Stimultaneous

This term means you take a photograph at a certain time and on a certain date, which I'm planning to take one at 12pm 1st October 2010. This term is used as a project over the world where people from different countries will take a picture at the exact same time. It's interesting to know that when your clicking the shutter many people all over the world will be clicking theirs at the exact same time. Some of these projects you will have a theme for the photographs however ours is basically what we're doing at the time. 

What makes good food photography

• Lighting- Don't use flash or put grease proof paper over the flash, or preferably natural lighting (one light source only). 

• Texture- Soft and rough/ bring it out with a side light.

• Presentation/ food styling.

• Make it original- Do it differently to how everyone else do it.

• Shadows

• Composition

• have lots of colour

• If you don't know what to do, take a close up shot.

• Make it minimal with no clutter.

• Can try using fun food. 

Barcelona chicken recipe

The top photograph is the original on the food setting on my camera, and i picked this photograph because i captured the sauce and cheese and chicken and the sauce over the pasta, which i found made the dish seem look irresistibly tasty, also i like the knife and fork on the side as i feel the angle i took this photograph worked for the photograph very well. The lighting is good i feel and enhances all the extra details. Also i feel with the rest of the dish being blurred out puts your attention on the Barcelona chicken more which is the main focus on this plate. The bottom photograph is edited in photoshop and all i did is change the toning, as the above one on the setting i had it on is how all of the photographs came out like, however i feel it suits this photograph, but i also like the way the bottom one changes in lighting and i feel in some way it looks more presentable. I was aiming to get that good presentation, so for this i feel the bottom one  fits better with the concept i was looking for. 

Barcelona chicken recipe

Serves 4 people


4 Chicken breast pieces
4 Slices bacon
Thinly sliced mature cheese
Tomato & herb sauce in jar


Place chicken breast pieces in oven proof dish. Arrange a slice of bacon on each piece of chicken. Place a slice of cheese on top. Pour sauce around chicken. Place in heated 180 c oven and cook for 45 minutes. 


Is served well with
- Vegetables
- Roast potatoes or pasta 

Plan for my main dish

I'm going to take photographs of my main dish Barcelona chicken made by my mum. I plan draining the chicken of the sauce then placing on my white plate and then drizzling the sauce over the top, as this has worked in photographs i got from my research. 

Treacle sponge

25th September 2010

I took photograph on my Nikon D5000 on the Food setting and then i changed the contrast slightly on photoshop and the tones. I wanted to make it look like what you would find in a restaurant so i presented it on a white plate against a light background. I put the focus on the treacle sponge and the ice-cream and blurred out from the left of the treacle sponge and the background which i felt worked well with the lighting. I captured the ice-cream melting into the syrup which i felt added that tasty factor.  This is a home made recipe by my mum and below is the recipe:


Steamed syrup sponge


Makes 4 individual puddings


INGREDIENTS


Golden syrup
4 oz Caster sugar
4 oz Butter
4 oz Self Raising flour
2 eggs


Beat sugar and butter together until soft. Beat in eggs and self raising flour. Using individual pudding dishes (the plastic ones are best). Place a good dessert spoon of golden syrup into bottom and then equally divide sponge mix into 4 dishes. Put pudding into the bottom of slow cooker, fill with boiling water to half way up sides. Cook for 2 hours.  Suggest serving with ice-cream or custard. 

London's Oldest Restaurant Posted by Kerry Saretsky,

I like how they've not captured the whole of the treacle sponge, as this can take away interest in my opinion. I like how they've captured the syrup around the treacle sponge as this adds that yummy factor. They've put this treacle sponge on a white plate which doesn't take take your interest away from the treacle sponge, also i like how they've added the cream and the garnish for detail, which adds interest instead of just the treacle sponge. I am going to use this by zooming in on my pudding, and adding focus on the pudding and blurring out the background. 

food 3- by laprovocation from www.deviantart.com

I picked this photograph due to the different view of the angle, as this has been done well with the square plate as the focus on the plate at the front the the rest of the background blurred out. the lighting from above helps with the nice effect and adds that freshness to the fruit and also has added detail in the photograph. I was thinking of trying different angles for my photographs and looking at it from different angles. Also i want to try and get good lighting from above. 

