Precious

I travelled across Auckland yesterday afternoon with Ruby and Harriet in search of what is precious. I took photos of horses, seagulls, kids, and beaches. It was sunny and Auckland is beautiful on a sunny day.

That night I had to take my 90 images and pick six or less that are symbolic of what is precious. It didn’t take long (with the help of Niki) to have four great shots that symbolise my theme of precious. Taking a photo is about capturing a random moment, a certain angle, something that is precious to me and that I want to show others. And the four images tell a story, of the diversity of Auckland, not only in its people, but in its places as well. I hope these images are symbolic of what I find precious about Auckland, DIVERSITY.

Well I had my work ctitiqued and I like all the photos submitted, see them here. But from the point of view of crating a coherent theme the Devonport shot didn’t belong. It was the one shot without people in it, and yes I did have the same shot with a couple of kids in it but didn’t choose it. The upside to this is my weakness of being ale to be objective about what is a good photo and why came to the fore. Having not studied art and feeling like I am a beginner artists I lack confidence around my work.

Thursday 28th

I was standing at the bus stop looking at a tree, and I thought how could I make a shot, the tree real close and the church behind, if all in focus then make a photo.

But even at F16 (the maximum my lens will go) and focusing just behind the tree I would not be able to get both things in focus. The distance between the two is too great to have the depth of field cover them. Then I remembered when I was looking telephoto lens and how they had a maximum aperture of 30. Yes If I had one of these then maybe I could get the shot.

On the precious assignment I realise what is precious to me, and what for me photography is all about. What is precious to me is those moments of creative spark, and when they are captured in an image. That moment in time when I make a connection that becomes frozen in time with a photograph. The object that is being photographed is secondary , it is the connection to it that I try to capture.

Wednesday 27th - Depth of field

We had an exercise to do about depth of field and how it effects the image. I shot a row of cups and using a shallow depth of field allows me to draw the focus to a narrow area. See for yourself

Slow Shutter

Took low shutter speed photos on bus, not much to talk of but a chance to play with blur in photos

I also took some photos outside 277, It took a while to get the right position to take photos of cars at different shutter speeds. I have discovered I want to explore the effect of blur to create movement.

The triple stop - New English punctuality term

I just thought of a new English punctuality term “The triple stop”. For those of you who don’t know what it is read on.

The full stop designates an end of a sentence, a completion to a saying, a piece of information if you will. The triple stop on the other hand is designed to accentuate the importance of what we said in the previous sentence, it tells the reader that one should stop reading for three times longer than they normally would from a sentence, before starting on the next… There you have it a new English term, invented right here in New Zealand by a yet to be famous writer and photographer…

What colour is black and white

We had to do an exercise to show how black and white changes depending on white balance. It was supposed to be a creative exercise but I got busy and only ended up doing it for the technical experience. Seem black or white can have many shades.

Catching the Bus

Catching the bus to my course and looking out the window at what is happening around me. I hop off the bus and walk past shops looking in the windows. Items all arranged to look pretty, to entice you to want more, to come in and buy. The use of colour, lines that our eyes follow, the textures and emotions that are invoked. I have an epiphany “We see the world through a lens” this is what Annie Lebowitz said when I watched the 6 part documentary on her. Talking about photography she said that she sees the world through her lens, yet we all do. It might be the car window, or a pair of glasses, we are always seeing through something.

life is about observing that which is out there.