Assignment 5 Applying the techniques of illustration and narrative

In this final assignment the requirement is to provide illustrations for an imaginary magazine story. The brief is wide - basically use a theme containing a narrative element and provide images for the cover and story.

Introduction and background

I have chosen as the subject the wildlife of KwaZulu-Natal as seen in the twin reserves of Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, the two oldest game reserves in Africa, opened in 1890s. My images are of some of the large mammals seen in the reserves. The narrative follows our day: we went for an early morning drive, and then again for an extended drive from early afternoon extending into evening, and the sequence of images reflects the time of day taken.

The immediate incentive for choosing this was a trip to KwaZulu-Natal in January 2012. Whilst there, I visited Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, and was taken with the variety of game animals in what is a medium sized reserve (960 sq km in area).

I have had experience of safaris before: in Kenya and Tanzania in the 1970s, and in Zambia, Botswana and Eastern Cape province of South Africa more recently. There is a certain thrill in seeing the animals in their own environment, and capturing the essence of that experience in a good photograph.

Other Photographers' work

African wildlife photography is of course well trodden territory. I have long admired the work of Hugo van Lawick. Savage Paradise  provided some inspiration for this collection; I noted in particular that van Lawick used a mixture of shots very effectively in a collection: some action, some still, and some with light effects. His image of a lion pouncing on an impala with a stork graciously standing oblivious in the foreground is a classic shot.

More recent photographers Steve Bloom and Billy Dodson provide further inspiration: Bloom avoids images of animals in situ, this image of a black rhinoceros is typical:

Nick Brandt has developed his own style of monochrome wildlife photography taking his subjects almost as portraits, this shot of a giraffe being a good example:

Nick Brandt, Two Giraffes Battling in Sun, Masai Mara 2006

Brandt's work reflects a current Zeitgeist towards wildlife photography as art. I observed this as well at the Veolia Wildlife Exhibition (see http://www.chrissimsartofphotography.blogspot.com/2011/12/visit-to-veolia-envirronement-wildlife.html). He uses significant post processing to achieve dramatic backgrounds, possibly even constructing composite images. Dodson approves of this. I quote from a tip on his website:

"Stay smart on software applications and be open minded about the possibilities they offer. Photography is an art form to be sure, and it can be elevated significantly with the right tools and creative approach."

I am interested in developing this approach. Silver Efex Pro 2 offers possibilities of making dramatic B&W images and I have developed a masking approach that would enable detailed selection of subjects to place on defined backgrounds (see http://www.chrissimsartofphotography.blogspot.com/2011/12/topaz-remask-3.html).

But this assignment requires a more sequential and integrated approach to a suite of images - I have in mind an article on Hluhluwe-Umfolozi for the tourist. This requires enticing images of the animals they might see, rather than art. Further, Hluhluwe-Umfolozi is mainly scrub land as opposed to the open plains of Kruger and Serengeti. This makes for difficult viewing and even more difficult photography; it was not always possible to take shots unobstructed by vegetation.

Practicalities

I used my Canon 450D with Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens and 1.4x extender fitted. The 450d has a 1.6x crop factor so at longest zoom this lens is equivalent to 448mm on a film camera. I tend to use AV priority, setting around f13 as median value. ISO is set to 200. Some wildlife photographers suggest reducing apertures and boosting ISO so that very fast shutter speeds can be used. Given the excellent light conditions generally, I have generally not found this to be necessary though do sometimes revert to TV priority in low light conditions.

We had a Land Rover with perfectly adequate viewing possibilities from the windows. We removed part of the roof at one point but it offered little extra viewing and technically is not approved by park rules. I use a bean bag for support; tripods are impractical in a vehicle and in any case take too long to set up.

Presentation

In the presentation below, annotations have been added as appropriate to the images based on park brochures, Wikipedia, and my own knowledge. I have further annotated with the rationale behind the images and practical notes. These are italicised.