Irish italian restaurant-

http://www.1stjournal.com/?cat=82- This is also from the same website as which the photograph before this one, which doesn't show any names. 


This is like the last photograph which i looked at however i feel the presentation in this one has been presented better, due to the fact they got the sauce dripped around the meat nicely and everything looks in place unlike the one before which had bit of pasta dangling off the edge. I white plate against this darkish background suits the whole image, which i find very professional. I will take from this photograph that i will make sure when it comes to a meaty or main dish that i drain the juice then put the meat on the plate then sprinkle over the juice so i get a layout such as this one. 

Irish italian restaurant-

http://www.1stjournal.com/?cat=82 - This is the website i found this photograph, they didn't mention any names of who took these photographs, so i just got the web domain name.

I like how they've got just that small amount, as this is what they do in the high name restaurants as the small amount is so nourish and filling. The food has been presented on a white plate which i feel shows cleanness and makes the food more presentable also the main focus is on the food it self. The lighting has been used well, and you can tell that it's natural lighting. The lighting has neither been over or under exposed. The contrast is also perfectly done. The only one thing i would criticised is that there's on the back of the plate on the left there's bit of pasta dangling off the end, however everything else has been used well. I will take from this photograph that little amount of food goes better when it comes to presentation also a white plate. 

Research: Japics Photography

This photograph when i saw i thought at how the simple flower made the photograph interesting, because if you imagine the photograph without the flowers then the photograph wouldn't be at all appealing. The lighting suits the creamy coloured table clothe however it suits how the plate isn't white as this wouldn't appeal as much either, due to the fact the plate would blend in too much with the table clothe. This photograph has a classic layout style which i would imagine to find in a posh persons house. The whole photograph fits in together which i suits the classic sort of theme. The one thing i mostly like about this photograph is the flower which i feel adds delicacy and makes the food more appealing without taking the attention from it. 

PROJECT 2: FOOD

I'm going to look at 5 samples to see what i find what works in their photo's, i will look into ways this could reflect on my images. I will find the recipes to go with the food I've taken photo's of and also comments by others on how the recipes can be improved, so basically we will be finding how the food is designed. I will take a screenshot of the final recipe and also a evaluation on what worked well and what didn't, and with this i will have my one favourite photograph. I will then mention things i would change if i could do this again.

My 5 favorite photographs from my two photo shoots

1- Swan on the lake

• This photograph shows calmness and stillness of the morning hours, there's elegance and when i look at this photograph i feel peacefulness. 

2- Proceeding stairs

• This i feel was a good way to explore the lighting and the lighting enhanced colours. Also I'm rather happy the layout i came out with. 

3- By the lake

• This photograph the layout came out very well, and even though there are many elements in the photograph, the main subject is still what draws your attention first. This photograph was also good with trying out reflections, which turned successful. 

4- The bridge- with Film SLR camera

• The angles and layout was very interesting in this photograph, also being taken on Film i feel the contrast came out well. 

5- Entwining berries

• The berries i came across and weren't so interesting until i got the photograph and took it on macro setting and blurred out the background behind the berries, and then i found the berries more of the subject. The photograph bought the subject out more. 

All these photographs i am going to enter into a portfolio, this project will be a good start to my portfolio. The portfolio will help me to look at improvements also what I'm good at. Overall i feel this project so far has been successful as I've gone into the chosen subject of environment which usually i wouldn't look into, however I've learnt new skills and have got a sense of accomplishment. 

