Photograph 3 - Melissa - Shooting the Photograph



ISO 800

This photograph of Melissa where she is dressed in her formal dress which she bought foran awards evening.  I visited Melissa at home on Sunday 4th December. The equipment I took was my Canon 400d, with 18-55 lens, memory card 1gb and battery fully charged.  The camera was loaned from College so no extra battery is provided.  It was a weekend where we were in the middle of a snowy, cold period.   The day was clear and the sun was out.   I arrived about 10.30 am and had a look around her garden as I wanted an outdoor shot.   The sun was not in the right position for the photo (behind the chiminea) so I waited for it to move around the garden.   Bad timing though as I missed it completely however I still went ahead with the photographs..   Her dress is a mediteranean sea green and her hair is red.  She has a hair peice clipped to the back of her hair which was dyed the same colour as her hair.  I decided I want to photograph her in a setting that was opposite to her formal dress.  In her garden there was a terracota coloured chiminea which I initially though I would pick up and move !!  Not to be as I was informed it takes two big men to move it so as I wanted to try some photographs with this in, I had to work around it.  



ISO 400

 I set my camera to ISO 400 and manual settings for the shutter speed (1/125) and aperture (F8), the light was ok but the sun had gone.  I took one picture with settings above (shown below) and another with ISO set to 800 which provided a brighter picture.   The garden is surrounded by a dark brown fence and my first few pictures were of Melissa against this, with my vintage curtain hanging on it.   It didn't work as the curtain is only half the size (or less) of the fence and I wanted to get all of Melissa's dress in.  

We took many pictures in different poses and areas of the garden.   Props were added including a small shovel with coal on it, a net bag contains blocks of wood for the chiminea and I used these to try to get the picture I wanted which was to look formal but be doing something you wouldn't normally do in a formal dress.

Research 8 - Photographer Lisette Model

Coney Island Bather

The first picture I saw taken by Lisette Model was of a voluptous bather on Coney Island, New York.   It was taken around 1939 and it just appeals to me - I either love a photograph or like them and I love this.  This photograph said to me "I'm big and i'm enjoying myself".  I did remove this text from the post as I doubted myself but on reading about this phograph the woman indeed did challenge onlookers saying "Have you never seen a fat person before".  The feet of the bather are sinking into the sand which the sea is lapping over. The light is good as you can see reflections of the bather in the sand and also the bather's eyes are scrunched up giving me the impression that the sun is on her.   Model's photographs of people show them as they are - they don't appear posed, they're ordinary people like the Circus Man, the Man with Phamplets.  I have copied my photographs from the website shown below.


http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/search/artist_work_e.jsp?iartistid=3779





Circus Man



Lisette was born in Vienna, Austria, 10 November 1901 and died in New York 30 March 1983.  She is quoted as saying "The camera is an instrument of detection. We photograph not only what we know, but also what we don’t know"



Her work was published in Harpers Bazaar, exhibited in Museum of Modern Art.  She started out as a singer before becoming a photographer and then also taught photography.  

Photograph 4 - "Greek God" Vitor - Age range 32-41

My photographic club had an evening with Vitor the Greek God.   He had volunteered to do this for us.   I took along my camera which on this occassion was loaned from the College.  It was a Canon EOS 400D  with lens 18-55mm.  Memory card was 2gb and the battery was fully charged. The room was set up with tables covered with white cloth and accessories including fruit, glass and a carafe of wine.  Vitor himself was dressed in a large white sheet which was put on him like a toga.   There were two backdrops throughout the evening: we started off with a white one and then moved to black half way through the session.    There was lighting equipment including: a lamp with an umbrella reflector and a second lamp soft box..  The lamp to the left of Vitor had the umbrella reflector on it.   There was also a wireless flash which trigged the flash and this was available to anyone wanting to use it.  Initially, I took photographs simply using the on camera flash which produced dark results.   Then I was introduced to the wireless flash!  My camera settings were as follows for the picture above:  ISO 100; shutter speed 1/125; aperture F8; focal length 41mm. I found it hard to build a rapport with Vitor as I'm not used to photographing strangers and I know i wasn't the only one as he actually said to everyone he didn't bite and we could get closer!.   Towards the end of the session I did feel more at ease with him but I think it's supposed to be the other way around !


Things I learnt during this photo session: not to stand in front of flash, not to shoot from the side of the subject as I got items other than the shoot itself, be careful of the wires trailing on the floor.