Cover image

  
I select this image of two juvenile cheetahs as a cover for the magazine article. It has a strong feel to it, the fur is roughed as a result of recent rain. The implied line off shot suggests they are viewing possible prey. ISO boosted and aperture opened in order to increase shutter speed.

Early Morning

The wildlife is more active early and late in the day. Hluhluwe-Umfolozi opens at 0600 and on site safaris commence at 0500.

f5.6 1/500 ISO 200

The park is the birthplace of rhino-reservation, breeding the species back from extinction (less than 20 rhinos world wide in 1,900 to more than 10,000 today). As the home of Operation Rhino in the 1950s and 60s, the Park became world renowned for its white rhino conservation.

Rhino are plentiful in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi but difficult to see in the open. 

f13, 1/250 ISO 200

Lions are known as "king of the bushveld" and when you see an adult male with his glorious mane it is easy to see why. There are around 80 lions in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi and they are the animals that most tourists most want to see.

Shot from the side of the road this was a contender for cover picture. It is a portrait type image and balances the rhino image.

f 6.7 1/180 ISO 200

Elephants are common in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi and best seen near watering holes. By 1875, almost all the elephants in KwaZulu-Natal had been hunted out, but they have over the last few decades been re-introduced into protected areas and private land in the province. Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve has over 300 elephants.

 I include this image as an action shot of elephant as they take a purposeful walk towards water - pleased to get the feet off the ground - undoubtedly adds to the feeling of movement and action. The texture of the skin is well pronounced.

f13 1/250 ISO 200

Hluhluwe-Umfolozi has Burchell's zebra (also known as common or plains zebra). This one is gently tending a foal. Note the oxpeckers on the back, these feed exclusively on the backs of large mammals. They feed on ectoparasites, particularly ticks, as well as insects infecting wounds and the flesh and blood of some wounds as well

This image was included as a nice action image - the mother tenderly muzzling its foal.

Afternoon

After a break in the heat of the day, we recommenced our safari in the afternoon, extending on into the evening sunshine.

f5.6 1/250 ISO 500

 Cheetahs are known as the fastest land mammal. As this photograph shows, they have very long legs and high shoulders. The fur is wet from the after effects of a fierce thunderstorm

Took opportunity of alert pose to take a head on images emphasising the graceful poise of this predator.

f6.7 1/350 ISO 200

 
Hippopotamuses are common in the Umfolozi river. They are gregarious herbivores with typically a dominant male heading a pod of up to 30 individuals. They are essentially nocturnal herbivores and bathe in the day to keep cool. Hippopotamuses prefer to walk in the water, contrary to assumption that they swim or paddle.

This shot was taken using a polarising filter - adds to the blue of the water.

f9.5 1/60 ISO 200

Nyala are the one large mammal of Hluhluwe-Umfolozi that is not widespread, albeit fairly numerous in the reserve. It is a Southern African antelope, with markings not dissimilar to those of kudu. This is a female; males are larger, darker brown with quite shaggy coats and horns.

It proved surprisingly difficult to photograph this beautiful antelope close up. Eventually the opportunity arose during the hotter part of the day when one was seen in the shade. The pleasing aspect of this shot is the texture of the coat showing strongly.

f13 1/250 ISO 200

 Buffalo have big thick horns and are bulk grazers, playing a very important ecological role by eating long grass and thereby opening up habitat for other short grass grazing animals. There are more than 7,000 buffaloes in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi reserve. Note the oxpeckers on the male's back.

This shot was taken of buffalo wallowing in the heat. The male is acting in a dominant role with female buffalo in the water. Texture of the skin is well reflected in the shot.

Evening

As our safari moved later in the day, we received some good lighting for photography.

f11 1/250 ISO 200

Giraffe are commonly seen alone or in small groups; they are not gregarious for long periods. They are a fine example of speciation, having evolved the long neck to reach vegetation other herbivores cannot reach. Adults are rarely attacked, but calves can be taken down by predators.