White flower

This photograph is similar to the photograph from my first shoot, however i prefer the layout in this photograph. I changed this photograph to black and white because it enhancers the white of the flowers, which are my main subject in this photograph. It is not only the flowers that are focused in this photograph, but also the leaves surrounding, but i still feel my attention mostly to the flowers. However i feel it's a simple composition as the leaves do not take to attention away from the subject, but i feel they fit well into the photograph. Everything fits well into the photograph. I rather like the fact you get the feeling of the flowers coming out with added depth, as you got 3 of the same type of flower from different angles which takes you away from the 2D image idea. Going back to the composition the photograph isn't cluttered, you get a sense of purpose, nothing feels it shouldn't be in the photograph. This photograph compared to the one similar from my first shoot, this one has better lighting, you get greater detail in this photograph, however i feel this photograph is slightly out of focus on the top flower, but everything else i feel works. This is something for me to work on when it comes to close ups. 

Swan on the lake

Swan's are very elegant and amazing to photograph, but you may be wandering how this has anything to do with my subject area of plants, flowers and landscape. This swan came flying over me, at first i thought it were a goose, however i felt it were a perfect opportunity to get some life on the lake. In recent photographs i took for landscape of the lake it had not much life, however this i felt i could get the landscape with some lift. What better than a swan, their so photogenic. I love the stillness, also theirs the little ripples from the swan moving, this creates movement, however you feel your watching this swan is moving slowly and lazily. I like to use reflections in any way possible as i feel it adds interest to the subject, you also get that added sense of calmness from this photograph. The lighting on that morning was perfect for the lake, the lighting wasn't too bright neither not enough, which had an effect on this swan, as you see detail and not all just purely white. It adds that elegance. The contrast also in this photograph has come out very well, and this is my favourite from the whole photo shoot. 

Proceeding stairs

This is one of my favourite from my second photo shoot at Henfield nature reserve. Stairs are proven to be a great way to enhance the effect from the lighting and create many tonal effects. I like the way the position of the stairs which are proceeding down towards the left, otherwise if the subject were to be in the middle, there would be a loss of interest. The focus in the photograph is very good, also there's a very good contrast as i feel that if we were there we are proceeding up the stairs out of sheltering of trees, as you can see there is some shadowing at the front of this photograph, which enhances interest in the photograph.

Entwining berries

This was the on photograph i managed to capture that i liked from Haywards Heath with the poor lighting. In fact i rather like the lighting in this photograph. When i look at this photograph, the first thing i notice is the blurred background. This means I've managed to capture a shallow depth of field which makes the main interest (the berries twining the tree) enhanced by throwing other elements out of focus. The lighting angle also on the berries also enhance, as it's a 2D photograph, but with the angle of the lighting and the shadows i feel the main interest is enhanced more and bought out more. 

Second photo shoot 12th September 2010

I went in the early hours about 7am which gave me good lighting as it weren't too bright or too dark. Also if i were to have gone later i knew the weather was going to go badly. I got some photo's similar to the first shoot to see which ones i prefer, also i managed to get a new variety of photo's. I took all photo's on my Nikon D5000 as this gave me as many photo's as i wish other than the Film SLR which i were limited.

Second photo shoot

I went to the Nature reserve in Haywards Heath and planned out this shoot according to the weather, however the week was not promising weather wise, so it was going to be risky. Unfortunately the day i chose turned out for the worse weather wise, which meant i needed to re schedule my photo shoot day. However because the weather turned when i had got to the nature reserve i saw that it wasn't the best location for the sort of photo's I've been looking for (landscape & Flowers or plants). So i decided i will reschedule for the Henfield nature reserve i went to for my first shoot however will be early in the morning so the lighting is good also the weather looks promising for the day at that time. 

Conclusion of my first photo shoot

The weather changed it's course on the day, however i feel the photographs that i took came out well despite the lighting and weather. I managed to change the fact there was poor lighting by changing images to black and white. I have decided from using both my Digital film SLR Canon EOS 3000 and digital Nikon D5000 that i will continue for my next shoot with my Nikon as i was able to catch many more images also i was able to change more to these images with contrast and color, and there's more i can do to them. I found there was more choice i could do to my Digital photographs. The tripod worked well with taking the most sharper focused shots, so i plan on using this for all my shoots. 

