Introduction to Photography: Week 8

23.5.2014 (Week 8)

Casey Chong Jing Ping (0318756)

Introduction to Photography

Presentation: Photo Editing and Consistency

Lecture

Today's lecture is a bit different, it is about something different from what we have been learning these past few weeks. Today, we learnt about consistency. Mr.Vinod will teach us about photo editing in the next class during week 9. Consistency is a group of photographs that have the same 'theme' but are also different in a way. The photographs cannot have too little or too much consistency, and that is what make this a very difficult thing to achieve. There is no exercise on the topic of consistency because Mr.Vinod says that it is very difficult to capture photographs based on consistency and it is too advanced for us amateurs. But what we do need to do is take a 'selfie' picture of ourselves using the correct exposure and what we have learnt in these past few weeks. This exercise is an ungraded exercise because Mr.Vinod explained to us that we have finished doing all our graded exercises, not to say that this exercise is not important, it is just as important than the graded exercises and Mr.Vinod expects a lot from us. He wants and expects us to push the boundaries to the meaning of 'selfie', to go beyond the limits, and make a whole new meaning to that word. During the class, Mr.Vinod explained the meaning of consistency to us and showed us a lot of photographs that depicts the word consistency truly. If you use consistency correctly, the photographs will come out beautifully, and the photographs that Mr.Vinod showed t us were beautiful. I especially liked the collection of photographs on the lightning in the canyon, as there is such beauty in such dangerous things such as the lightning that might electrocute a person and cause death to that person. After the presentation and the briefing on the 'selfie' exercise, class was dismissed and we went to have lunch.

Instructions

-No exercises.

-Short assignment:

Take a selfie with the DSLR and your smartphone. Go beyond the boundaries and limits. Make a new definition to the term 'selfie'. Photographs must be black and white. Use the things that have been taught to you throughout the previous classes.

Feedback:

Specific feedback:
~None~

General feedback:

~None~

Reflections:

Experience:

My experience in this is that when I wanted to take the selfie, I was a little sick and that made me a little lazy, or maybe very lazy. So I did not get the chance to take the selfie on that day and I wanted to ask my friends to take the selfie for me the next day, which was on a Monday. But I think they all had to hurry home after classes and I did not want to annoy them, so I did not ask them to help me, which means that I was stuck with myself to take the selfie again. I guess God is trying to tell me that a selfie is meant to be taken by yourself, hence the name 'selfie'. But I did not want my selfie to be like any other normal selfie, with me holding the DSLR and my phone backwards and taking a picture just like that, That was the time that I discovered that my phone, the awesome Sony Xperia Z1, had a feature that takes photographs with a self-timer of 2 second or 10 seconds. And the same goes to the also awesome DSLR of mine, the Canon EOS 600D. I have discovered that it is quite difficult to take a selfie of myself even with the self-timer, and it is very difficult to take two photographs that are similar with a DSLR and a phone. You need a lot of patience and a lot of tries to make the photographs right and to achieve the perfect photographs that we wanted. And you cannot afford to be lazy. It is also best if you do it in good lighting conditions to take the photographs, the best bet is the natural lighting from the sun, but too much light from the sun will also cause overexposure, so we also have to choose a perfect timing when the sun is at the perfect spot to take the photographs, and we also have to act fast because the sun might hide behind some clouds at any second. So we have to make full use of the time we have that the sun actually cooperates with us.

Observations: 

