pure photo workshops #5: telling stories

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A picture is worth a thousand words.

The assignment this week was to tell stories with our photos.

As with the last two assignments, this one was a challenge and not as easy as I thought it would be 

to execute...let alone execute well! There are at least two ways to generate visual stories: 1) a series of photos depicting some kind of story or event with a beginning, middle and end, and 2) a single photo that tells a story, or at least makes you curious as to what the story is and elicits some emotion from the viewer regarding the image.

I was going to attempt a series of staged still-life images to generate a story, but ended up spending a couple of days at Waterfront Park in downtown Portland practicing my street photography and looking for "stories". I found in reviewing my images that I sometimes missed a crucial picture that was needed to transition from one image to the next. The result: a story that was interrupted and would leave the viewer wondering, "how did we get from there to here?" As the photographer, I knew the story and the sequence of events, but I didn't think it would translate as well for the viewer who wasn't with me while I was photographing the subject. Interesting, yes? Just as one needs complete sentences in writing, it seems you need a complete flow of imagery for a visual story, too. You just can't learn this stuff in books...you gotta get your camera in your hands and just do it! I love that! 

Although I wanted to share a story made from a series of images from the park, I've opted to share individual photos. These images pushed me to wonder about the stories behind these images? And what was going to happen next? Maybe the imagination is more interesting than the reality! I loved this assignment from Carolyn Parker via Jane. It challenged me to look through the lens and to try to see more than what was in front of me at that moment in time, to think about my subjects, and to keep moving out of my comfort zone and look for the story on the street. 

Thank you so much Jane, Britt, Mariska, Arnika, and Carolyn for this wonderful series of workshops. I have enjoyed each and every one of them! And thank you to all the participants! I have been so inspired by all your imagery, and am so delighted to have met you all through this workshop!!

Enough words. Time to let the pictures speak!

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Just a few words about this man. He appeared to be very down on his luck, perhaps homeless, too. I was so touched by his sharing his breakfast with the geese. Waterfront Park is home to yachts and fancy restaurants and shops; and here is this gentleman, with maybe nothing but what's on his back, sharing the food he needs with the geese. That's generosity in action.

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Sow a thought, and you reap an act;

Sow an act, and you reap a habit;

Sow a habit, and you reap a character;

Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

~Samuel Smiles  

I hope you have a fabulous weekend and have plenty of stories 

to share on Monday morning! xoxo

pure photo workshop #4: learning to watch

 

This week's assignment for the Pure Photo Workshop is designed by Arnika Smit.

The assignment was to learn to watch and pick out elements of your environment that 

represented color (blue), patterns, details and emotion.

After bouncing between a few ideas, I ended up going to The Pearl, a fun neighborhood near downtown Portland. I used the 24-105mm lens almost exclusively, except for the ladybug shot. 

I walked around and looked for color, patterns, details...and emotion.

1. Blue

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The graffiti on this tower attracted my eye as it was blue. I played with the processing, and the black and white image accentuates the pattern of the windows and the zig-zag of the stairs. 

Although there is a lot of green in this image, it was the blue that attracted me. 

The iconic Fremont Bridge is in the background.

There are a few parks in The Pearl. The Tanner Springs park is flanked by this beautiful fence made from old railroad ties. The blue glass art in them made them an obvious target for the "blue" set of images!

2. Pattern

Tanner Springs fence and shadows.

A door jamb.

Portland is dubbed the City of Roses after the ease in which we can grow roses in this climate.

The pattern of roses is seen throughout the city.

I liked the lines of the hatch pattern, and how they were broken up and softened by the circle of the rose.

This attracted my eye. I liked the lines and the round elements. I also liked how the diamond shapes

were echoed in the yellow sidewalk cut-out and the cement. The angle of the shadow also echoed the trianglular forms.

3. Detail

I stopped for a coffee break, and who should be saving the table for me but this cute lieveheersbeestje (ladybug)!

This is the corner of an old shutter on an old remnant of a building. I love, love, love this building and could spend a whole day and into the night photographing it from every angle with every lens.

I held myself back.

4. Emotion

These children were playing in the park. It was a beautiful warm afternoon, and

they were having fun in the water together. Pure, uninhibited, play.

That's it for me for this week! Thank you Jane and Arnika for another assignment that pushed my boundaries! You can take a look at the assignments of the other participants here!

Have a great rest of your weekend!! xo

pure photo workshop #3: motion

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The workshop assignment over at Pure Photo this week 

was presented by our workshop coordinator, Jane. The assignment had two parts: 

First, to study motion by varying your shutter speed. And the second part was to study water in relationship to motion. Sadly, I ran out of time, energy, and light for the latter part of the assignment, but I do have a water photo from my trip to Baltimore to share at the end.

I had many, many ideas for the motion part of the workshop. As time was rapidly flying by and the rains were not ceasing, I went to the waterfront, settled down on a bench with my raincoat, tripod and camera, and watched...and clicked...and clicked...away.

I had a blast the likes of which I can't even put into words.

I went through three memory cards. Yep. THREE!

Boy did I learn alot. I loved this assignment! I don't usually hang out at the waterfront, and never with my camera. To sit and look at people going by, AND boldly take their picture...hoo boy!

That was a moment in itself! ;)

The first thing I learned, is that people don't walk/jog/bike in a straight path, 

hence it is very difficult to get sharp focus,

since I had chosen to remain stationary and catch what passed in front of me.

Using a larger f-stop (smaller aperture) helps, but depending on the light (which is ever-changing in the Pacific Northwest), you have to balance your shutter speed with your ISO to stop action

(or record action) depending on your creative desire.

In daylight with a low ISO setting, it is difficult to achieve a slow shutter speed even at larger f-stops.

