Dismantling the exhibition

The truck guys will be arriving at the High Court at 11am on Friday December 11th to whisk away the panels and computers. You need to be there on the knocker of 9:30am to pull down your prints and anything else that is yours. It shouldn't take long but we'll appreciate any help in pulling down the panels from the windows.

All VELCRO should be removed from your panel as well. Try to be very careful when doing this, no knives, axes or machetes please.

If you cannot be there please arrange for someone to do it for you, any work left on the panels will be removed by staff but we cannot be held responsible for any damage or loss. Then it's 'all over red rover' and you can go off and enjoy your break (or release) from CIT. Have a wonderful Christmas.

Geoff, Silvia, Dave and Julian

Borrowed gear and outstanding printing bills.

Dave has asked me to remind you that all borrowed gear should have been returned by Friday Dec 4th. and all outstanding printing bills should have been paid by the same date.

Please make it a priority to return and pay as soon as possible. Dave needs to close the books

C@W AGAIN good news

Sorry to muck you guys around like this but I have just received a phone call saying that CIT WILL PAY YOU after billing C@W. Any rumours to the contrary you should now ignore. So the NEW NEW plan is for you to send the HIRES files to C@W and CIT will send you a cheque. ARRRRRRRHHHH Please pass this on if you can.

Assessment

Hi, the assessment session next week will be a quite relaxed affair, you show us your work, tell us a little about it, we'll ask some questions, you may want to ask us some too. Your ability to present or communicate verbally, in what for you may well be a stressful situation, is not being assessed, only the work. Relax, we'll be supportive but only one thing to remember, don't take our demeanour as necessarily a guide to your result, we'll try to be positive and friendly, results will come later. Hope that's clear. GOOD LUCK

PS: I'll have exhibition invoices for you and I'll have a confirmation of your registration for next year. You can take the form straight to the HUB or leave it with us to process and post an invoice.

Exhibition costs

Howdy Stage 2, you'll remember that Silvia flagged some months back that a bill would be coming to cover the costs of the end of year exhibition, hire, music, security, materials etc. Penny has arranged for an invoice for $65 to be printed over the next day or so. You can pick yours from the office or wait until your assessment session, either way the invoice is due on the 27th of Nov. If you have any problems meeting that due date please see Penny to make other arrangements. Don't forget that invitations are available in the finishing room.

Assessment Presentations

Hi all,

Just thought we'd try to clarify a few things.

If you want to swing by at any stage and show us your work prior to the assessment then we'd love to see you and it.

Stage 2 assessment sessions will take place on Monday Nov 23rd and Tuesday Nov 24th. Check your allocated time, you can swap with others but that is for you to arrange.

Presentation:

Not all work is suitable for window mattes, commercial type work such as the studio work is usually better mounted on foam core, use the adhesive variety and then cut the mount and foam core in one go to get a clean edge. You may find that some of your documentary work is best matted, if so it will need a backing bopard and the front must be secured to the back with very strong tape - these have a habit of falling apart in the heat of the High Court windows, be warned.

We understand you have a lot of work and mounting costs money and not all of the work will find it's way to the High Court exhibition. In terms of appearance at asessment it is preferable to be viewing properly finished work but if you wish you can present in a folder and we'll advise on which ones to mount for the exhibition. You will then need to mount these before Thursday Nov 26th.

What you'll do during your presentation next week:

DON'T BE LATE. This will be a relaxed session, you'll show us your work and well ask you some questions and provide as much feedback as we can. You will not be judged on your ability to 'present' so don't sweat if you cannot find the words We may follow this up with written feedback later. Should we require you to resubmit anything we'll tell you on the day. Grades will not be given during these sessions however, they will be sent to you later.

I'm sure I'll think of some more soon.

Belinda's class next week

Hi, Belinda will be away next week so to compensate she will make herself available for 1:1 consultations, or just a friendly chat about your work, this Thursday November 5th from 10:30-1230 and this Friday November 6th 9:30-11:30 in the office, G115.

Card for Christine

I believe this has already been suggested and I think it would be a nice way of thanking Christine for the chopper rides. If anyone has this in hand let's get it signed by all and we'll pass it on to her. Hopefully she'll be coming to the end of year exhibition as well.

C&W photos

Hi people, I didn't really think anyone wanted to go to the Hyperdome (said with an echo in voice) at 8:45 on a Friday evening but thought I should pass it on anyway. I have all the prints and Keith returned the feedback sheets I asked his managers to complete. For the most part the managers were very very happy with the work you did and the professional attitude you displayed. He said he has around 30 photos he'd like to purchase and he'll be in touch about it next week. So well done. Big thank you to Josie who did come on Friday night, you'll be remembered in my Christmas card list.

C@W exhibition closing

Hi all,

Keith from C@W has asked that you collect your photos from the hyperdome around 8:45 on Friday evening, tomorrow. He also suggest a drink afterwards, see below, and see you there.

From Keith:
Would you like to 'dismount' the photographs before we take the display panels from the Hyperdome? We are not supposed to take the display down during shop hours, so we are arranging to collect the display panels around 8.30am Saturday morning and take them back to CIT Monday sometime.

I suggest we take the photos down Friday evening at closing (around 8.45pm) and then retire to OJO Café and Bar for a celebratory drink. C@W maintenance staff will then collect the panels Saturday morning, securely store them at C@W and return them to CIT Monday morning.

Belinda's class today

Belinda has asked that you note and attend your individual times today in the Macro Room and please don't be late.