I have observed during class that some people contribute a lot to the class and ask a lot of questions and also answers a lot of the questions. These are usually those who are willing to take a stab at something and will probably achieve more in the future. Others are more quiet and reserved. Maybe they are shy, or maybe they just merely have nothing to contribute to the conversation, choosing to absorb the information given by Mr.Vinod or the more active ones in class instead. The more quiet ones could also be quiet because classes start a little too early for them and they are just too sleepy to talk. (I'm sorry if this offends anyone!!!) I do not know which one am I, but I'd like to think that I am one of the more active ones, because I do try to contribute to the conversations and help others understand something that I think I understand with my point of view. If I don't understand something, I will ask questions too. I think that sometimes, I get too overexcited and active during class and will out of topic and talk about irrelevant things. On the other hand, sometimes I am quiet because I am either sleepy or really have nothing to contribute, because my mind can get blur sometimes, especially in the mornings. Moreover, I have observed through the photographs that Mr.Vinod showed us during class that with consistency, beautiful photographs can be produced, but it is very difficult to get photographs with just the right amount of consistency. All the photographs with good consistency are very captivating and great to look at. Also, I hae learnt that to get good photographs, one has to go the extra mile and be brave, like a photographer who went into a juvenile prison to take photographs of the prisoners there, that photographer also managed to get the prisoners to be placed in positions that they might not do in front of anyone else for the photographs. You also need patience to get good and consistent photographs, just like the photographer that took the series of photographs of the lightning in the canyon. That photographer is also very brave, climbing the canyon just to take the pictures of the lightning and the canyon from higher ground. Lastly, I have observed that photographer see the beauty in everything. Even in a prison, or a dangerous area where nobody else would ever go to, these photographers would be willing to go there to take photographs because they see the beauty in those places when nobody else can. That is what a true photographer is like, in my opinion.

Findings:

From this week I have found out that a photographer must be brave and patient. A photographer must not be shy but instead must be charismatic and brave enough to ask a random person that they have never met before to pose for a photograph. I also found out that my phone has a self-timer and I have learnt how to use the self-timer to my advantage. I have also learnt that my DSLR also have a self-timer, which makes my life much easier to take a good selfie all by myself without the help of others, because others are so unreliable nowadays (I'm just joking, but there is some truth to that). In a way, it is sometimes the best to rely on yourself rather than being dependent on other people around you. Most importantly, I have found out that my small laptop somehow does not support the features of Adobe Photoshop, which makes my life more difficult. I guess it is time to buy a new laptop, preferably a Macbook Pro, even though I don't really fancy Apple products all that much, but reviews from others reveal that the Macbook Pro is one of the best choices to get if you want to use it for Photoshop or Design. The prospect of getting a new laptop, even if it is something I don not fancy much, makes me happy. On the other hand, I feel really bad because I will be wasting a huge amount of my parents money on this product, but sacrifices must be made in order for me to have a brighter future. I just hope that I will be able to do well in my studies, be successful, and make my parents proud of me in the future. For now, I guess I will have to make use of the computer labs or the computers in the library for the Photoshop feature.
UPDATE: I just found out that the 30 day trial that I've downloaded actually works and I managed to use it. But as my laptop is merely a netbook, it is not meant to be used for downloading or containing such large files such as the Photoshop. Therefore the photoshop feature in my netbook is very large and not good to use at all. I shall have to get  a better laptop. In the meantime, I will probably make use with what I currently have or use the school's, Taylors facilities to my advantage. 

Introduction to Photography: Week 6 and 7

9.5.2014 (Week 6), 16.5.2014 (Week 7)
Casey Chong Jing Ping (0318756)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise 4a (Rule of Thirds) and 4b (Principles underpinning composition)

Lecture

Today, we ventured into a new and different topic. We have learned that there are two main things to look at in photography. One is exposure, with the four important aspects, which are Aperture, ISO, Shutter Speed, and Light. In the previous 5 weeks, we had learned about all four of those aspects. So this week, we started the second main thing in photography, which is Composition. Composition means arrangement, meaning how you arrange your subject in a photograph. This week, we discussed about the Rule of Thirds. After the discusion, Mr.Vinod gave us a presentation on that rule, or theory. Then Mr.Vinod gave us exercise 4a and 4b to do. We have to finish exercise 4a by next week, but we can take another weeks time to complete exercise 4b. After that we were excused from class and we can either choose to do our exercise or go have lunch. We choose to do the exercise after lunch as we were hungry.

For the lecture in week 7, Mr.Vinod started the class by giving us the general feedback for week 6. After that, we asked some questions regarding to the difficulties we had while doing week 6's exercise, then he gave us a short break before continuing to the next topic. We did not have a group discussion this week, so Mr.Vinod skipped right to the presentation part. During the presentation, Mr.Vinod talked about the various principles of composition and told us about the exercise 4b that we were supposed to do by next Thursday on our ePortfolios and also the hardcopies. After the explanations, we then asked questions on the things we were unsure about in this particular topic. When all our questions were answered and we were clear on what to do for exercise 4b, we were excused from class and can go for lunch.

