Darkroom Daisies

Becky's Helicopter

Good news...my studio photography class just made the transition from analogue (4x5 film cameras) to digital (DSLRs). Why is that good news? 1) Class is much more rewarding and 2) now I finally have material to show you! I've been shooting film for the past semester and a half...frames that I can't share until my final presentation is over. Now that we're shooting digital in studio, I hope that means more frequent posts!

The topic of today's studio class was working with shadows as main components in the composition. This was the first time we didn't work with partners, so I finally got to photograph a very special object that I've been wanting to work with for weeks. Here it is, a wooden helicopter, hand-crafted by my lovely mother:

Workflow-First I had to decide how I wanted the shadow to look. What makes for a sharp, dark shadow is a far away light source and a narrow beam of light. Likewise, a closer light source and a scattered beam of light create soft shadows.

This way, the shadow tells us more information about the object than the object itself.

This is me doing a reading of the flash. Didn't know this photo was taken :)

Blurry but nice.

My favorite.

Sincerely Sophie

Monkey Feet?

Once again, my story is the same: I don't have any new work to show you since I've been busy with a major analog project (film) for the end of the semester. I can't share any of that until it's all over. But I do have two photos to show that my good friend Eric shot the other day. He was setting up a studio at school for a fashion shoot and needed to do some tests on someone rougly the same height as his model. I was just waiting for a turn to develop my film so I agreed to help. 

I didn't think he'd keep the photos. That's why I made this face:

I should put this on a dating website and see how many hits I get ;) ;) ;) Pretty scary, right? That's the film tank in my hands. An excellent fashion accessory.

And here are my "monkey feet". That's how Eric called them, not sure why. My rediculous sandal-tan is from the day-tripping I did over my week of break for my photography project. The first day I got burned, then I got smart and bought some sunscreen.

PS- I ruined one of my roles of film today because of a technical issue that was out of my control. Frustrating, yet this is the unfortunate reality of film. Maybe when I become a superstar, I'll be able to afford my own darkroom, and I'll buy a Jobo, a high end scanner, etc. therby avoiding most of the problems I've come across so far. But until then...

Sincerely Sophie (Monkey Feet)

Red Rose

It's been so long since I last posted. The truth is that I haven't had any material to share since I haven't been shooting in digital for weeks now. I've been photographing a lot with my Pentax 67 for a school project, but I don't want to upload any of those images to the blog until after my final presentation.

In the meantime, the following photos were taken as tests with my digital camera during studio class (in which we use 4x5 cameras). I worked with Inbar to make the composition, set up the lighting, and photograph polaroids with the 4x5 camera. The subject of that session was how to photography a glass subject on black/white backgrounds.

The glass jar is from Daniel's attempt to make olives. I bought the rose a few minutes before class at the flower shop across the street. 

My initial idea was to photograph a fish in a tank, and I even considered buying a fish. But in the end, that didn't happen. It's probably for the best because a) What would I have done with the fish afterward? and b) All the flashing from the equipment might have killed the fish...

Sincerely Sophie

 

 

 

Better than a Beer.

Do you like my new, old camera?! It's a Pentax 6x7 and I'm just learning how to use it. During my brief stay in the US a week ago, I laid my hands on this baby for the first time. My dad was nice enough to get it for me, as well as "the tank", which is the protective briefcase he set up that I think might be bulletproof. Early 21st birthday gift? Much better than a beer.

I need to get acclamated to the Pentax. While it's one of the most similar film cameras to the basic 35mm camera in terms of setup and functioning, this Pentax shoots much larger negatives and is as heavy as a brick. Because of this, it's best to use a tripod to prevent camera shake. With the cost of film and processing these days, no photographer wants a frame to go to waste due to bluriness!

Anyway, during my five and a half day visit home, I shot five roles of 220 film. That's roughly 105 negatives. I didn't want to take the risk of ruining the film on the flight back to Israel, so my dad sent them out to be developed at home and emailed me the scans.

Here are a few samples from my first encounter with the Pentax:

This barn and pond is on one of my favorite roads. My Dad is constantly trying to figure out how to best photograph this pond at night with the lights and the sunset or some kind of complex combination. I think he should knock on the farmer's door and ask permission to walk around the property to get closer and find the best angle, and then once he finds the perfect shot, he can print the photograph for the man. 

Ellicot City. I really miss American bricks!

I like the red dress.

I particularly like the shades of grass that the Pentax makes. Nothing like the icky blue-green of digital photography that I always have to desaturate in Lightroom before printing!

Zooey.

Bailey.

The horse wasn't cooperating. 

Even though it was too cold to be outside long without gloves, these daffodils made it just in time for my visit. They are my favorite kind of flower because they remind me of Spring and my birthday, and they're extremely underrated. 

You girls be good, I'll be back in a little while! That's actually what we say to them when we leave so they won't worry. I can't wait to come back with my Pentax and even more experience to photograph everything else.

Sincerely Sophie

Brainstorming Photos

The following are three locations I'd like to use (photographically) in the future:

This could be a cool spot for a fashion shoot. I thought of tying the white materials in to a motif of white clothes--possibly bridal? Who wants to lend a new wedding dress to an ameatur photographer to use in the middle of a dilapidated green house in Israel??? Speak up, I can't hear you!

