For my test shots I went to Chessington World of Adventures and tested the different kind of rides I could take when I’m at the other places, I also tested the shutter speed and the aperture for the different rides to see how it is different.

For this ride I tested the shutter speed as this ride goes pretty fast so I thought it was a good opportunity to do this. I also ignored the aperture on purpose, I did think about the background, the focus and the timing of pressing the button whilst taking these.

On these few photos I changed the shutter speed each time:

1/1500

1/500

1/100

1/10

1/50

1/10

Over all I think that the best shutter speed is either 1/1500 or 1/500, this is because the 1/1500 is very clear and you can see everything in detail and can see the peoples facial expressions to show the adrenaline from the ride. The 1/500 shutter speed is also good because it is clear enough to see the ride but is also a little blurry to show how fast the ride actually is. I don’t think the other shutter speeds are good to use because they are too blurry to see anything really.

 

Then for these next few I wanted to try and get the background blurry and the carriage in focus to show the speed of the ride. To do this I kept the Shutter speed at 1/10 for each one and followed the carriage with the camera as it came down from the top.

When I first started trying to do this technique it didn’t turn out every well and everything was blurry, which I didn’t want. As I went on I got better and better so hopefully when I come to do it properly hopefully it will be what I want.

 

On these ones I carried on testing the shutter speed but at a different angle so it would turn out differently.

1/20

1/200

1/500

1/500

1/1000

1/1500

1/1500

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For this ride I tested the aperture to see what the lighting did and then how the shutter speed changed.  The numbers in the brackets are the shutter speeds as it changes.

8.0 (1/50)

7.1 (1/60)

5.3 (1/100)

6.3 (1/60)

For the ride going away from me I think the best aperture number is 5.3, I think this because it shows all the colours from the tress really well, also the colours from peoples clothes.

 

I then took some when they were coming towards me to see if that made a difference.

8.0 (1/60)

7.1 (1/60)

6.3 (1/125)

5.6 (1/160)

5.1 (1/160)

For these photos I think the best aperture is 5.6 as its not too dark but then its also not too bright.

 

These 2 photos I took in automatic to see what settings the camera would put it in to see if that was much different to what I was doing.

5.0 (1/200)

5.5 (1/125)

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This ride I focused on the shutter speed again to try and get the splash from the water as the boat hit it. The numbers in the brackets are the aperture number as it changed automatically when the shutter speed changed.

This is automatic to see what the camera would put it in:
1/100 (5.3)

1/1500 (5.6)

1/1000 (5.6)

1/500 (5.6)

1/250 (5.6)

1/125 (5.6)

1/60 (6.3)

1/30 (8.0)

1/30 (8.0)

I think the best shutter speed for these is in-between 1/1000 and 1/500. I don’t want to use 1/1000 because it is too dark meaning the camera isn’t letting enough light in because the shutter speed is to fast. I then also don’t want to use 1/500 because it is too bright meaning the camera is letting too much light in because the shutter speed is too slow. So by using a shutter speed in-between these will hopefully mean it won’t be too bright but also not too dark and the water effect will look good as well.

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These set of photos I put the camera in manual mood and changed each setting myself.
These few I set the shutter speed at 1/1500 and changed the aperture each time:

4.8

6.3

5.0

Over all I think the shutter speed for these is too fast because its not letting enough light in because the shutter speed is too fast so you can’t see anything and just looks like a black screen.

The next few I change the shutter speed to 1/250 and then carried on to change the aperture.

4.8

5.0

7.1

If I was to use this shutter speed I would use the aperture number of 4.8 as the other ones are too dark and cut really see anything.

These 2 photos the shutter speed is at 1/50.

4.8

6.3

I think having the shutter speed set at this number is the best because it means you can actually see whats in the picture. I then think the best aperture number is 4.8 because its not too dark and you can easily see whats meant to be in the picture.

Marc Aspland is an English photographer who takes photos of sports and sports professionals. Marc is based in London. For some of his photography work he has won a few awards, for example a Special Award at the 2005 Sports Photographer of the Year.

He is the Chief Sports Photographer of the Times newspaper in London, since 1988 when he moved from the Watford Observer. He has photographed 4 FIFA world cup finals, every English FA cup final and every Wimbledon tennis finals from 1988 to 2013. As well as these he has also photographed British open golf championships, world athletics events, F1 grand prix, six nations rugby and every rugby world cup tournament since 1991. As well as doing sport photography he does other photography genres and is a winner of Royal photographer of the year.