* Amy - 12.30pm
* Andrew B - 12.44pm
* Ben - 12.58pm
* Charni - 1.12pm
* Chelsey - 1.26pm
* Chi - 1.40pm
* Dan - 1.54pm
* Ginette - 2.08pm
* Jeremy - 2.26pm
2.40-2.50pm - Tea time
* Jess - 2.50pm
* Joselyn - 3.04pm
* Josie - 3.18pm
* Megan O - 3.32pm
* Melissa - 3.46pm
* Nichole H - 4.00pm
* Rhys - 4.14
* Stephen - 4.28

Helicopters Tuesday

9:30am Tuesday in the CIT carpark, we'll leave in convoy.

Studio classes from next week

You'll remember that the justification this semester for small studio classes was to provide as much 1:1 contact as possible in the first half of semester combined with access to plenty of studio gear. Well the time has come, you are doing famously in the studio and it's time for me to back off and let you get on with it. That means I will not be floating around the studio while you work but will be loaning gear and locking up at the end. I will be available for you to show me work as usual but in the office where I'll be getting on with the usual office type activities. Should there be real problems, with gear for example, you can see Dave. You won't be left completely alone but you need to get on with things and keep producing the great work we've seen so far. I'd love to work overtime but there isn't a provision for that. The alternative was for 1 studio class of 16 people - not a good prospect. :)

Helicopter rides

Schedule for Tuesday from Belinda

*9.30am Tuesday 20 OCT meet at CIT carpark at 9.30am to car pool into 4-5 cars to convoy to Christine's house.

*Directions attached - please print them out and bring them with you in case you lose the convoy. It is about 30-40 minutes drive to her property.

*NB: MAKE SURE you have all your gear secured to you. You won't be able to fit a large camera bag in the helicopter and if you wear sunnies etc make sure they are attached by a strap/string to you. Nothing can be able to come lose. You camera must have a strap and be around your neck. You must have shoes that cannot fall off, ie: no thongs or slip on shoes. Anyone with any questions about this please ask now!

*ANYONE UNSURE ABOUT FLYING DOES NOT HAVE TO FLY, BUT YOU ARE WELCOME TO COME AND WATCH.

*REPEAT - MEETING TIME: ANYONE WHO IS NOT AT CIT CARPARK BY 9.30AM WILL MISS OUT. WE MUST GO
AS A GROUP.

*FINALLY - The aim of the exercise is to get experience flying in a helicopter and taking pictures of a building and landscape. Make sure your shutter is at least 1000/second. I suggest a wide angle as Christine will be able to fly quite low as it is her property.

Directions

Directions to Aquila Helicopters at
‘Purrorumba’, 391 Grove Road, Bywong, NSW

From Canberra on Federal Highway
From Northbourne Avenue at Dickson traffic lights junction travel north on Federal Highway 23.5 kms.

(Past Macs Reef Road turnoff on right then past Bungendore Road turnoff on right.)

Slow down for Middleton VC rest area on left and just past it turn left (west) into Shingle Hill Way (signposted to Gundaroo) then in just 200 metres turn right (north) into Hadlow Drive (old Federal Highway).

Travel north for 2.9 kms on Hadlow Drive and at the end of the bridge over Brooks Creek turn right (east) into Grove Road where you will soon leave the bitumen and enter a gravel Private Road.

(Take care as the next section of road has sharp bends, kangaroos and in places is narrow.)

Travel on the Private Road for 1.2 kms where you’ll see a large house on your right on a corner. Turn sharp right (you’ll see a small sign saying 391) around the corner and travel for further 1.5 kms to the entrance gate for 391.

Follow the road from the gate as it takes you up Mt Purrorumba eventually reaching the house after 2.2 kms.

Gate security code is O27244C

Good luck – if lost call us on 0412 066 766


From Sydney on Federal Highway
From Sydney proceed along Federal Highway past Lake George in Canberra direction. When the road starts to climb up the hill away from the lakeshore at Geary’s Gap you will see Hadlow Road half way up the hill off to your right (it used to be the old Federal Highway) – turn into it then follow for several k’s till on your left at the bottom of a hill just before the Brooks Creek bridge you will see a road on your left signposted as Grove Road.

Continue on Grove Road where you will soon leave the bitumen and enter a gravel Private Road.

(Take care as the next section of road has sharp bends, kangaroos and in places is narrow.)

Travel on the Private Road for 1.2 kms where you’ll see a large house on your right on a corner and Lake George on the left. Turn sharp right (you’ll see a small sign saying 391) and travel a further 1.5 kms to the entrance gate for 391.

Follow the road from the gate as it takes you up Mt Purrorumba eventually reaching the house after 2.2 kms.

Good luck – if lost call us on 0412 066 766

Copies of the directions are also available on Monday at CIT.

C@W exhibition

Hi everyone, this is the plan for next week re exhibition.

We (Dave) will print all the exhibition photos Wed and Thur, volunteers are asked to assist him with mounting these to adhesive foamcore (not that yukky ordinary stuff) on Friday morning. Lets say from 10am.

Monday 9:30am, meet in the Tuggeranong Hyperdome to hang work. Not sure where but it won't be a particular challenge to find our empty white panels. The photos will be attached with small amounts of velcro tabs directly to the painted surface.

There will be an opening on Tuesday (time to be confirmed).

Stay tuned for more updates.

