Workshop Experience : Photography Studies College Week #2
The PSC course continues with introduction of the exposure triangle and an assignment to get used to hand held shooting.
Being Week 2 its all still warming up with the course. We spent this week going over the mechanical and technical aspects of our cameras, bit of familiarisation for those that needed it, and a bit of a refresher for those that were across their cameras already.
Its funny how we all split in to the Canon types, the Nikon types, and the Others. By the looks of our class alone, Canon seems to be holding its own in camera share !* (* not a statistically valid sample size). Being in the "Others" with one other student, I had some good time to go through our different cameras and discuss what we liked about them.
We then got introduced to the Exposure triangle - the relationship between ISO, Shutter speed and Aperture in order to get a "correct exposure".
When I first started photography and started to get my head around this triangle and the interplay between these three key parameters, it did do my head in for quiet some time. And practise didn't seem to crack it for me at the start at all.
Until I found the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson.
Just a fantastic reference book - it reads so easily even though it is quiet involved in parts, and it really does cement in the key principles of shooting in manual and manipulating ISO, Shutter speed and Aperture in order to get the effect that you imagine. (it goes in to quite a few other areas of capturing light as well and I highly recommend the purchase and read).
After reading this book I have rarely taken any camera I now use off manual, and its now up to my imagination to capture a good photo just as much as it is the settings of a camera.
We also got our first assignment. A simple one, a useful one and one that isn't necessarily as easy as it sounds.
Set the camera to ISO400, shutter speed to 1/4, stabilisation off if you have it anywhere in camera or on the lens, and go and get a pin sharp hand held frame.
Off we go !
Book Review : The Photography Workshop series of books by Aperture
I recently re-read the Aperture series of Photography Workshop books. Thought I would share some brief insights.
Its great to buy a photography book, new or old, with no expectations and then upon reading, wonder how you ever took a photo prior to reading it. Not that books suddenly make all your average photos turn in to great ones of course, but I find they do focus you on to what does work and what doesn't. Books and research help you improve your self filtering, your own critique methods, and by default, raise your own standards. Photography books are generally of two types - educational/functional or portfolio based. Portfolio based are great to just view a favourite or challenging photographers' body of work or specific project.
The educational and functional books can also frustrate the hell out of you - by being too detailed or esoteric; or too vague and floaty; or just plain boring.
Having recently re-read the aperture series of Photography Workshop books, I think these are one of the best mix of both formats - educational and portfolio - that I have come across. And more importantly they deliver in spades on great images and great insight and education content.
(Aperture is a not for profit photography foundation that links photographers with their audience through print, online, and in-person).
The general format for all four books in the series is on each page there is a photo, and then the particular guest photographer talking about broad concepts of photography mixed with some specifics about the photo being shown. That's it. Some times the comments are lengthy and involved, other times they are light and soft. But put together it all works so well towards inspiring and educating the reader that you rarely feeling like putting the books down.
Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris are just so creative in the way that they explain their photo as it relates to street; Mary Ellen Mark is clearly a great teacher as well because her comments about her photos are so clear and thoughtful and accessible; they all just work really well as a read and reference material.
In the interest of Buy Books Not Gear living, I have really enjoyed reading and using these books and hope to use them again and again. Highly recommended.