Detour into Photojournalism

For my blog today, I decided to explore the concept of photojournalism. While learning about landscape and night photography, the recurring theme is that of planning: deciding what exactly you want in the shot, when is the best time to get it, and what equipment you need to obtain the exact amount of focus you desire.

In contrast, photojournalism focuses on capturing the moments you can't plan. These articles I found suggest tips for getting good photojournalism shots, even if the only camera you have in the moment is your iPhone. Equipment is not quite as important here as long as you can anticipate and capture the moment. Photographs for news emphasize emotion, and there are several ways to show that emotion in the way the picture is designed. Composition, different angles, symmetry, and varying points of view on a subject are all important elements used to effectively demonstrate the desired emotion.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/IREPORT/09/02/capture.photo.bootcamp.irpt/

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/youngphotographer/article2642999.ece

The Seven Rules of Dominance

This week, I spent time taking pictures that would display some of the seven rules of dominance. These "rules" suggest that certain elements of a picture will catch the eye more than others, and are useful tools to remember when designing a photograph. The rules of dominance include:

• red is more attractive than yellow
• large draws more attention than small
• difference stands out more than conformity
• jagged lines are more striking than curved lines
• diagonal lines draw more attention than vertical lines
• sharpness gathers more attention than blur
• light is more attractive than dark

I have posted four photographs I have taken that incorporate these rules of dominance. See if you can find examples of the rules in each!

Night Photography: Round 2

This week, while exploring more aspects of night photography, I actually found a good website of what not to do. This article from Digital Camera World explains common errors of night photography and gives great examples of pictures that did not turn out so great. Sometimes, it is best to see examples of what not to do in order to avoid making similar mistakes.

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/03/23/12-common-errors-of-night-photography-and-how-to-fix-them/

In contrast, night photographer David Kingham has some fantastic examples in his gallery of great night photographs. I was amazed by the way he captured an entire semi-circle of the Milky Way or a full-circled star trail in his pictures. They are quite beautiful. Although they could not be posted here, my favorites are "North Moulton Barn Milky Way," "Path to Longs Pano," and "Snowy Range Star Trails."

 http://www.davidkinghamphotography.com/night

Additionally, David Kingham has posted a video about editing night photographs. He created some helpful tools specifically for night photographs that can be used in Lightroom and downloaded for free from his website. These tools include enhancing the Milky Way, sharpening stars, blurring stars, and removing light pollution.

http://www.davidkinghamphotography.com/night-photography-lightroom-presets

Night Photography

 While searching the web for ideas on night photography, I came across this blog from PhotoShelter.com listing six tips for shooting at night. A few of these stood out to me: first, including an interesting foreground such as a tree or rock can increase the interest of the photo and bring the viewer into the scene. It enhances the effect of the stars or star trail and makes a more dramatic photo. Second, taking a "dark frame" shot, or a shot with the lens cap on, can be layered onto the star or night photo in post-production in order to decrease noise and enhance clarity in the final shot. Here is the link to this article:

http://blog.photoshelter.com/2012/05/six-standout-night-photography-tips-to-help-you-master-the-craft/


Another concept I found while browsing the web is that of zoom burst photos. I had not seen these before, and the resulting image from zoom bursting can be quite interesting, making the subject or light appear to be moving toward the viewer. The zoom burst is achieved by zooming the lens in or out during a long exposure, making it ideally suited to nighttime photography. Here are some examples of zoom bursting that I discovered:


http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/12/01/9-creative-photo-ideas-to-try-in-december-2013/



http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/how-to-take-stunning-zoom-burst-photos