Latest from C@W

Hi everyone. A further update on C@W. Since it is possible that your BEST images and those that may be usable and therefore purchased by C@W may be different they have asked that we do the following. Supply your best work (as previously requested) to us at CIT by October 7th. and then supply a broader range of low res WATERMARKED images on a CD for C@W to peruse. These may not necessarily be your favourite images but they should be a cross section of images that were taken for your managers. You can supply as many as you like, the more you supply the more they might buy. Try to edit sensibly however. The watermarks will prevent these from being used without them being actually purchased. We have asked C@W to wait until you are back at CIT for these. Can you ensure that this CD of work be supplied to us no later than October 16th. To recap, we'll be expecting two sets of photos, 1 set of your very best and favourite for display and 1 set covering all aspects of your particular job for C@W to peruse with a view to purchase. Clear as mud.

Collaboration with Creative Writing students

This week you all received a poem written by one of the Creative Writing students. The idea is that you respond photographically to the text and post your response (1-3 images) on your blog, together with the other outstanding assignment which is about your own choice of story.

For the poem, it would be best if you work B&W as the idea is that it will eventually become a publication and there is probably no money for full colour. We would also like to exhibit this work in week 13, together with the responses from Visual Arts students. This will happen in the Visual Arts hallway area - more information on that later.

Next week is your chance to catch up on all this work and we will review it 12 October.

C@W issues

Hi Stage 2.

We have been made aware of some difficulties that many of you are having with this project from communication issues, dealing with Managers and workload. We are aware that some of you have now been given a minimal amount of time to complete your task and others have not been treated well. We will be discussing these issues with C@W .

Be assured that we will not let your assessment suffer as a result of any of these problems. We have decided that the best and fairest way to deal with these issues in terms of an assessment strategy for the Assignment is to make it a Formative Assessment Item. This means that regardless of the difficulties or lack thereof in completing your task your result for this will not be graded, the task will be recorded as completed/not completed.

The low-res jpegs of your best work need to be in by October 7th around 6-10 images unless you have more that are suitable.

We and C@W will assess the work and decide which images go into the show and C@W will decide which ones they will buy. You will be told on October 12th which images will be exhibited and you will then need to have high quality 8x10 prints made, Dave can handle this for you or you can go elsewhere.

The show will go up on Monday October 19th so we’ll need to deliver all the work by that morning. If people can help with the hanging that would be much appreciated.

When C@W tells us which images they wish to buy we will inform you and you can deliver or email the files directly to them.

We’ll provide more updates as required.

Helmut for Dan

Thought this might inspire you with your product series Dan.

Exhibition closing

Just a gentle reminder (Jeremy) that the exhibition comes down tomorrow afternoon at 4pm. If you cannot be there let me know and we'll place your work in a safe place. As always, all care, no responsibility, the safest way of course is to remove it yourself. Also one of the responsibilities of the users is to return it to it's original condition, that doesn't mean we have to paint it in lime green however. Sarah and Sam you are off the hook, you helped out with the repaint on Monday. There shouldn't be much to do, Lars has some filler but mostly there will only be pin/nail holes to cover. Tape might present some problems but we'll see when we see. Thanks again for making it a wonderful show, every time I see staff from other areas they comment on just how fantastic the work was. Those who with Tas Neg Study will be seeing a result within the next week.

Bungendore & Braidwood field trip

1st years, listen up:

TUESDAY 8 September - field trip with Belinda to Bungendore and Braidwood:

Meet at 10.00 am SHARP at the Cafe Woodworks (next door to Bungendore Woodworks). Be on time, we don't want others sitting around waiting for late comers.

We will then do a shoot in Bungendore (aprox 1.5 hrs) then head to Braidwood to meet Stephen Best of Macquarie Editions (23 Elrington St Braidwood). It will be a very busy and productive day, so come with lots of energy for hard work.

Belinda's phone is 0409428902.

Product Assignment 09

The Small Product Assignment will be distributed this week.

Studio this week

So 'Master Photographers' we'll be doing some multiple exposures and 'painting with light' next lesson. Please bring something to 'paint'. 'Painting with light' can be achieved with almost any form of light source but we do have a nifty little hand-held strobe light that works a treat. Laser pointers might be fun too.

Jorge's non-trip

Bad news I'm afraid. Jorge cannot change his Brisbane visit and I cannot organise at short notice alternative accommodation for a big group so the formal trip is off. Jorge will discuss an alternative on Thursday night which will be a completely private arrangement that doesn't involve CIT. So something will happen!

Studio this week

I know this is late but things conspired..... Anyway my plan is a 'Challenge Shoot', sounds a little Masterchef doesn't it. I bring the things to be shot and you do the shooting.

TASMANIAN Exhibition, September 7-11th.

We have booked the Design Space for a short exhibition from September 7-11 with an opening on Tuesday the 8th. for the Tasmanian Field Trip group. We'll each have around 1.5m of horizontal wall space. I'm suggesting we hang the work on the morning of Monday the 7th of September, although I'll check the availability of the space on the Friday before. You'll need to provide all your own hanging materials. I am happy to make name tags for us but if someone would like to produce a poster and invitation with a suitable name for the exhibition that would be great. I have emailed Senator Bob Brown to ask him to open the exhibition but have had no response so far. I'll follow this up this week. I'd like some ideas for what you'd like as an opening, do you want a big affair, food, drink and speeches or a small affair (if I can't get Bob) with just drinks and snacks and more drinks and no speeches, or something in between? Please get back to me with your thoughts ASAP. For those that are completing a Tassie Negotiated Study this will draw a line under it and you'll earn a result based on the work hung.

