3rd Week: Exercise 2.1a & 2.1b

23.8.2013
Wan Mohd Danial (0316570),
Introduction2Photography
Exercise 2.1: Aperture

Lecture:

Aperture

Today we learned about the Aperture of the DSLR. What it does is that it controls the amount of light entering the lens. The aperture is housed in the lens and is represented by the focal stops. Focal stops are a value that represents the size of the lens' aperture. The lower the number of the focal stops, the bigger the size of the aperture. While the higher the number of the focal stops, the smaller the size of the aperture. Smaller aperture leads to less amount of light entering the lens and larger aperture brings in more amounts of light.

The function of the aperture is to control the depth of field (DOF). A bigger aperture would give more clarity on the focused object but the background will be more blurry. On the other hand, a smaller aperture would make the background appear much more clearer.

We also learned to manage the light meter on our DSLR's. The light meter measures the intensity of light being reflected from an object into the lens. When the marker is going towards the negative, it means less light is entering the lens. If the marker does the opposite and goes to the positive, more light is entering the lens.

Exercise

Exercise 2.1a

For the first exercise, we had to take a picture of any image starting with the right exposure combination of shutter speed and aperture. We had to start shooting with our aperture setting from the lowest number (mine is at F5.6). We can't change the shutter settings as the aperture is increased.We also had to keep the lens fixed at 50mm(If our lens was a Zoom lens). 

Other things that we were reminded of are don’t move the framing when you mount the camera on the tripod till the exercise is concluded, the focus must be at the same point from the first image right until the last (DO NOT ADJUST IT!), and keep a record of the settings for each image shot.

Here are the images from the Exercise 2.1a:

Shutter Speed 1/200
ISO 200
F5.6

Shutter Speed 1/200
ISO 200
F8.0

Shutter Speed 1/200
ISO 200
F11

Shutter Speed 1/200
ISO 200
F16

Shutter Speed 1/200
ISO 200
F22

Feedback 2.1a

Mr Vinod asked me to explain to him the situation of these pictures. I answered that the higher the number of the aperture, the smaller the size of the aperture. The smaller size of the aperture means that less amount of light is entering the lens which in turn makes the picture underexposed. He said I was correct.

Reflections 2.1

From exercise 2.1a, we can see that the higher the focal stop we use, the darker the photo. Since higher focal stops means smaller aperture, this proves the smaller the aperture size, the lesser amount of light will enter the lens.

Exercise 2.1b

Now for exercise 2.1b, we had to take a picture of any image starting with the right exposure combination of shutter speed and aperture. We had to start shooting with our aperture setting from the lowest number (mine is at F5.6). This time we can change the shutter settings as the aperture is increased.We also had to keep the lens fixed at 50mm(If our lens was a Zoom lens). 

Here are the images from exercise 2.1b:

Shutter Speed 1/200
ISO 200
F5.6

Shutter Speed 1/100
ISO 200
F8.0

Shutter Speed 1/50
ISO 200
F11

Shutter Speed 1/25
ISO 200
F16

Shutter Speed 1/13
ISO 200
F22

Feedback 2.1b

This time, Mr. Vinod ask me and Arif about what do we understand about the 2nd exercise. With us struggling for answers, he then reminded us about a keyword which is depth of field. Its easier to remember it that way.

Reflections 2.1b

If you compare these photos from top to bottom, you'll see the rails at the end of the left side becoming clearer. This shows that a small aperture is able to capture an object in a wider view. This also reduces the blur that is associated with the background.

Screenshots of the hardcopy portfolio:

General Feedback

Mr. Vinod also sternly advises us to start on our e-portfolio for those who haven't (if you did, update it) and to follow the guidelines when we do our hardcopy portfolio. Since I got proof that I did the e-portfolio and updated, I'm not that worried (yet).

General Reflections

I generally felt like I learned something today because now I don't have to rely on the Auto option (a.k.a. stupid mode) on my DSLR to take a great picture. I also felt that we ask more questions today compared to the other days of Photography class. I'm guessing the introduction of all the photography terminologies made us a bit baffled and curious. Which in return made us scared of not being able to catch up, so we tried to understand them better by asking all those questions.

Mr. Vinod also started asking us questions which may have helped instilled fear of not asking the question correctly in ourselves. Which is a very good thing in my opinion. Now, I won't be sleepy in class. Hopefully, by Wan Mohamad Danial Bin Wan Mohd Hisham.