Picturing the End

Well, the time has come to put an end to my photography project. It feels like only yesterday that I excitedly opened the box of my new camera, brimming with potential for all of the beautiful photos I could take. During the past couple of months, I feel that I have come a long way in understanding certain features and capabilities of my camera. However, as with any learning project, there are ups and downs. Here is a compilation of the positive and negative points of my project:

Positives:

• I had the opportunity to purchase the type of camera I always have wanted!
• I participated in my first MOOC. 
• I can't wait to continue to learn more about my camera and use it to document life's adventures.

Negatives:

• The learning curve has been much steeper than anticipated. I still have SO much to learn before I can even hope my photos will be somewhat professional looking. 
• I wanted to take more shots of nature, however October and November have been rather dull months, in terms of natural beauty. 

The primary tool which I used to learn about photography was a MOOC. Here is a screenshot I took of one of the videos in the course.

I found the course to be satisfactory. There were some useful videos and textual information. I found that the course had some introductory material (which was free), then often cut out the important parts that were offered in the course which you had to pay for. Also, some of the topics seemed disjointed and did not transition well from one to the other. Furthermore, I felt that some of the vocabulary used was quite advanced for a novice photographer. At times, the instructor seemed to assume that the students already learned how to use their camera, which defeats the purpose, in my opinion.

I made the decision to not complete the MOOC, as there were several lessons that did not serve the original intent (see post from October 2) I had for learning about photography. Some of the titles of these lessons include "Converting Images to Black and White in Photoshop," "Polarizing Filters," and "High End Studio Product Photo Shoot." In the end, I completed about 50% of the course. Details of what I learned from the MOOC can be found in my earlier blog posts.

Some of the other tools I used for my project were a blog, Twitter  @digitalps, a forum, and YouTube. The blog, called Best Photo Lessons, was very useful in supporting the information I had learned in the MOOC. Many of the topics overlapped, which helped as I could get two points of view on the same subject. The Twitter feed that I followed was informative. I felt the topics were a bit too random for my purposes, as I was taking a more linear course. However, I will continue to subscribe to this feed in the future, as there are many good tips. The forum provided some technical knowledge on my Canon camera, which was quite helpful when I couldn't figure out how to do certain things! Finally, YouTube provided me with a couple of instructional videos to better understand both my camera itself, and photography basics in general. I found that if I didn't understand something I was learning in the MOOC, I often turned to YouTube to get a second dose of information. Please reference my previous blog posts for more information on how I used the above tools.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about photography through Social Media. It allowed me to learn at my own pace. There is such a wealth of information about photography on the Internet! I hope that when I become more proficient at photography I will be able to create an instructional video to help others, so that I can give back to the community that has helped me to learn. To reflect back to the title of my blog, "The End is Only the Beginning", this couldn't be more true for my desire to learn more about photography. 

Opening Access to Knowledge

I really enjoyed last Tuesday's class presented by Alec on Open Education. In this session, one of the key discussion points was the question of what is knowledge? I was inspired to write my thoughts about knowledge by Blair's recent post. In Blair's blog, he discussed the history of knowledge, and how it has been passed down through oral tradition and then changed with the invention of ink and the printing press. Perhaps knowledge was seen as some coveted thing because it was very difficult to access centuries, and even decades, ago. The rich and powerful people were able to be the "keepers of knowledge" and would control who it was shared, or not shared, with. It is possible that groups in our society, including schools, are trying to maintain status through continuing to be the keepers of knowledge. Unfortunately, I think that if educational institutions maintain this viewpoint, and don't start believing in open access, they are going to become obsolete.

One of the main points that resonated with me was Tony Wagner's quote that I'm going to loosely paraphrase as "The world no longer cares what you know. It cares about what you can do with what you know." I think this shift is what really defines the Information Age. I really believe that as a society, we can all benefit if we keep in mind that knowledge should be shared. People don't work in a bubble. We all base our ideas off of other people's work. Just imagine the possibilities if everyone would share what they know! 

Photo from: http://www.newparadiselaboratories.org/uploads/response_images/1364517508letter_k_cap-gif.gif

Fun in the Snow!

