Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/18, 1/160 sec, ISO-1600

I really like this photo because the sun had come out just enough that the lighting was really interesting, and I liked the pop of orange from the pumpkins at the bottom of the photo. I did have some difficulty getting the exposure to be at a good amount, since the sky was really bright and parts of the tree were bright, but I didn’t want the dark spots to be really dark. I think mostly I’m happy with the amount of exposure, but I do feel like it’s a bit bright and might have looked a bit better with less exposure. I am very happy with this photo though, it is tied for being my favorite with the picture below.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/29, 1/100 sec, ISO-12800

In this photo you can see there were a bunch of crows around, and I managed to get this picture just as some were taking off, which I really liked. There are two main crows in flight, and then you can see a lot more just taking off above the sunflowers, and I thought that helped draw the viewers eye to those two crows. I also like the path on the right, and the contrast between the dark ground and the bright sky. I once again think maybe I would have played around with the exposure a bit more, but I think maybe the darker ground actually sets a very interesting mood for the picture. My one main nitpick is that you can see some of a telephone pole peeking into the photo on the right, instead of all of it or none or it. I think this ended up being tied for my favorite photo, while I have some nitpicks I just really like how it looks.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/5.6, 1/400 sec, ISO-800

In this photo I was focusing on aperture. I took several pictures of this sunflower, but I liked this one the most because the middle was the part in focus, and I thought the angle worked well. I really ended up liking the contrast between the yellow-orange bits and sunflower seeds, and that the orange area is in focus. I was pleasantly surprised at how happy I am with this one.

Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/5.6, 1/4000 sec, ISO-3200

I took this picture looking over the sunflowers while a lot of the crows were flying overhead. There happened to be one sunflower that was taller than most of them, which you can see in the picture. I liked how it kind of looked like the crows were coming from the flower, and that they all spread out from there. I also was happy with how you can see the tips of other sunflowers at the bottom of the photo, which creates a neat effect.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/5.6, 1/4000 sec, ISO-3200

In all honesty I have oddly mixed feelings about this photo. I was focusing on aperture and managed to get the center of the flower in focus but not the front and back, which I was proud of. The area around the flower is very clear and has several little details that jump out nicely. I don’t have a particular nitpick, but somehow it feels off to me. I was debating for a while on whether or not to include it, but I do think it’s very pretty even if I have slightly mixed feelings about it. I think maybe the center of focus is just a bit off from where I was originally trying to get it to be, and that’s why it feels a bit odd to me. It’s definitely growing on me though.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/22, 1/1000 sec, ISO-12800

This is a pretty simple photo, but I really liked the peaceful feeling it had, and I was trying to get a nice landscape photo. The tree is on the rule of thirds, the pathway is a bit diagonal and also on the rule of thirds, and I just think the composition turned out quite nice. I think the sky is a bit bright, but the ground is a good level of exposure, so I think that’s fine. The photo has nice variety in fall greens, yellows, and subtle warm colors, and I like that a lot.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/5.6 1/500 sec, ISO-25600

This was my favorite photo of my shutter speed photos for this week. I wanted to capture the cards looking still while falling, and I liked how they seemed to twirl around Sam in this picture. It reminded me a bit of some kind of card wizard.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/7.1, 1/500 sec, ISO-25600

In this photo I also wanted to take a picture of the cards as they fell. I Liked how some were already on the ground on this point, and some were just coming into frame. It made it seem a bit like a shower of cards.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/18, 1/2 sec, ISO-400

I thought this one looked quite funny because of how the background was still, and Sam was kind of just a moving blob. You can see one his hands, which is kind of the only clear thing. I thought it was also positioned nicely in the photo, whereas other photos similar to this had Sam halfway out of frame or not looking quite right.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/22, 1/8 sec, ISO-6400

I liked how the white part of the hockey stick turned out in this. Although the red part is a bit harder to see and I would have liked it to be a bit more visible. I think the background may have made it harder to see, so I think if I were to do it again I would try against a different background.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, TV Mode, f/10, 1/800 sec. ISO-3200

This photo is with a fast shutter speed. I wanted to photograph the splash of rocks as they were thrown in the water, and I liked this one the best because the splash looked very cool and ended up on the rule of thirds. I also liked the rougher water to the left side, and how the water changes from a brown-ish color to a more cyan or green color at the top. I thought the rocks at the bottom fit very nicely as well. I can’t really decide if I like the rocks right at the edge of the top right, because they kind of frame the shot but I don’t know if it would have looked better without them.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/16, 1/2 sec. ISO-100

