Assignment 2: Seeing like your camera

This assignment has caused me a great deal of trouble and angst. In fact, it has proved such a sticking point that I feared for a time it would prevent my progress with the course. The brief requires 12 photographs to be taken under very specific lighting conditions - 8 from which 4 must be chosen, 3 images from each. The pictures should all be taken in JPEG format and no post processing is allowed - the challenge is to pre-visualise how the camera will represent the scene and choose settings accordingly.

The first thing that terrified me about the brief is the thought of not being able to use software to alter the image. I have shot all of my photographs in RAW format for years and see the captured image as only a starting point. I have no problems or hesitations in using software to alter an image and see this as nothing new, just a transformation of the way a traditional wet darkroom would be used to achieve a desired result. Rationally however, I could quickly see how stopping myself from doing this could be an interesting exercise and push me out of my comfort zone.

My main stumbling block came with the very specific set of shooting requirements for the image. I am always keen for my assignments to be linked in some way through either subject matter or concept. I really struggled with finding a way I could do this without simply ticking the boxes, usually I find some way into a project and through experimentation find my direction - on this occasion I was stumped.

To complicate matters, a fellow student (Stéphanie d'Hubert)  posted a brilliant and original interpretation of the brief. 

I love the energy and playfulness of the way Stéphanie has interpreted the brief. To top it all, the assignment is also presented in an original way as a slideshow to music. Instead of feeling invigorated however, I felt completely void of inspiration and ended up putting not only this assignment but the entire course and even photography in general to the back of my mind - I felt blocked and other aspects of life took precedence. Rightly or wrongly when I am not in the right frame of mind I find it extremely difficult to take photographs - it is an issue I have known about for some time and yet do not seem to be able to conquer. In the past a strategy has been to simply force myself to take photographs - of everything and anything. Eventually the simple act of pressing the shutter, usually without any preconceived notion of what I am doing, succeeds in bringing me out of the other side. On this occasion however, the assignment brief weighed heavily on me and I continued to struggle to find my direction.

A turning point came when I had a moment of clarity and realised I was simply overthinking the project. I realised the barrier to me completing the assignment was not the brief but was me myself - it was easier to say it was too constrictive than to try and come up with a creative solution like Stéphanie had. At this point I made the conscious decision to progress no matter what, not to worry about the quality of the outcome but to use the exercise as the learning tool it is designed to be. For a subject I decided to choose something that would be readily accessible to me to make things as easy as possible. With this in mind I came up with the idea of photographing different areas of my house - I am fascinated by the different lighting conditions can transform the everyday and mundane and how the framing of a photograph can change the way items are represented, sometimes becoming abstract and beautiful.

Approach:

As I mentioned earlier, I always shoot in RAW mode. I rarely worry about exposure as I know my camera does a pretty good job of this. Through experience I understand which lighting conditions can cause problems and read the histogram to make adjustments if necessary. This method is more intuitive and natural rather than being conscious. I always tweak exposure and white balance in Lightroom or photoshop, my choice of settings is often governed by pragmatism - I select the ISO setting and aperture that enable me to handhold the camera and achieve the shot. Thinking about the way I usually shoot in an analytical way shocked me a little - I realised how little I thought about anything other than composition when I take photographs and how much I rely in software to get the images I want. It was not always this way, I used to agonise quite a bit about which settings to choose - maybe my experience means I now make choices without realising it? Maybe this is true, but even if it is not I certainly do not consider things like white balance at the moment I press the shutter. After the event I will decide if I want the neutral, 'correct' colour balance my camera normally delivers or if I want to change this for creative reasons.

Another of the considerations and barriers I had to this assignment was the notion of how much to alter the settings at the time of capture. The possible variables I could make were quite daunting so I decided to limit myself - I would shoot mainly as I do normally as I have described above with the main variable being exposure compensation settings. I also wanted to use the assignment as an opportunity to experiment with a new camera (a Fuji X-E1) which I was less familiar with than my normal camera (a Nikon D700.) It was only as I approached the end of the shooting part of the assignment that I switched to my familiar Nikon D700, the main reason for this was to see how the images from each camera differed.

Shooting the images:

I shot the images I have selected here over  4 days during the same week in November 2013, all on my Fuji X-E1. I shot on days where I knew I would be able to pick up the camera as the light changed. I initially intended to only use these images for the assignment, however, as I began to examine the images in January 2014 it struck me that it would be interesting to apply the same approach to shooting but using my more familiar Nikon D700, these were shot over two days in January 2014. It was not until I had completed these shoots that I allowed myself to view all of the images - I did not want the pictures I took to be influenced by the selection process. This was a risk however as I did not know whether any of the images I had taken would be of any use for the assignment.

The notion of 'the decisive moment' is one I interested in, there has long been an idea that the thing that the differentiates the 'master' photographer from the rest of us is their ability to press the shutter at the exact moment all the elements of a photograph come into alignment. At the same time they can see how the image will be rendered and are able to select their settings accordingly. They do not need to bracket or take more than one image of a subject. Broadly I think most people know this idea is a fiction, indeed I learned in assignment 1 about workflow that the ability to edit image selection is a skill in itself, possibly even more important than pressing the shutter. My initial thoughts for this assignment was to allow myself only one shot of each subject, in practice I was not confident enough to achieve this however and I bracketed my shots extensively.

I gave little thought to the conditions set out by the assignment brief - I hoped that by simply focusing on situations that featured extreme contrast I would take enough images to fit the different criteria. I found that my confidence shooting increased as the assignment progressed: when I began I took an exposure the camera suggested and then bracketed around this. The more images I took I began to think more about how I wanted the image to look and begin with the setting I felt would most closely get the desired result.

