the images can go off to print, sharpen each image. It makes a difference, especially in the fine detail of some of the cloth. Make sure my colour across the images go together. There was a little   touch up work with the two images of the doll with the jump suit. A final review of the images zoomed in for any imperfections that need removing. Of course sometimes an imperfection is best left in, and some I did. Are all the images the right size, is the colour space the same (1998 Adobe RGB) and the resolution.

Yes I am happy they are all ready for print. A renaming to make sure my name is associated with each images and save as TIFF without layers and I am good to go. All that's left is to write up the presentation for Friday, oh and think of a title as I don't like the original so watch this space.

Here are the final selection of edited images that will be printed.

Of course I had to have a little play with some filters and came up with a look that I quite liked, but in the end I decided they were going to look better printed without the filter.

Here are the images with a bleach bypass filter added.

So what do you think...

Spots and clones - the art of touch up

I have learnt about the spot removal tool, and the clone tool. I knew about these before but didn't really get how they worked and how I should use them. After many hours of practice I realise that it is all about subtlety. A little bit of one tool, and maybe a little of the other, take my time (patience again) and with a good eye miracles are possible. I managed to get rid of an almost impossible line, and doll blemishes you will never know where there.  It occurs to me that I am being an artist with my brush. Slowly, and with great finesse I can make my dolls more beautiful, and the trick is to show nothing. In other words the adjustment I make should blend in seemlessly, as if it was always there.

I can use these tools with a little more confidence and although the dolls shots aren't the best I have been able to make them pop a little more.

Removing Backgrounds - its all about edges

If you look closely at the photos in my previous post you will see that one of the dolls has a doll behind it. I was using it to prop up the doll so I could photograph at the right angle.

Yes I spent many an hour trying to get the doll removed from the background and the background to then match ones from other images. In the end I almost got it with the colour but I had to accept that I didn't have enough time to fix the edges against the dolls arm. So it was back to the drawing board and looking for another image that could work.

Colour catastrophe

So I thought the colour part would be a little bit more straight forward, but of course my Photoshop patience was called for again. Colour is made up of hues, saturation, and vibrance. But not only do we have this but we also have colour temperature, and just to top it off, colour is always in context of what it is with. A black can look at lot different if it is next to a dark green, versus a bright white.

Of course Photoshop again give me many ways to play with colour and I realise that although I can look at an image and know it isn't quite how I want it to look, I don't know what colour needs to go. Learning about colour is a world in itself. I know that I have a selection of doll images that have an earthy brown New Zealand look to them, but I want to set this against a steel fashion look to give a sense of elegance. There is a scene in the Miami Vice movie where it is very early morning and the colour of the sky is a cool steel blue, this is what I want.

But there is work to be done before I can get to this and the selection of images that I chose keeps changing as things don't go together. Here are 10 images from my first selection, along with the colour theme I started out with.

The patience of Photoshop

I have chosen my images, and then I do some serious cropping. I am starting to get an eye for what looks good but soon learn that a severe crop has its consequences. When I crop to A4, which is the crop size I am using for the edits, the image is filled in to fir the A4 size, voila noise. And some of the images had a serious problem with noise. I didn't expect this as I had made my images with a low ISO of 100.

The next thing I discover is that if I mistakenly set the A4 size with an extra 0 then the file size becomes so large that the PC dies. Trap for first time users. But I get it fixed and I start to understand how cloning and healing work. Again I get an eye and see how PATIENCE goes a long way when cleaning up an image.

I really get how getting the shot right in the first place is a far better proposition than spending hours tidying it up later in Photoshop. I learn about layers and masks, and get confused. But in all this there is the artist in me that said "i can do magic with this", and over time I will.

Here is the image that took me hours to just get the line you see in the background out. A before and after

That little bloody line, and the stress of a deadline did not leave me in a nice relaxed creative state.

The Big Edit

So now I have 105 images of dolls that I need to edit. I do a first cut and take out the duplicated shots and narrow it down to about 35. I take them with me on Tuesday and start to play around with cropping. Meighan helps me get a theme to a series and by the end of Monday I have around 15 images that I can make my series from. I have been toying with a new title, maybe Faked Fashion.

Studio stress

On Saturday I went and picked up a few more dolls and was ready for my studio time at 2pm. I had to get the camera on Friday so I had some time to look at it Friday.

I had a formula. shoot each doll with a white backdrop. Use only two lights, a snoot for focused highlights,and a box for the soft diffused. For each doll I would make sure I captured the parts that were most striking. Each doll had its own story to tell.

I arrived early at the studio to find it open and empty. I started to setup and found that the tether cable was missing, but the camera case had one so i was still good to go. I took almost an hour to get the lights right, the tripod right, capture one working and a process that would work for shooting around 10 dolls. More involved than I thought it would be.

But it wasn't long before I was in flow of things and I started to see that each doll had a history, and this reflected in their personality. Some were timid, others brash, and some with odd mannerisms. Yes if it seems that I got a little involved you would be right (I can see how people get into the fetish side of dolls).

But the important thing to remember is that each doll told a story of its owner, so really what I was doing is a portrait of the owners life as it is reflected in the doll. It was a fun exercise and I would love to do more, so having my own studio is definately on the cards. The ability to be able to control the light, and take your time with the shot is appealing and I would like to do more.

I finished on time at 5pm only to find the Mac dilema, you can't copy to PC formatted hard drives, so it took to Monday to get the images.

Here are three of my favourite images