Photomontage Assignment Process - Photo II

For this assignment I had two concept ideas I wanted to explore and to implement an image with realism and imagination. I wanted to create a photomontage that demonstrates my individualism and as well as storytelling. 

The first idea involved using three exposures, I planned to use photos of my dad in his traditional headdress, a photo of the valley where I was raised, and a photo of an Iniskim (Buffalo Stone) held in my dads hands. This photomontage idea I wanted to share my perspective on how I pictured the story of the Iniskim story that was originally told by my dad. With each exposure I wanted to use my dad in a perspective of him sharing the story in action in the valley in the background (second exposure). The last exposure I wanted to show the Iniskim photo with the effect of the stone projecting in the sky on top of valley. 

I did face some difficulties in the beginning. With the first roll of film I used, I had to retake a few photos as the pictures were unsteady. With the second roll of film, the development of the photos came out clear. I do believe I didn’t install the film properly in the camera as a result. I do plan on retaking the photos again, this time by accurately installing the film properly and developing them right away.

With my second concept idea that I went forward with, I wanted to continue with the story of the Iniskim but from a personal perspective. Using two exposures, I took pictures of the bridge located on the north end of Fort Macleod, and the second photo of my partner holding the Iniskim. This photomontage is to show an delicate interruption to remind the audience of the origins of the stone. The stone pictured is the the area of where the stone was originally found.

Holga 120n Camera - Photo II

Holga 120n Camera

 

Using the Holga 120N camera, I wanted to document a Sunday drive with my partner and dog. We drove through Pincher creek and Blairmore where I attempted to take pictures of the landscape as well as my dogs’ presence.

As seen through my contact print, I did notice the over exposure on a few prints as well as a light leak from unloading the camera. I do believe the over exposure resulted from the landscape of fresh snow reflecting from the sun. I did also attempt to do a long exposure using the ‘bulb’ setting on one photo, unfortunately due to the light leak it was not visible.

I did enjoy practicing with this camera with the vignette and grunge result with my exposures.

The best photo I was able to capture was the image of my dog’s toy on the dash of my vehicle as it captured a clear image of the bear toy shadow from the sun setting. I do believe this photo gave a ambience and calming effect to the nature of the environment itself.

I do look forward to experimenting with this camera in the future for my own projects and will use the Sunny 16 rule for better adjustments and exposures.

Assignment 4 - "Seeing through a View Finder"

For assignment 4, We were instructed to create a series of photos in our interest. I wanted to share a story series of my childhood home located in the Fort Whoop Up area on the Blood Reserve just outside of Lethbridge. Each photo contains a special memory or depiction of my childhood in the area. I decided to take the pictures from a lower angle to give a child's perspective. This was to create a reminiscence for myself as a child exploring my home. 

With this assignment, I spent time in the dark room for quite some time, and it was a very enjoyable experience. It was my first time working with a photo enlarger, though it was quite challenging setting the borders correctly, I am satisfied with the results of my work.

During my critique, I noticed that I should have placed the three bottom photos of the bridge in correct order by revealing a peripheral vision from the left to the right. I also noticed the story of my series could have been depicted in another vision depicting the symbol of the Buffalo Stone. 

As my last assignment, I am very grateful for the experience and hope to work more with photography and expand my learning even further in the future. :)

Series 2. Critique day.

Series1. Critique day.

Assignment 3 - Exposure Latitude + Depth of Field

 

For Assignment 3, to explore the exposure latitude and depth of field, we were given the opportunity to use 35 mm cameras supplied by the university. For my first attempt, I decided to capture pictures surrounding my childhood home. I aimed my camera towards the landscape to capture 5 negatives and positives, including the 0 exposure set by the grey card. Unfortunately, after developing there was a problem with the film not being set properly in the container, resulting in the film being damaged.

For my second attempt, I decided to take pictures located at Henderson Lake. The still life pictures captured was the park located on the east end of the lake. It was quite tricky setting the exposure as the day was challenged with cloud cover on and off. 

My attempt of capturing photos with the depth of field method was quite tricky for me. This practice has taken me 3 tries to capture the shallow and deep depth of field properly. My first attempt was taken at Henderson Lake as well. The results compared to each picture were very similar with no depth of field.

My second attempt, I decided to take pictures under the high level bridge and Indian battle park surrounding areas. The results were not formed properly, as the aperture was not set accurately and was rather focusing the lens onto the subject.

My third attempt of taking the photos were captured in the surrounding areas of my parents home. Setting the exposure equivalence was also tricky to keep the depth of field. I believe after the 3rd attempt I was able to capture the depth of field by finally keeping the exposure equivalence with 2 frames only.

0 Exposure

Shallow Depth of Field

Deep Depth of Field