Week 16: Theme Based Project Real Submission

21.10.2013
Wan Mohd Danial 0316570,
Intro2Photography
Theme Based Project

About This Series:

Batu Caves, a limestone hill containing several caves and cave temples in the Gombak district, 13 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The origin of its name comes from the Batu River, which flows past the hill. The series tries to capture the different essence that makes up Batu Caves. Giving the series an extensive look into one of Malaysia’s famous landmarks.

Taken inside a cave that was off-limits to the public. The first picture was definitely about trying to capture the texture of the limestone cave. The picture was taken with a very slow shutter speed. One picture of this nature would take me around half a minute to wait. The slightest movement would cause the picture to blur. Patience is certainly a virtue in photography that will result you with this wonderful picture.

Oil lamps are used by the Hindus for their prayer. The inclusion of this particular photo is to show that Batu Caves is not just a tourist attraction because it is still a place of prayer. The oil lamps represent a state of calmness that is brought from the extinguised fire. Metaphorically giving the sense that this is the place where they seek peace. The picture was shot with a multi-point composition in mind to show an abundance of oil lamps, showing that many people visits the temple to pray as well.

The fire strengthens the religious aspects of this renowned attraction. The huge flame near one of the temples is caused by a high number of people praying. The flame also showed a strong presence in the picture, different from the previous photograph that went for a more serene look. The flame was shot with a slightly fast shutter speed to freeze the flame yet maintaning the glow of the flame. A low Aperture was used to blur out the background, isolating the flame from the background.

The three statues show the amazing details in the craftsmen’s carving and painting. As these statues were inside a cave, I had to shoot with a slow shutter speed to get a right amount of light in the picture. To me, the focal points of the picture are the eyes of the statue, which are small yet quite frightening to look at especially at night. The picture has a triangle composition that is achieved by having three focal points.

Concluding the series is a picture of a monkey calmly looking down the flight of stairs. Showing a soother side of it, this monkey was sitting in that position for quite awhile; giving me the opportunity to get different angled shots. The monkey represents a big part of Batu Caves. They are a mischievous bunch that’ll steal your food the minute you opened your bag zipper. Getting this type of shot is not as common as people might think.

Week 15: Theme Based Project Submission

10.11.2013
Wan Mohamad Danial (0316570),
Intro2Photography
Theme Project: Lego

When you're down on your luck and your mood is low, you'll start go to things that made you happy in the past. Rummaging through the storage room I found these Legos and decided to incorporate them into my project.

About this photograph:

The first thing in the mind of a person seeing Legos would be something that is quite childish in nature. As they interpret these blocks as toys that children play around with. However, this series tries to capture portrayals of serious matters whilst being veiled with a more cartoonish look. Some of the photographs were taken with a black background to enhance that dark mood and tone. Using Legos also allows me to put them in a quite surreal position. Having this juxtaposition between the serious and strange gives the series a distinctive feel to it.

The photograph of a skeleton balancing itself on a handrail scrutinizes the fact that people feel that they need to be perfect to be able to achieve something prodigious and rewarding. The skeleton, expressively symbolizing an imperfect human body is able to support itself even without an abundance of muscles. This photograph was taken from a lower angle to be able to achieve a unique angle and also a small sense of verticality. One light is shined from the top and a white base is used as a reflector.

There is a glowy light area surrounding the point of interest in the second paragraph. Representing the people that place themselves in the spotlight, risking their anonymity and even their lives at one moment or another for the sake of popularity. Taken at a lower angle, and using A3 paper as a fill light, the details of the shirt can be clearly seen.

Death is certainly inevitable but some are even enslaved by death. The photograph captures the fear of death. How some people are too afraid to die, only making things more worse for themselves. As people who have an intense fear of dying would lead them to live an unhappy and stressful life.

Eaten by a shark has more of a comedic tone to it but the message here is quite similar to the previous photo, which is the inevitability of death. The calmness of the lego man at the left conflicting with the situation on the right shows how one’s life can be taken away in a matter of seconds.

The chef holding the metal detector if perceived from afar, it looks as if he’s on the ground. However, looking closer at the photograph and you’ll see that it’s actually a fruitcake. Just to show how different objects are to be perceived from close and afar. Symbolising how people see each other, as people who are close to each other judge themselves differently compared to strangers.

Week 14: Lighting

5.11.2013
Wan Mohd Danial 0316570,
Introduction2Photography
Lighting/Studio Photo

Lecture

We were given a lecture about the different types of lighting in studio photography.

Main Light

Illuminates a major portion of the image. All the other lights are constructed around this light. Essentially, it's the first light that we position in the studio.

Fill Light

The light that fills the shadow areas that's produced from the main light. It reduces the contrast of the picture giving more detail in those shadow area and makes the picture feel less tense. Usually produced using a reflector that bounces the light from the main light.

Rim Light

Often mentioned as the highlight which is the light that creates a silhoutte around the subject to give off a shape. Also makes the object have more form and structure.

Hair Light

You would've probably guessed that this light has something to do with illuminating the hair areas. If you did, congrats. You are correct. This light is used to relieve the shadows of the around the hair to avoid it looking like one black mass (especially Asians).

Studio

Situation

To our dismay, the studio was in shambles. One of the backgrounds fell of the roller that holds it and was on the floor. The chairs were out of its normal arrangement and the place was full of trash. We had to clean the place and even had to bring the background back to its roller which is high up near the ceiling.

Exercise

We had to imitate lighting that's present during the 40's and 50's since those times had very nice lighting compared to some modern photos. Each of us had to choose a picture from that particular timeline and imitate the features such as pose, clothing, makeup, and hair that the picture has. Then another person would take the picture to imitate the lighting from the picture and it will be in their portfolio.