Finally! Some snow to make my landscape photos more interesting! Yes, I am one of those strange people who actually enjoys winter and gets excited for the first big snowfall. Yesterday morning, I decided to go to the park by the RCMP museum and just play with my camera's settings. As I have learned in the ECE Summer Institute, sometimes playing is the best way to learn. And now that I have some more knowledge of photography, taking pictures with my new camera is starting to come a little more naturally. Here are some of my photos from the session:

 

I didn't see anyone out while I was taking photos, but I came across some dog tracks from an earlier walk. I used the "micro" (close-up) setting for this picture. 

 

 In this photo, I was experimenting with the foreground and background (AKA the "depth of field").

 I love how this photo captured some of the falling snow. This was thanks to a slower shutter speed. You can see the RCMP Heritage Centre in the background.

For this photo, I got up close and personal with the long grasses beside the creek. They served as a nice baseline for this picture. 

 

I have always liked pictures of roads and back alleys. This one focuses on the line of trees lining the alley. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my quiet snowy walk yesterday morning. Now I would like to know, what is your favourite snowy memory? Perhaps if you have it captured in a picture, you could share it!

What it's Made Of

This week, I learned about the composition of a photograph. Composition is all about the subject matter and how the subject is positioned in the picture. The instructor explained, "(composition) is one of the most artistic aspects of photography and can make the difference between a good photo and a great photo!" (https://www.udemy.com/karl-taylors-free-photography-course/#lecture/129461).

Here is a photo I took that will help me to discuss the elements of composition. It is of my 9 month old niece and her Nana (my mom).

When it comes to the subject matter, the instructor explained there are four things to consider.

1. Choice of Subject- As I stated in a previous blog post, one of my intentions for this project was to capture special moments of my family and friends. For this photo, I chose to photograph my mom enjoying spending time with her granddaughter.

2. Colours of Subject- I don't feel that I was able to control the colours of the subject, as it was clothing that my niece and mom were wearing. However, I feel that the colours did complement each other. My niece stands out a bit more than my mom, as the colours she is wearing are quite bright.

3. The Lighting on the Subject- This is one of my favourite parts of the picture. The lighting in this photo would be considered soft light (see this post for more information on lighting.) I love how the soft light illuminates the faces of the subjects. I think the lighting makes the subjects seem more "in the moment."

4. The Story of the Subject- This photo was taken at the end of Thanksgiving Dinner in our new home. It was special to me as I have never hosted Thanksgiving for my family before as I never had the room. It marks the beginning of many fun family times! Also, my niece is my parent's first granddaughter. This photo captures the joy that she has brought to my mom.

The composition of the photo is the more technical side. Here, I discuss the elements of the composition.

1. Position of the Subject- I feel that the position of the subject is satisfactory. When analyzing the photo, it probably would have been a better outcome if I had positioned the subject to take up more of the photo. There is a lot of background that doesn't need to be in the photo.

2. Position of the Camera- I think the angle of the camera is effective.

3. Choice of Lens- I don't own another type of lens yet so this does not apply.

4. Choice of Focus Point- The focus points are the faces of my family members. This is what draws the viewer into the picture.

5. Choice of Depth of Field- This does not apply to this photo as the subjects are the depth.

6. Choice of Shutter Speed- This photo was taken with a slower shutter speed, which helped to soften the subjects.

In Remembrance

I was deeply moved by Ryan's post on what Remembrance Day means to him. Especially the part about when he explained how difficult it would be to lose a child or lose a parent as a child to war. As a child sitting through Remembrance Day ceremonies at school, I remember not truly connecting with the content. I knew why we were there but I didn't understand the impact that the sacrifices of the brave men and women had on my life. As an adult, I feel that I appreciate these sacrifices on such a deeper level, and Remembrance Day has become much more meaningful to me. 

When you are a teacher, you are fortunate to meet many amazing people who come in and talk to your students. This year, we had Major Reg Tweeten come and speak with our middle years students. The students were anticipating that he would speak about war. However, he talked instead about the concept of forgiveness. He brought it to students' levels by encouraging them to forgive a bully, as bullies probably have many difficulties of their own. He talked about forgiving people who make nasty comments on social media about them. Then he spoke about how Canada helped to rebuild Europe after WWII. Major Tweeten prepared a slideshow that showed before and after photos of areas of France. It was an extremely effective and visual way for kids to understand the devastation of WWII as well as the rebuilding efforts.

