Five get snappy in Linlithgow

Transcription

1 Five get snappy in Linlithgow One Kodak, two Panasonics and two Canons were put through their paces on the Photography Group s latest outing to Linlithgow (Fig. 1). The June weather was almost ideal, good sunshine, but not too bright. The main aim of the outing was to take photographs on the same general topic Linlithgow (so that the varied approaches adopted by individual members could be compared). The afternoon commenced by everyone photographing the same subject St. Michael's Church. Then one hour was allocated for general photography before the group reassembled at Linlithgow Cross (which just happened to be next to the coffee shops). How many images do you think we took during the hour? It turned out to be 220 (on average 44 each). Alistair was the most profligate (taking 70 images), Moira being the most economical (shooting only 21). The next stage in the process will be for everyone to select half a dozen of their shots for editing and printing. Then at the next meeting the prints will be compared, composition discussed, and methods of improvement proposed. I am told (I am a complete beginner) that one should not necessarily choose your best photos, but consider picking pairs of shots taken from slightly different angles, or elevations; or zoom and wide-angle shots taken from the same vantage point, in order to generate helpful debate. As an example - photographing St. Michael's Church, from where we first assembled (in the car park next to the Palace (Fig. 1)), proved difficult because the cars intruded into the Church s setting. A first attempt at rectifying the problem, by just tilting the camera upwards, was not very successful (Fig. 2). The image is poor because (i) the lighting is rather uniform, (ii) the part of the Palace creeping into the top left hand corner is distracting, (iii) the tower appears tilted (perspective distortion caused by the camera pointing upwards), (iv) there is no foreground to create interest, (v) looking upwards to avoid the cars has led to the base of the Church being cut off and finally (vi) the naive and north aisle tend to lead the eye out of the picture rather than in. A second attempt involved moving to the right (through the entrance arch) and using more zoom to get closer to the subject (Fig. 3). This is better: (i) more colour, (ii) more contrast, (iii) the brick work shows up cleanly in the brighter lighting, (iv) the cars/car-park problem has been overcome, (v) the perspective distortion is less distracting possibly even serving to make the tower look more dramatic, (vi) and the gold shields emphasise the Church s historical connections. (The Palace s and Church s histories are closely entwined, their documentary records going back to King David I of Scotland in Mary Queen of Scots was born in the Palace on 8 December 1542, becoming Queen six days later.) Moving further around the Church and using wide-angle creates a different ambience (Fig. 4 Man s creation framed by God s). This too is a better image. In this last example (i) the lighting is good (sun behind camera) and varied, (ii) there is an interesting foreground, (iii) the Church has been placed within the frame in order to match the rule-of-thirds (one third of the way in from the right-hand side), (iv) there is more colour (red foliage in foreground, however the rose spray may appear distracting to some), (v) the tower now looks straight (being taken from a greater distance the camera is now almost level).

2 The U3A Photography Group is keen to attract new members (of all skill levels; including novices, or people new to digital photography). The emphasis of the group is on composition. Joint days out are particularly popular and more are planned for 2009/10 including to South Queensferry and Cramond. Each month features a different topic. Suggestions for the coming year include the rule of thirds, textures, holiday photography, red-eye removal and cropping. If you are interested in joining the Group, or even just getting advice about which digital camera to buy, or which computer software to use, then come along to meetings - on the 1 st Thursday of the month at 14:00. (Details from Sonia Duffy enessde-u3a@yahoo.co.uk or , or visit Roy Thompson =========================================================== Figure captions Fig. 1 Many hands make light work. (In colour in the online version of the Clarion) Fig. 2 St. Michael's Church from the Palace car park. Fig. 3 St. Michael's Church tower rising above the Gateway to the Palace. Fig. 4 Man s creation framed by God s. =========================================================== Fig. 1 Many hands make light work. (In colour in the online version of the Clarion)

3 Fig. 2 St. Michael's Church from the Palace car park.

4 Fig. 3 St. Michael's Church tower rising above the Gateway to the Palace.

5 Fig. 4 Man s creation framed by God s.