Portfolio Photograph

For my portfolio, I was tasked to take Jason's picture.

Original Picture

Jason's Picture

Feedback

The picture could've improved if I increased the exposure by 1 focal stop or even more. There should've been more fill light present to lighten the area around Jason's right shoulder (his right) and also the right side of his face. Different tonality of papers and more soft light can help the photo to have a colder temperature feel to it.

Reflections

Studio photography is definitely fun to do. I enjoyed it a lot maybe because I was able to manipulate the image to my liking. However, this type of photography is definitely difficult even with a crew. Having a crew is substantially important as I was able to have other people's opinion and discuss them on the fly to get the picture that I want. I also got a chance to become a crew member myself and my opinion and help mattered a lot in shooting the pictures. For my photo, I'm a bit disappointed that my picture doesn't have the same tonality as the original picture even though it looks good. Maybe in the near future I might get a chance to do this again. I hope so.

My Photo

This is for those who were wondering how I looked like with my photoshoot. I choose an Arab photographer for my picture and the results are.

Reflections

The beard is a little bit too fake. Ok... It looks tremendously fake alright. However, no one can argue that this photo looks good. Damn...... Son!

Week 13: Theme Project Progress

29.11.2013
Wan Mohd Danial 0316570,
Introduction2Photography
Theme Project Progress

Trial Run

Birds

Feedback:

The second picture doesn't fit into the series quite well. Some poinst of interest are not interesting.

Reflections:

Since these pictures are just collections of previous unsubmitted work. It is not really what I want to do more of.

Week 12: Theme Project Progress

24.10.2013
Wan Mohd Danial 0316570,
Introduction2Photography
Theme Project Progress

General Feedback

Mr. Vinod talked about our ethics when going to take a picture. He said not to just go around and take pictures, hoping there will be 5 good ones for a series as you might get 3 really good ones while the others not so much. He even talked about research that we can do to get very great shots, which is by study the people or situation that surrounds the place so that you'll come prepared the next time around. If you're taking pictures of people, it's best if you can achieve a bit of manipulation of the people to get the shots that you want. 

Trial Run

Kids

Feedback

The thing about these pictures are that it doesn't have that substantial amount of manipulation. These pictures are mostly just me reacting towards the kids' reaction. Where the photos would be a cliche' since these photos could be easily taken by their parents or other family members.

Reflections

I had strong feelings for this picture but it's not wrong that the pictures are quite mainstream since other family members of mine are also Photography enthusiasts. Making it highly likely that these types of pictures were already taken and posted on social media sites.

Flame Movement

Feedback

I might have to avoid these types of pictures in most educational evaluation situations as these pictures are quite abstract which leaves less for someone to judge it by the four main criterias of Intro2Photography: exposure, composition, consistency and editing.

Reflections

I had stronger feelings for this one but I do understand that it is quite difficult to actually adjudicate it with those criterias as these can only be evaluated through it's artistic value. I would like to keep it though for my portfolio or as a submission to a competition of sorts.

Week 11: Pangkor Simulation

21.10.2013
Wan Mohd Danial 0316570,
Introduction2Photography
Pangkor Simulation

Instructions

The same as the instructions at Batu Caves, which is try to get 5 final pictures that are astounding. Later, post it on the blog.

Results:

Feedback:

My pictures had a very good consistency and exposure. However, it was achieved with a price of good composition and points of interests. The points of interest is not strong enough to gain the viewer's attraction, making the composition very weak.

Reflections:

It's hard to achieve a good consistent series when you don't have that many good pictures. It's also difficult to have a good series when you only think of one series in mind or just trying to take a pictures and hope you can make a series out of it. A mistake I made in my part is that I went to the beach without preparation, thinking I would have time to retake the shots later. Turns out, I didn't even retake the shots as I was unmotivated to do so. Which is a very regrettable decision I made.

Week 10: Chow Kit Expose

12.10.2013

Wan Mohd Danial 0316570

Introduction2Photography

Chow Kit Study

Instructions

Safety

This week we went to Chow Kit for our excursion. Chow Kit was named after Chow Kit, the man who brought up this area. We are here to learn how to behave and adapt ourselves to the situation at Chow Kit. We were told that we had to wear duller clothing to blend in at this area. It was also important to bring a knapsack or a bag that you can quickly keep or access the camera. Note that your bag should not have a logo of any camera company as it is the same as holding up an advertisement that says 'Rob Me'. We also had to be stealthy. Other than that, we have to be wary of our surroundings and try to walk in groups.

Task

We have to observe our surroundings and take pictures that we have deemed worthy to take out our cameras and take a shot. Then, we have to compile 5 final pictures that are consistent in a particular series or theme. 

Process

We went around the alleyways, the roads, and the market. Some of us got lost in the market. Some got lost before entering the market (T_T). Some people got very weird and angry reactions. After all that, we ate at an arab restaurant.

Results

ISO 800  F 5.6  SS 1/200

ISO 800  F5.6  SS 1/15

ISO 800  F4  SS 1/400

ISO 200  F4  SS 1/500

ISO 200  F4  SS 1/500

Screenshot

Feedback

It is clear that my series has consistency with its theme/subject matter. However, I should try to engage with my subject matter even more to get better reactions that would give an effect towards the viewer.

Reflections

It was hard to take pictures in the market area as things were moving very fast and there was not much light to take advantage of. I didn't want to use a very high ISO to compensate for the lack of light, so I had to be careful with my hands to not shake my camera as I was shooting with a slow shutter speed. However, the picture turned out great in my opinion.

To be really honest, we were not ninjas. When someone found an awesome subject matter, we herd ourselves to that particular spot making the public weirded out or even camera shy therefore are avoiding to take pictures from us. We stood out like a peacock in a chicken farm, which was a very funny sight to behold. Heheh.