Image of the week #15

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This week in image of the week:

I’m off on my themes again. Following on from last week here is another photograph I have took of the Royal Liver Buildings. Again from the Mersey Ferry which I think gives you one of the best views of the building.

At the moment there is a lot of construction on the Pier Head which you can see in the photo, due to Liverpool being the 2008 Capital of Culture, so there are some improvements taking place that will be great when they are finished.

Mandy

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TPB Monthly Round Up #3

Here’s the TPB monthly round up for March, doesn’t time fly!

I’ve found some really interesting information this month, so without waffling on too much about it here they are:

You may have heard me talking about the Photography 101 course that I am following on The Digital Photography School blog, well they are written by an Austrailian photographer called Neil Creek who has his own blog and is also part of the new fine art photoblog. Both sites are really good with some fantastic photographs, I could learn a lot from these guys.

I’ve also opened my first Flickr account this month for sharing my Photo 365 pictures, I knew nothing about Flickr before this month, and I’m finding it to be a really useful and easy to use photo management system. It’s full of features and I’m sure it will take a while for me to get acquainted with them. I’m hoping to set up my flickr photo stream on my blog, so we’ll see how long it takes me to figure that one out!

And last but not least I have discovered Squidoo, well I’ve known about it but I haven’t used it until this month. It’s a service where you can set up a web page or ‘lens’ for free to do with an interest or hobby or just about absolutely anything you fancy. So I have started some on photography, it’s a great way to promote a blog or site that you are involved with and would like more people to know about. You can make as many ‘lenses’ as you like and change them as often as you like so it’s nice and flexible.

Mandy

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The Basics of How a Camera Lens Works

Lenses and Focusing

This is what lesson 2 of the Photography 101 course that I am following has been looking at. I have found it really interesting because knowing how a lens works and focuses in on a subject, helps me to understand more when things go wrong or wont work how I want them to!

It looks at how light bends or refracts and how it then reacts when traveling through or onto a surface or object. For example if light hits the surface of water at an angle then because one edge of the ray of light has hit the water first it will bend. How much it bends depends on the angle it hit the water in the first place.

Lenses

And that’s how lenses work, by bending the light coming through the lens we can get the light to focus on one point. Depending on how much the lens is able to bend or refract the light, and what angle the light hits the lens.

Focusing

And that’s where focusing comes in. If parallel light hits a lens it will pass through and converge at the same point. But if the light hits the lens at an angle then the lens bends the light to focus on one point. The point at which the light then meets again on the other side of the lens is called the focal point, and that changes depending on how much the light has been bent. The distance from the lens to the focal point is measured in mm which you will recognize from the way different lenses are described.

Now we get to the homework

Every week there is a list of homework choices that you can have a go at, which is great because it helps me to cement in my mind what has been taught in the lesson. So this week I chose to demonstrate the refraction of light by doing the old pencil in a bowl of water experiment.

As you can see in the photos it shows exactly what I have been trying to explain! I always like to see a visual explanation, it’s just easier to understand.

I also noticed that the rim of the bowl that is thicker than the rest of the bowl, refracts the light as well. Which reminds me even more of a lens.

I’m enjoying posting about the course in this way, although it’s not a detailed review of the lesson’s it’s my way of confirming what I have learned. To post and talk about the new knowledge I now have helps me remember it, and using it increases my understanding of it. I hope it helps you too by giving a very simplified view of the excellent lessons in the Photography 101 course.
Mandy

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Image of the Week #14

This week in image of the week:

This is a photograph of the HMS Bulwark while it was visiting Liverpool a couple of weeks ago, and is the newest in a long line of Bulwark’s. It’s a very impressive looking ship especially with the back drop of the Royal Liver Building, I took it while traveling on one of the Mersey Ferries so I got really close to it.

It was great to see it as my Uncle served on one of it’s predecessor’s the HMS Bulwark RO8 Commando Carrier, it was also used as an aircraft carrier but was scrapped in 1981 so seeing the new one is the nearest I’ll get to seeing my Uncle’s one.

I would have loved to have a look around it, but I can’t have everything can I!

Mandy

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Photography 101 - 2nd Lesson

This week the second lesson of the Photography 101 course that I’m following is looking at lenses and focus.

