Author: ddreyer

Final Project Proposal

ddreyer

 

PROJECT TITLE : Life’s a Blur

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The project will be an exercise in the bokeh style of photography.  This is a Japanese photography style wherein the background and lighting blurs, while preserving the clarity of the foreground image.  One definition of this style is “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light”(Photoguide Japan).  This will be a unifying characteristic of the photographs within the series.  With this as the basis for the project, a series of images will be captured. Through these images, the sequence of life, and the joyous and painful moments that occur throughout, will be portrayed using a number of different subjects.  Such images may include a newborn or infant child, a child in a moment of joy, and the angst of young adulthood.  The series will continue forward in such a manner, capturing individuals at various stages of life.  The intent is to not only capture joyful moments, but also pensive, and pained emotions.  Photographs will be taken at unique locations, employing a variety of lighting techniques, not only in colors, but also in the methods use to capture the light through the use of custom designed filters.  There are a few methods which can be employed to create quality bokeh effects, primarily by using a shallow focus to create little depth of field in the focal range, and by increasing the distance between the subject and the background.  Additionally, the telephoto and portrait lenses are best at creating a quality bokeh effect, and both will be used to capture the best examples possible.

 

OUTCOMES:

The intent for this project is to capture between 8-10 images which will work to document one’s journey through life, and the milestone moments that one may experience.  The likely print size will be 8”x10” photos.  The presentation may be such that they are hung in a linear fashion along a line from the ceiling, so that you would walk through the stages of life, or along a wall with a few feet between each that would also parallel the “walk through the journey of life.”

 

METHODS AND MATERIALS:

The project will be shot with the Canon Rebel T5 with the standard 18-55mm lens mount, and the 2.2x Telephoto lens attachment.  Various types of lights will be used for the background bokeh effects, including Christmas lights, candles, natural lighting reflections, streetlights, and ring light patterns which I will create.  Prior to setting up shots, the lighting colors and effects which will best suit the nature of each “moment” will be determined, and multiple styles may be deployed on each portrait.  Additionally, a variety of custom filters will be designed and placed on the end of the lens, to give distinct visual patterns to the lights as they are captured, further setting each image apart from one another.

 

REFERENCES:

https://photographylife.com/what-is-bokeh

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/beautiful-examples-of-bokeh-photography/

 

 

 

Work & Leisure

ddreyer

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Final Constructed Image of Work & Leisure

 

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The initial images which were used. The image where I am in the hammock was used as the background, and each additional image of myself was carefully lassoed and inserted as individual layers, and then were manipulated with the brush tool, using varying opacity levels.  The Gaussian blur tool was used on the handstand image to provide more focal consistency with the image background.  Lastly, layers were used with minor manipulation to exposure and contrast, and the final image was cropped to remove some of the overexposed sky to provide more consistency of exposure throughout the image.

 

The images were shot using my Canon Rebel T5 with the standard 18-55mm lens, with a wide-angle lens mounted to this set-up.

Light Painting: Photographic magic!

ddreyer

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Initial attempt while using cell phone flashlight as lighting source.  Didn’t like the afterglow below the source, but it provided a starting point for focus and exposure length.  All photos were taken with the 18-55 mm lens, with auto-focus disabled.

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Practicing shapes, designs, and patterns.  The light source was a lighter with a small blue led light in the bottom.

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Taken with a smell 5 diode LED light.  I especially like the last image, which was done accidentally but provides a surreal, ghastly effect and disorienting shadows from the light being covered and moved to different sides of the body.

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Designs created while using a lighter.  After the initial two photos, I used an object which was held behind the lighter so as to minimize backlighting.

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Using 2 long candles.

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Attempts at “painting” two medicine balls with light sources.  While casting a glow with the blue light, I used the LED light to “flash” the balls from different angles.

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For these images, I again employed the small LED flashlight as a “flash” directed toward points on the vehicle, often hitting each wheel for about 1/2 second, and then attempted to use the blue light to outline the vehicle.  Exposure time was between 25-30 seconds.

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The Camera – Understanding Basic Techniques of Photography

ddreyer

Shot using the Canon EOS Rebel T5  with the standard 18-55mm lens, except for the depth of field shots, which used the 75-300mm lens