Indoor space in which the only available light is strong natural window light

Fuji X-E1, ISO 400, 1/1600 sec @ f9, 18-55mm @ 24mm, - 1EV

For this image I wanted the shadow to be exposed as close to black as possible which also had the effect of defining the edges. I found -1 EV of exposure compensation was enough to achieve this, any more and the highlight area became too dark and lacked sufficient contrast, I also like the way the colour from the wall shows through the shadow. Increased exposure meant too little contrast. A further effect of lowered exposure was increased colour saturation.

Fuji X-E1, ISO 800, 1/3000 sec @ f5.6, 18-55mm @ 48mm, -2 EV

For this image I was attracted to the shape of the window light falling onto the wall and the way the physical straight edge of the door frame is echoed by the shadow and the interest created by the triangular shape of the shadow. -2 stops of exposure compensation have made the shadows extremely dark, almost black. The wood of the door frame is deeply saturated partly due to the exposure setting and provides a focal point as well as a point of contrast in an otherwise mainly monochrome image. The contrast also brings out the texture of the paint and grain of the wood.

Nikon D700, ISO 3200, 1/125 sec @ f6.7, 24-70mm @ 70mm, -3 EV

For this image I wanted to concentrate attention on the subtle tones created by the window light. The exposure compensation of -3 stops means the window area is exposed well while leaving just enough detail in the wall area for the viewer to be able to make out subtle detail, a high ISO setting of 3200 was necessary to handhold the camera for this image. Usually I am adverse to noise in an image, however, on this occasion the noise adds a slight amount of texture to the scene that I like.

Any backlit scene whether in direct or indirect light

Fuji X-E1, ISO 400, 1/60 sec @ f5.6, 18-55mm @ 55mm, +2 EV

This picture demonstrates how light can transform what we see, the strong sunlight and angle of view highlight the fingerprints on the window here. I chose two stops of increased exposure to emphasise the strength of the sunlight and also cause a desaturating effect.

Fuji X-E1, ISO 400, 1/1700 sec, 18-55mm @ 29mm, -2 EV

The pattern of the condensation on the window attracted me to this scene, I like the way the reduced exposure puts the window frame into darkness  and makes the colour saturation rich.

Nikon D700, ISO 3200, 1/180 sec @ f3.3, -2 EV

This is one of the few images that I took that I had a strong idea of how I wanted it to look. Without exposure compensation the camera would expose the majority of this scene too brightly. I wanted to achieve the feeling you have lying in bed before opening the blinds on a bright day and get a sense of the power of the daylight versus the darkness of the room.

Scenes which include objects of a very different reflectivity, even in flat light such as an overcast day

Fuji X-E1, ISO 800, 1/3500 sec @ f9, 18-55mm @ 61mm, -2 EV

I like the way the highlights created by the reflections off the mirror ball become the subject of this photograph, any less than the -2 stops of exposure compensation here meant the contrast of the little spots of light were lost in the image.

Fuji X-E1, ISO 800, 1/2000 sec @ f7.1, 18-55mm @ 49mm, -1 EV

Like the fingerprints on the window, the scratches of the kitchen work surface are emphasised by the strong window light and the cameras point of view. Again this shows a familiar surface from a different perspective as under normal viewing conditions this would appear smooth, without the contrast between light and shadow the texture would be lost in the image.

Fuji X-E1, ISO 400, 1/160 sec @ f4, 18-55mm @ 20mm, +1 EV

The remnants of breakfast cereal in the sink made an interesting pattern to my eye. I wanted to emphasise the bright reflectivity of the metal sink so increased exposure by one stop which also reduced contrast. I found the alternatives I shot with reduced exposure were had too much contrast.

Indoor scenes illuminated by a single source of artificial light of high luminance e.g. a desk lamp

Nikon D700, ISO 1600, 1/1000 sec @ f5.6, 24-70mm @ 66mm, -1.5 EV

I wanted to emphasise the shape of the light fitting in this image, the -1.5 stops of exposure compensation allow enough of the highlight tones to be exposed well while leaving a subtle amount of exposure in the background.

Nikon D700, ISO 6400, 1/15sec @ f2.8, 24-70mm @ 48mm, -2.5 EV

The pattern of the shadows from a tree with the only light source being a sodium street light. This exposure setting meant the window frame was in silhouette while there was enough brightness to show the pattern of the leaves and texture of the blinds.

Nikon D700, ISO 1600, 1.5 sec @ f4.8, 24-70mm @ 66mm, -1 EV

For this picture I wanted to emphasise the orange of the light source so chose the shade white balance setting. I placed the camera on the floor for this unusual viewpoint which is evocative of the stillness you can experience in a house at night time.

Conclusion

Despite all of the misgivings about this assignment I do feel I have learned a great deal from it, if nothing else I enjoyed taking photographs within the set of conditions I imposed upon myself and will continue to pursue this project in the future. The exercise has forced me to reflect a great deal on how I shoot photographs and to realise that I rely heavily on software in my workflow and that I do not give enough consideration to my exposure settings as I press the shutter. What I thought of as being confident in my technique is more like being too comfortable - it is interesting to reflect back and realise how much more consideration I was giving to my camera settings as the project progressed. Something I have not mentioned until now is cropping, which is something I use a great deal. I now realise I need to be much more careful with my composition and not rely too heavily on this - as I review the images here I am desperate to crop some of them to tidy up the composition. In the end it is safe to say I have not enjoyed this assignment, however, with hindsight I can see how completing it will inform my photography going forward. I wish I had been able to put the obstacles that prevented me from completing this project to one side and progress quicker, hopefully the fact that I eventually managed to produce something will help me going forward.