AWE3MI: PanDEMIC LESSON #3

Happy Star Wars Day, everyone!  May the 4th Be With You!

Thank you to everyone who filled out the Check-In form last week.  It seems that are large percentage of us are struggling with technology, especially downloading Adobe Creative Suite.  I really can't continue with those skills unless more of you can get the program installed.  If it didn't work for you, and you own a Mac of a PC, could you please try again using your outside email address?  If enough of you can get the programs, I will go ahead with optional lessons next week (there will be choice photography or Lightroom, photography or InDesign, etc).

This week's weather is supposed to be nice, so I would like you to get outside and play with your cameras.  Do so in a safe and pandemically-aware way :)  The idea is that you will spend 1/2 hour a day "playing" and trying to master the technique I list below.  That is only a 2.5hr commitment :)   At the end of the week, I'd like you to submit the photos using a form  that I will email you and post on the website.

Skills are like muscles, and you need to flex them regularly, or you'd suffer from atrophy. Even when you think you’re already comfortable using a camera, it’s always healthy to learn new tricks and techniques to add to your experience.

I keep "normal" Office Hours.  This means I am available for help from 8:30am to 4:00pm. I also check later in the evenings before bedtime, so I can usually get back to you then as well.

So consider the following 5 photographic challenges:

1) Flashlight Challenge:  

• Take a great photograph using only a flashlight as your main/key light source.
• The flashlight must be the most important light source in the image.
• No additional non-ambient light sources can be added to the photo, so no flash, strobe, video lights, etc. If the sun is out or there is already light in a room, that's fine.

​2) Sun Stars Challenge:  

• these take a bit of practice, so keep at it.  Do not confuse them with  lens flares. 
• use a small aperture (f/16 or higher) to get the effect.
• manoeuvre yourself until the sun is just nudging itself over top of your subject.  You might have to bend or stand on your tippy toes to get the perfect spot.

​3) Photo Blur Challenge:  

• these also take a bit of practice, so keep at it.  When filming a moving object, like a car, make sure you are a safe distance away from your subject. 
• use a slow shutter speed to get the effect an be aware of lighting (so you don't overexpose your photo..ISO plays a role here too).
• pan your camera with the subject (the bike below) or use a tripod/steady surface if you want an exposure like the subway train below.

​4) Texture Challenge:  

• the goal of this challenge is to study textures and forget about the object itself; the texture becomes the subject.
• pay attention to how light affects the appearance of the texture
• photograph the subject as close as your lens will allow without it going out of focus
  
• use different angles to capture the same texture as the light changes.  Notice how the different lighting directions and camera angles can change how much texture appears.

​5) Forced Perspective Challenge:  

• forced perspective is when the subject of an image looks smaller/larger or closer/farther away that it actually is (optical illusion). 
• think about your composition ahead of time.  Explore different places and experiment with different ideas.
• use a small aperture (f/16), as this will give you a deep depth of field so both subjects are in focus and look equally far from the camera​

..and don't give me that I only have an iPhone excuse!  Creativity will always triumph technical limitations..watch this video for inspiration :)