I really liked how the water on this part of the river looked with a slow shutter speed. The water had kind of a tiny miniature waterfall right here, and I thought it turned out pretty cool with the slow shutter speed. I thought the rocks at the edges of the shot also contrasted the smooth slightly blurry water, because they obviously weren’t moving and stayed very clear. Honestly the one thing that bugs me a bit is that the picture feels slightly tilted, and it feels a bit off to me, but it doesn’t really affect the picture, so it doesn’t matter that much. Just feels a bit off to me, like the photo is slightly off kilter, but I don’t know if anyone else would notice it a lot. Otherwise, I am very happy with this photo.

This week, we focused on aperture. I took photos of colored pencils, and I thought these two were the best.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/4.5, 1/160, ISO-3200

This is my shallow depth of field photo. I liked this one because of how clear the tip of the red pencil ended up being. I also liked the reflections of the pencils on the table, since they created an interesting visual effect. Something I didn’t consider at first is that there is a bit of glare from the lights, which does make it seem a bit less in focus. If I did something similar, I would pay a bit more attention to the light reflections.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, 1/29, 1/2 sec, ISO-1600

This is my broad depth of field photo. While I thought this photo turned out pretty good, I thought it seemed like everything was a bit blurry. I’m guessing this is because of either the lighting reflecting on the pencils, or my aperture was a bit too high, and made everything seem a bit blurry. Other than that, I liked the reflections of the pencils and cabinet on the table, I thought it added a bit more color into the photo but not too much to distract your attention from the colored pencils. If I were to do this again, I would definitely try to get it just a bit more in focus, or at least figure out why the photo seems just a bit blurry.

Last week I took many different photos of a rock tree I have, and here are my best 4.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/7.1, 1/100, ISO-3200

This photo is meant to be the above angle. I thought it looked interesting how the tree branches are in focus, but not the base, making it look like the branches are reaching up towards the viewer.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/5.6, 1/50, ISO-3200

This was my favorite photo out of these four. I liked how some of the branches were of focus, and some were in focus, especially how the main trunk was in focus. I purposefully put a warm lamp to the right of the tree so the tree would reflect the warm light and contrast the cool toned background, making it stand out more. I thought the background was also very pretty out of focus like this, and it seemed to transition from a warmer yellow-green color at the bottom, to a cool dark blue color at the top.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/13, 1/250, ISO-3200

For this one, I tried from a below angle, and looked at the rock tree against the cloudy sky. The picture ended up darker than I had originally thought it would be, but I ended up really liking it because of that. I liked how there were actual trees on the sides of the photo, and the small rock tree was in the center, framed by the trees. It’s also a bit hard to tell perspective, which makes the rock tree seem like it could be bigger than it actually is, which I thought was neat.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/7.1, 1/125, ISO-3200

In this photo, you can see the warm lamp I used for the other photo in the center. I wanted to try and get the brightest part of the lamp framed by the branches of the tree, so it would like it was being illuminated. While I very much like this photo, I feel like some of the branch’s blend into the background a bit too much, and I might’ve preferred if the lamp was just a little more behind the tree. I still really like the little reflections on each of the polished rocks, that turned out very pretty, and I might try to do that more intentionally at some point. Overall, I thought it turned out very pretty despite my nitpicks.

That’s all my favorite photos from this assignment, have a lovely day!

This week I took 3 texture photos for photography.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, ISO-3200, f/22, 1/160 sec.

This photo is my favorite out of these 3. I liked how there were several different kinds of texture on the tree, and how the patch of lichen ends up drawing your eye first. I also like the bits of moss on the left and right, I think they add a lovely bit of darker green to compliment the yellow and kind of pale teal.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, ISO-3200, f/9, 1/160 sec.

While I liked this picture of the moss and grass, I felt like it ended up being too cluttered and it didn’t end up focusing on the moss how I wanted. The photo is a bit too busy, although I do like the close up of the moss.

Settings: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, ISO-1600, f/5.6, 1/160 sec.

I ended up liking this photo more than I thought I would. I had just been trying to get a picture of the spider, (who was actually much smaller than this photo may leave you to believe,) but after looking at it I realized I had also gotten an interesting photo of the concrete, the part closest to the camera is blurred, directing your attention to the spider. The light also highlighted the top part quite nicely, although if I were to do it again, I might try to get the area around the spider in more focus, since it’s just a bit blurred, which bugs me a little.