What we're doing in the studio next week.

Read the bottom of the post below.

Week 3 in the studio

This week we got to know the Pulso and Primo units intimately and had fun doing it too. How easy it is to forget everything there is to know about the 'P' settings and flash synch speed for that matter! You worked quickly and confidently and were able to easily deconstruct the portraits in the books and magazines and reproduce them in our studios. You also recognised when things were not working and adjusted lighting and props until they did. Calculating exposure with flash meters is becoming easier and I think you are pretty confident in that area.

One thing we did do this week that is very important is to take readings of all areas of the set to confirm how those areas are to be reproduced. Backgrounds versus subjects, for example.

Lets assume a lit subject is 3m from a (ZONE V) grey paper background and the background is lit with a separate light-source. Ideally of course you should try to get hold of two power-packs so that you can more easily control/vary the lighting on each. That being the case you would ensure that the modelling light settings on both packs were set to the same P setting, P1, P2 or P3 on both. Now what you see is what you get, or is it? It is very very easy to see what you want to see. The (ZONE V) grey paper, for example, is grey paper whether it is lit or not but will only appear grey if lit at the same level as the subject. Lets assume an incident reading at the subject indicates correct exposure at f11. If an incident reading AT the background paper position also indicates f11 then the paper will be reproduced as a grey background paper value in the image, simple eh?

Let's revive this ZONE SYSTEM stuff, it lets us communicate levels of tone in a common language.

Given: Incident at subject is f11, grey paper is ZONE V grey paper (mid-tone)

Questions:

Incident at background is f64, paper is rendered as ZONE .....

Incident at background is f45, paper is rendered as ZONE .....

Incident at background is f32, paper is rendered as ZONE .....

Incident at background is f22, paper is rendered as ZONE .....

Incident at background is f16, paper is rendered as ZONE .....

Incident at background is f11, paper is rendered as ZONE V

Incident at background is f8, paper is rendered as ZONE .....

Incident at background is f5.6, paper is rendered as ZONE .....

Incident at background is f4, paper is rendered as ZONE .....

Incident at background is f2.8, paper is rendered as ZONE .....

Incident at background is f2, paper is rendered as ZONE .....

Please remember that this example is for a ZONE V grey background.

If you use a different paper, such as black or white you need to remember that it will be reproduced as its true value only when the light level on the background is the same as the light level on the subject, other renderings can then be calculated according to how it is lit.

Another way to confirm the rendering of a background is to use a spot meter.

Lets assume an incident reading of the subject indicates correct exposure of the subject is again f11, one can then assume then that a spot reading of a grey card at the subject would also be f11. If a spot reading of the background indicated f11, REGARDLESS of the paper colour or tone, it will be rendered as mid grey, ZONE V. If the spot reading indicated f16, regardless of the colour or tone of the paper it will be rendered as ZONE VI and so on. We'll be using this technique with the small products which we'll be starting NEXT week.

I've decided it's time to move on so we'll start small product work in week 4.

You'll need to bring at least one small small electrical or electronic product no bigger than a toaster (no smaller than a gnat), or bathroom products, or a bottle of beer. If possible bring new or very clean objects. NO OTHER FOOD products please and also no fluffy toys or cheap nasty trinkets. Apart from the beer don't bring glass or chrome/silver objects. We need to start with some really simple lighting techniques. I'll also have a Portrait Folio brief ready for next week.

Better late than never

Trying to remember what we did last Monday and Tuesday in the Studio. Pulso and Primo.

Broncolor Pulso 2: A mains powerpack that distributes output evenly (symmetrically) between the number of heads attached. You’ll remember that the output starts at level 6, the lowest, and goes as high as 10 with each whole division altering the output by a factor of two or one ‘stop’. Setting 7 being twice the output of setting 6 and so on. You’ll also remember that you can adjust the output by tenths of ‘stops’ as well. Modelling light settings, Off, Low, Full, P1, P2, P3.

Broncolor Primo: A mains powerpack with the same output as the Pulso 2 which also distributes the output evenly (symmetrically) between the number of heads attached. This unit has a few less features than the Pulso, only 3 head sockets, a 4 stop range (1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8) with 1/3 stop increments only and where 1/1 is the same outpout as 10 on the Pulso. A couple less modelling light settings, Off, Full, P2, P3 only. Check the 100 year old notes I distributed, the diagram show P1 and P2, it took all these years for an observant person to notice this.

Use of the Modelling Light settings.

The modelling light shows us what the flash exposure will look like and ideally if you have two flash units on different output settings the modelling lights should show this difference. Modelling light settings of Low and Full are independent off the flash out, in other words regardless of what you set the flash output to the modelling light will only ever be on Low or Full. This is fine for a unit that distributes flash evenly between the heads, for an asymmetrical unit it would be important to match the modelling light output to the flash output so that you can SEE the difference between the heads. If you manage to get your hands on more than one of the Pulso and Primo powerpacks for a shoot you can set each pack to a different flash output and therefore have more creative control over the lighting. If you do this you need to ensure your modelling lights are set to a Proportional setting, P1, P2 or P3 and it should be the same P setting on each unit. Using the modelling light proportional settings means the modelling light changes along with the flash, in other words the modelling light is in proportion to the flash output, it’s a case of WISIWIG, what you see is what you get. It is very important however that which ever P setting you choose it MUST be the same on each unit, this means P2 or P3 on BOTH.

