In this work record I would like to explore the flowers and wildlife that is found in the garden during the summer months. During this shoot I plan to use a Macro lens and a telephoto (zoom) lens in my Cannon EOS 1000D camera.
Research influences
This image has a shallow depth of field, focusing on the flower and hoverfly. The amount of detail that I shown in the wings and body of the insect shows that a macro lens was used. the background is blurred, again, drawing attention to the insect and flower. I like this image because it conveys a sense of calm and serenity by using muted tones instead of highly saturated images.
Photographer – John Freeman
Within this image, the point of focus is on the middle of the flower. This is caused by the blur that has been created around the edges of the flower as well as over the grass behind. The colours that are in the image also draw the eye to the flower due to the brightest colour, the yellow pollen, being contrasted by the white petals. The composition is set so that the flower is to the right of the frame, further drawing the viewers eye.
In the above image, bright colours have been used by this photographer in order to draw the point of focus to the flowers. The bee is also in focus however, it is clear from the more colour saturated areas, that the photographer didn’t want it to be the main focus as the bee is of low saturation and does not initially catch the viewers attention.
Photographer – Gary Dem
I think that this photograph is slightly different to the other images that I have used in this section due to the amount of colours and textures that are present. I think that this image has a lot of background noise compared to the others however I do not think that this works against the image. this photograph shows me another style of nature photography and has made me think that in order to achieve images that are to my preference, I must pay attention to not only the subject in focus, but everything else that is in the frame as well.
My photographs
Contact sheets
My best images
As I am shooting all of my photos in RAW format all of my images all needed editing and improvement. However, after the editing stage, the are the images that I preferred are highlighted on the contact sheets.
Images that require improvement
Although all images needed editing as they were shot in RAW format, these images need improvement due to either incorrect camera settings, movement of the camera (no tripod used), or the image is not set up correctly.
AO3
My idea for recording the changing of the seasons was to photograph the seasonal flowers and animals in a garden setting, trying to create detailed images, with a shallow depth of field.
In relation to my best images, it happened to be, that in the chosen garden, that there was an abundance of Hoverflies, Butterflies and Bees. They happened to be on a lot of flowering plants, as shown. I wanted to try and capture the intricate details of their wings, their tiny coat of fur, or any interesting patterns. I feel that within this shoot, I accomplished that and that the images that I have produced are better than I had expected them to be.
Another part that I managed to capture was pollen, in the image containing the Bee, I managed to photograph the coating of pollen it had accumulated on itself, showing the shallow depth of field that I set out to achieve was accomplished.
One problem in particular that I came across was when photographing the insects. Like any animal, they were unpredictable and did not stay still for more than a second or so. this meant that I had to adapt my photography skills and change my camera settings to a faster shutter speed, meaning that others needed to change also.
Another problem was with light. Living and photographing in summertime, England, means that there is a high chance of clouds. This meant that if the light was darkened for a second, I would not have time to change the shutter speed in time, this would result in a dark and unclear photo. Or, the insect that I was trying to photograph would move away.
AO2
In this shoot I worked with a digital SLR camera (Canon EOS 1000D) and a tripod. This equipment allowed me to work with higher aperture settings in order to achieve the desired depth of field and sharpness within the images. To develop my technique I experimented by photographing my subject using different points of view, straight in front, above, below and at eye level, I also explored the use of photoshop to correct my images.
All camera settings that I used in order to take the photograph can be found below the best images at the bottom of the posts. However, in general, I used a short exposure time, which allowed my images to appear sharp. This also meant that a higher ISO was required as well as sometimes a larger aperture. This sometimes meant that in my attempts to achieve a sharper image, the large aperture, which tends to reduce the depth of field, meant that a more precise method of focusing was required. This shoot, I did not want nor require my images to have blur or movement but in later shoots I may experiment with this.
The depth of field allows for the main object to stand out in an otherwise distracting image. In my shoot, I tended to use lower apertures and smaller magnification, thus increasing the depth of field within my images. I tried to create Bokeh within my photographs, creating a good level of image quality and equal sharpness.
Within the final images, I feel that there is little to no noise, creating smooth and clinical images. During the shoot, I experimented with the ISO settings which allowed me to learn my cameras capabilities and end up with the images that I am most happy with. There is a high level of detail leading to large areas of softer tones, whilst keeping subtle tonal changes in the out of focus areas. This is due to being shot at the highest-quality settings available.
The use of accurate white balance was also required to allow myself room to adjust the colours within the images.
Further evidence of my improvement of technique can be found in Work Record 3.
AO1
how does the work relate to researched photographers?
In this shoot, I wanted to develop my images under the aim of showing a true summer. When editing in photoshop, I tried to correct and alter the colours present to depict the perfect summer: bright, colourful, soft and relaxing.
In relation to my research, I think that the images I have produced are influenced by the composition. I have tried to focus on improving my composition of my final photographs and in my opinion, it has been a success
Refining my work
When refining my work I used photoshop. this allowed me to change details that are so tiny it is barley visible, or to completely change the whole look of the image.
AO4
I think that by creating these images in this shoot, I have created a personal and meaningful response to the seasonal topic that I have chosen. I think they show detailed and clear images of some of the flowers and insects that can be found in the average garden during the summer time. I do think that if I were to use these images in my final portfolio I may have to reduce the saturation slightly as I have found that after review, my style is based around a much lower saturation level.
Progression
In my next shoot, I plan on changing the setting entirely, and take images at a beach. I want to focus on keeping the theme of the seasons in the British countryside so I feel that the beach is a suitable place to do so. I would like to focus on the colour and clarity of the images that I produce and I intend on using photoshop to edit and refine my images in order to achieve my goals.
Kate Watson - A Level Photography 
