Project:Special Processing

This final part before I do the assignment is all about selective processing and prominence.

I need to use on of my earlier photographs and make the main subject stand out in one then recede in another one.  This is all done post production.
The photograph I have chosen to use is of a young girl sitting on the decking in her back garden.

On the first one I chose to have the back ground slightly more prominent. I used the quick selection tool to go round the girl. I then  took the saturation down of her jumper so she was not quite so noticeable.

For the second photograph I wanted the girl to really stand out so again I used the quick selection took to go round her, I then inverted the layer and took the saturation right down to make it black and white.  Finally I adjusted the vibrancy sightly to make her stand out even more.

My favourite of the two is the second one where the post processing is much more noticeable. This was an interesting exercise where I had the opportunity to see what I preferred to high light and my answer certainly in portrait work is definitely the subject.
Well that is the end of the final exercise so its on now to the fourth assignment which I have chosen to do about Faversham.

Exercise: balancing figure and Space

The aim of this exercise is to show the balance between a space and a figure and how it change the viewers attention.

I have chosen some football photographs to illustrate this point. The first photograph is of the goal keeper just standing in the goal, which is the dominate part of the photograph.

In the second photograph there is some action happening and the eye goes to the events in the goal mouth.

This has the viewer asking questions again especially sports fans who would try to guess where the ball is and whether a goal was scored from this.

A short exercise this one but a useful one.

Exercise: Making figures Anonymous

This exercise is all about making the surroundings the most important part of the photograph.  sometimes it is necessary to show a person or persons in a photograph but not as the main subject, they are useful for instance to show a sense of scale in a landscape picture.


The three photographs I have chosen to use are all very different, the first one a row of beach huts shows a person on the right hand side walking along and out of the photograph.  Having them in the photograph gives some idea of the size of the huts, but also shows that the area is used.

The second photograph was taken of HMS Dragon on her homecoming,  Although the decks are lined with sailors they fail to take away the image of the ship as she slowly makes her way along side and the crew disembark to greet their loved ones after nearly eight months away. Having the sailors in the photograph add the human touch to the picture.

The final photograph was taken of a fairground ride, It shows a girl on the chair as the ride goes round, although you can't see her face, the photograph needs some one in it to make it live.

So what have I learnt from this exercise?

I have learnt that sometimes it is neccesary to add at least one person to a picture, however you don't always need to make them either a prominate part or show theri face to make an impact.  Would the photographs I have used work without the people in them? the beach huts becomes just a set of beach huts, I would have loved to have had someone sitting outside their hut but alas that wans't to be.  The ship would work in its on right, but by having the sailors you start to ask questions, like I wonder where they have been and how long they were away from.  This photograph is important to me on a personal level as my son was on that ship. The final photograph would not work at all with out a person  in it.

The course progresses

I am two assignments away now from finishing this course, which I must admit hasn't been at all easy.

I enjoy photographing people and I really thought I would have long finished this by now. It is not to be I have had a change in circumstances meaning that I don't get as much time to devote  to this as I would like but mainly I have found it has taken me right out of any form of comfort zone.

I am happy to try different ideas with my photography and enjoy the opportunity to photograph different things, however street photography I find challenging to say the least.

I think a lot of this could stem from feeling venerable in a crowded place on my own with my camera and half expecting to be challenged about my intentions. I appreciate that not everyone wants to be photographed therefore I take care not to be intrusive and try not to point the camera at one individual for too long, I also avoid getting children in photographs unless they are part of a large group of people and can't be avoided. I know this is  a whole subject matter in its own right about photographers and the way they are treated at times by the public and also the police. The thing that amazes and at the same time frustrates me is that it is normally people with decent equipment ie dslr cameras that are questioned and yet in this day and age of the camera phone a lot of these are more than capable of taking a close up photograph without anyone being aware. The majority of photographers who carry plenty of equipment with them are only after achieving one thing, the perfect photograph. I guess the average person doesn't appreciate the amount of time a photographer will devote to getting that one photograph and will stand and make adjustment to his settings and position until he is completely happy. The casual snapper or even someone who is trying to hid what they are doing will stand for thirty seconds or even less and take the photo. Maybe that is food for thought to the public in general.

I may well revisit this page at another stage of this course.

Exercise: busy Traffic

The object of this exercise is to show the 'busyness' of a place.  I have chosen Faversham a town I know well, and the one I shall use as my fourth assignment.


This is the Saturday market, which is held in the town square or Market place to be exact, it is always busy with a variety of various stalls, selling everything from biscuits to antiques.


I was unable to put a tripod any where without running the risk of either someone falling over it or just being in the way generally.


I watched the traffic flow and then had to 'grab' my photographs as I could find a gap in the crowd. For this reason I used aperture priority to save me time.

You can see just how busy this area is.  I took these about 9.30 in the morning and by the time I left about two hours later the volume of traffic was just the same.

I wanted to show one in black and white as I feel this lends itself to this kind of work.  It allows the viewer to concentrate on the action rather than a mixture od colours.  This would have been different if I had been photographing a food market where the colours are all important.

I found this exercise very interesting as it forces you to look at people and how they flow through an area.  One thing I did notice was how little notice people took of my camera which surprised me.  I find any form of street photography difficult always expecting to be challenged about my photography, but here a couple of times people were so busy chatting and walking along they almost walked into me.

I feel as if I have learnt something about people from this exercise even if its that not everyone treats you like a criminal just because you are photographing in a busy place.  I am almost looking forward to the next set of street photography now.