My first photo assignment for NYIP

Last month, I enrolled in the NYIP (New York Institute of Photography). It is called their "Complete Course" and I am interested in two things: First, it will force me to address different genres of photography whether I have a natural affinity for them, or not. Second, it will expose me to helpful criticisms from professional photographers. If it doesn't improve my photographs, perhaps it will at least teach me to evaluate them better critically. Today, I am sharing the submission of my first NYIP assignment; if I remember, I might share the feedback I receive.

Unit One Photo Project

Motion-The assignment was to use shutter speed to illustrate motion. There are several ways to do this, but I chose a slow shutter to emphasize the motion around the subject. Here I was struck by the brightly colored berries surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the Granville Island Market in Vacouver BC. Exposure was 0.6 sec at f/22 ISO 200. I had to brace against a wall to keep the camera steady, which by the way was a Nikon D5000 with the Nikkor 18-200 VR zoom lens set at 26 mm.

Selective Focus-There are many ways to help emphasize a photographic subject. Selective focus is a technique whereby the subject of interest is held in sharp focus while everything else in the photograph is fuzzy. Here, we were out for a walk on an overcast day in City Creek Canyon, Salt Lake City. The light was not very good for the landscape photography I'd hoped for and so I concentrated on the early autumn flowers. This bee came along at just the right moment! Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 85 mm Micro lens. Exposure was 1/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400 and subject distance was 53 cm, about 20 inches. A little processing in CS5 to warm the tones slightly and add some sharpening.

Depth-The final assignment was to emphasize depth in a photograph (ie, show everything in focus from very near to very far away. On a day with my dad, we went to Antelope Island Utah, which is famous for its roving buffalo herd (I've never seen 'em) and the oldest exposed rocks on the planet earth. The sun was peeking here and there through some tremendous cloud formations and I came upon this rock formation with the Wasatch Front in the distance. The white rock in the foreground is full of a deposit of microfossils, remnants from the ancient Lake Bonneville. A seismic event closed the exit approximately 10,000 years ago and with evaporation over one hundred centuries, we have the modern Great Salt Lake, which has salinity that can range up to more than five times that of the oceans. Back to photography, this was shot at 1/200 sec, f/9, ISO 400 using my Nikon D7000 with the 18-200 VR zoom set at 18 mm. Post processing involved a little warming and sharpening.

We'll see what the NYIP instructors think about my performance and if I remember, I will post it here. The Professor is now the student!

I promise to be not so pedantic in my forthcoming posts!