So Spring is finally here and the flowers are starting to bloom, after such a cold and rubbish winter it’s nice to finally see some sunny days although I think it’s a bit early for short sleeves and vest tops I am definitely pleased to see the better weather emerging as it means I will be able to get out and about with the camera a bit more.
I recently signed up to a free photography course run by Practical Photography Magazine. The DSLR Skills course aims to teach you different techniques over the space of six months, each month’s module focussing on a different theme. You do need to purchase the magazine each month but they ran a special six month subscription for £10 which was great value as it is usually £3.99 per issue. We are now into our second month and so far I am enjoying the course.
Each month you are set a basic homework task which you must complete plus an advanced homework task which is optional. I’m trying to make sure I complete both homework assignments each month as it should push me that little bit more.
Last months basic homework task was to take a shot of pedestrians using a short shutter speed which would result in a slight blur to the people as they walked past. Sounded easy but in actual fact I found this quite difficult – mostly because it required the use of a tripod and as soon as people see one of those they avoid you like the plague! I tried various locations including outside our local shopping centre which resulted in me getting my first request to leave for taking photographs. In the end I submitted this image of two local businessmen for my basic homework assignment piece.
I wasn’t overly happy with the image but it met the required elements and I wanted to make sure I had time to also have a go at the advanced homework – Urban Light Trails. For the advanced homework we were asked to take a photo using long shutter speeds to capture light trails from traffic – the required element was that it should be shot in an urban environment and include a building or buildings in the shot. I love light trails and had previously tried them before so this was my prefered element of the first module.
I went to a familar spot to pratice above the A5 on the way out of Milton Keynes. This particular spot is fantastic for getting some lovely long exposure trail shots but as much as I loved the images I got I couldn’t really use any of them for my homework piece as they wern’t shot in an urban environment. This is one of my favourites……
So I had to put my thinking cap on and think of somewhere suitable in town to try and get a shot which I could submit for my homework piece. This was easier said than done – due to the grid system in central Milton Keynes the buildings are set away from the roads which meant getting a decent shot with an urban building in the frame along with some traffic trails was pretty difficult.
I tried a few locations but wasn’t happy with the results. So on a last chance outing I decided to head up to a different area and found what looked to be a pretty decent place and this was where I ended up getting the photograph I submitted for the advanced homework this image of the Xscape building in central Milton Keynes.
I would’ve liked the trails to have been longer and brighter but overall I just liked the colours in this image and the starbursts on the street lamps plus I thought the Xscape is an unusual shaped building and the curves contrasted well with the lines of the road.
So we are now onto module 2 which is based on ‘Still Life’ not something I have really had much experience of before so I have been looking forward to trying my hand at it. The basic homework is to take a household object which could be anything from a knife and fork to an ornament or a hairbrush and take a still life picture of it illuminated by natural daylight only.
Having thought about the kind of item I wanted to use as a subject I came up with a few different things to practice with. I have been quite suprised at the results and how well they have come out. I have got four pictures which I’ve shortlisted to choose from……
Lastly I took a speaker for this shot and placed it near the window. I like the differing textures and patterns in this image from the grill on the front to the shiny rim on the outside.
They are the four pitcures now I just have to decide which one to go for, luckily I think any of them will meet the brief so at least I have a few options. If you have a favourite please leave me a comment and let me know. I still have to do the advanced homework which is to create a still life using artificial light creating a shadow as part of the shot and I may use one of the statues to do that so I’m considering submitting the egg shot for the basic homework.
So this is what I’ve mostly been doing and so far I’m enjoying it. The course is still open to join if you are reading this and would like to know more you can find out about it here http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/DSLR-Skills-2010 . If you are already taking part in the course you may like to know that I have set up a designated Flickr group for anyone taking part – we have almost 200 members and it is not only for sharing images that you have taken but also getting feedback and critique on them, there is also a discussion area. Please feel free to join us at http://www.flickr.com/groups/dslrskills2010
Anyway thats about all from me – I’m off to look for household objects for my advanced homework! As always thank you for reading and happy snapping!