Instructions

 Exercise 4: The Rule of Thirds & Principals underpinning Composition.

The fourth exercise explores the rule of thirds composition and its limitations. Having understood the rule of thirds and the principals underlying composition students are given the task to explore and showcase their understanding. The task given will assess students’ ability to apply suitable composition of a pre-determined subject.

Exercise 4a: Rule of Thirds
Capture 3 Images adhering to the Rule of Thirds
-Using 1 person
-Using 3 persons
-Using a scenery

When placing the image on the document for printing; place one image with the Rule of Third lines visible and another without the lines side by side (as instructed in class)
*(Put to use what you have learnt in the Zone system exercises here)

Exercise 4b: Principles underpinning composition
Capture 4 Images adhering to any of the mentioned principles below:
 -Domination/Emphasis

 -Isolation

 -Balance 

 -Repetition

 -Alignment  

 -Contrast

 -Rhythm

 -Symmetry/Asymmetry
 -Harmony
 -Perspective

*Print all 4 images on an A4 as instructed in class.
*(Put to use what you have learnt in the Zone system exercises here)

Exercise 4a (Rule of Thirds):

ONE PERSON:

(Personally, I like this photograph better, but I'll just put the other one up just in case.)

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/200

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/200

THREE PERSONS:

(Triangle, not very clear because it was a candid shot, but I still quite like it. Also can be dominant shot as Mae-Chel(right) can be the dominant point.)

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/30

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/30

(Could be Triangle or something else. Either Cigie(middle) or Mae-Chel(left) could be the dominant point, But I feel that Mae-Chel could be the dominant one.)

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/200

I can't choose between these two, so I put both up:)

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/10

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/25

SCENERY:

There can be two types in this photograph. It could be separated into three sections. This photograph can also be made into 1/3, which is the lake, and the building probably is the dominant part of the photo.

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/1250

The first one was too crowded for me so I took another photograph. This one shows that the ground is 2/3 of the photograph, and the dominant part is probably the top part.

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/800

(***For those photographs that I did not comment on, I am very sure that you know who is the dominant subject as it is quite obvious…)

Exercise 4b (Principles underpinning composition):

SYMMETRY

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/10

PERSPECTIVE

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 0''6

DOMINANT

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/60

REPETITION:

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/320

REPETITION (Extra)

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 200

Shutter Speed: 1/640

Screenshots for Hardcopies:

 

The marking criteria for the above exercises are as follows: 

4a) Rule of Thirds (5%)

Marking Criteria: The student must show evidence of knowledge and ability to use the Rule of Two-Thirds under the prescribed circumstances. Evidence of composition enhanced by cropping is acceptable in order to heighten the dynamism or intensity of the picture. Students must showcase their knowledge on exposure using the zone system.

4b) Principals underpinning composition (5%)

Marking Criteria: The image must show evidence of the dominant principle used and the supporting principles (if any) underpinning the composition. The principles underpinning the image must be named and should be visible within the image. Students must showcase their knowledge on exposure using the zone system.

Feedback:

Specific feedback:

Mr.Vinod's feedback for me is that when displaying the results of exercise 4a, it is very important to show the Rule of Thirds Lines, both with and without the lines, so that other observers will know that I am adhere to the rule and how closely I have adhered. Mr.Vinod also said that I have to be decisive as well, because I couldn't decide on which photograph to choose to be the photograph to be put up on the ePortfolio so I put all of the photographs that I took into the blog. He said that if I am not decisive, and decide on one photograph to put up on the blog, it will seem that I am abdicating the decision making to him, who is the assessor, which then begs the question of "Who is doing the learning?". Essentially, I will have to make an educated decision based on the knowledge I have gained through the process. Mr.Vinod said that the photographs of the 3 individuals and the scenery all comply to the Rule of Thirds, but as he had said earlier, the question is "How much does each of the photographs comply to that rule?", and for us to know that, we need to see the photographs both with and without the lines that have to be applied in the Rule of Thirds.

