Proof or fiction?

Proof or fiction? - follow this link...

Please note your own response to the issues we discussed in your workbook

To remind you:
Robert Capa
The Moonlandings - Real?
The Moonlandings - Fake?
Adnan Hajj (the world's worst photoshopper)

B/W printing

Thanks to those who came to the print demo - hope you got something useful out of it.

Ilford used to publish leaflets about all aspects of BW darkroom techniques. Now they're all .pdfs on their website. Here's their legendary BW printing instructions

Revision

1. Complete this list of apertures:
f2.8 f*? f5.6 f8 f**? f16 f22

2. Which aperture that gives the most depth of field?

3. Complete this list of shutter speeds:
1 sec 1/2 1/*? 1/8 1/15 1/30 1/**? 1/125 1/250 1/***? 1/10000

4. Complete these exposures combinations if f8 @ 1/125 on 100 ISO film

f11 @ 1/**? on 100 ISO
f* @ 1/500 on 100 ISO
f8 @ 1/250 on ***? ISO

5. Which ISO film has the most obvious grain?
100 ISO 200 ISO 400 ISO

6. What are the dimensions of a full-size 35mm frame?
a. 35mm x 50mm
b. 40mm x 40mm
c. 24mm x 36mm

7. What colour light is visible at 700 nanometers?

8. With digital images, what is the optimum dpi resolution for:

a. onscreen use **? dpi
b. print output ***? dpi

CTS

24th September: Proof or Fiction?
1st October: History 1 - Snaparazzi
8th October: History 2 - The Amateur
22nd October - Naked vs Nude
29th October: History 3 - Modernism
5th November - The Portrait

Lecture Theatre - 10.00am start

Monday 24th September

Critical and Theoretical studies will start at 10.00am in the lecture theatre (where you enrolled)

(NOT the auditorium in the Music Box where we met on the first morning)

Bring your workbook to take notes

For Sale

Nikon Coolscan V

35mm Scanner
4000dpi
Negs/Slide Strips or Mounted Slides
14 bit A/D Converter
Digital ICE 4 (ROC & GEM)

Mint Condition

£350

Contact: mhammond@stevenson.ac.uk

You know it makes sense

You need one of these - don't argue

Constructed Image Research

Research Infra-Red photography - ready for 10th October

In your workbook:
Find illustrations of infra-red images (minimum of six)
Research applications for infra-red photography (technical and creative)
Write a short personal evaluation of what you discover

We will begin a practical infra-red photography assignment after the October break

Soup assignment

Choose a soup with national characteristics:

French Onion
Minestrone
Scotch Broth
Miso
Won Ton
Borscht
Gazpacho
etc

Construct an image in the studio with appropriate props - to deliver the connotations you want to convey to the viewer:

Freshness
Goodness
Quality
Family
Warmth
Nutritious
Healthy
Evening supper
Outdoor lunch
etc

Refer to Barthes's deconstruction of the Panzani advert for ideas

Shoot one roll of 35mm daylight balanced 36exp colour transparency film
100 ISO is ideal
Fuij Provia, Kodak E100G - if in doubt, ask

If you're buying film from a shop - make sure it isn't "Process Paid" - this means it comes with an envelope for you to send it off for processing, having already paid for it in the price.

We will process the films at college, with NO COST TO YOU
(Estimated four day turnaround)

Experiment with lighting - positioning, modulators, reflectors - and viewpoint

You must be able to account for everything in the frame - as if you had painted the image

Remember: the journey is more important than the destination at this point
Collect research and plans in your workbook
Please work in pairs
Keep a log of exposure details - it will help you decipher why your pictures look the way they do

Assessment:
Wednesday 10th October 9.00am
I'll provide slide mounts

Monday Holiday

College will be closed on Monday 17th September

Tuesday 18th September

For one week only, there will be no Digital class on Tuesday morning

Timetable as normal for the rest of the week - and for the forseeable future

Photoshop

Here are some simple instructions for those wanting to assemble their timelapse montage in Photoshop:

Make a new blank canvas big enough to frame your montage:
File – New (make sure the dpi resolution of the new canvas is the same as your timelapse images – ideally 300dpi)


Use the crop tool to cut a slice from each image and drag it into the new canvas

Use the Move tool to position each new slice on the new canvas


You can adjust the position of any layer by selecting from the one you wish to adjust from the layers palette


When you’re happy with the timelapse montage you can preserve all the layers – for future tweaking – by saving as a .psd (Photoshop file). If you’re bold enough to commit – you can merge all the layers and save as a .tif or .jpg

Advanced Photoshop users could stack all the images on top of one another and use the erase tool selectively on each layer to reveal and blend the layer underneath...

If you're using glue and scissors - don't worry. Different approaches will make for an interesting class on Wednesday.

Good luck - email or post a comment if you need to...

Time lapse assignment

Make a time lapse sequence:

Choose your view and time parameters - minutes, hours, days
Arrange your exposures in sequential order - free to use photoshop or scalpel and glue
No limit on how many pictures you combine or the final dimensions

Assessment: Wednesday 19th September 9.00am Studio 22

Instruction for assembling a sequence in Photoshop will follow shortly

Ideas and information:
Their circular life
More info on timelapse


Direct link to this merged version on flickr

Constructed Image

Roland Barthes - French philosopher and writer 1915 - 1980
Key idea: Denotation & Connotation

Excerpt from The Rhetoric of the image: Panzani advert

Other constructed image ideas:
Trompe L'oeil - images that try to fool the eye
Zeuxis and Parrhasius (the 5th Century BC Greek painting duel)
Vanitas - constructions representing death and mortality
Hans Holbein - The Ambasadors

Olivia Parker
John Blakemore
Jan Groover
Thomas Demand

Favourite pictures

Here are some links to the photographers and images we looked at today

Duane Michals
The Brown sisters
Michael Hughes

Thank-you

Good to meet you all today

Thanks for participating

See you all again in Studio 22 (where we finished up on Monday) - with a favourite picture to share with the group (hard-copy or .jpg if you want) for the Constructed Image workshop @ 9.00am on Wednesday

HND structure

Semester 1 runs from September 2007 to January 2008
Semester 2 runs from February 2008 to June 2008

Over the course of the year you will complete the following workshops:

Critical & Theoretical studies (CTS):
An overview of the key ideas and development of visual communication, from cave painting to moblogging; 19th century amateurism to the issues currently facing professionals in business

Theory, Digital and Web Design:
Technical foundations to support your creativity

Portraiture and Social Photography:
Approaches and skills for studio and location portraiture

Constructed Image:
Strategies and techniques affecting image-making: Proof or fiction?

Stock:
Shooting generic material for library submission and sales

Location:
Approaches and skills for shooting assignments on location

Graded Project:
Your chance to produce a piece of work best demonstrating your strengths - for assessment by external examiners against national standards

Tutorials for individuals and small groups will run throughout the year

Welcome

Hello

This is the blog for group A on year 1 of the HND Photography course at Stevenson College Edinburgh

Take a minute to write down or bookmark the URL

This is where you'll find information about timetables, course notes, assessment dates (and holidays)

We'll also post examples of your work

Be sure to check regularly - the blog will update daily