Hi ShuGar Love readers! I hope you had a festive 4th of July. We sure did. We celebrated by buying a new car. I can’t think of anything more American than that!
As a child, I was afraid of shadows. I always associated shadows with ghosts, demons and anything else I was scared of (remember the movie Ghost?). Well, for my second photography class assignment, I was challenged to conquer my fear. Much like last week’s homework, we were instructed to take six photos where 60% or more of the frame consisted of natural shadows. The reality of the shadow should only appear slightly or not at all in each picture. The purpose of the assignment is to photograph shadows in a unique, not boring, way with interesting angles and textures.
I don’t know if this sounds easy to you, but it was far from it!
For those of you who read my previous post about my first photography assignment, you are familiar with my funny, cooky photography teacher. He was especially spunky for this class. He started class by going off on a rant on his frustration “why people do their whole damn vacation on their phone!” For him, it was blasphemous to ever do such a thing.
Inevitably, a student came in late and he loves to pick on those late students. I avoid being late at all cost because of this. This one female student sauntered in with a colorful blouse on. Our teacher immediately stopped his lecture, turned to her and yelled,” Nice top! You don’t look that good, but I like that.” The whole class burst out in nervous laughter.
The entire lecture was about lenses, which I found particularly intriguing because of the range of lens’ prices. He gave us great tips on which lens to buy and for what purpose. I was ferociously taking notes in the case that I could one day afford any of these lenses. He did warn us that the lenses that come with the camera are “pure caca” because they are very limiting. With a tinge of sarcasm, he told us, “I hope you’re not operating under the misconception that this is a cheap hobby.” I’m not. I’m all too familiar with all this equipment because I have seen Mr. ShuGar invest so much money using this same camera for its film capabilities.
My teacher did reiterate that photography is not a hobby for the faint of heart. It’s an extremely difficult art form, but also one that has the potential to capture sheer beauty.
Now, I present to you my six shadow photos. This shoot was really hard on my body. I had to contort myself to get these shots. Since shadows can very easily be boring and one dimensional, I tried to find some with interesting angles and textures. Wow! I found myself lying on dirt and grass just to try to get an adequate shot. I don’t know if they’re all that great, but here goes!
My subject: Shadows
My location: UCLA
Specific Instructions: 60% frame shadow, Use f11 of f 16, little or no reality
(1) Shadow Bench
With this shot, I was lying on the floor to the side of the bench. I liked the way the lines looked with the shadows.
(2) Shadow Foot
I’m not sure if this takes up 60% of the frame, but I like the way the foot of the statue is surrounded by the shadow. It intrigued me.
(3) Shadow Steps
I was immediately drawn to these steps because of the horizontal and vertical lines. It added the texture I was looking for.
(4) Wheel Spokes Shadow
This shot was Mr. ShuGar’s idea. He has such an amazingly talented eye! He said it would be cool to take a picture of the bike’s wheel. I laid flat on the dirt to try to get the majority of the shadow and just a tad of the reality.
(5) Art Shadow
This shadow is part of a very large art piece. It had a round shape and I tried to crop most of it out while having the shadow look more oval. I was hoping the gravel would provide the texture to give it some pop.
(6) Royce Hall Shadow
I was wary of taking this shot because I didn’t know if this was shadow or shade. Yes, there is a distinction. I think there is more shade in here than shadow, but I liked the angle and the part where the light shines through.
Unfortunately, my photography instructor had run out of time so he was not able to critique my photos this week. I’ll report back next week as to what he had to say. I’m crossing my fingers that he is satisfied!
For next week’s assignment, we have to practice focus and depth of field using equivalencies. I can’t wait to show you what I take because I’m a little confused as to what these things mean! I hope you all have a wonderful and restful weekend!
P.S. Eventually, I would like to do tutorials on my blog to share what I have learned about photography. Once I feel more confident with photography, I will share the love!
Photo credit: all photos Mrs. ShuGar