However, Mr.Vinod said that the findings in my reflection indicates a progressive shift in my self evaluation as a photographer and also in my ability to use a camera. He also mentioned that the confidence I have gained is an indicator of that progress. While my exercises lack of the Rule of Thirds Lines, Mr.Vinod said that I did a good job in my Reflection, and that he is very happy with that part of my ePortfolio. It makes me happy that he said that my reflections are getting better every time I write, and to keep it up. :)

For the feedback for week 7, Mr.Vinod said that my exercise 4b was well done and that I seem to have nailed it. It was much better than my exercise 4a, where I did not put grids on the photographs that I have posted up on the ePortfolio. Although my exercise 4b was good, Mr.Vinod said that he was still not too satisfied with one photograph, which is the photograph that portrays the principle of dominance (pebbles and lens cap) because he said that the photograph was taken for the exercise sake and not because the photograph was genuinely taken because it was a good picture, and that there was nothing artistic about it. That makes me sad because out of all the photographs that I had taken in exercise 4b, it was my favourite, because the photograph was simple and I just love to take photographs of the lens cap because it is round and has high contrast with the pebbles. There is just something about it that I like. Other than that, Mr.Vinod said that the rest of the shots were good. Also, he really liked how I combined the two theories in composition. On the ePortfolio part, Mr.Vinod said that it was detailed and articulate, and that  did excellent work on it. YAY!!! But there is a catch in it, which is that I should and might want to indicate week 6 and week 7 as a subheading in the reflection part. Lastly, Mr.Vinod told me to keep up the good work of doing good exercises and writing good ePortfolios.

General feedback:
The general feedback given by Mr.Vinod is that exposure is not the only thing that makes a good photograph, because composition is a very essential part of taking a good photograph. Some even say that composition is the main thing in making a photograph beautiful. He also told us not to take a photograph and post it just for the sake of finishing the exercises given, but to take the photographs because the subject or scenery (or both) is beautiful. Mr.Vinod also told us that sometimes, photographs of subjects in the middle are also good too, for example a photograph of three people jumping in mid-air, because the subjects are already jumping, and that is enough to make the picture good. In the scenery scenes, we can either use the 2/3 and 1/3 tecnique, or use one of the 4 intersecting points to take a good photograph. Moreover, Mr.Vinod says that sometimes we have the difficulty to find an intersecting point or a horizontal or vertical line when the picture has too many subjects and curves in it, that is when the tricky part comes and we have to use the Rule of Thirds carefully. Mr.Vinod also emphasized that we have to use the grids on the photographs in the ePortfolio because then he will be able to see if we have used the Rule of Third or not. Lastly, Mr.Vinod told us to remember to bring the hardcopies to class next Friday so he can check our progress, and also to print out all our hardcopies in black and white, except for exercise 1 and 2.

Reflections:

Experience:

What I have experienced while doing this exercise was that it is really fun to take photographs with a group, especially with friends. It is more fun and helpful to do the exercise with a group of friends as they can help you with any difficulties. They can also pose for you as your model in the photographs. You can also have bonding moments with them. Doing the exercises with your friends can help improve your skills and also helps you bond with your friends and have fun while getting work done. Also, I have experienced how it feels like to be an actual photographer that takes photographs of models and kind of orders the models around and asks them to pose while you take a long time to adjust the camera and finally take the picture. I feel very bad, to be honest. I feel bad for "ordering" my friends to pose for me, especially Cigie, who had to walk left and right and back again so many times as I attempted to take a good photograph of her walking that shows her movement. I also feel very bad because it took me quite a long time to take the photograph and poor Cigie had to keep walking left and right. I hope she wasn't too tired from all that exercise. Moreover, I have also experienced that you have to be very fast and quick to press the shutter button and also put your shutter speed on fast when you are taking a photograph of a fast moving subject, for example, Cigie when she was walking left and right. If you are just a little bit too slow (or sometimes even a little too fast) in pressing the shutter button, you will find yourself with a photograph of the subject a little too out of the frame or right in the middle of the frame, which is one thing that must be avoided if you want to show movement in a photograph. Lastly, getting good candid and random shots are one in a million. 

