Reflection on Assignment three

'Processing the Image ' has been another steep learning curve for me; particularly the technical side. I feel that I have a much better understanding of processing images although I know that I need to work really hard at this to develop real confidence; I have begun to usefully work with RAW  and to find my around Lightroom. 

Looking back  after completing a section of this course and the assignment is always a salutary experience - what do I feel about the course and  last few months of work?
 The highlight was getting to grips with black and white photography - a new area for me and something I really enjoyed. I have always appreciated black and white images starting looking at early family photos to moving onto the work of famous photographers. in books and at exhibitions. Now I really know how hard it is to conceive and deliver a good black and white image. I can see and feel that composition is the key and being able to judge a potential image in terms of creative concerns of contrast, geometry, texture, volume etc...must inevitably be a question of trial and error to start with. 

Re the assignment -choosing the theme of seaside piers was I feel a good subject for monochrome.It allowed a good degree of creativity though my developing technical ability at this stage did not always deliver the sense of past summers that I was looking for. Partly due to how to handle light and shadow to suggest late summer warmth without over exposing the scene or bring in too much colour saturation into the black and white mix.  With hindsight I also feel perhaps I could have done more in terms of experimentation - something to bear in mind in the future!

I tried harder this time to develop and stick to a particular theme; this was partially successful but should  have been developed more in terms of people enjoying and using the seaside pier. The two images below were originally part of the assignment but dropped to keep within my subject brief. That said, I thought them worth processing and including them within my reflection; firstly, because I like them and secondly they represented an interesting processing challenge.






P597: f8 @ 1/100  ISO 200  22mm 
WB Daylight cropped

 



What drew my eye here was the brightly multi coloured building behind the motorbike and the patterned sunlight in front. How would this work in monochrome? I experimented by adjusting the colours in the black and white mix to increase the colour  differential so that the tones were more pronounced and then increased the contrast using the tone curve. I am happy with the result as I can see the difference in colour in the background..




P598: f5.6 @ 1/640  ISO 100  55mm  AWB

P598 is less successful as I was looking for a way to enhance the movement here by bringing out the contrast between the foaming waves and the surrounding sea. Her I increased the contrast and decreased the shadow; the increased the red/ blue and yellow colours in the b/w mix  to draw out the 'water bike' . The end result is disappointing and I'd welcome ideas as to how to improve the image.


Lastly, am I developing a 'personal voice' ? Still a long way to go...