photo project 2 response

In this project I chose to mimic the straight photographer Ansel Adams because of the drastic difference in composition from my typical style - an attempt to push my abilities so to say. I usually begin a photograph by getting as close to the subject as a can, going to the widest angle I can shoot at with the fastest aperture I can possibly use. From viewing the Adams photographs on display at the CCP, I noticed that most have perfectly straight lines, every tone from black to white, and do not rely on subject matter to be outstanding. I also learned that he commonly used colored filters to achieve a desired effect, which helped a lot when developing the pictures. While Adams would have advocated for no manipulation of the images, I do not own a film camera so I had to improvise in order to create images akin to a large format camera at an extremely small aperture. The use of HDR (a composition of two or more images taken at different exposure times to create an image more like that of the human eye (or not)) is usually associated with bright supersaturated and manipulated colors, but I have used it here to create a more natural image than would have been possible with my camera.

The main difference between my Adams-styled images and the real deal is that I still refuse to give up my 16 mm wide angle! I can't do perfectly straight lines and no vignetting it just does not appeal to me, so while I tried to actually use the fancy fancy zoom feature, I still prefer the shortest setting on my lens even for landscapes.

Photo Project 2

View from bottom of gates pass. HDR. Both images 16 mm f/22. complete tonal range. High contrast red filter used when color data removed. Nature, untouched and awesome. Simple composition, the impact is in the development instead of the content.

Another view from gates pass. HDR. 16 mm f/22. Broad range of tones. Interesting cloud formations.

view of Mission san xavier del bac. 85 MM F/36 HDR. Image does not contain any information beyond tonality. All that matters is that the bells are black, the wall has various shades of gray, and the sky is white. Exposure and development make the image what it is.

Mission san xavier from a far. 85 MM F/36 HDR. Every detail is sharp enough to cut you. Even in a relatively tonally dull photograph (light blue ->white-> yellow), full range is found in the transition to b&w. All small details necessary to capture the impact of the mission against the desert landscape are there. Dont mind the ghosts though, those are just tourists.

view of an old tree, north of the Santa catalina mountains. 85 MM F/36. Sharp distinction of the white-ness of the tree against the blue sky. every small branch is identifiable and clear.

view of the dirt road. panoramic photograph composed from several photographs at 16 MM F/8. Originally was not going to apply this type of post-editng to this composition but others did not have enough tonality so this image was used. as per previous images, not much content, image is all exposure and development