Luckily, I have neutral density filters in my arsenal...I used 2 8X ND filters plus a graduated ND filter

to block sky light during this photoshoot and to help me find balance 

between shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and the creative desire.

The first shot is a collection of mostly low shutter speed shots to capture the subject's action. The subject is in motion and the surrounding background and foreground should be in still.

The black and white image is a panned shot that stopped the motion of the biker, 

but not the runner crossing in front. Too cool.

Another thing I learned, is that the shutter speed that works on a cyclist to capture their motion is not the same shutter speed needed to capture a jogger or walker. Yep.

It took awhile to change my parameters fast enough between all the walkers,

bikers, and cyclists to get the shot and not just an empty frame. 

And another thing, some of these cyclists are racing down the path, 

and others are pedaling leisurely...another thing to consider. 

Onward.

The second shot is a composite of a man in a business suit walking in front of me. He stood out from the crowd, and was the only businessman I saw. In this series of shots I had chosen

to freeze the action and take multiple frames of the man walking.

I just had to process him in black and white!

My favorite method: panning. Loved. It. 

In this method the photographer focuses on the subject and moves along with the subject so that the subject stays in focus and the background/foreground is blurred, thereby depicting the motion.

I had to readjust my shutter speed to capture the motion in the panned background, then focus on the subject and pan...being careful not to pan up and down, too! Hah!

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I love the girl above...she is so Portland!

So many kinds of bikes...so many people to watch.

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This runner was fantastic! I didn't even realize I had caught his smile. I think the panning wasn't pristine, but it's ok...it definitely captures the motion of a runner.

This biker was a seasoned pro. He was weaving in and out and all around the walkers.

Nothing fazed him.

Below is a water shot taken at the harbor in Baltimore, MD. 

It was just around or after sunset. I used a low ISO, large f-stop, and a long exposure to blur the water.

Thank you Jane for a grand assignment! I'm looking forward to seeing how the other participants approached both parts. I hope you'll join me in perusing their work!

Have a fabulous rest of your weekend!! xo

Time has been transformed, and we have changed;

it has advanced and set us in motion;

it has unveiled its face, 

inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration.

~Kahlil Gibran  

pure photo workshop #2 point of view

The second assignment of the Pure Photo Workshop was to study point of view by Mariska de Groot.

We were to take a series of photos of a subject from different perspectives, lighting, and angles.

The first three images are lit in different ways.

The first challenge to lighting is to have steady light...i.e. no clouds rolling by if you are out in daylight.

In general, I like back or side lit subjects as the edges are nicely defined, and any texture shows up nicely with side light. The side lit image isn't as textural as it could be as clouds kept drifting by and diffused the light. 

The front lit example is ok as it was late afternoon and the light was hazy and low, and it seemed to work well with the pens.

The next set of images explored top down vs bottom up.

I liked the pens top down!

There is a lot of detail at either end of a pen. I think this image would be improved if I had shot it with a smaller aperture and a longer depth of field to capture some of the details lost in the bokeh of this shot.

The rose photographed from the top worked better for me than the next image which was captured from the bottom up. I prefer the top down image of the rose because there is so much detail in the petals that can be seen from this vantage point; whereas, very little of that detail can be seen in the bottom up image. So, maybe depending on the subject matter and identifying its focal interest will help in deciding whether top down or bottom up will generate a more successful image.

I also noted, that I preferred a more open aperture, f2.8 - f4.0 for the rose shot. Larger than f4.0 generated a longer depth of field and too much detail in the background that also turned out to be distracting.

That being said, the little vintage medicine bottle is displayed well in the bottom up image. But it isn't really the subject and may've been a bigger distraction from the subject if a smaller aperture was used and it was in better focus.

What do you think?

The next two examples explored close-up vs distance.

I just found my calligraphy supplies after many years in storage. To my great delight this wonderful vintage fountain pen was in my box of pens. I love it! The detail of the nib is rich. There is even a little heart in it.

The close up captures that detail.

When I move the camera back, and  capture a wider view of the scene,you see the rest of the story.

Thank you Jane and Mariska!  This was a great assignment. 

It's fun to explore different points of view and what gives each their strength and weakness, and to think about what you need to differently to get as much out of a different perspective as you can.

What was the journal entry?

I hope you'll have time to bounce over and check out some of the other participants' blogs!

Have a great rest of your weekend!!

xo

pure photo: style assignment

Hi! Welcome to We Heart Yarn! 

My name is Gail, aka Neuroknitter. I'm a wife, sister, daughter, friend, and mom to four cats, and work full time in a multiple sclerosis research laboratory.

I've been shooting digitally since starting this blog - almost 8 years now!

I shoot with a Canon 5DMkII (full frame), and my go-to lens is the 100mm macro.

I mostly shoot knitting and fiberarts as still life compositions, but have developed quite a passion for food and nature photography over the years, and will frequently shoot food with my knitting, and my knitting out in the wild! Recently, I've been expoloring landscape, candid portraits, and night photography.

I'm not very active on Pinterest, so creating a style board proved challenging. I have very few boards and the one most populated was the food board, so I thought I would use that to inspire and define my style for this assignment.

For this assignment, I'm photographing a finished pair of socks and the remaining yarn from the skein. I wanted to purposely prop my images with items I would use for food, so I used a ceramic bowl, mug, and cookie sheets. The "napkins" are hand-dyed wool squares that I recently acquired.

Thank you, Britt! This was a great assignment. It made me stop and think about style and mood and what I was wanting to accomplish with my imagery. I'm planning to start a formal style/mood board and will keep adding to it over time.

Thank you Jane, for hosting such a great workshop!

I'm looking forward to viewing each of your assignments over the weekend! :)

p.s. for the knitterly crowd, 

this is the  monkey sock pattern by Cookie A in an STR mill end