Assignment 1 Revisited

Taking in the feedback and suggestions given in the second tutorial of this module, I decided to redo the pictures for Shallow Depth-of-Field (SDOF) and Freeze Action. I found out recently that the point-and-shoot camera I had was not ideal for taking shallow depth-of-field shots depicting a wide area, as such camera tend to put everything in focus. Therefore, to capture the essence of shallow depth-of-field, I needed to take something up close. I immediately thought of my guitar, so I experimented with it, taking pictures of it at different angle, changing the distance with every shot, and adjusting my camera's aperture value. After several shots like these:

I finally captured a satisfactory shot. Change the Colour Balance of it a little via Photoshop, and the final outlook is this:

Shallow Depth-of-Field/"Soldiers of Tension"

The main point of reference for this picture is the pegs that hold the guitar strings down on the guitar bridge. It creates an emphasis on them, as the background is blurred.

Besides Shallow Depth-of-Field, I also needed to redo the Freeze Action shot because my previous picture was simply not up to standard. I searched online images, looking for inspiration, and chanced about Freeze Action photography with fruits and water. Inspired, I grabbed an orange, adjusted my camera's shutter speed to a maximum high (1/1000 sec) and experimented taking shots of the orange in the kitchen. I wanted to capture the effect of the running water from the tap gushing down upon the orange. Due to the extremely fast shutter speed, the pictures often turn out too dark because the lighting in the kitchen wasn't ideal. But I kept changing angles of the shot, trying to capture more light, as well as adjusting the shutter speed, slowing it down bit by bit. After shots like these, where shutter speed was too fast,

And shots like these, where shutter speed was a little too slow,

I managed to capture this shot.

Freeze Action/"Orange"

Despite the orange being hidden in the dark due to underexposure, the emphasis is on the water droplets, where the water is not shown gushing down in a blur and individual droplets can be seen. In a way, the high shutter speed allows the water droplets to be "frozen" in air. A little alteration to the contrast and colour balance of the picture adds to the dynamism of the picture.