In scrub land, it is almost impossible to get a clear sight of giraffe so opted for a close up of a pair with a slightly unusual stance of one facing the camera, another to the right.

f5.6 1/250 ISO 200

Baboons are widespread throughout the continent. This is a chacma baboon, common in Southern Africa. Noisy and a nuisance to farmers outside of reserves, baboons are not scared of human contact and can be seen near lodges. They are commonly found in groups of 50 or more and are very social animals.

Shot contra jour, this image captures the detail of the edges of the fur nicely, yet retains sufficient light on the front for the expression and detail. The juvenile adds interest.

f5.6 1/350 ISO 350

The male kudu has similar markings to the female nyala. Evolution has dictated that stripes confuse predators. Feeding on grass in an unusually open space, the antelope needs to splay its front legs in order to graze. Fully grown males need be less concerned of predators.

A well lit shot of this grand antelope, the wider aperture serves to blur the background. Catch light on the eye. Again, the texture comes through in the shot.

f5.6 1/180 ISO 200

Impala are the most widespread of southern Africa antelope, a result of their adaptability being both grazers and browsers. They often act as a herd when troubled by predators, leaping about to confuse. They are territorial with males seeking to maintain a herd of females. This gives rise to bachelor herds of up to 30 individuals.

Impala are so ubiquitous that a slightly different shot is not easy to find. Here I found an opportunity to take a close up; texture on the individual in the foreground is nice. There is distinct rhythmn in this shot.

Conclusion

A very satisfying day's safari, including four of the big five and much more; especially pleasing to see cheetahs close up.

Assignment 4 Light

In this assignment we are asked to apply lighting techniques studied during the exercises to an object. The aim is to test observation and to consider the physical properties of the same object by the use of these different angles and techniques.

About eight images are required, demonstrating the following qualities:

• Shape - the outline of the object;
• Form - looking to empahasize the volume;
• Texture - quality of surface detail;
• Colour - show the colours as strongly as possible

Some background notes have been written in the learning log: http://chrissimsartofphotography.blogspot.com/2011/11/assignment-4-learning-notes.html.

As with the last few exercises in Chapter 4, I found this a challenging assignment, being inexperienced in indoor lighting, and rarely having taken still life or objects as photographic subjects. In this respect, it is part of the reason for doing this course: to move out of one's comfort zone.

I looked at other blog sites and other photographer sites to see what others had done for this exercise. As might be expected, a range of subjects have been chosen. I thought about two: a flattened beer can and a home-made model of the Flying Scotsman. On advice of tutor I selected the latter. The model offers some interesting angles although its size is challenging: being about 43cm long, it does not fit easily into a camera frame.

The images are taken using one of or a combination of natural light, low sunlight, a Speedlite 430EX II flash with diffuser attached and placed off camera using a cable (from here on called "flash"), and a Litepanels Micro 48 LED unit ("Micro").

Shape

f11, 1/8, ISO 200, focal length 47mm
natural light plus Micro

This is the classic front facing aspect of a train engine - the obvious triangle from the buffers to the top. With a contrasting background, it seemed natural light thrown from the window was adequate for this image. A soft focus was applied as we are looking to emphasise the shape.

f4, 1/60, ISO 200, focal length 24mm. Flash

For a second shape image, I used a flash to back light the model in a darkened room. The flash was set to 1/64 power, the lowest setting achievable on the Speedlite, and the glare of the flash underneath the model reduced in post processing. The image was converted to grayscale.

The image demonstrates the classic train engine shape, and the shadows cast by the flash emphasise in a distorted way the shape of the wheels. Reflected light from the flash casts some light on the top and front thus avoiding the entirely flat two dimensional effect of a silhouette.


Form

I chose two similar aspects to demonstrate the three dimensional effect, but used very different lighting. 

f22, 4 sec, ISO 200, focal length 12mm. Natural light.