A reminder that you are going to bring in some portraits to use as inspiration for your shoot this week. You’ll be deconstructing the shots to establish how they were shot, you’ll then reproduce the lighting schemes. You’ll also plan your own shots with.

Quick quiz:

For a given flash to subject distance a Pulso 2 on flash setting 10 and with a P70 reflector dish is measured with an incident meter and the reading is f64.

What is the flash to subject distance? Answer: 1m

What would the indicated f-number be at a 2m flash-to-subject distance? Answer: f32 (inverse square law)

If in a given situation the meter indicates f64 when the Pulso 2 is set to a flash output of 10, what would the indicated f-number be when the flash is set to;

Output 9 Answer: f45

Output 8 Answer: f32

Output 7 Answer: f22

Output 6 Answer: f16

Output 8 on the Pulso 2 unit is the same as 1/4 on the Primo unit. (2 stops down from maximum)

Thanks Jeremy T

Thanks for the heads-up, I got confused by the blog name change, in case anyone else is wondering, the Fashion Workshop is a 2nd year class only.

Friday Fashion Shoot

Reminders:

Be at the Studio at 10am, bring cameras (lenses etc), warm clothes and lots of enthusiasm.

Job reminders:

Contact Co-ordinator: Christina
Food and Drink: Nathan, Tegan, Sarah
Care of Models: Emily and Jenna
Image Co-ordinator: Matthew
Image Editors - CD/DVD Prep: Jeremy, Julian L, Elmo
Video: Amy

We will be moving lots of gear so if you have a large vehicle bring it. If you have an even larger vehicle we need a change room!!!

See you tomorrow.

Introduction to and briefing by....Jorge Deustua

Jorge will be running Negotiated Study workshop on Thursday evenings, but before that you need to meet him and learn a little about him. Be at G103 on Wednesday THIS WEEK at 12 NOON. Even if you don't want to do the workshops it will be very informative, Jorge is an internationally respected photographer so be there or be square.

What we did at school today....

Just to recap the heady experience in the studio.

Jeremy was lit in the great Rembrandt tradition, one flood and, well, NO fill. The group was asked to guess the lighting ratio, 2:1, 4:1, 6:1, 8:1 they said, we measured the light falling on Jeremy's face (an incident light reading) and Mr Sekonic told us it was f32, an incident reading of the light (such as it was) falling on the shaded side was f1.4, a total of 9 stops difference, that's a 512:1 lighting ratio. (remember 1 stop difference = 2:1, 2 stop difference = 4:1, 3 stop difference is 8:1 and so on) Good portraiture is in the range of 2:1 to 8:1 depending upon needs.

Then we wanted to know what exposure to use in this situation. I've always recommended taking different types of light readings. If each of the reading types agree then all is right with the world, if none agree you might be in trouble, if most agree and one is different but you know why it's different you're doing just fine.

We took an incident reading from Jeremy's nose back to the camera position (recommended procedure) and it indicated f22, then reflected spot reading of a grey card in front of Jeremy's nose (also recommended) that said between f22/f32. They are both pretty close but we then took a reflected spot reading of Jeremy's lit cheek and that indicated between f32/f45. So what to do. The incident here would have been a fine call as far as exposure but the other readings were used to confirm the result. The grey card was slightly different because it can change depending upon the angle of the grey card to the light - realistically it was virtually the same reading as the incident. The reflected spot reading of Jeremy's cheek indicated there was 1 stop more light reflected from this compared to the grey card, that's correct since a grey card is ZONE V, skin is ZONE VI and does reflect 1 stop more light. Had we used this reading to expose the shot it would have been 1 stop under, skin rendered as mid-grey, to correct this you would increase the exposure by one stop, ie. between f22/f32, sound familiar?

Incident: f22

Grey card: f22/f32

Skin: f32/f45 (increase of 1 stop = f22/f32

Exposure used was f22

If in doubt slightly more for negative film is OK.

Transparency and digital, use the incident.

:)

What to expect this semester

Just 3 sleeps to go, are you as excited as we are? Below are some short descriptions of what you'll be doing in PT2, PP2, DI (ADV), Presentation Methods and VC History.

Photographic Technology 2 - Arata Kikkawa

Arata will be taking the entire 1st year group for a 'theory' class. There will be an emphasis on breaking down the DSLR camera (not literally however), your assignment in 1st semester was effectively your research for this topic. You'll also look at how the various types of electronic flash gear/kits work, close-up theory and some close collaboration with Geoff's class.

Photographic Practice 2 - Location Work - Belinda Pratten

Belinda will take the entire group for this topic. She will be showing you how to use flash on location and getting you to explore social documentary work through a range of field trips. You'll also be doing a real job for Communities @ Work where shots will be purchased for publication and inclusion on their website.

Photographic Practice 2 - Studio Work - Julian Stevenson

I will be running two small studio groups, you'll learn how to use studio flash in the production of portraits and small product work typically for advertising purposes.

Digital Imaging (Advanced) - Geoff Woolfenden

Geoff will be expanding your use of Photoshop and introducing you to Lightroom, workflow, archiving and printing requirements. There will be lots to learn in this subject since this has replaced 'olde worlde' photography.

Presentation Methods - Reflective Folio - Silvia Velez

This will be an opportunity to produce work that is not commercial in nature but is a response to ideas, experiences, other art-forms and by nature is more 'conceptually driven'.