On Wednesday last week, we had our Remembrance Day ceremony at school. One of the teachers in charge of planning the ceremony had asked students and staff to submit photos and a description of their friends or family who have served (or are serving) in the armed forces. With this, she put together a PowerPoint presentation. In the beginning of the presentation, she had some slides to explain what war is. Then, she made slides that showed portraits of every soldier in Canada who was lost in the war in Afghanistan. At this point of the presentation, I looked around the gym and did not see too many dry eyes. The rest of the presentation had slides of the loved ones of our staff and students. Here is a picture that I submitted of my Grandfather. During WWII, he lied about his age to join the forces at 17 to fight in WWII as a paratrooper. He later became a Sergeant. I never got to meet him as he passed away when my mom was 18, but he's my hero.

In the end, we are all connected to someone who has bravely fought for our freedom, in one way or another. So please take a moment to reflect about what Remembrance Day means to you.   

The Valley in November

This week I learned about landscape photography. The instructor of the MOOC  related back to a discussion about light. He explained a little bit about reflected light in water scenes. He also used a slower shutter speed to show motion of a train in the background of his scene. He also talked about using a filter, which is something I don’t believe I can do with my camera, as it seems that a special lens is needed for this. I don’t feel that I learned a whole lot about landscape photography from this section. However, I did have the opportunity to go to an area close to Deer Valley for a field trip, so I was able to experiment with some landscape scenes. 

This first shot was taken using my camera's "landscape" mode. It put focus on the plant in the foreground, which puts less emphasis on the background. I feel that the plant is overexposed and looks a bit out of place. 

 

This shot of the same scene was taken using the "close-up" mode. This puts the plant in sharper focus, with a blurred background. I like this photo better.

Then I spotted a large tree in the area that stood out. I found the shape of the branches to be interesting as they reach out in all directions. This photo was taken with the sun behind the tree to create a daytime silhouette effect. I feel that the "black" branches emphasize the deep blue colour of the sky with white clouds.

 

Speeding Up and Slowing Down

“The technology in cameras should be there to make life easier, but all the different buttons, the menus and terminology often just make it more complicated. The physical process of taking a picture hasn’t changed in two hundred years and it’s not going to, because it is governed by the laws of physics.” (https://www.udemy.com/karl-taylors-free-photography-course/#lecture/129460).

Since I started this project, I have had difficulty working through the vast amount of vocabulary and understanding how it relates to the principles of photography. This quote has helped me realize that photography comes down to basic principles, and has made it seem a little less daunting. 

This week, I learned about shutter speed. When you change the shutter speed, you “adjust the amount of time that the picture is recorded or captured.” (https://www.udemy.com/karl-taylors-free-photography-course/#dashboard). On my camera, I can adjust the shutter speed from 30” (30 seconds) to 1/4000 (1/4000 of a second). A fast shutter speed will capture a quickly moving object in a fraction of a second. Slow shutter speeds will give the illusion of motion in the photo.

The "Action Photography" instructional video showed how to capture dirt bikes in motion using a relatively slow shutter speed. This will make the bike look stationary, but the background blurred to create motion. This effect is called panning. Here is an example I retrieved from Flickr:

After watching the instructional video, I wanted to experiment with shutter speeds. However, I could not figure out how to adjust the shutter speed on my camera. I found a Youtube video that explained this very quickly and concisely.

As I don’t have kids or pets, I had a hard time finding some action to shoot. So, I experimented with things around the home that have motion, including a dripping faucet, flames from a candle, and a ceiling fan. I was able to shoot pictures at around a 1/200 shutter speed and they looked quite “normal.” When I adjusted the shutter speed to a longer exposure, I experienced a blurring effect, which is what it is meant to do. Also, since the exposure time was longer, more light was let into the image, so the pictures seem whited out. At this point, I am unsure how to fix this problem. I will have to spend more time learning about exposure and light to understand this.

Here is the dripping faucet at 1/200 speed:

Here it is at 5" (5 second exposure).

Next, I will be looking at the section called "travel photography."