What do Greyscale, DOF & Zoltar have in common?

It's not a trick question people! It's ME! Yes, I know I'm a cornball, and apparently I suck at blogging lately! I have been so wrapped up in family and school that I almost forgot I have people out there (who may or may not be) checking on my blog... BAAAD me! Haha!


Well let's see what do I share? Our assignment schedule got all messed up this week so I don't have anything to share with you. We went on our field trip shooting last Wednesday and didn't have to turn our project until Monday, so therefore delayed the whole grading process. We turned in the black and white or greyscale project Monday which, to be honest was quite fun.


The objective of the shoot was to shoot in color and transfer the photo into greyscale using methods taught in class to get the most profound transfer we could. When you shoot in black and white the camera only reads black and white tones but when you shoot in color then transfer into greyscale you have so many more levels of tones to set. You can get numerous different outcomes by increasing one section of tones over another. I am going to put on my calender to do some examples because it really is interesting how you can take the same picture and manipulate it several ways and get totally different outcomes!


I was unsuccessful at shooting during our field trip so I'm not going to share those pictures with you! I was hoping to capture something fantastic to use for my last project but it just didn't happen. Well, actually it did! At the end of the day I wondered off and shot an old carousel that is sandwiched between the San Diego Zoo and museums. I caught what I think is a pretty sweet shot of one of the horses and used that as my subject. I'll post it after I get the disc back (hopefully on Monday).


We were also given a project to turn in on Wednesday. It focused (no pun intended!) on depth of field (DOF). We had to shoot a subject which displayed a short or shallow DOF and a great or distant DOF. Monday after class I managed to sneak away to Old Town to practice and work on my project. I must admit I love being able to go and shoot alone or with a couple of students without having to worry about the kids! Don't get me wrong i love and miss my kids during the day but it's nice to have a little me time too! Am I bad for loving my me time? Gee, I'm debating if I should edit this and not share too much information... we'll see. Anyway, back to Old Town. I figured I'd find some interesting subjects down there and was a little bummed. Nothing exciting was going on and it is slightly touristy, is that a word? On this particular day another student was shooting with me and we went checked out the Catholic church. I think I could easily shoot churches for the rest of my life and never get bored of them - they fascinate me!


After shooting up front at the altar we settled on working the prayer candles. I whipped out my new lens and shot away working the shallow DOF end of the project. I know I shot about 20 pictures alone from different angles! It was fun and the beautiful flicking on the soft glow was just so peaceful. Seriously, I could of gotten lost in the flames! I did use one of these pictures for my project. I felt bad because the student I was shooting with was going to use the same theme for the project. I completed my project first so that gave me the right to turn in the theme, right? I know they were able to find another subject easily because they are a great photographer, so I don't really feel that bad! **Please don't hate me F!**


I struggled some with the great DOF endof the project. I think that I'm so use to focusing on a specific subject that it made it difficult to capture the whole field in focus. Another student has mentioned similar troubles so I'm not the only one, thank God! Walking through a back alley way I found a great little treasure... I didn't try to capture it because I wasn't into really shooting the subject but it threw me back to great memories. Some of you may be too young to remember this from the movie but... it's ZOLTAR!!





I would of had my fortune told but seriously, I was too scared to reenact BIG!


I did fin a string of petite guitars in a stall that I used for my final though. I didn't think about it until after the day was over and I was in class on Wednesday but I could of saved myself a lot of trouble had I switched my camera mode over to landscape. Just for those who don't know what your settings are on you camera - read your manual!! Landscape is great for shooting a wide DOF, it will allow you to get the foreground and background in focus. The DOF is great, deep or long - however you feel comfortable saying that everything is going to be in focus! Also, just so you know (READ YOUR MANUAL!!) it also boosts blues and greens in your shots which are what most people try to shoot for landscapes.



Well, with Zoltar on my brain I think I'm going to retire for the night and dream about being BIG! Sweet dreams...