Exercise 1: Presentation of 10 of your best-liked pictures

11.01.2017 (Week 1)
Adrian Charles Chee Yew Chen (300666425)
Introduction to Photography

Exercise 1: Presentation of 10 of your best-liked pictures

Lecture:

This was the first class for the semester. Mr. Vinod introduced himself and had a short ice-breaking session with everyone who was in class. He proceeded to inform us regarding what this class is about and what we require during this course. Mr. Vinod then explained more about himself, what he has done in his field of work and what he is currently doing in his career. He also showed us some samples of photographs shot by him to further help us get a better picture of what we were in for. He ended the class early (because it was the first class) with a reminder of what we need to bring along next week for class which was a camera with manual function and a tripod stand as well as a short briefing on what our first exercise would be.

Instructions:

• Write your e-portfolio and upload the 10 images along with the description.
• Print A4 hardcopy of the 10 selected images with the description following the instructions (margin, font, etc.) given in class and place it in your hardcopy (portfolio) folder.

Here are the five pictures which I took by myself using my cellphone camera.

1. This is a picture which I took very recently. It was the first time ever that I played with any kind of settings and options available on a standard camera application on the phone. I tried my best to take a shot of the lighted billboard of an advertisement and managed to get a decently clear enough image of it. I'm quite proud of this shot as I never had any experience with photography and could never take a picture of something bright during the night. This image was taken along LDP.

2. I took this picture on the 2nd of November 2016. 2nd of November, All Soul's Day is the day where Catholics around the world would come to pay respects to the deceased. I like this image because it was something which I shot that wasn't too straightforward and ordinary. I also liked that the shot gave a vintage and solemn feel with the help of the position of the row of candles along the grave. This image was taken back in Taiping, Perak.

3. This image was taken at the boot of my father's car. I liked this image because, although the random placement of those items seemed scattered and messy, it still looked somewhat photogenic and somehow in the right places. 

4. I chose this image as I feel like it was a pretty good wide shot of the car being displayed along with the singer who unveils the car through a solid performance. This picture was taken in the grand ballroom of the Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

5. I like this captured image because I feel that it is a good wide shot of all the works of the artists. It may seem quite disorganized but I feel that there is a sense of artistry in how everything on display is everywhere. This picture was taken at Pasar Seni.

Next, here are the five photographs captured by photographers from different countries or continents.

1. The first picture below is taken by photographer Mark Gee from New Zealand. He has a passion for Astrophotography and takes many mesmerizing shots of the beauty of the night sky. Here is the story behind the shot he took, "Just after 3am, the Milky Way shines brightly above The Gap at Castlepoint, as the nearby lighthouse illuminates the surrounding landscape. Castlepoint is on the south east coast of the North Island of New Zealand just a few hours from from the capital city of Wellington." I like this picture because much thoughts were put into perfect alinement between the beauty of the night sky and the land.

2. The next picture was taken by photographer Max Rive from the Netherlands. He is extremely passionate towards mountain photography. I like this image because of the wonderful natural colours of the forest with the misty mountain as the background. 

3. The image below is taken by photographer Kilian Schönberger, a landscape and travel photographer from Germany. I like this photograph because of the lighting in the forest. The photographer also definitely chose a suitable spot to take the picture. It shows us the path that stretches all the way to the end of the horizon.

4. The image below was taken by photographer Vincent Favre of France. He is a nature and landscape photography enthusiast and takes many magnificent shots playing around with reflections. I like this image because of how well he positioned the capture, perfectly creating proportionate reflections on the clear waters.

5. Lastly, the image below was captured by Peter Lik, a fine art photographer from Australia. The reason why I like this photograph is because it is really very plain but extremely detailed. The timing of when the picture was taken was also perfect, resulting in such clear details that even the fine water droplets are easily visible.


                 

Feedback:

There are no feedbacks yet as this is the very first class and exercise.

General Feedback:
Mr Vinod advised all of us to take note of the photographers credited by all the students in their blog posts so that we can search more about these photographers. Mr Vinod also told us to look up on Herb Ritts, Mark Seliger (photographer who shot for Rolling Stones), Prabuddha Dasgupta (fashion photographer), Richard Avedon and Manoj Jhadav. 

Reflection:

Experience:

When we were given this first exercise to do, I immediately felt very demotivated and discouraged as I have never before had any proper experience with photography. It was not easy at all trying my best to complete this task to my level best but I persevered and ensured that I completed this task before the deadline even though I did not feel confident at all.

Observations:

It was my actual first time going through the photographs which I took and carefully analyzing them. It was also a first time for me to go through professional works by photographers and carefully observing their work to see what captured my attention. Through this exercise, I begin to take notice of other details in a photograph which I may have not bothered before.

Findings:

From this first exercise, I have learnt to be more open towards new challenges in life namely, photography. It has opened my eyes and mind towards photography and how it is not just 'one simple click' of a button. I found out that in order to get a good photograph, a great amount of patience, perseverance, timing and foresight is required. After all, we will not be able to capture a great image if we fail to first visualize that great image in our mind.