White flower

The top right is the original image which i took on my digital SLR D5000. I wasn't entirely convinced the layout of the outer frame however i could see the middle area of this image would make a great image, so i planned firstly on cropping this image in Photoshop CS4. Then after finding a layout i were happy with i set onto changing the image from color, as the day turned on me and i got poor lighting, so the color i found wasn't the best way to go so i tried out black and white and changed to contrast and tones and enhanced the white adding a bit more cyan and i ended up with the image on the bottom left. When i changed the image to black and white i were thinking about the black and white magnola in my contextual research. So i got with the final image with enhanced white on the flower also the leaves around the flower became more detailed. The image isn't just the flower, however the composition works as you can see the few leaves and plants around the flower make it look more interesting and appealing. The image reflects a soft nature, however still has gentle shadows and is sharp and focused, apart from the background beyond the flower. This image has worked out well like i was aiming for, as i liked the gentle appearance and message given by the image of the black and white magnola, and i feel i have achieved this message. 

By the lake

The composition in this photograph isn't exactly simple however i feel the surrounding of the tree's and plant's and the lake is what gives the building that interest. The background isn't cluttered as there's plants and tree's however not so much it all over powers the photograph. The refection of the building on the water shows a sharp clear reflection which gives you the feeling of still air and calm waters. The black and white works for this photograph i feel it enhances the white in the building which make it stand out which makes it the main interest in the photograph to me.

The bridge

The angle in the photograph i feel was the best choice as with the photograph being black and white, also the cricked angle of the bridge it gives the photograph that extra interest, otherwise with a straight portrait of it, you then lose that interest and appeal. The composition has been well set out as i don't find any confusing objects in the photo that i feel shouldn't be there. The simplicity of the composition i feel is one of the reasons i get a feeling of loneliness from this photograph. Nature reserves such as this one in Henfield, one of the few around in Sussex which is why i feel this feeling is important, as it describes the place. Overall i see this photograph as a well focused photograph that has capture the feeling of the place.

Taken with Digital SLR D5000 

This photograph is of the same bridge, however we have a few differences; I have first of all made this photograph not emphasize the attention on the bridge itself however more of the layout and composition. As you can see this photograph has a variety of angles such as the tree on the right and the bridge, it's not a cluttered composition. Also this photograph has darker shadowing on the tree on the right and also many tonal values, which adds depth to the photograph, this adds interest. I changed this photograph from color to black and white due to the poor lighting, also i felt the color didn't resemble what i was trying to get across in this photograph which were that peaceful loneliness feel. The place may be the same as the photograph above, however they both are different slightly with contrasts and lighting also layout is different. 

Photo shoot 1

This photo shoot consists of 54 digital photo's and 18 film photo's. The weather started off sunny with moderate temperature however then became cloudy and low lighting situations. This made it hard to get some right lighting, due to also i wouldn't use flash due to the fact i wished to keep it all natural and not artificial lighting. First we're going to look at my photo's from the film shoot.

Wild Life photography tips- From 1000 photography tips book

Interest

• Avoid straight portraits
• Try to show action
• Running
• Flying
• Jumping
• Feeding
• Courtship or play

•  If a portrait, make good lighting and composition

Composition

• Good composition is simplicity
• Avoid cluttering and confusing backgrounds

Shutter speed

• Keep in mind lighting will be reduced  

Plan for first photo shoot

My photo shoot is based on 

• Landscape
• Flowers/plants

Location: Windmill nature reserve in Henfield


Techniques

I'm going to use both digital SLR(Nikon D5000) camera and Film SLR(Canon EOS) with black and white film, as this will allow for me to explore which i get the best results with. 