I used a wide angle lens for this image, in order to emphasise the front of the model and achieve a tapering effect towards the rear. The maximum focal length ensured all the model is in focus, the consequent slow shutter speed being no problem with the camera set on a tripod. The natural light was sufficient in this image.

f4, 1/60 sec, ISO 200, focal length 42mm. Flash with additional light from front using Micro

This is a similar aspect to the first form image but taken in a darkened room. The front is lit by micro, the side by flash unit placed just off frame. The form derives partly from the lit front, and partly from the differential lighting provided by the flash, the rounding of the boiler in particular being emphasised this way.


Texture

The model is home painted and a little worn, so there were good opportunities to explore close up the texture of the surfaces.

f4, 1/10, ISO 200, focal length 105mm natural light plus Micro

Natural light was enhanced by using the micro to provide a close up image. Texture is strong on the paint on the wheels, and on the boiler which is showing signs of ageing.

f22, 1/60, ISO200 focal length 105mm. Flash unit

By way of complete contrast, this image was shot using the flash placed at the rear and side. Required some experimentation with the manual settings on the flash unit to achieve the right intensity. The uneven sandy texture of the surface is brought out well in this image.

Colour

Colour was surprisingly difficult to photograph as a lead characteristic, but chose a couple of different aspects to demonstrate.

f11, 1/4, ISO 200, focal length 15mm. Natural light plus Micro

The micro was held above and slightly to the left - the aim being to highlight the brown patches. A wide angle lens ensured that the colour from the front buffer was not lost and provided balance between the two dominant colours of black and green, making sure the red on the front featured prominently.

f13, 1/90 ISO 200, focal length 98mm. Low sunlight.

Late sunshine was the sole source of light for this shot. Little attempt to get all the colours in this shot, more to demonstrate how the green changes with the light (cf. images above and below).

f22, 1/60, ISO 200, focal length 18mm. Natural light outdoors.

This final image, taken on a winter's day, was the only outdoors shot. I attempted to obtain a composite image that showed elements of shape, form, texture and colour. The sun was required to cast a shadow to provide the shape, the light worked well at around 11am to provide a pleasing three dimensional aspect to the model. The light brings out some shine to demonstrate texture, and the colour is very true.

Assignment 3 Colour

This assignment brings together the concepts explored in Colour, in particular colour relationships.

The brief is to take about four photographs using both arrangements and found situations demonstrating the following relationships:

• colour harmony through complementary colours
• colour harmony through similar colours
• colour contrast through contrasting colours
• colour accent using any of the relationships

and to comment on the colour relationship and balance.

I used nearly all found situations although a couple of shots are arranged: I enjoyed the challenge of finding the relationships.

Most of these shots were taken while on holiday in Wisconsin and Chicago. I found when using a Romanian walking holiday as a source of subject material for Assignment 2 that the idea of using a holiday as OCA subject material source does not work as well as might be thought; it can mean doing too much to find subjects for all the required images. A student on another blog noted the same problem. This time I took a more relaxed approach - if the opportunity arose, then take it, else use images taken elsewhere for the same Assignment.

My sons' graduations provided opportunities to take shots of colour relationships in gown colours It would have been possible to use several shots on this theme but this seemed rather uninteresting, so restricted to two (one was also used in an exercise).

The challenge of fulfilling the brief was compounded by trying to take shots that were interesting and/or striking. Reviewing this Assignment on other blogs, I suspect the authors also found a similar difficulty. It is quite a prescriptive brief.

All shots were taken using Canon 450D with a variety of lenses.



Colour harmony through complementary colours

The complementary relationships are green:red;  yellow:violet; and blue:orange  

f4; 1/60; ISO 500

The home baking section of a store in Chicago shopping mall provided an opportunity to arrange a blue and orange cardboard carton together. The course notes suggest a ratio of 1:2 in favour of blue to be ideal but a more equal balance works in this image (albeit I did pull the blue carton slightly forward so it does occupy a slightly larger proportion of the image). The colours balance one another well; perhaps this is a function of having similar copy on each carton.

f13; 1/350; ISO 200

This is an arranged photograph taken of the beach towels my wife and I purchased near Algoma on Lake Michigan shoreline; we did not purposely buy violet and yellow, just noticed as we stretched them out after a swim. I cropped the image to present broadly a 3:1 violet:yellow combination, thus balancing the relative brightness of the yellow by having more violet in the image.

f11; 1/90; ISO 400

The back of a lecturer's gown taken at my son's Leicester University graduation provides a shot demonstrating the red:green relationship. I could have cropped this to give a 1:1 proportion but in so doing would lose some of the textural interest in the lower part of the image; the red point in particular needs to be in the shot.