Lenses he uses:

Marc uses a few different long lenses but the EF400mm f/2.8L IS II USM telephoto lens is his ‘go-to’. He says that its sharp, robust and reliable. As a sports photographer he feels comfortable looking through it and can focus it quickly, it is experience and being in the comfort zone of knowing what that lens does.

As well as using long lenses he also take a few wide angled lenses. One of them being the EF15mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens. He uses this angle in football matches to get all of the stadium and goal in one angle shot. This lens offers Marc a different view and different way of looking at the stadium.

He also carries an ultra-wide EF16-35mm f/2.8L II zoom, which is used on a remote camera due to its ability to ensure corner-to-corner sharpness while minimising distortion. He uses this lens to get pictures of people and keeps it on the ground next to him for when players celebrate in front of him.

Camera system:

His photography progress has been using the 35mm Canon F-1 film SLR through to the EOS-1D Mark III and EOS-1D Mark IV bodies. He is really pleased with the latest model saying he likes the low-light performance and wide ISO range, which at its standard its 12,800 and is able to go up to 102,400.

I feel like I should do this research because people doing sports photography need to take fast moving photos which is the same when I’m taking photos of rides/rollacoasters as they are fast moving as well. It is interesting to see what equipment they use and how they do it to get the final photos and what makes them such a good photographer.

Aspland, Marc. (2012). What’s in your kitbag?. Available: https://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/education/technical/whats_in_your_kitbag_marc_aspland.do. Last accessed 23th April 2019.

 

I went to Thorpe today to get some more pictures of rides/rollacoasters. Here I only took photos of 5-7 rides as I felt like they were the ones I could get the best photos of and they were the most kind of thrilling rides there which is what I’m aiming for. Like at the other places I changed the shutter speed and aperture for some shots as I felt it was better that way. I feel like this day went really well and I am really happy with the photos I got of all the different rides.

If I were to do it again I would look up some photo inspiration to get some idea of what kind of thing I wanted to get pictures of as I spent a lot of time deciding what kind of thing I wanted t get and the different angles I wanted.

Today I was at Alton Towers and took photos of most of the rides there for my final portfolio. To take the photos I walked around the whole ride area to see where the best places to get the pictures I wanted to get. Once I was in the right place I tried different angles (high, low) to try get the best possible picture, I also changed the shutter speed and aperture  on some of the pictures. I took photos of about 7-10 different rides so I have a lot of photos I can choose from and choose the best rides to use as well.

The good thing about Alton Towers is that you can get really close to the ride without being in the queue line so I was able to get good photos without having to queue up or going through a fence. Also most of the rides here are more thrilling which is what I was aiming for so it fits my idea pretty well.

If I was to do this again I would choose where I wanted to get the photos from before I go as I wasted a lot of time deciding where I wanted to stand to get the photos I wanted and to make sure the sun wasn’t too bright in the photo to become too overwhelming.

Today I went to Brighton to get some pictures of the rides on the pier there. I wanted to get ones in the day light and a night to also get the effect of the lights in the dark.

I got all of the photos I wanted to get during the day and turned out just how I wanted them to and I got all of the different rides on the pier. Whilst I was doing this I was also changing all of the camera settings to get different types of photos and so the background colour and sharpness is different. However when I came to get the photos in the dark they were closed so I couldn’t get any pictures in the dark.

If I was to do this again I will need to make sure I check the times of the rides before we get there to make sure I can get all of the pictures I actually want to get. Overall though I am happy with the pictures I did get and how they all turned out.

Today I wanted to go to Chessington world of adventures to get some test shots so I know what kind of thing I want to get and how I can do it.

To get the test shots I went to a few different rides an  different types of rides to see what kind of setting I need to put the camera on to get the right type of photo I want and how I could do it when it comes to get the actual photos from the other locations. Whilst I was here I tested the different shutter speeds to try and get the ride in focus and the background blurry, I tested the ampture to see how much light I want to let into the camera, I also tried taking the photos in auto mode to see what the camera suggested to put the settings on to see if that made any difference to the photo.

Overall this was a good day and I got everything I wanted to get and it all went to plan, if I was to change it I might of done when it was a brighter day to see what difference the sun made to the settings I used when it was cloudy.

The next thing I will need to do is do a post about the test shots I got and also do a bit of research about a photographer who does fast moving objects to see how they do it before I go to the other locations.