My experience in week 7 is that my observation skills have to be better as sometimes others can observe a certain Principles of Composition in a photograph whereas I could not. That teaches me that different people tend to observe different things, and therefore have different observation skills. Also, what I have experienced many times as I did the exercise was that I tend to keep forgetting to change the camera settings to black and white before taking a photograph, and I ended up taking all my photographs in colour, so I had to retake all the photographs in black and white all over again. I also experienced that being lazy is not an option when you want to get your work done. I am often lazy to do my ePortfolio and most of the time, I am lazy to print out the hardcopies, so I mostly end up doing them last minute (especially printing out the hardcopies, and whenever I want to print them, the stationary shop would have closed already). I have also experienced that to be a photographer, you have to be brave. For example, sometimes you will randomly see potential in a place or subject where you can get a good photograph from ( for example, some geese by the lake stairs in the campus), but if you set up your tripod there and try to take the photograph, some passerbys will stare at you like you are crazy and weird, but if you really want to take that photograph, you have to be brave, take the chance, and sacrifice your pride to get that perfect photograph that you want. Another example is when you want to get a photograph from a low point of view, so you will have to lay down on the ground to take the photograph.

Observations:
From this exercise, I have observed that good photographs are very difficult to get because it need a LOT of patience to take a great photograph. I don't know if getting a perfect photograph is a possible feat, but it seems quite impossible to me. Because nothing is perfect, unless you are God. I have also observed that not all cameras have the grid system in them whereas some cameras have more than a 3 by 3 grid. One of my classmate's camera has no grid system, which makes things difficult for her in this exercise. And one of my other classmate's camera only has a 4 by 4 grid, which is most probably a more advanced feature then the 3 by 3 grid system. I have discovered that my camera had a 3 by 3 grid system, and something more, which is a multiple by multiple grid system. I do not know how many grids there are because I did not bother to count the grids as I was in a hurry to use the 3 by 3 grid system to take some experimental photographs during class. I guess my camera is quite advanced too, even if it is not the most advanced camera. Next, I observed that plans do not always work out the way you want them to. I actually planned to have June skateboard down a hallway as I take a photograph of her for the exercise 4a, but when class ended, June was nowhere to be found, and my group of friends wanted to eat lunch before doing the exercise as we were very hungry, so I did not get to take that photograph but instead took a photograph of Cigie walking, which I am very happy with too. Another thing I have observed, and also experienced, is that even though classes are pushed back by 2 hours and I have an extra one and a half hour of sleep, I will still be sleepy during class no matter how interesting the topic is. I have learned that the hard way. No matter how early I sleep the night before, it does not work, I will still be as sleepy or maybe even more sleepy. Maybe it's just me though...

The things that I have observed during week 7 is that some other classmates of mine also did not do the grid on the photographs, and that makes me feel a little bit better and relieved because I am not the only one who did not do that. But I am quite worried because this week's exercise requires me to do the grid on the photographs too, but I am sure I will be able to find a way to do the grids in time by Thursday (Hopefully). I also observed that it is difficult to apply the Rule of Thirds to a photograph when there are too many subjects in the photograph or scene. I have observed that a photograph with too many points of interest is not good, and a photograph with no points of interest is also not good. I have also observed that I have the difficulty to choose just one photograph from the many photographs that I have taken to post on the ePortfolio. Also, it is quite difficult to find the dominant or main Principle of Composition (for example, repetition and symmetry) in a photograph when there are too many principles in the photograph. Lastly, I have observed that composition is just as important as exposure in playing the part of taking a good photograph. Without one or the other, the photograph will most likely turn out bad or not as good as a photograph with both the right composition and exposure in the photograph.