I want to master long-exposure night time photography. This might be a fitting location for scene from a dream. I won't give too much of my idea away so that hopefully I'll be able to show the results later.

I'm not sure what should be going on here. This is my friend's basement. I could either just light it really well (and get to know the creative lighting system ala Joe McNally) to put focus on selective objects or bring in characters to the scene, while using this as the background. I'm not sure what kind of characters I would want to put here, if any at all. It needs some more thought. 

What do you think?

Sincerely Sophie

 

Lately.

My life is a mess right now in so many ways. My thoughts are disorganized, and so is my apartment. In that temperment, I wanted to share with you a random mix of photos that I've been working on lately that don't necessarily have any correlation with one another.

Linoy.

Abandoned Restaurant. Hagalil, Israel.

Dagon and Merkaz Hashmona Train Station. Haifa, Israel.

New Year's Resolution Still Life.

Middle Eastern Playground. Kiriat Eliezer, Israel. (Part of my typology series).

Gravel Playground. Kfar Vradim, Israel. (Also part of my typology series).

Tofi the Dog. Sdeh Warburg, Israel. 

Dirt Road. Sdeh Warburg, Israel.

Portrait by Eric. 

Enjoy the weekend.

Sincerely Sophie

Happy First Night!

This is the first time in 3 years that I lit the candles on Chanuka. It seems slightly absurd since I've been in Israel for all of that time. But this year I want to light because I miss the tradition.

I also wanted to wear my sivivon (dreidel) earrings but one of them is broken. I tried to save it using super glue, but it was one of those failed cases in which most of the glue ended up on my fingers. So, no sivivon earrings this year. I'll have to wait until dad can fix them.

Actually, last year I did light a Chanukia, but it was for a project in which I pasted myself into photographs of family occasions that I missed out on since I was in Israel. Here's the relevant photo in case you didn't see it before.

So here's my family at home, and the me part was photographed in the studio at school, millions of miles away and months after the holiday season. That was actually a fun project. I'm considering continuing it this year if I get the time/inspiration.

Right as I was setting up my camera to photograph the candles, it started getting really loud outside. This is what I saw (lots of Arab kids standing and yelling in the middle of the road in front of the high school). I thought the lights went well with tonight's post theme.

But mostly, this post is just a reassurance to my mom that I am celebrating the holiday even though I'm not at home. I said the prayers and everything, awkwardly by myself, but awkward is better than missing out. I'm thinking of you and the rest of the family.

Happy first night!

Sincerely Sophie

HDR and eat your veggies!

I made my first HDR photo. 

You're probably wondering what this means, so first I'll show the definition I found online and then I'll show the final HDR photo as well as its composite photos. Stop cringing...you'll understand in a second!

HDR: High Dynamic Range is a digital photography technique whereby multiple exposures of the same scene are layered and merged using image editing software to create a more realistic image, or a dramatic effect. The combined exposures can display a wider range of tonal values than what the digital camera is capable of recording in a single image.

This is what it looks like: 

This is a combination of four photos, each with different exposures, whose combination creates a surreal effect. Why? Because our eyes cannot "read" over a certain number of exposures properly all at the same time. This means that if your eyes are searching for details in a dark area of a scene, for example, in between the bushes, they cannot also see the relatively bright sky at a reasonable brightness; compared to the dark bushes, the sky should look extremely bright. But HDR allows the photographer to combine multiple "proper" exposures, to the effect that the sky is not so different in shade from the dark bushes. That's just not natural.

Here are the four, composite photos: (Keep an eye on the sky to see the jumps in exposure)

And here's the final HDR again: 

My overall review of the HDR technique is that it looks cool but it's not my taste. It's like trying a new vegetable at family dinner once a week (is that just my family?): you have to try it before saying you don't like it!

My dad's pretty good at HDR though-it's his trademark.

Sincerely Sophie

Fresh Air

Today's post consists of the second installment of photos I took while my family came to visit. The first few are from the guest house where they stayed, and the rest are from the tiyul that we took on Saturday afternoon.

ENJOY!

Sincerely Sophie

Blue Skies and Orange Eyes

Lately I've been really tied up--with some tedious, school-related things, and also with good things like photography and a brief yet much needed visit from family! They came all the way from America to see me and we had lots of fun. 

Here is the first installment of photos from their visit. The following are from the old city in Akko, a port city in the north of Israel. I really enjoyed using Dad's polarizing filter. It made the skies blue like snap! No sweat or tears. It was also a treat to use one of his wide angle lenses as well as a suuupppper telephoto lens (it was so long, I almost couldn't hold it steady!).

Notice the guy rolling paint?

It was a relief to photograph again with my dad. It was a good reminder for me to photograph what catches my eye as opposed to building shots or photographing what I think my school will deem as "art".

D & L.

Nice photo dad! Sophie and Lauren.

I feel like looking for windows to photograph is something my Dad does too.

Frightening mannequin head.

A cliché of Dad and Donna. Silhouette, sunburst, the whole nine yards. 

Find the cat?

Special thanks to the polarizing filter here.

I'd never seen orange eyes before!

Arab woman scraping the windowsill. 

D & L.

Depth of Field Donna.

Something about the church and the bike riders reminded me of Henri Cartier-Bresson and the "Decisive Moment" in photography.

Portrait of D3 and D7000.

That's the last of this set. There's plenty more to come :)

Sincerely Sophie