Assignment 4 - Tutor Critique

Here's my tutor's report on assignment 4, warts and all. My main aim in photographing what I considered the essential charm of Lyme Regis was to show its unique and distinctive areas away from the main tourist attractions. Lyme is a fascinating place regardless of the tourist attractions and events which are mostly based around its links to fossils and the Jurassic Coast.

I was concerned with the lack of people in my pictures but I wanted to portray the quietness and soliture found out of season.  Those discerning visitors who come out of season, i.e. not in July, August and early September, are here to see the town as it really is, with the townspeople going about their daily business.

Tutor Comments
Overall Comments

As always; a comprehensively researched and presented assignment that meets the brief.

Feedback on assignment

I like the idea of the map, I used a similar thing in a book I did for my MA.

Image 1

It’s a good establishing shot, well printed, that gives an atmospheric feel for the place and its architecture. The bird is the icing on the cake that gives an incentive to look in to the picture carefully.

Image 2

A strong image; very well spotted, optimally composed and again the bird is a gift. Is there a theme developing? Hahaha. ‘ }

The blue tinge to the snow is because it’s lit by open blue sky and shaded from the sun. The sky is blue because of the very high colour temperature of the light coming from it. You see the same effect in the shadows on a sunny summer’s day with no cloud.

I think it would have been interesting to see if you could pull a bit more detail and differentiation out of the shadows using the Shadow/Highlight control. But that’s only a possible refinement; it reads well enough as it is.

Image 3

Another strong image that you planned for really well and then you created an elegant moment from it. The figure is perfectly placed and ‘posed’. I’m enjoying the parallelism with the cannon and that whole little vignette, a picture within a picture. 

I think this is one of the most accomplished images, and best bits of retouching, that you’ve produced on the course; very progressive. He just needs a hint of very soft drop shadow under his feet to locate him in the scene. When you are comping two elements together you need to ensure the sense of the light is the same in both, which you’ve done by taking the figure from the same location in similar lighting, then you have to consider the effect on the environment, in terms of shadows, that the object you are comping in will have.

In this case because it’s in shadow and it’s on snow that will be very little, but even a smidgen will have a strong effect on anchoring him into the scene.

Image 4

Nice splash of red there; the old time picture postcard photographer’s trick. Used enthusiastically in the past by Annie Leibovitz too.

The crop feels a bit tight on the right. I keep wanting to shove over a bit. Having taken that into account it’s a good scenario, interesting light and colour palette but it needs a bit more narrative possibility. A black dog sitting up on the beach looking at me, or a lost ball, some bit of punctum.

Perhaps this one has more to it...

There seems to be a touch more narrative possibility here; the tall lamp turning its back on the short one to commune with the sand bar.

Image 5

A sensitively chosen composition to create an interesting semi-abstract interpretation; making it almost sculptural with anthropomorphic under tones.  A very good quality print too.  I can see someone enjoying having a very large print of that on their wall.  It also helps the rhythm of the series with the change of scale it creates.

Image 6
Again the splash of red; good light and potentially interesting but it’s a stage in need of its players.

The boat’s reflection is combining a bit awkwardly with the spikes and the boat cropping on the left hand edge is a bit distracting, a pace to the left and a slight clockwise rotation would have cured both.

Perhaps something more like this with some action happening in the bottom right hand corner.

Image 7

Again you’ve identified a good setting and composed it well and your idea to add something to it, in lieu of actually waiting for something to happen, was the right impulse. You just didn’t have the right material to add.

Something like a black cat crossing the path would have worked or someone emerging from the cottage on the left.  Sometimes you have to be an angler and wait for something to bite. ‘ }.  The file on the disc doesn’t appear to be critically sharp but the print looks ok, if a little moody in the shadows.

Here I’ve lightened the shadows with the Shadow/Highlight tool and increased the mid tone contrast a little...

Image 8

Yes I think you chose the best image here, there’s a poignancy to the frosty empty bench.

The back of the bench is rather getting lost in the background though.  I think you could have used a wider angle lens and come in closer so that you were more over the top of it, separating it out from the background, perhaps with a vertical composition so that the bench was the foreground interest that led from the path to the church.