Findings:
I have found out that as I progress through each class, I find it more and more easy to use a DSLR. Before I started this class, I've always looked at those who own a DSLR that always go everywhere with their cameras taking photographs and using such complicated buttons on the cameras, and I always thought to myself, "Such awesome professionals, I can't even hold such a heavy camera steadily." But now, I feel like I can be one of them. One of those people who always bring around their DSLRs in the camera bags going around helping people take beautiful photographs. Before this, I did not even dare to attempt to hold a DSLR as I was afraid that I might break it just by touching it. Now, I am much more confident with a camera and I even enjoy taking photographs, especially the random photographs. Moreover, I have also found out what the grid system in the camera or camera-phone is used for. Sometimes when I use my phone camera or my parent's camera last time, the grids will suddenly appear and I never knew what they were for, so I never really put them to good use. Now that I have learned the uses of these grids, I will be sure to put them to good use. I also found out that there are even some cameras that have more than 3 by 3 grids. A friend of mine has a 4 by 4 grid in her camera. In addition, I found that having fun is an essential thing to have while doing group work as it releases stress and allows you to bond with your group, especially if you don't know each other well enough yet. Last but not least, I have found out a very important thing, which is that Nikon cameras are much better off used by professionals. A few classmates of mine use Nikon cameras, and let me tell you, they had trouble looking for the features in the camera, such as the grid system and also the monochrome setting where the photographs taken will appear in black and white. If I recalled carefully, one of my classmates did not have the grid setting in her Nikon DSLR and another one of my friends who also happen to have a Nikon camera does not have the monochrome setting in her camera. I am so glad that I chose Canon as my starter camera, even if it is quite mainstream, but trust me, Nikon is mad for professionals only. You think you know how to control DSLRs? Well try getting a Nikon. Even the display and all the buttons are so different from the Canon's easy to manuaver settings and buttons. I'm not saying that Nikon is bad, in fact, I quite like Nikon. I'm just saying that Nikon cameras are too good to be used by amateurs like me.

My findings for week 7 are I have found out that I have grown observant of things around me now. Even though I am still not as observant as my other classmates, I do observe more things than before I joined Introduction to Photography class. Also, I found out that it is quite difficult to find the dominant or main Principle of Composition in a photograph when there are too many principles in the photograph. For example, a photograph that I have taken contains both symmetry and repetition, or both contrast and isolation, and I do not know which principle I should choose as the dominant principle in that photograph. From that, I have found out that I am a very indecisive person, and that has to change. I have also found out that my typing skills on a keyboard are faster and better now as before this, I can probably only type a paragraph in one hour (I'm exaggerating, but you get the point). Furthermore, I have also found out that it take a lot of time and PATIENCE to take a good photograph. I have also found out that exposure and composition are equally important, and without one or the other, a photograph is not as good as one with both in it. Last but not least, I have discovered that as I go further into this module, I learn more things, and I also question everything (more things) more often.

Introduction to Photography: Week 5

2.5.2014 (Week 5)

Casey Chong Jing Ping (0318756)

Introduction to Photography

Exercise 3a (Highlights, Middle Tones, and Dark Tones) and 3b (Ansel Adams Shot)

Lecture

Before the lecture, Mr.Vinod gave us an ungraded quiz on twitter. After that, we had a discussion about the zone system. We had a lot to discuss as we had so many questions that we wanted to ask about the zone system because we did not really understand a lot of things about the zone system. The most major thing that I learnt was that the exposure meter in the DSLR is pretty much useless once you learn about the zone system. After that, Mr.Vinod gave us a discussion and explaination about the zone system. We understood him well and learnt how to use the zone system in our photographs. After the presentation, we were given an exercise to do, and we went out to the corridor in groups to take the photographs for the exercise. Shortly after that, we went back to the photo lab to check our photographs with Mr.Vinod to see if the photographs that we had taken were valid for the exercise or not. Those who did not meet the requirements went out of the class to redo the work while those who met the requirements of the exercise either stayed in class to wait for the others or go and help their friends who have not finished their work yet. After everyone was back at the class, Mr.Vinod assigned us to another exercise in which we have to do outside of the class, at home. After that, we could choose to stay and ask some questions about the day's topic or we could dismiss ourselves and have lunch.

Instructions

This third exercise delves in more detail on exposure using the Zone System method developed by Ansel Adams. Having learnt the said system, students will create exposures by pre visualizing the result. Used in combination with exercise 2 would should result in images of good exposure and depth.