Aside from the colour relationship, I like the textural softness provided naturally by the material in this image. No soft focus was applied, the image did not require it, and some edge clarity might have been lost. There is a sense of depth, particularly in the green hood.

f11; 1/125; ISO 200

This Lake Michigan sunset demonstrates the orange blue relationship. The reflection in the clouds on the left of the image add some depth and interest to the shot. Very little manipulation was used, just a slight saturation and clarity boost.

We get a sense of the mixing of the colours in the lower third of the image ,the orange phasing gradually into blue. The blue:orange ratio is about 1:4, higher than might be recommended but works for this image where the orange is very dominant.


Colour harmony through similar colours

Similar colours are those near each other on the colour chart, e.g. green:blue, red:orange.

f5.6; 1/60; ISO 800

This image of a motorcycle petrol tank taken at the Harley Davidson museum in Milwaukee shows the red:violet relationship. In low light, this was a challenging shot - flash could not be used because of reflection so I positioned myself so as to get the maximum use of the light from the right and focussed on the cap, thus retaining sharpness in the darker violet part of the image. The ISO noise was removed using Topaz DeNoise.

There were many colour relationships on display but not many with similar colours. The amber band between the violet and red is vital here to emphasise the border between the red and violet. The balance of red and violet is slightly towards the darker violet, about right for this image.

f11; 1/60; ISO 200

This is an early morning shot of kayaks stacked by Lake Michigan. There is an obvious orange:yellow relationship, as well as the blue:yellow contrast and blue:orange complementary relationship at the top of the image.

For me, the image is enhanced considerably by the orange kayak - it is not difficult to imagine how much less eye-catching the image would be if all the kayaks were yellow. I tried cropping the image to just the top third but that worked less well. The point comes over clearly: a dash of a different colour can make a big difference.

f4.5; 1/60; ISO 800

This shot of coral on a rock demonstrates a green:yellow relationship. It was taken at Chicago Aquarium. Generally, I avoid taking shots of subjects behind glass because of light and reflection problems but this one works for this assignment.

Despite the wide aperture, the coral is sharp and the light provides some depth and contrast. As with the kayak image, the green is vital to balance the yellow coral; the ratio of broadly 3:1 yellow:green, animal:mineral is about right.

f4.5; 1/60; ISO 800

I took this close up of candy balls in Bloomingdales. It required some surreptitious temporary arrangement to get the orange and yellow together.

The colours are balanced equally and is a good example where similar bright colours balance with each other.

Colour contrast through contrasting colours

Contrasting colours are those that are spaced a third way round from each other, e.g blue:red, green:orange.

f13; 1/60; ISO 200

This is an arranged image of cocktail umbrellas. I got some strange looks when setting up and taking this shot in late evening sunshine at a cocktail party. I made comment in my learning log about how taking shots for OCA complemented the USA holiday portfolio; this is a good example of something I would not dream of taking normally, where the course has opened up my eyes to other possibilities - what is in front of you.

The colours work well in the image. Balance is obtained by proportioining the darker blue against lighter red at about 2:1. The light helps by emphasising the relief in the paper and providing some differential brightness. The green pattern does add some interest without affecting the essential red:blue balance. A simple subject that works well.

F13; 1/350; ISO 200

Two girls escaping the coldness of the water on Chicago Beach provided material for green:violet contrast shot. Technically, it is a shame that I just missed the top of the green bikini, although that meant the wave is in just the right place.