Looking at the theoretical side to bending light, lenses and focusing. Some people haven’t liked the fact that the two lessons have been based around theory, and want to get down to the nitty gritty of taking photos. But I can see where Neil Creek who is writing the course is coming from.

It’s a long time since I was in a physics lesson, which I did used to enjoy. But at the time I didn’t see the relevance for physics in everyday life outside of a lab, yes I liked the cool experiments that we did, but I was only young and more interested in the latest rock and pop bands of the day!

But now I can see how physics is a fundamental and very important part of photography and me being able to do it better. If I can understand the basics of how light behaves and how my equipment deals with that, then I am in a better position for making the right choices in settings and lenses when taking photographs. I always find I am better at understanding something if I know how it works rather than just being told it works.

I’ve found these lessons really interesting and I’m learning a lot, or should I say remembering a lot (of physics anyway)!
Looking forward to lesson 3…

Mandy

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How to Make a Camera Obscura

Making a Camera Obscura is one of the homework choices for lesson 1 of the Photography 101 course on the Digital Photography School Blog.

What is a Camera Obscura?

Camera Obscura or ‘dark chamber’ is one of the earliest ways of producing an image, the idea is very old and first documented a 1,000 years ago.

Basically it is a lightproof box or room with a small hole in one end, light travels through the hole and forms an image on the opposite side or wall to the hole. Because of the way that light travels and behaves the image that is produced is up side down.

Due to the small hole only letting a bit of light through the image is faint but has very good perspective and detail. If you made a larger hole the image would be stronger, but the more rays of light that pass through the hole the more they overlap, and consequently the image is not as sharp. The small hole directs the light better.

This gives us a basic understanding of how the aperture works on a camera, and how the size of the aperture and the amount of light that passes through it affects the image that is created.

So what did I do?

I decided to use my spare room to make my camera obscura, it only has one window and is very handily box shaped. I completely covered the window in a combination of foil and masking tape, making sure there was no light getting through, or as much as I could anyway. Then I made a small hole in the middle of the foil. I also made a screen for the image and propped it up in front of the window. My wallpaper is textured and I didn’t want to be too optimistic about how well the image would make it to the wall!

It didn’t work the first time…

These things never do. It worked in the fact that there was an image on the screen, but it was a reflection of the foil on my window. It was a very sunny day so the foil image was quite strong, because the foil was doing what it does best and reflecting that well (and getting quite hot) I think it was starting to cook the window.

So I had to redesign slightly and cover the back of the foil with paper to stop it reflecting. That did the trick though and sure enough an image of the houses across the road appeared on the screen, but up side down. And not as strong as the foil image, but I could see the detail of the clouds and the chimneys of the houses.

Was it worth it?

Oh yes, it was absolutely great when the image appeared on the screen. I really felt like I had achieved something, and I could say I had 100% created that image from basically foil, paper and masking tape. I was made up with it, and it was a lot of fun.

Unfortunately as much as I tried to take a photo of what I had done, my camera (a point and shoot) was not up to the job of shooting in such low light. So I haven’t got any photos of it, but I have shared some pictures of what the camera obscura looked like so you can get a feel for how it worked.

Mandy

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Wirral Egg Run Photos 2008

Wirral Egg Run

The Wirral Egg Run is a charity event that is held every year the week before Easter. Bikers gather at New Brighton with their easter eggs or donations and then ride through the Wirral ending up a Clatterbridge Hospital, to drop their eggs off for children in hospital over the easter period. Donations are collected for the Jellybean children’s appeal raising money for children in hospital.

There’s always a good turnout, whether it’s bikers or spectators, and it’s said that it’s the largest event of it’s kind in Britain, if not Europe. It’s hard to keep track but it’s estimated to have around 5,000 bikes involved and raises 1,000’s of pounds for the jellybean appeal each year.

I first went on the Egg Run in 1998 and I haven’t missed too many since then (only when I had the kids), my husband rides a motorbike so I ride pillion on that. I really enjoy going on the Egg Run and it’s great to help out a charity and the children in this way. The rain held off this year as well which is always good. Ooh I’ve just noticed while writing this that it’s 10 years since I first went on the egg run, it doesn’t seem that long ago!

