This journal will serve as a repository of the work I’m doing in Course 02: Camera Control of the Michigan State University Coursera Specialization, Photography Basics and Beyond: From Smartphones to DSLRs.
Course 02, Week 01 - Welcome, Overview & Fundamentals
Course 02, Week 01 - Welcome, Overview & FundamentalsWelcome to Course TWO! From previous lessons, you have learned to set your camera menus and functions so your camera is ready to use. Beginning with Module 1, we'll add to the camera knowledge you gained in Course ONE to increase your understanding of critical exposure factors so you can create predictable results through confident control. If you are fully participating in the Course, you will also have the opportunity to test your knowledge through Quiz questions, and share your photographs in Peer Review and learn from the photographs of fellow Learners. As you learn about different exposure options, the concept and effects of Depth of Field, and begin to study the visual elements in a more concentrated manner, you will be developing the skills to "put it all together," to create pictures you will be proud to share that go beyond the snapshot to more fulfilling expression.
Assignment - Picture Your World in STOP-ACTION-TIME!
What are the meaningful things in your world of reality, imagination, document, or expression? That alone is a powerful question! A related question forms the basis for this assignment: Whether your expressive purpose in this assignment is to create a photograph from a more documentary point of view, or to creatively express a content drawn from your imagination, how can you use the element of STOP-ACTION-TIME as a prominent aspect to convey that content? The answer to that question will be a key factor in both the technical and content aspects a viewer would evaluate in the one photograph you submit.
Are you interested in the new content that is revealed by stopping the action of a traditional dance group you joined, or of your niece as she kicks a soccer ball, or a gesture of love that is fleeting, the mystery of life itself, or the action of a hummingbird's wings...or something else that can only be referenced or expressed through a stop-action moment? Do you want to convey something insightful or expressive as you freeze the motion of a bird, or your grandmother's laughter? Is there a momentary expression on people in the street that, when the action is frozen, becomes a "ballet of life" that is filled with mystery and metaphor? In this assignment, you will share a single photograph that reveals a new content in your world that results from freezing a moment by stopping action.
Whether you are making an interpretive picture that is more "artistic," or one that is more practical, realistic, or documentary, be sure to make ISO setting and shutter speed and aperture choices that will result in both a Stop-Action effect and a properly exposed picture holding tonal values of lightness and darkness that are appropriate.
As with any photograph, whether it is for artistic or more documentary purposes, frame your image so that there is what an average viewer would consider a successful composition, one that has an arrangement of visual elements that feels "balanced" to your eye.
Write a brief Statement consisting of 3-4 sentences. In 2 or 3 sentences, describe the content that you hope a viewer perceives in your picture and why the brief moment in time that you have recorded is a significant one as it relates to you and your world. In the final sentence please share the exposure combination (f. stop, shutter speed, and ISO) you used for the picture, and describe the lighting conditions (as an example, "it was 3pm here in New Delhi, and this scene was lit by direct sunlight"), so your fellow Learners can not only understand the context for your picture but also gain knowledge to use in their future efforts.
Upload the image file just as the camera records it, (JPEG FILE FORMAT ONLY, please no TIFF, PDF, or others!) without any Photoshop or App manipulation.
“Up in the Air” - Steven Lee's stop motion photography exercise.
TITLE: Up in the Air
DATE: December 31, 2022
This photograph serves to illustrate the physical messes in my life, which are a direct result of my ongoing struggles with anxiety and major depression. Depression often leaves me having periods of time where I’m paralyzed and tasks that need my attention get ignored, and the work needed to get the chores done increases. The tossing of the socks and towels into the air serves as a metaphor for the many things I’m juggling in my messed-up life.
This photo was captured at f1.8, which was fixed in the SONY ZV-1 camera I used tonight. I selected ISO400, as it allowed me to use a shutter speed of 1/80s which seemed fast enough to stop this particular action of tossing the socks & towels in the air. I also used a time lapse shutter of 5s, so there was time for me to hit the shutter release, get into position, & toss the laundry. The photo was taken at night, and the room was lit by artificial lighting sources along the wall and the ceiling. I practiced this a lot, doing it a dozen times, & then a dozen more. I tried it with different sized towels, shirts, as well as socks before I decided on the mix of socks & washcloths.
Formally, the photograph has some areas that are blown out and overexposed - particularly around the wall sconce lights that hang on the wall with the mirror. I didn’t have as much time to devote to this as I would have liked, and the process of using a delayed shutter slowed things down. My f-stop was also fixed, so I could only control shutter speed and ISO. My camera was able to shoot five shots consecutively which helped. I posted this photo on Instagram and minor adjustments helped make the photo look more properly lit, without the blown out light sources.
Overall, I think the stop action helped convey the idea that I always have laundry on the go. I’d like to shoot this again and work on my facial expression, and with getting the clothes captured more clearly / sharply by adjusting the shutter speed.
This photo was also posted to Instagram and Flickr.
Peer Review Feedback…
GRADE: 97.5%