Although the action is in a way the main aim of the shot, I used this image because it emphasises how important colour is in the round. The colour of the sea is unattractive so we would have a flat image without the vibrance and contrast of the bikini bottoms (imagine in black and white). The bright  green and violet contrast works very well with the dull background.

f13; 1/180; ISO 200

A ceramic creation of a butterfly caught my eye as a green:violet comparison. This image could also have been used as an accent image given the small proportion of the space taken up by the green head but I chose it here as I think the bright green balances the violet well, evidently in the mind of the creator too.

f4.5; 1/90; ISO 800

I took this shot in Door County, Wisconsin. Door County is on the west of Lake Michigan and therefore affords few sunset opportunities, one of the few exceptions being this location near Ephraim. There are probably few occasions when one can see orange and violet together naturally; this was one.

I had no tripod so had to rely on hand holding the camera. I boosted the ISO and used a wide aperture so as to use an appropriate shutter speed. The ISO noise was removed using Topaz DeNoise and the vibrance boosted, else the image is as taken.

The image is very much about the colours, the reason it is used here. The orange and violet make for a good contrast; the image was taken very close to the sunset in complementary colours but on a different night after some rain, and at a later time. This results in a completely different colour relationship.The balance of orange and violet is about equal, but importantly orange is not bright (cf. the third image above) so an equal balance is fine - the image would be too dark otherwise.

f8; 1/60; ISO 200

 I used another of the gown images as a fifth photograph demonstrating colour contrast - this time green:orange.  Here we can see that the orange needs only to be a small part of the whole (the image could also be used as a colour accent example) because the green is dull and the orange bright; emphasises again that colour relationships are not formualic but very bespoke depending on the colours' relative brightness and tonality



Colour accent using any of the relationships

The last section is somewhat different - to photograph a small area of colour against a larger background. It is not dissimilar to photographing points in the Elements of Design, and has the same challenge to find interesting subjects.

f13; 1/90; ISO 200

Door County is a large cherry growing area of USA so I used the opportunity to find an example where I could photograph a single cheery in the forefground of a tree. The light was good - managed to get a catchlight effect on the cherry to add depth and tonality range. The green:red colours harmonise well.

f5.6; 1/125; ISO 200

Violet occurs less frequently than the oher colours so I was on the lookout especially for violet subjects. This was seen near home and apart from the colour, the detailed texture of the rope caught my eye.

The image was enhanced using Topaz Detail to bring out the texture and the vibrance increased to bring out the colour against the background.

f9.5; 1/20 ISO 200

I sourced an orange accented photograph in late evening downown Chicago. The camera was set up on a ledge and AEB used so as to take three shots merged into a HDR image, processed in Photomatix.

This image shows an accent where there is a limited contrast between the smaller orange area of the light and the background.

f1.8; 1/90; ISO 200

 A yellow light provided a third subject for accent. Taken of an almost unlit hotel reception area, I used the Canon 50mm fixed lens with a very wide aperture. This is a sound lens for low light work, and enabled a hand held shot even at low ISO.

There is a pleasing simplicity to this image  - the light on its own would not be sufficient subject but in conjunction with the reflected area of the desk, the shot works well. It is very different from the image directly above in that the contrast between the small colour area and the background is as extreme as one could envisage.

f11; 1/350; ISO 200

I include a photograph of an abandoned Chevrolet truck here to demonstrate the importance of a small area of colour. The subject focus is the radiato grille, particularly the textures and detail thereon, but the small orange area of bonnet and cab does help to balance the image.

Conclusion

Overall, I am satisfied with the range of subject material included in this Assignment. My main aim in doing this course was to widen my perspective - look for and see subjects that might not have done before, and this assignment has achieved this.
 
I understand the colour relationships, in particular the general concepts of complementarity, contrast and similarity. As important is that I understand these relationships can operate very differently for subjects with different tonality and brightness. Colour relationships are not discrete, and must be seen in conjunction with other aspects of an image, particularly light.