inspiration

though there are many different things that inspire me in life, this is the first one I want to share because I feel the strongest connection to it. Much of my work and joys in life stem from the desire to feed the childlike spirit that lives inside me. I believe that people are at their best when they're young and lose so much talent, potential and passion when they grow up and forget their young selves.

I absolutely LOVE this quote, however the graphic design of this photo isn't terribly interesting to me

A Short Course in Photography: Chapters 3&4

Chapter 3: Film

• general black and white films are panchromatic: sensitive to the wavelengths of the visual spectrum so the image recorded is similar to the human eye
• orthochromatic: sensitive to blue and green, but not red
• infrared: sensitive to all visible ligt and infrared
• film care:
• load film in the shade to allow the least amount of light possible near the film
• use before expiration date
• store in the fridge
• film speed: how much a film reacts to light
• the faster the film speed, the less exposure the film needs 
• fast film: 
• good for dim places
• fast shutter speeds
• more grainy
• decrease of contrast
• graininess is all based on artistic preference
• chromogenic film: C-41 is bW film developed at walgreens, has less contrast and works based on a color film mode, better for scanning, worse for long term
• infrared BW:good for dark places or nature

Chapter 4: Exposure

• exposure, more than anything dictates how well your photo will come out, if at all
• negative: image produced when film is exposed to light and the developed
• reverse tones of original scene
• the more light that strikes an area, the more 
• exposure determines light/ darkness of a picture
• you can make a good print from less than perfect print due to exposure latitude
• exposure= intensity x time
• exposure changes are measured in stops
• one stop doubles or halves the amount of light being let into the camera
• all meters measure reflected light and averages it
• meters mess up
• if you take a photo with a light source behind your object your meter will be thrown off by the large amount of light coming from the background and overwhelm the low lit subjects features
• give one or two extra stops to highly light scenes and one or two less to dark scenes
• backlight:
• meter the part of your subject facing the camera without getting the light behind the subject in the reading
• high contrast:
• watch out for overexposing the shadows

A Short Course in Photography: Chapters 1&2

In these entries relating to chapters from the photography book, I will write down things I find interesting, important to remember or confusing from the reading.

Chapter 1: camera

• ISO= film speed, everytime you use a different kind of film you must set your camera to the correct film speed. Film canisters have DX codes which the camera reads to automatically know the film speed.
• overexposed: too light
• underexposed: too dark
• SLR: single lens reflex, popular among photojournalists and fashion photographers
• the faster the shutter speed, the sharper the moving object will appear
• the smaller the aperture, the more of the picture that will be sharp
• the longer the focal length, the larger objects will appear
• you can set the camera to shutter or aperture priority to have the camera automatically change only the one
• shutter speed: affects light and motion
• slower: more light enters; more motion blur
• faster: less light enters; less chance of motion blurring
• aperture: affects light and depth of field
• smaller: less light enters; more depth of field
• bigger: more light enters; less depth of field

Chapter 2: Lens

• a lens is not needed for a camera to work
• main function is to project a sharp, undistorted image onto the light sensitive surface
• lens focal length: dictates how much of a scene you can take in 
• smaller the focal length, the more you get in a picture
• longer allows you to zoom on things
• med-long is good for portraits
• short lenses can create interesting perspectives by making objects in the foreground larger
• macro lens: used for close up photography
• fisheye lens: distort image, lots of depth of field
• sharp focus attracts the eye
• lower aperture increases depth of field and more of the photograph will be in focus
• shorter focal length increases depth of field
• moving away from your subject increases depth of field
• photographs can do a lot to determine the perspective and impression of subjects 
• Close ups
• depth of field is shallow
• increase exposures
• use a tripod
• filters:
• in black and white photography, blue tends to be faded and less sharp
• filters lighten one color and darken all others
• polarization helps when photographing around glass, water or any reflective surfaces but tend to work better at specific angles

Bergamont Station

As I added the class on the later side, I didn't get the chance to accompany the class on the field trip to Bergamont Station. I did however look a lot at the Station's gallery website and was particularly drawn to one exhibition in particular.

Arthur Tess: San Francisco drew my eyes for two main reason. First, the year it's set is 1963 which happens to be the year my mother was born and the photos are taken in San Francisco, my hometown. Second, I was really drawn to the juxtaposition of the subjects and their surroundings. One photo in particular I found really interesting consists of a woman sitting on a stone ledge next to look out binoculars. The woman and the binoculars have a striking resemblance and stiff, cool feeling about them.
The way the people are portrayed and affected by their surroundings really stood out to me in these photos. As I am brand new to photography student I was really inspired and surprised by how much simple things can affect the general tone of your photos.

Here is the link to the cite:
http://bergamotstation.com/gallery.php?id=110735&bg=rosegallery#