3a) Highlights, Middle Tones and Dark Tones

1. Take a photograph of something that has 4 different tones of white using the exposure given by the exposure meter in the camera.

2. Take another photograph of the same object in the same position, but using the exposure given through the zone system.

3. Repeat these steps using objects with different shades of grey and different shades of black. 

3b) Ansel Adams Shot.

1. Choose a place to take a photograph that has the 9 zones given in the zone system.

2. Take a photograph of the place using the exposure that is given by the exposure meter in the camera.

3. Sketch out the photograph on a piece of paper and record down the aperture, ISO, and shutter speed of the photograph of the 9 zones in the camera. 

4. Using the concept of the zone system, change the shutter speed of the camera accordingly to the different zones in the area and record down the shutter speed settings of the zones on the paper.

5. Choose one zone that you want to focus on in the photograph and change the shutter speed using the zone system concept and take the photograph.

Exercise 3a:
White:

Using the camera's exposure meter.

ISO: 200

Aperture: f5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/200

Using the zone system concept.

ISO: 200

Aperture: f5.6.

Shutter Speed: 1/50

Grey:

Using the camera's exposure meter.

ISO: 200

Aperture: f5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/50

Using the zone system concept.

ISO: 200

Aperture: f5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/25

Black:

Using the camera's exposure meter.

ISO: 200

Aperture: f5.6

Shutter Speed: 0''4

Using the zone system concept.

ISO: 200

Apeture: f5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/8

Exercise 3b: 

The photograph following the camera's original exposure meter. 

The photograph following the zone system. 

THE PLACE THAT I AM FOCUSING ON IS THE ROOF OF THE HOUSE, WHICH IS IN ZONE IV.

This is the sketch that I made for the photograph to determine all the different zones in the photograph, therefore determining the correct shutter speeds for each zone:

ISO: 200

Aperture: f14

Shutter Speed:

Camera Exposure Meter:

Zone I: 4’’

Zone IV(Roof): 0’’5

Zone IV(Ground): 1’’6

Zone V: 1’’3

Zone VI: 1’’6

Zone VII: 2’’5

Zone VIII: 2’’

Zone IX: 1/25

Zone System Concept:

Zone I: 1/4

Zone IV(Roof): 1/8

Zone IV(Ground): 0’’8

Zone V: 1’’3

Zone VI: 3’’2

Zone VII: 10’’

Zone VIII: 15’’

Zone IX: 0’’8

Screenshot of the Hardcopies:

The marking criteria for the above exercise are as follows:

3a) Light, Middle, and Dark Tones (5%)

Marking Criteria: The student must show evidence of using the Zone System technique to capture an ‘accurate exposure’ of a subject with light tones, a subject with middle tones and a subject with dark tones. An accurate exposure entails ‘visible tonal values and details’ in all three tonal areas.

3b) Ansel Adams Shot (5%)

Marking Criteria: Students must show evidence of using the Zone System. Student must produce 1 black and white image that captures depth and richness in tonal value by capturing light, middle and dark tones while maintaining details (texture and tone) in the dark and light areas of the image.

Feedback:

Specific feedback:

The specific feedback that Mr.Vinod gave me was that my exercises were accurate, and also my sketch was very good. On the ePortfolio front, Mr.Vinod said that my ePortfolio was very well written. In his words, he wrote "simply put it it was excellent work". He was very impressed at the way I wrote my reflection, because I attempted to write it like a true scientist, as he had told us to in the previous feedback, and I guess my attempt was not in vain, and not futile, because he said that he was impressed at the way I wrote my reflection like a true scientist. He also told me to keep up my good work at doing my ePortfolio. 

