In-Depth Blog Post #3

In my previous In-Depth blog post, my mentor challenged me with taking images of frost covered plants as well as other frosty items. After a short discussion, we determined to change this goal to taking macro pictures of snow since we got a few snowy days. Since this change of plans, I have chosen three of my favourite snow images that I took earlier this week as well as two other macro photographs.

While my father and I were studying this image, the first thing he pointed out to me was how much of the image was out of focus and almost too fuzzy. He reminded me of how a blurry background can look very good in most pictures but in some, such as this one, it can become quite distracting. I agreed with his point and added that I could have moved myself to get levelled with the subject allowing for more snow to be seen. However, he made sure to point out that the snow that was in focus looked extremely sharped. In addition, he mentioned how he enjoyed the contrast within the image between the sparkling whites and harsher black surface. I didn’t understand what he meant by this, so I had to ask for clarification. He explained to me that contrast meant that it’s a difference between two or more objects and used this image as an example. White and black are the two opposite colours on the colour spectrum so when put against each other, such as in this picture, they contrast.

While critiquing this photo, my father immediately pointed out how much better this image is compared to the last one, mostly because a larger portion of the snow was in focus on the left half. Which brought us to our next talking point of the rule of thirds. Although we discussed this a bit in the last meeting, I pointed out to my father how the subject was too centred in my opinion. He disagreed with me and mentioned that the area the eyes are drawn towards in this image is much further to the left, keeping the rule of thirds. Furthermore, I pointed out how the blacks in this image were more navy in colour which we both agreed was a positive because it meant I kept the image to a colder composition.

The first thing that my father and I instantly noticed and pointed out when analyzing this picture was how iridescent the in-focus strip of fabric that ran across the lower third of the screen was. We couldn’t determine if the high green and magenta levels were just an artifact of my own laptop’s screen or if it was because of the camera’s sensor, but we both agreed on how cool it looked. However fascinating that strip was, we had a few criticisms about what the camera was focused on. The focal point of the image appears to be in the centre of the flake of snow, but I suggested how much more interesting the image could look if I had focused on the water droplets that appear in the background. Although he agreed with me, he had a proposition to modify my idea and to instead step up the aperture making the depth of field longer which could then incorporate both the snowflake and the water droplet. I completely agreed with him because it made my idea stronger and way more practical since I wouldn’t have to leave out one of the subjects.

As we began to look at this photograph, my dad mentioned contrast yet again. Instead of it being with colours, this time, he focused on the difference between the thin metal wires and the metal chains. Furthermore, we discussed how the rust being in the centre of the frame isn’t quite ideal, but it doesn’t heavily impede on the viewer. In addition, I pointed out how sharp the camera that I’m using is because of how prominent the school can be seen within the water droplet to the left of the rust which is not even in focus. This brought my father and I’s next point of how it could be interesting if it was. I used the “what if” question to see how he thinks the image might get adjusted if I did follow through with it. He explained to me that although the chains in the foreground would get a bit blurry, the thinner chain would become more defined, along with the water droplets that he liked. I also found myself asking him if he thought the background was a bit too bright. He promptly disagreed, explaining to me how it can sometimes be okay for the background to be a bit overexposed which he thought in this case it wasn’t. Moreover, he asked me “what drew your attention to these chains?” I explained how I’m currently in Photography 10 right now and how during one of our shoot days, I saw those chains near the buses around behind the school and thought about my In-Depth project and how cool they could look from up closely. This resulted in my switching over to my macro lens to capture this photo.

For this last image, my father and I had less to say compared to the previous images. However, we talked about the bokeh that appears quite prominently in the background of this picture. My dad wondered why the background bokeh appeared to be a bit more squared off along the sides. I explained to him that it could have been because of my lower shutter speed or it most likely could have been because those candles in the background could have been moving while the shutter closed. In addition, we discussed how the lines swirling up to the wick really helped guide the viewer’s eyes up to where the focal point was. Moreover, my father pointed out how prominent and vibrant the blue is at the base of the flame and how it could be brought out even more in editing process.

 

In conclusion, I have made even more progress with my photography skills over the past two weeks and I’m beyond excited to explore more around this ever-growing world. Throughout this past meeting, my mentor and I have been talking a lot about focal points and how crucial they can be. This brought him to the conclusion that I should try taking the same photos with my focal point in different areas. Moreover, he told me to try and capture more snow pictures since it’s supposed to snow a lot over the next few days. I agreed to these challenges, and I am going to be working on them until my next meeting with my mentor.