Photos

Below are some photos that I took on this years egg run. This is where it’s handy to have a point and shoot as there isn’t a lot of space on the back of the bike to carry anything else! It’s hard though to capture the huge amount of bikes that take part, you only get a glimpse from the photo’s of part of the long line of bikes that snakes it’s way around the sea front at New Brighton. And it can take over 2 hours to complete the route because of the volume of bikes.

Mandy

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Image of the Week #13

This week in image of the week (week 13 lucky for some!):

This was taken with my usual Traveler DC-5080 in late afternoon, on a very windy day.

I had just walked through a lovely piece of untouched wind blown sand and thought I would take a photo of it with the sun in the background.

I don’t know about you but I love finding a bit of sand that nobody else has been through and make it my own, so to speak!

Although with my point and shoot I can’t do much with the sun, and it is a bit over powering in the photo. I do still like the creation and composition of the photograph, I just need to do something with the sun!

Mandy

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What is a pinhole camera?

Until this week I didn’t really know much about pinhole camera’s, ok I knew they were one of the first types of camera’s and very basic using a hole instead of a lens. But I had no idea what the photographs looked like or how you made and used one.

What is a pinhole camera?

It is the simplest of image making devices, it’s basically a light tight box with a small hole in one end, on the opposite side of the box is photographic film or paper which records the image (or light) that passes through the hole. Due to the way in which light behaves the image appears up side down on the back side of the box. I heard about them from the Photography 101 course I am following on the Digital Photography School blog which I talked about in my last post.

So how do you make one?

I had an image in my head of a pinhole camera being very old and made out of polished wood! I was amazed when I found out they are used widely today and can be made out of just about any kind of box or can. So much for what I know! There are loads of great pinhole images on flickr if you want to see what they look like.

You can buy kits that you can build yourself which sounds kind of cool, I like the idea of making a camera from scratch and then taking photos with it. And there are loads of different kits around to choose from. Take a look at these examples, pinhole camera kits.

Or you can make one from scratch out of household things, people have made pinhole cameras out of coffee tins, cereal boxs, cookie tins by the sound of it pretty much anything. Take a look:

Oatmeal box pinhole camera
Pinhole polaroid camera
Pringles pinhole camera

This is definitely the hands on technique, but I’m not sure about working out (and getting it right) the exposure time by measuring the size of the hole against the distance from the hole to the film. It sounds like a little bit of trial and error, but that’s what this type of photography is all about doing it completely from scratch, and knowing you really did create the image!

I never considered using a pinhole camera before, but I’m really interested to have a go now!

Mandy

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Photography 101 - First Lesson?

Did anyone else go over to the Digital Photography School blog on Monday and read Neil Creek’s first lesson of the Photography 101 course, Light and the Pinhole camera?

I did and I found it really interesting. He is starting with the basics of how photography works which I like, because the better the foundation and knowledge of how photography works the better understanding I will have to take photographs.

Light

He starts off with a basic introduction to light and how it behaves, which takes me back to my physics lessons in school. Seeing as you capture differing levels of light to make an image it’s good to understand a little about light.

Pinhole Camera

Next he looks at how you can capture that light, by explaining about Camera Obscura’s which have been used for 1,000’s of years and are the forerunners to the modern camera. The idea is you have a box (which can be room sized) with a pinhole in one end, the light will then travel through the hole and hit the opposite side or wall to form an image (upside down). Obviously the box has to be light proof except for the hole. Camera Obscura’s were used by artists who would use paper or canvas on the opposite wall of the camera obscura to trace the image produced by the hole.

Pinhole camera’s work the same as camera obscura’s and are usually made out of some sort of box with photographic film or paper attached to the back side to capture the image. You can see how camera’s developed from this, the hole being the aperture of the camera.

Homework assignments

At the end of each lesson there are a list of homework assignments that you can do if you would like, this week I have chosen to make my own camera obscura - hopefully!

The idea being that you choose a room with one window and completely cover the window with card or foil blocking out all the light, and then put a pinhole in the covering, you should then see an image appear on the opposite wall (hopefully) of the outside, but upside down. I’ll let you know how it goes!

There are several room size camera obscura’s around that you can go and visit instead of making one, here’s a few:

Royal Observatory Greenwich, London
Dumfries Museum & Camera Obscura
Griffith Observatory, California
Havana, Cuba Camera Obscura
North Carolina Museum of Art

Mandy

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