Statement of intent - Assignment 208 Theme 2 Nature

Statement of intent

Assignment 208 Principles of location photography
 

Theme 2 - Nature

Intentions/purpose of the photography to be taken.

To illustrate the nature theme with a variety of landscapes including waterscapes, seascapes and woodland. Also the flora and fauna that is found there. 

Reasons for the selection of theme (including inspiration from work of others).

I have always been interested in landscape and nature photography.
The professional photographers work that I have researched to help with this theme are:
Adam Burton, Ed Collacott, Charlie Waite, Wayne Brittle, Tim Parkin and Joe Cornish. 
The Internet and local knowledge was used to choose locations for this theme.

The photo imaging equipment and medium that will be used and why. 

I will be using an Canon 350D SLR digital camera because it will give me the flexibility to take the images that are required for this theme. The images will be presented as electronic digital images.

Lenses available:

Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 EX DC, Sigma 55-200 f/4.5-5.6 DC, Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro. 

These lenses should cover the focal lengths and apertures requirements to obtain good images for this theme. As the camera has a "C" size sensor with a 1.6 magnification factor the lenses will cover a 35 mm equivalent of 29 to 480 mm focal length and a macro capability of 2:1.

Accessories:

Tripod: Manfrotto 055 with a 3D head.

Canon Remote Switch RS-60E3 (Cable Release).

These accessories are very important to keep the camera steady to be able to produce high quality images in particular if the light conditions are low.

Techniques that will be used and how they will help convey the visual message.

The images used will need to reflect nature in general showing aspects of landscape, waterscape, trees, plants and agriculture. 

How light quality can be used to help convey the visual message. 

Light quality is very important in showing nature in all its varied forms. If images are taken at midday with the sun directly overhead it is unlikely that the textures and key features of the landscape will be shown to advantage but in the morning and later in the day would be better. There may also be benefits from the colour of light available very early or late in the day i.e. shortly after sunrise will be a cool or blue light and a little before sunset will often be a warm yellow, orange or red light.

Safety considerations. 

Other people in the environment where the photographs are being taken must be taken into account and considered when taking the images. This is very important when using a tripod as they take up a lot of room and people could trip on one of the legs.

Statement of intent - Assignment 208 Theme 1 Built Environment

Statement of intent.

Assignment 208 Principles of location photography

Theme 1 - Built Environment

Intentions/purpose of the photography to be taken.

To illustrate with some key examples how secular and religious architectural styles of buildings have changed through history.

Reasons for the selection of theme and stimulus material (including inspiration from the work of others).

I have always been interested in photographing buildings and the built environment in general. I find the change in style and construction of buildings a fascinating subject and that capturing images of the buildings is the best way to convey their style and place in history.
I have researched the work of the following professional photographers to help with inspiration and techniques for the theme:
Richard Southall, Paul Thetford, Ian Aiken, Val Corbett, Lance Wittenberg and David Churchill.
The following books were used in my research for the Theme:
The Architecture of Britain by Doreen Yarwood.
Built in Britain by Gillian Darley.
English Parish Churches by Edwin Smith, Olive Cook and Graham Hutton.
England's Thousand Best Churches by Simon Jenkins.
Betjeman's Best British Churches updated by Richard Surman.
The Internet was also used for additional research material. 

The photo imaging equipment and medium that will be used and why.

I will be using an Canon 350D SLR digital camera because it will give me the flexibility to take the images that are required for this theme. The images will be presented as electronic digital images.

Lenses Available:

Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 EX DC, Sigma 55-200 f/4.5-5.6 DC, Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro. These lenses should cover the focal lengths and apertures requirements to obtain good images for this theme. As the camera has a "C" size sensor with a 1.6 magnification factor the lenses will cover a 35 mm equivalent of 29 to 480 mm focal length and a macro capability of 2:1.

Accessories:

Tripod: Manfrotto 055 with a 3D head.

Canon Remote Switch RS-60E3 (Cable Release).
These accessories are very important to keep the camera steady to be able to produce high quality images in particular if the light conditions are low.

Techniques that will be used and how they will help convey the visual message.

The images used will need to reflect the key features of each building that demonstrate its age and the style of architecture. Angle of view and time of day will need to be taken into consideration to show the details of the buildings.

How light quality can be used to help convey the visual message.

Light quality and which part of a building is in sunlight or shade at a given part of the day is a vital part of obtaining the best possible photograph of a building. If images are taken at midday with the sun directly overhead it is unlikely that key features of texture will be shown to advantage but in the morning and later in the day would be better. Some buildings may also benefit from the colour available very early or late in the day i.e. shortly after sunrise or a little before sunset. This is often the case with buildings constructed of sandstone which will benefit from the orange light late in the day.

Safety considerations.

When photographing buildings the people using the building must be taken into consideration so that their access to the building is not blocked. This is very important when using a tripod as they take up a lot of room and people could trip on one of the legs.

Previous work and comparison of my images with other photographers

Below are some images that I have taken in the past that show the type of photographs that I take and what influences me. 

Above is an image that I took on Roanoak Island, North Carolina, USA. There are some similarities between this image and the one below taken by Joe Cornish. I have included a boat that was moored at the end of the boardwalk to the lighthouse which detracts from the photo but it may be possible to remove this boat in Photoshop. The time of day and hence the lighting may well have contributed to the very good image taken by Joe. Also Joe has a much better sky in his photograph. If I had used a graduated grey filter when taking the image this may have improved the sky or again it may be possible to improve the sky in photoshop. 

The perspective is very important in the two images above and the one point perspective demonstrated in the drawing below shows how this perspective works.  

Other examples of my previous work

The two images below I took about two years ago of the Saxon church St Laurance Bradford-on-Avon.

Another church in Bradford-on-Avon with a Norman arch dorway. 

The pier at Cromer

The Elizabethan Gardens, Roanoke Island, North Carolina, USA

Beach and harbour images, Roanoak Island, North Carolina, USA

Biddulph Grange Gardens, Staffordshire

East Ruston House and Gardens, Norfolk

About me

Until the end of July I was working for Advantage West Midlands the Regional Development Agency as a Partnerships Manager.
I would now like to develop my interest in Photography. I would like to concentrate on landscape photography and see if I am able to make some income from this by selling images to picture banks etc.

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