It’s a nice touch that we can metaphorically rest on the bench at the end of our walk.

Conclusion

As usual you’ve put a lot of thought and effort into realising the assignment and I note that you’re implementing suggestions I have made.

You’ve produced some strong images, particularly 2, 3, my alternative for 4, and 5. Your selection of subject, composition and post processing have all progressed so well done, keep it up!

Onwards to my final assignment - People & Place on Assignment.  Click the link below to get to my final work.

Assignment 5 People and Place, on Assignment

On its way

I finally managed to get assignment 4 posted even though I am housebound with a torn ligament. My long suffering husband took it up to the post office on Friday. Look out CliveW, its on its way!

Now to consider what to do for assignment 5 when you choose your own subject.

Home straight

I'm on the homeward straight to completing this assignment with a new deadline of January 12th 2011.  It's all the background stuff that holds me back and I need to find all the background details to complete the accompanying documents.

Completed Images

20 Dec 2010

I have finally taken all the images I intend to use for this assignment. I have been trying to add a slideshow to my blog but it won't show the current list for my Picasa web album. I've even tried the Help but that doesn't really help.  All of a sudden the new list will appear but I have no idea how it happens.

21 Dec 2010 (winter solstice)
Success with Picasa!! I went into the Help Section in Picasa and requested advice on inserting a slideshow. Several people had put advice online but the slimplist actually worked and you can see the result on the right hand side. Now to put the back up stuff together.

As we are in the winter season and have had the heaviest snowfall for 30+ years, I have had to include some snowy pictures as part of my portfolio. I'm pleased with my choice, let's hope my tutor, CliveW, is too.

Catching up on Assignment 4 Images

19th December

Sherborne Lane in the snow

 More snow yesterday which made it extremely dangerous to walk about. The safest place was in the middle of the road where the snow had turned to slush. No buses are running as the hills are so steep around Lyme and early in the morning (sunrise is about 8.15 am) only fool hardy photographers were out and about taking pictures. Any sensible person stayed at home until later when it had warmed up a few degrees.

17th December 2010: It snowed here in Lyme last night which is a rare sight to see. I'm told that the salt in the air defeats all but the heaviest snow falls. But there is snow and I shall be out at first light to catch the last remaining images for assignment 4 (apart from the one of  carol singers around the Christmas tree on December 22nd) before other people get out and spoil the sights with their footprints.

Slow down on Assignment 4

My deadline was December 12th but I had it extended a month to January 12th 2011 as I have been so busy. I was running a class for 8 students in basic Photoshop under the auspices of the local U3A association. I hired the local Internet learning centre for four 2-hour sessions and had forgotten how much prep it takes for even short sessions.

I had not realised that one member of the class was a complete beginner in digital imaging and a couple of the men were advanced workers. This makes it very difficult as there was a wide gap between skills and I found it hard to start at the right level for the majority of students. I had prepared a session on Layers but two or three of the people found they lost their way completely so I decided to keep the lessons much simpler and just concentrate on one or two basic topics each time. 

I have also been designing a website for the local photographic club as I am now a member. All the clubs in the surrounding area have websites but Lyme Bay did not partly because there was no one to design it.  I spent about a week putting it together and am using WordPress to host it. It's fairly basic but I'm pleased with it.  See what you think, here's the address:

Lyme Bay Photographic Club website

Assignment 4 will feature Lyme Regis in autumn/winter as an upmarket travel brochure and I think I will use one of John Fowles 'Three Town Walks' as my guide.  Lyme Regis will be all lit up for Christmas and I thought it would be interesting, as well as taking standard daylight pictures of Broad Street, see what I could achieve with the Christmas lights on. The town makes a big thing about lights as it draws the crowds in to spend money.

Taking additional images for assignment 4

5 November 2010
Been out this morning taking lots of views of Lyme Regis town and the Cobb to see what would go best in my tourist brochure. There are so many views that I feel I need to make a particular point of including pictures with people participating in some type of activity rather than pictures of views, streets and buildings.

The light was terrific and the sea calm although I would like to manage some shots when the sea is crashing over the Cobb and the spray soaking people on the other side of the high wall.