Principles of Design - Assignment 1 ( Self Portrait )

We were given an assignment to do some research on different type of art movements. After that, we need to choose one art movement that describe us best and create a self-potrait based on the art movement we chose. The self-portrait need to be done on an A3 sized paper.

When i was browsing through the art movements on wikipedia, I felt a slight headache when i saw so many art movements. But among the huge selections, i was caught by an art movement named cubism.

Cubism was invented around 1907 in Paris by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. It was the first abstract style of modern art. A Cubist painting ignores the traditions of perspective drawing and shows you many views of a subject at one time. Cubists introduced collage into painting. It was were influenced by art from other cultures, particularly African masks. There are two distinct phases of the Cubist Style: Analytical Cubism and Synthetic Cubism. Their aim was to develop a new way of seeing which reflected the modern age.

The key characteristics of cubism is geometricity, the implication of figures and objects into geometrical components and planes that may or may not add up to the whole figure or object known in the natural world. Cubism is the approximation of the Fourth Dimension. It is conceptual, instead of perceptual, reality. Distortion and deformation of known figures and forms in the natural world made cubism interesting.

Introduction to Photography - Exercise 2.1

21th February 2014( Week 3)
Niew Seen Ying (0317961)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise 2: Aperture

Lecture
During the previous lecture, we were told to bring a camera with a manual mode and a tripod. Mr. Vinod shared some of the links and videos regarding to an aperture. I did browse through some of the links and watched the video he posted on the post and slightly understood what is an aperture.

Mr. Vinod explained what is an aperture and what is the effect of it on the quality of a picture. Besides that, he also told us how the aperture works.

Aperture refers to the opening of a lens's diaphragm through which light passes.

Aperture:
-Controls the amount of light entering the lens.
-Controls depth of field in your camera.

A lens typically has a set of marked "f-stops"  (Focal length). The lower the f/stop, the larger the opening in the lens, the less depth of field, the blurrier the background.
The higher the f/stop, the smaller the opening in the lens, the greater the depth of field,the sharper the background.

The f/stop also affects shutter speed. Using a low f/stop means more light is entering the lens and therefore the shutter doesn't need to stay open as long to make a correct exposure which translates into a faster shutter speed. Again, the reverse is true: using a high f/stop means that less light is entering the lens and therefore shutter will need to stay open a little longer which translates into a slower speed.   

                                                  

We did exercise 2 on the same day. Instructions are as below.

Instructions
Exercise 2a
1. Set the cameras on tripods to get a shot of the railings.
2. Once we decided our frame on the railings, do not change the position of the camera.
3. Keep the ISO at 200.
4. Set our aperture to the lowest f-number. ( f 5.6, f 8, f 11,...)
5. Take a picture of your repetitive subject starting with the exposure meter of 0 with a the right combination of shutter speed and aperture.
6. Do not change the shutter settings as the aperture is increased. 

F 5.0 | S1/1000 | ISO 200

F 5.6 | S1/1000| ISO 200

F 8.0 | S1/1000 | ISO 200

\

 F 11.0 | S1/1000 | ISO 200

F 16.0 | S1/1000 | ISO 200

F 22.0 | S1/1000 | ISO 200

Reflection
Through this exercise, I realize that the aperture affects the exposure of the pictures. As above, the pictures is gradually getting darker as the aperture gets smaller. This shows that the amount of light entering the lens is controled by the aperture.

Exercise 2b

1. Take a picture of your repetitive subject starting with the right exposure combination of shutter speed and aperture. 

2. Start your aperture setting from the lowest number (f5.6/f8.0/f11.0)

3. Compensate the increase of your aperture with your shutter settings as the aperture is increased to maintain the light exposure at 0.

4. Maintain the ISO at 200.

F 5.0 | S1/1000 | ISO 200

F 5.6 | S1/800 | ISO 200

F8.0 | S1/500 | ISO200

F 11.0 | S1/200 | ISO 200

F 16.0 | S 1/160 | ISO 200

F 22.0 | S1/60 | ISO 200

Reflection

Through this exercise, I learned how to control the aperture and shutter speed of the camera to get the right exposure.When the aperture gets smaller, the depth of field of the picture increases, thus the background of the pictures are sharper. Besides, this makes me realize how the aperture settings and shutter speed affects the quality of a picture. The aperture not only affects the shutter speed and the amount of light entering the lens. It also contols the clarity of a picture.

Feedback
General Feedback: Mr. Vinod told us that all of us have some slight mistakes in our e-portfolio. We need to be more precise on our explanation and reflection. This will help us during our career life.

Specific Feedback: Overall my work was accurate. I have some typing error on two of my photos which make the details of the pictures inaccurate. Mr. Vinod told me that the clarity and the depth of field is the same. He also said that i can be more specific while writing the observations and reflections of each exercise.

Screenshot

Introduction to Photography - Exercise 1( Presentation)

14th February 2014 (Week 2)
Niew Seen Ying (0317961)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise 1: Presentation

Lecture

After everyone in class presented their photos, Mr. Vinod presented his best-liked photos and introduce us to some of the photographers he admires.

He introduce us to Herb Ritts, a black and white photographer.He became famous through fashion industrie and the models he captured had a 3d feel in photos. Besides that, Herb Ritts are able to capture white on white.

 Mr. Vinod also introduce Mark Seliger. He is famous for his works of Rolling Stones. He is also well known for profiles.

Prabuddha Dasgupta, an India based photographer. Mr. Vinod introduce him work as honest fashion. He is also known for profiles.

Richard Avedon is also an amazing photographer.

Raghu Rai is also the photographer he introduced to us. I admire some of his work and the passion he had for photography.

 After that, Mr.Vinod showed us some of his photos he took during his career.Then he gave everyone a general feedback.

