Author Archives: Rafael C

by | December 20, 2012 · 8:00 pm

Final Evaluation: Rafael Cespedes

This class was a great experience! Before this semester i had no knowledge of how to use a DSLR or take good pictures at all. It was all unknown to me and this class was a great opening step. The one thing i learned that i completely had to idea about before is the importance of lighting when taking a photograph. Lighting can completely change the emotional tone, or message in a photo. In addition to that i also learned how to use a camera in general, that includes setting shutter speed, aperture, ISO if needed and so on. When this class started i was mostly shooting in auto or aperture/shutterspeed priority but for the last few months i been able to shoot in manual without a problem. The part i enjoyed the most about this class were thnd this class was a great opening step. The one thing i learned that i completely had to idea about before is the importance of lighting when taking a photograph. Lighting can completely change the emotional tone, or message in a photo. In addition to that i also learned how to use a camera in general, that includes setting shutter speed, aperture, ISO if needed and so on. When this class started i was mostly shooting in auto or aperture/shutterspeed priority but for the last few months i been able to shoot in manual without a problem. The part i enjoyed the most about this class were the in-class assignments. I feel there could not had been a better way to teach us photography than to actually make us do it. The messing with light and motion was probably my favorite.

 

Overall this class was really helpful, i’m glad i took it.

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Filed under Final Evaluation, Learning Logs

by | November 29, 2012 · 11:16 am

Motion

 

This is my favorite photo from todays assignment. I really like how we were able to capture Kiefer jumping and how he used the scarf as a jumping rope. In addition to that his face expression and lighting work really well, it looks like he’s actually putting effort into it.

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by | · 8:41 am

Suggestions

My partner recommended I include more angle shots of several items/people. For my next location i’ll try to pick a place were i can get a lot of portrait shots, mostly because i have to work with the 35mm lens. At the moment I do however plan on going to the Bronx Zoo, or maybe MOMA.

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by | November 15, 2012 · 11:10 am

Lights

This is one of my favorite pictures. We were able to achieve this effect by having a very slow shutter speed, at the time we took this picture it was 4 seconds. The aperture was really close as well, for this picture we used F13. These settings work because we had really low light with the exception of the flashlights and the flash itself, also the shutter speed was really slow so the movement of the flashlights was captured. I like the fact that in this particular picture it looks like the colored lights are actually going around her.

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Filed under Learning Log 7-Painting with Light, Learning Logs

by | October 18, 2012 · 10:19 am

Greenwood Cemetery

During our visit to the Brooklyn Historical Society we learned the history of Greenwood Cemetery. At the time to me Greenwood seem like a very historical landmark and once i actually visited the cemetery i noticed why it is so important. The first two things i noticed were how big the cemetery it self is and how beautiful the environment around the tombs is. The simple fact that they have multiple lakes/ponds of water was surprising to me, specially since after all is only a cemetery. This also made me realize why the cemetery was advertised so much and why certain families are willing to pay big money be to be buried there.

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by | October 4, 2012 · 11:10 am

Portrait shot

1. What are important factors to consider when shooting a portrait?

The light, pose of the person and how much you’re cropping.

2. What is the difference between broad and short lighting?

Broad has a higher light distance, shorter lighting focuses on less space (diameter)

3. In a classic basic portrait set up, what is the function of the main light?

The main light is the primary light source, used to light the subjects face and body.

4. In a classic basic portrait set up, what is the function of  he fill light?

Fill light is a reflector used to bounce the light from the main light source.

5. In a classic basic portrait set up, what is the function of the background light?

Background light can be used to make a silhouette or a halo effect behind the person.

This is my favorite picture out of the many i took today. What i specially like about it is how the portrait works with the white space, it seems fairly balanced. In addition to that the light is hitting Josephs face straight, which in my opinion is perfect for this type photos (since he’s facing side ways). I like how the shadows in his hands get darker as it approaches his face. Something i would of liked to change is maybe have a lighter background, i think it would of looked better with this shot.

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Filed under Learning Log 5-Portrait Basics, Learning Logs

by | October 3, 2012 · 11:38 pm

Daguerreotype of Christina Payne Hallock, circa 1855, DAG.04; Photography collection; Brooklyn Historical Society

Daguerreotype are photographs engraved in coppered plates. It was one of the first successful photographic process. At the time it was invented (19th century) they mainly consisted of a portrait shot put into a very decorative frame. Like the example above from the Brooklyn Historical library you can see how much detail was put into what surrounded the photograph. It was all handmade and not only was it framed but it also had a cover made of a fancy patterned cloth material.

Daguerreotype photography is very different from todays ways. In todays world less focused is put on the decorative surrounding the photograph, and more attention is put on the actual meaning the photograph is trying to convey. We have moved far beyond only photographing portraits. Like the example i give below of flowers i shot during class you can see how i put a lot of enphaces on the light hitting the flower and how the flowers were placed. Those are things that people working on daguerreotypes probably wouldn’t pay much attention to. I could imagine them spending more time planning out the cover and frame than actually taking the photograph. In addition to that because of todays technology we are more flexible when taking photographs and because of how fast-paced our world is we try to convey as much powerful of a meaning as we can in every picture and care less about the extra stuff like actually framing it.

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by | September 26, 2012 · 1:14 am

Botanic Garden: Best Shot

Out of the whole bunch this was my best shot. I did crop it a little, the bee was centered and i decided to crop out part of the top and right side of the frame. In my opinion what makes this shot most interesting is how the flower is leaning, it makes it seem like the bee is actually pushing the flower down. The light is coming from behind the bee which gives it a interesting halo effect and the sharp focus removes the background and lets the viewers eye completely focus on the bee.

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Filed under Learning Log 3 - Botanic Garden, Learning Logs, Uncategorized

by | September 13, 2012 · 11:11 am

Sunflower: Backlight

I really like this shoot. The mood of the bended sunflower adds to the backlight composition and evokes a lot of emotions. Although the flower is not completely dark i think it works great.

 

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Filed under Learning Log 2-Lighting Direction, Learning Logs

by | September 6, 2012 · 11:04 am

Rafael C: Chair shoot

Out of all of the shoots i took this one stood out a lot, the half-circle makes nice contrast against the floor. In addition to that the focused centered gives the side of the chair top touching the floor a interesting sharp yet curved look. The little splatters of red paint are also catchy and since the background is not busy your eyes are fully focused on the chair and its details.

 

 

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Filed under learning log 1-Composition, Learning Logs