General feedback:

*NONE GIVEN*

Reflections:

Experience:
My experience during class was that when we do not know what a topic is, we could come out with a lot of questions about just that particular topic. Once a question is started, other questions will automatically come forth and sometimes, questions will not run out. One question brings out  another question. I also experienced that it is not easy to find a subject or environment that is purely filled with different tones of white, grey, or black, because most things are multicoloured nowadays. On the exercise 3b, I have experienced that it is even more difficult to find a scene that has all the 9 different zones in the zone system. It is very easy to find zone 1, zone 5, and zone 9 as those are the most basic zones as they are the colour black and white, and also the colour grey or other neutral colours. Moreover, what I have experienced was that it is quite impossible to take the same photograph twice in a row without a tripod. And the photograph also might come out shaky without using the tripod. Last but not least, I have had the experience that dogs can move. I know, it is a funny and weird thing to say as everybody knows that dogs are capable of moving. But I mad a mistake in doing exercise 3b because I took a picture of a scenery with a yellowish-brownish dog inside the photograph, and when I went back to the spot after sketching the photograph, the dog was gone and I stressed out for awhile there as I had placed the dog in a particular zone, which is zone 6. Luckily, my coursemate Katrina was there and she thought of using a bunch of huge leaves to replace the dog as they are yellowish-brown and are also in zone 6. In addition, I have experienced that it is very difficult to complete exercise 3b, even with a friend to help. But thanks to Katrina, we helped each other out and managed to finish the task just in time for we were about to leave. I had a wonderful but very tiring experience while doing this exercise, and hope that it will never happen again. But, it was fun.

Observations:
From this class, I have observed that one colour has a lot of different tones, at least 4 different shades. I also observed that there are a lot of different shades of colour, such as red, yellow, blue,... and even black and white have different shades too. All the different shades of colour, combined with all the different tones of the colours, can make never-ending types of colour. Also, I have learnt that different shades of colour belong to different zones. The most important thing that I have learnt was that the light meter, or exposure meter, is pretty much useless once you have learnt about the zone system, unless the object that you are taking a photograph of belongs to zone 5. I have observed that black and white and the other colours can be used in the same zone system concept. For example, normal red colour is placed into zone 5, and so is the colour grey, which falls into the black and white category. I observed that pastel is a little to the white side and colours like navy blue and brown are more to the black side. As the colours become darker, the zone numbers become smaller and vice versa for the brighter colours. I also observed that good photographs have less contrast between the dark zones and the light zones, especially between the darkest and lightest zones, which are zone I and zone IX. In addition, I have also observed that choosing the right lighting and time to take a photograph is very important because the Zone System can only help you so much. Sometimes, even the Zone System cannot help you, especially when the zones have too much contrast between the dark and light zones. In the end, Light, which is the lighting, is still the most crucial aspect in taking a good photograph.

Findings:

What I found out about in this lesson is that the zone system actually helps to capture more details in the photograph. I also found out more about what exactly the zone system is, which is an approach to a standardized way of working that guarantees a correct exposure in every situation, even in the trickiest lighting conditions such as back lighting, extreme difference between light and shadow areas of a scene, and many similar conditions that are most likely going to throw off your camera's metering, therefore giving you a completely incorrect exposure. The zone system has a total of 9 zones, but the average camera can only detect zone 3 to zone 7, because any zone less than zone 3 would be pitch black and any zone over zone 7 would be pure white when it is being taken with the camera. I found out that it is not easy to find a place that has all the 9 zones of tonality, and that make doing exercise 3b quite difficult, even when I have a friend to help me.Taking a photograph and retaking it to be perfectly the same is also quite impossible, unless you have a tripod with you. And it also took quite a long time doing exercise 3b. It tests our patience when Katrina and I were attempting to do exercise 3b, and Glory to God, we finally finished taking both of our respective photographed areas along with the short notes that we jotted down. Halfway through doing the exercise, we realized that we took our photographs in colour and we had to take them in black and white, so frustrated, we were about to give up and attempt to take the photographs another day and at different places and just basically to redo the entire thing in an entirely new environmental setting, partly because we were tired, but 99% because there were a lot of mosquitoes there and we were dying of the mosquito bites. Finally, we managed to finish both our exercises and we could finally go back. It was an interesting experience, but I hope to never repeat it again, because of the mosquitoes and the humidity and all the other complications, one of them being my camera running out of battery because I forgot to charge it the day before. But I learnt my lesson, and hopefully I won't repeat the same mistakes ever again.