Feedback

General Feedback: We must be clear during a presentation. Do not mumble as we are presenting in front of            a crowd and to make them understand you. We also need to find info regarding to the things we are going to present and plan our presentation beforehand. Besides that, we are encourage to ask questions during classes to make us understand better.

Specific Feedback: Mr. Vinod said that I need to elaborate more on the info's of my pictures. I'm also lacking confidence during the presentation as I lost my words for a few seconds.

Reflection

After I saw and listened to everyone's presentation, I felt that I'm too nervous and was not confident enough to present in front of a crowd. I need to stay calm and boost up my confidence so that I will be able to present better in the future. Besides, I need to improve my vocabulary and prepare before presentations so that I will not repeat the same mistakes and lost for words once again.

Principles of Design - Assignment 1 ( Self Potrait and Mind Map)

Since Miss Lisa was sick last week, she gave us an assignment on producing a mindmade regarding ourself.
The mindmap is supposed to explain who are we and to make others understand myself better. The mindmap could be in any form.

For today's class, Miss Lisa asked us to go around the campus and gather some materials to make a self potrait. Two hours were given to us to finish our self potrait. The only exception is to nut buy anything.

Below will be my mind map and my self potrait.

I made a cow as my self potrait cause i was often called as a cow by my group of friends due to my surname  which is niew. When it is direct translated to chinese it means cow.

For the mind map, I divided the branches to three main parts which is my basic information, interest and personality. 

Introduction to Photography - Exercise 1

7th February 2014 (Week 1)
Niew Seen Ying (0317961)
Introduction to Photography
Exercise 1: My Ten Best-liked Photos

Lecture
On our first photography class, Mr. Vinod gave us a briefing on the module, the things we need to prepare for the upcoming classes and some features of a camera. He also showed us some photos he took throughout his career.

Mr. Vinod lecture us on the things we should look out for a DSLR camera. He introduce us to the CCD sizes and the effects of the power of lens to the quality of a picture.

Objectives of the module
• To learn to take pictures using the manual mode of their camera.
• To be able to achieve good composition and exposure.

Learning Outcomes of the module
Upon successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. Use exposure settings (Aperture, Shutter Speed & ISO).
2. Use the Zone System exposure technique to achieve desired results.
3. Distinguish a bad exposure from a good exposure.
4. Apply the Rule of Thirds for composition.
5. Use Adobe Photoshop to edit pictures at a basic level.

Towards the end of the class, Mr. Vinod gave us our first exercise which we will need prepare a presentation on 10 of our best-liked pictures for the next class.

Instructions
1. Log on to facebook and send a request to join the group Introduction2photography
2. Go on to yourbrief.wordpress.com and use the password student to obtain information about the course       and exercises
3. Create an ePortfolio using either wordpress or blogger
4. Prepare A4 sized clear pocket files, laptop, DSLR camera and a tripod stand.
5. Finish up Exercise 1 and present it in the next class

Exercise 1: Presentation of 10 of your best-liked pictures
In this exercise students will explain the reasons they like the chosen pictures, what they found interesting when taking/choosing or after taking/choosing the picture. Students’ have to choose pictures that are not their own as well but must credit and explain the circumstances of the picture. Student will present 5 pictures of their own and 5 pictures of 5 different photographers. By this process students exercise their ability to discern and reflect on what makes a good picture theoretically.

These are the marking criteria of the exercise.

1. Content (3%) :
Marking Criteria: The presentation must showcase a variety of pictures: personal (5 self shots), landscape, portrait, still life, etc. AND from 5 different photographers. All pictures must be credited and explained.

2. Clarity of presentation (2%):

Marking Criteria: The student must be clear and concise in their delivery and explanation of their pictures. Evidence of understand can be deduced by their analysis, explanation and confidence of their delivery.

Work

Photographer: Brother 

Location: Cameron Highlands  

Explanation: I like how the water droplets on the flower were captured very clearly. It made the flower looks lively in the picture.

     Photographer: Me

 Location: Black Sand Beach, Pulau Langkawi

Explanation: I’m surprised that the clear blue sea and the black sand make a good combination. I cannot resist taking a picture of the beautiful sea view.

  Photographer: Me

Location: Colmar Tropicale, Bukit Tinggi

Explanation: Amused by the architecture of the buildings and enjoyed the good weather there. 

Photographer: Me

Location: My House, Petaling Jaya

Explanation: I find him very adorable wearing a shower cap on its own. I can’t help but to take a picture of him.

Photographer: Me

Location: Pantai Morib, Selangor

Explanation: Felt the happiness of a mother playing a kite with his son. This picture captured the happy moments of my family.

Photographer: Svetlana Belyaev

Explanation: This photo has a warm lighting. The sheer cloth on the model is covered with beautiful shades of colours which makes it seems more appealing.

Photographer: Andrew Gransden

Location: Falkland Island

Explanation: I like the interactions between the penguins. The penguins were captured in their natural environment and the details like their fur are clearly seen.

Photographer: Zhang Jingna

Location: Los Angeles

Explanation: I like how the photographer manages to capture the picture with a magical and mysterious feeling. The model looks as if she is really porcelain.

Photographer: Steve McCurry

Location: Afghan

Explanation: This picture is visually stunning and has a strong message within it. The colours work out to be very appealing and appropriate to the theme.

Photographer: Yeong Geun Kim

Location: Studio

Explanation: I like how she uses a white background to give a contrast on the black tutu. It brings out the elegance and temperament of a ballerina.

Screenshots

Feedback

Specific Feedback; Mr. Vinod said that I did some slight mistakes on the e-portfolio but overall it was okay.

Reflection

I get to know what makes a good picture and the effort photographers give in to capture a great photo. I hope I will be able to take some good pictures in the future.