Visual Culture (History) - Silvia Velez

Silvia will be taking you on a journey through the history of photography with more emphasis on the image than the 'gear'. Lots of discussions and gallery visits.

Folio Feedback

Individual folio assessment sheets are in the post.

As you know this was the last time that the traditional ‘wet-process’ black and white photography will be offered as part of the core studies in the photography program. In the new program, the Bachelor of Photography, traditional B&W photography will be offered only as an elective.

In the ‘good-old-days’ B&W photography, processing and printing were not only routine practices in their own right but they provided a perfect grounding for the development of skills in other areas of photography. An understanding of B&W photographic practices and the reproduction of tones was equally relevant to the use of colour negative/transparency film and printing. Indeed it has also been invaluable in terms of its relationship to digital imaging practices, many functions in capture and processing software for example have their roots in film based imaging and many default settings in equipment and software are based on film and paper characteristics.

So why all the waffle? Normally your B&W photographic skills would develop further over the course of the year and indeed the program. This last semester presented all of us with a particularly difficult challenge, to get your skills up to a level where by week 9 you would have photographs that could be shown in a public exhibition, the Legislative Assembly Exhibition and Competition. This was a terrific opportunity and you all rose to the challenge and produced some very good work. Normally, however, we would not be exhibiting or assessing final work until much later in the semester when your skills had developed further. I think you would all probably agree that your studio work demonstrated a higher level of skill than the early location work. There were and always are exceptions to the rule of course. Given the limited time to fine-tune your practices for this folio we have decided that to be fair to everyone we will award a Pass grade to all students. In-class reviews and discussions of this work took place prior to the exhibition and took into account the limited time for skills development. A grading now would only point out the limited skills and practices you had at that time.

The studio presented some different challenges for you (assuming of course that by that time you could expose, process and print).

Even with ISO 400 film you quickly found that a tripod and still subjects were necessary in order to prevent camera shake and subject movement. Typically with one tungsten flood at around 2m from the subject, correct exposure was around 1/60^th sec at f2.8. Without the use of a hand-help light meter many of you used your in-camera meter (film/digital) to establish a round-about exposure. Of course we all know the problem with the in-camera exposure meter, don’t we? They attempt to produce a mid-tone rendering of the subject. That isn’t a problem when the subject is mid-tone but is a particular problem when the subject is mainly white or mainly black, how many of you shot those subjects? White backgrounds will result in underexposure while black ones result in overexposure. Experience counts for a lot in photography and without a light meter you might be able to recall previous shoots where a particular lighting scheme and exposure combination led to a good result but this technique can easily lead to disaster. You should think about purchasing a light meter some time soon, we will cover this in the studio in semester 2.

The use of an incident light meter in the studio is commonplace but there are issues. An incident light meter produces consistent results because the reading is not dependent on subject matter, it measures the amount of light ‘falling’ on the subject and is calibrated to render a mid-tone as a mid-tone. There is one major problem with this, in high contrast lighting situations such as that produced by a tungsten flood or spot the subject luminance range is too wide for detail to be recorded in both shadow and highlight areas. The answer is to slightly overexpose the film (either directly or by underrating the film slightly) to increase shadow detail and to reduce development to prevent the highlight from becoming too dense and therefore un-printable. Ever heard of the rule ‘overexpose and underdevelop’? Many of you tried this and the results were evident.

If there is as rule of thumb in the studio it is to ‘use as few lights as possible’. Start with one main light to illuminate the subject and create the basis of the scheme/style. Only use extra lights if you wish to illuminate a background separately or to improve separation by creating a rim-light effect on the body or hair. The more lights you have the more problems you have and the less convincing the style is. The lighting should not be at the expense of the subject. It is also common practice to use fill from a reflector. It is easy to convince yourself that the detail you see in an unfilled shadow will be seen in the print. Ideally the ratio of light to fill ratio in general portraiture should be 4:1 or less. This ensures that detail is seen in the shadow areas of the print. For a 4:1 ratio there are two quick ways you can achieve it.

1. Take an incident reading on each side of the face (one lighted, the other in shadow)
A two stop difference will result in a 4:1 ratio, eg if lighted side indicates f8 and the shaded
side indicates f4 you have a two stop difference (4:1 ratio).

2. Using one flood to illuminate the subject (any distance) and a white foam reflector at
around half a metre from the shaded side will result in around 4:1 ratio.

Piece of cake.

We chose to set some parameters for the studio portraits to ensure that you would address some typical portrait issues, ie. head-shoulder, head-to waist, full-length standing and self portrait. These shots increase in difficulty in the same order because each requires you to progressively deal with more body parts and contextual issues. Along the way however the standing portrait somehow became a curled-up foetal pose for some, an honest mistake of course.

For the most part we were very happy with the responses to this folio brief, most of you took to the studio like ‘ducks to water’ and produced some imaginative and high quality work and it appears for had fun doing it. On the down side the studio was generally left in a dreadful state after each shoot (not entirely your fault) and that is something we will be fully addressing next semester. We also have some ideas for improving the studio space. Stay tuned.

The individual assessment sheets that have been posted have personalised comments and grades.

We should also comment on the topic of written assignments. Many of you had to resubmit assignments not because you cannot do them but because you failed to address the assignment briefs. At this level of study you must address the brief and complete the entire assignment as indicated. It is also your responsibility to ensure you understand the brief and when a draft is requested you should take up that opportunity. Structure, spelling, grammar and correct referencing procedures are also important issues that must be addressed. (Doesn't apply to quickly written blog entries) Assignments must also be your work!