Digital:

• Can easily lose detail in whites and blacks
• 10 Megapixels is high enough resolution for very large prints
• Cameras are generally lighter
• Memory cards are small
• One memory card can store more images than a dozen rolls of film
• Images can be viewed immediately
• You can edit your images- This means after capturing many photo's the favourites i can edit colours and many other ways which i find one of it's highest advantages
• Only print the images you like 

Film:

• Better at capturing detail in whites and blacks (dynamic range)
• More forgiving of minor focusing issues
• More forgiving of exposure problems
• Film is still higher resolution
• Cameras are generally heavier unless digitally integrated will vary
• Film can take up a lot of space
• Film is a continuing cost
• Film must be developed before viewing
• Unless you have a darkroom, you are dependent on the lab to edit your images which results in waiting also costs.

As you can see both have their advantages and disadvantages however after my first shoot i will see two shoots same but also different in their own way. This will be the hard decision.
 
TRIPOD:

I'm going to use this to make sure i can get the best focused shots i can, also this is going to be good practice for me with a tripod as I've not had need to use them much before.

GB, Wales 1999

By Peter Marlow GB, Wales 1999 from www.magnumphotos.com

Brief overview on his steps from the beginning

Peter Marlow- Born UK 1952

Peter Marlow has been defined in relation to photo- journalism, however he is not a journalist. It was in his early years he set out to be a journalist, however he disliked the war between photographers hunting for fame. In 1980's he gained access to Magnum Co-operative with his portfolio, which he enjoyed as he gained freedom to exercise an independent vision of his own. He started as an international journalist and then came home to UK and discovered many wonderful pieces of art, and now has taken to other places now and his new work with him. 

GB, Wales 1999

This photograph has been captured most perfectly in my opinion as Peter Marlow has managed to capture a well focused photograph with shadows and reflections with great detail. The foregrounds in the photograph has been well focused which adds depth. The composition has been presented well as you have the foreground and the trees and mountains which all fit into the photograph, there is nothing there i would take out that i don't see relevant. The lighting and exposure by the aperture has been set correctly as you can see the outline of the mountains against the sky however not overexposed so much that we end up with the mountains being completely white and no depth to them.  

Black and White Magnola

By user "crash8088" from website www.lifesimages.wordpress.com

Taken with Nikon D60- click here to get more information

Photographers Style

His profile consists of mostly photographs that relate to nature. From photographing his cats personality to landscapes to flowers. He catches interest in his photographs for example the photograph of his cat isn't a straight on portrait however caught the silouet of his shadow through the blinds and his tail peaking out at the bottom. He also creates a good composition in his photographs, as he catches that simplicity and avoids cluttering and confusimg backgrounds. He uses a mac programme "aperture 2" where he tends to change his photographs to black and white or gives them a grain texture. Another technique he uses is his tripod, as with one photograph of the night sky over some trees he left the camera on for a 30 minute exposure which he captured the stars movement in the clear night sky. 

Black and White Magnola

In the compostion in this photograph he's captured that simplicity which has made it emotionally moving as others have mentioned how looking at this photograph is moving. This is created by it's delicacy that is created from the delicate white flower with the soft contrast also with the soft edges the background reflects the photographs main focus and feature of the flower also softened with the shadowing.  

Research on two photographs

I've chosen to try out photographing two diffferent area's so that i can see which one works out the best. My first area i'm going to look at is photographing flowers/plants, then the second area is going to be landscapes. I'm going to look at each photographers styles and techniques and study each photograph by them. The first photograph i'm going to look at is "Black and White Magnola" by user crash8088 (personal information such as names aren't given) from website www.lifesimages.wordpress.com. Then i'm going to look at the second photograph which is by Peter Marlow in GB, Wales 1999 from website www.magnumphotos.com.

Research on environmental area's

Fresh and wild

"Fresh and wild" is a project which will involve me taking photographs that show my involvement with the environment. I'm also going to look into my development of taking good photographs such as what equipment i will use and techniques. However first i will look into what area's of the environment i can base my photographs on, then i can look into research on this area by looking at photographs by other photographers. Then i plan for my first photo shoot. First I'm going to look at what area's in the environment i can look at, being issues of the environment or people within it.