Lastly, thanks for a really productive semester and particularly in the light of the curriculum development disruptions which incidentally continued over the course of the last three weeks. We would have liked to had all results and feedback to you a week ago but we were ‘flat chat’.

On the up-side, the panel that oversees course development met with us on Monday the 29^th and short of a comet hitting Canberra we will have a new program for 2010. We’ll be trialling some aspects of the new program during second semester to assist with your transition to the new Degree. There may also be some further changes to your timetable for second semester but we’ll try to let you know as soon as possible.

Have a great break and we look forward to seeing you in week 1 (starts July 27^th).

Regards,

Julian, Geoff, Silvia and Belinda

Exhibition tonight

Hi, just a reminder that the 3rd year students are having an exhibition in the Design Space gallery in F block at Reid Campus TONIGHT. Opening at 6pm, food and wine for all. Come and enjoy. J

Lens Testing Assignment and resubs, resits.

Generally this was handled well. Most tested the lens as required and tabled the results as well as included photographs that showed the aberrations. Some however didn't include photos or included only wide shots of the entire testing area. Ideally the areas that show things like chromatic aberration should have been enlarged so that the problem can be seen. Some sent emailed versions of the assignments but since the office printer is B&W your included pics were also B&W, they will need to be supplied in colour by you.

The resubmission date for both assignments is Tuesday June 23rd. Sadly I cannot leave a pile of assignments outside the office door for you, they need to ber picked up in person but I have placed a table of test results and assignment results on the door - no names only student numbers. Please check your results. A resit test will happen next Monday at 10am in G103 for those few who need to redo this.

I'll be back in tomorrow morning from 9am. Julian

DSLR Assignment

Research assignments should challenge you.  Where as workshops and in-class exercises are done with the assistance of peers and under the direction of your teacher the research assignment is a test of your ability to address a specific brief, find relevant information and demonstrate your understanding of the topic.  They require you to be active learners as opposed to passive learners where everything is delivered on a plate.  In this assignment you were required to research 2 medium level DSLR camera bodies and 2 medium range zoom lenses (some chose medium format bodies worth $40,000 and prime as opposed to zoom lenses).  The assignment asked for a discussion and comparison of the equipment with specific reference to items listed in the brief, 21 in all.  A draft was requested and some took advantage of that by submitting completed assignments (the ideal actually), others submitted 1-2 pages, mostly tabled specs while half the class didn't submit a draft at all.  When completing assignments it is your responsibility to ensure that you understand what is required and to ask questions.  There were some common omissions or mistakes in the assignments that have been returned to you for resubmission.  Below is a list of the parts of the assignment that you had to include with an explanation of what should have been addressed and the common mistakes people made.

INTRODUCTION 

Should have been a short indication of the equipment to be compared, this was generally OK but some people can waffle on a bit.

TABLES OF CAMERA BODY and LENS SPECS

Obviously this has to be taken from brochures and/or web sites.  Everyone included these but some thought this WAS the assignment and went no further.  A check of the factors to examine in the brief would have ensured that at least each item was included in the table.

DISCUSSION AND COMPARISONS OF THE TABLED INFO (with of course reference to the specific items in the brief)  Many people did not discuss or compare the specs.  A discussion assumes an understanding of the specification and from this discussion a comparison and informed recommendation can be made.  Many simply restated the specs twice without any explanation to show that they understood the relevance of the specs.  For example, when comparing sensor type and size, it's not just about size, you need to research sensor types and sizes and all the factors that affect a final image capture and therefore quality.  Saying one sensor is bigger than another is NOT a worthwhile comparison, the specs already tell us that. 

AT LEAST TWO PRICES FOR EACH ITEM

No problems with this section.

SUMMARY OF ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EACH ITEM OF EQUIPMENT

Many handled this section well enough but as many again simply restated the specs from the tabled info drawn from brochures or web-sites.  Without thorough research of the items and the discussion and comparison you are not able to properly summarise advantages and disadvantages, you are left to make uninformed assumptions or to restate manufacturer's marketing info.

CONSIDERED RECOMMENDATION

Again without an understanding of the specs you cannot make a recommendation.

REFERENCES

Not referencing quotes or other info is effectively plagiarism and is grounds for expulsion.  Even a paraphrasing of source material must also be referenced.  Changing 2 words in a 30 word  sentence IS still plagiarism. 

To recap:

Introduction

Table of camera specs.

Discussion of the camera body specs (with reference to specific items in brief to show their relevance and therefore your understanding)

Comparison of the camera body specs (again to show your understanding)

Table of lens specs.

Discussion of the lens specs (with reference to specific items in brief to show their relevance and therefore your understanding)

Comparison of the lens specs (again to show your understanding)

Prices

Summary of ADV/DISADV. (based on your discussion and comparison)

Recommendation 

References/bibliography

Results

Marking of DSLR Assignment and Test is complete.  Assignments and Test results will be available on Monday morning.  Resubmission and test re-sits details will be made available at the same time.  If you have been looking for us this week we've been on assessment panels for the last three days straight.  Lens test assignment results will also be available on Monday.

Stage 5 Mid Year Exhbition

Hi everybody, the Stage 5 students are holding an exhibition of their work which opens on June 17th in the CIT Design Space Gallery from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. There will be food and drink and lots of great photography. The students have asked for volunteers from 1st and 2nd year to assist them on the night with serving food and drink - just think, you will be well placed to feed and water yourself. Even if you could assist for some of the time that would be fantastic. Please contact Helen Murphy at helen@murphy.org if you can help. Thanks. Don't forget, you are invited to attend the opening in any case.

Photography Practice 1

Remaining Weeks

Week 14 - 26/05/09 Completing Studio Folio and Workshops.
Week 15 - 02/06/09 Completing Studio Folio and Workshops, all work must be placed in collection boxes no later than 5:00 pm on Friday 05/06/09, boxes will be collected, work submitted after that time will not be accepted. A resubmission is only possible after an initial submission and that must be before 5:00 pm on Friday 05/06/09. In short, any submission is better than none.
Week 16 - Work is assessed without you. In later stages you will be asked to actually present to the panel.
Weeks 17-18 - Resubmission weeks as necessary.

Photographic Technology 1

Remaining weeks.

Week 14 - 25/05/09 Assignment 1 (DSLR) is due, please submit at 10:00 am, you are free to work on Assignment 2 for remainder of time.
Week 15 - 01/06/09 Assignment 2 (Lens test) is due, please submit this at 10:00 am after which we shall have a revision session in preparation for the test the following week.
Week 16 - 08/06/09 This is Queen's Birthday Holiday so the Test will be held at 10:00 am on TUESDAY 09/06/09, room to be confirmed but will most likely be G103.
Weeks 17 and 18 are resit/resubmission weeks.

Remember: Resubmissions are only possible if an initial submission is received by the due date and time, in short; not submitting by the due date and time will result in a fail with no resubmission possible.

All Assignments will be available for collection from the finishing room after the end of week 18.

Those memory photos

Realised afterwards that I had the blog name wrong, it should be: http://julianstevensonmementos.blogspot.com/

Mounting Photographs

We'll be holding a photograph mounting workshop in Photo Prac 1 next week (Tuesday), some might see the irony in that! We'll show you a number of techniques and discuss materials and typical exhibition requirements. We've decided that the studio photographs should be mounted for submission so you'll need to pay close attention and then find time to practice mounting before attempting your finals. J

Legislative Assembly Exhibition

The joint Photography, Fashion and Visual Arts show is opening at the Legislative Assesmly building in Civic 4pm this Sunday. There will be drinks and snacks and you are all welcome to attend. Winners may be notified before the event so atay tuned. Prozes will be awarded at the opening. See you Sunday at 4pm.

Photo Prac 1 Folio

Easter is approaching and so is a due date.  Don't panic, the first Folio, the one to be entered in the Legislative Assembly competition is due on week 11.   All work will be collected on Tuesday the 5th of May in your Prac class.  We will select some for inclusion in the exhibition and competition.  They will be mounted and framed (depending upon the number) and hung later that week in the Legislative Assembly building.  The following week we'll instruct you in the ancient art of mounting photographs and you will then have to mount the remainder for Assessment later in the Semester.  More info in week 11.  Would have been nice if the exhibition and competition were later in the semester but it was out of our control.  Have a chocolatey Easter and don't forget to follow the Tas trip on www.tasmania2009fieldtrip.blogspot.com

Next three weeks

For the next three weeks I'll be working in the curriculum development area so my classes will be covered by a couple of part-time staff, Belinda Pratten and Cameron Major.  I'll be thinking of you as I struggle to write about 100 learning outcomes for our new Degree program which will be kick started next year.  In case you are wondering there will be a seamless transition for you to the new program in 2010.  

Photographic Technology 1

We've been made aware of a typo on the Digital SLR camera assignment, it says Due: Week 14, June 25th. Of course that should read Week 14, May 25th. I'm sure you didn't even notice, nobody would want to be doing assignments over the mid year break. Sory, wheel trie two proove reed everttthin bedder nixt tyme.

That old guy...

I will be referring to this fella during Monday's Photo Tech 1 class so thought you might like to see a short video about him.

YOUR NAME!

Can everyone PLEASE put YOUR NAME as the BLOG TITLE - when I have to check over 60 blogs per week it it hard if your name is not on it.
thanks!

Tour at Photoaccess: There will be two tours at Photoaccess for CIT students. 

These tours will NOT be held next week as discussed yesterday as Ed is unavailable on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 March. We are in the process of organising new dates and times. Ed will take you through the photographic arts centre and explain what Photoaccess has to offer you as students and as emerging photographers. He will also give you a discount on the student membership rate. Currently the rate is $25 per annum and you will be able to join for $20.

As soon as we have the new dates and times I will post them on the blog.

See you next week,

Belinda 

Canberra Day Holiday

Just a reminder that the Canberra Day holiday is on Monday March 9th, next week in fact.  All those students who will be disappointed at not having to come to the theory class on Monday morning please raise your hands........that's what I thought.

I will publish/post/print a new Photo Tech 1 weekly timetable soon to reflect the change in content, we'll all just have to work faster and smarter.  JMS

Blogging away

Almost everyone seems to be up & running with their blogs - you will find that they become great resources the more links and research you add. You should be posting your Visual Culture weekly assignments. You do not need to post all the images/works that you discuss, a sample is enough. Remember please to properly credit images with at least a url or source and artists name.

Medium Format Panoramic cameras

Click here for some descriptions of medium format panoramic cameras.  Most of the cameras have been discontinued but are still available from ebay and the like.