Theme parks

Thorpe park:
I have decided to go to here because it is one of my favrouite theme parks and has a lot of different rides I could get pictures of. It is good because it isn’t just full of big rollacoasters, it also has some smaller ones which shows the different kind of adrenaline you can get from rollacoasters. You are not allowed allowed to take any kind of camera or gopro onto the rides with you, so to get the photos I want I will have to take them all of the rides and not being on any.

These are the dates its open. I am hoping to go on the 27th or 28th depending on the weather.  I will also have a lot of time because it is open near enough all day so I have plenty of time to get the photos I need and want.

Thorpe park. (2019). AN ISLAND LIKE NO OTHER. Available: https://www.thorpepark.com/. Last accessed 4th April 2019.

 

Alton Towers:
I want to go here beacuase it has alot more big kind of rollacoasters so I feel like I can get more and more interesting kind of photos here. Here it’ll be a lot more of the bigger and faster rollacoasters as that is what it’s more aimed at and has more of. I can take photos here but am not allowed to on the rides, in the water areas or changing areas, I’m also not allowed any kind of video camera so can’t take a gopro on the rides.

I am going to go in the holidays so, the week beginning 15th April for a few days so I can get all the photos I want as it’s further away.

Alton Towers. (2019). Alton Towers. Available: https://www.altontowers.com/. Last accessed 4th April 2019.

 

Chessington World of Adventures:
I am wanting to go here to get the first set of photos which will be my test shots to see what kind of photos I want to get, how I’m going to get them and what setting the camera needs to be in to get the right kind of lighting for when I take the actual photos. I want to do this here because I feel like Chessington doesnt have that many thriller kind of rides so I feel like I can’t get the best photos here, so I’ll use it for testing everything. Like the other theme parks you aren’t allowed to take photos or videos on the rides but are allowed to take photos of the rides without bing on them.

I am planning on going on the 7th April to then figure out what kind of shots I like the best before going to the other places to get the final pictures.

Chessington World of Adventures. (2019). Chessington World of Adventures. Available: https://www.chessington.com/. Last accessed 4th April 2019.

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Funfairs

Littlehampton funfair:
This seems like a good place to go to because it has a lot of different types of rides and attractions I could get pictures of, for example it has a few rollacoasters, some flying type of rides and bumper cars. This is a good place to go because it is quite close and easy to get to and it is more aimed for younger children so I can get a different side of adrenaline from that kind of age group.

Harbour Park. (2019). The Children’s Beach Adventure. Available: https://www.harbourpark.com. Last accessed 5th April 2019.

 

Shepherds Bush Green
This would be a good place to go to because it is pretty popular so I can get more pictures with people in the background to then get more of their facial expressions and how they are enjoying it. It is also good because it is still pretty easy to get to, it might be a little bit more expensive but still easy to get to.  This funfair also has a lot of variety of rides that I can take pictures of and all ages groups go so can get different types of photos as well.

It would be good to go here because it is open when it is getting dark so I can get different types of photos and ones with the lights from the rides to also create more effect on the pictures.

Irvin Leisure. (2019). Shepherds Bush Green Family Funfair. Available: http://www.irvinleisure.co.uk/funfairs/shepherds-bush-green-family-funfair/. Last accessed 5th April 2019.

Today I want to get the research done for the different locations and decide what funfairs I could go to and when they are open. I didn’t mange to get this done because we had to listen to other people pitches so I didn’t have time to do the research I wanted to do.

Tomorrow I will need to finish the research about the locations, start the research into the kind of pictures I want to get and how I will get them. I also want to research other adrenaline photographers to see how they get their pictures without them being really burly and what equipment they use to do this. To make sure this happens I will need to work pretty quickly and efficiently so I can get it all done in the next few days so I can start taking the pictures.

 

Today I wanted to do some research on different types of photography and what different genres there are within the topic. I managed to do all of the research I wanted to do, finish the post and publish it.

I was also hoping to start a new research task to see where I could go to a funfair and get the pictures from there. I didn’t manage to start that part of the research. I didn’t manage to because I took longer to do the first bit of research so I didn’t have time to do it today.

Next time I will try and work a bit faster so I get more done in one lesson so I then have more time for the production part of the project and so I have more time to edit the photos to make them the best I can.

Tomorrow I hope to start and maybe finish the research for the different options I have for funfairs. If I do finish this bit of research I will start to research what kind of pictures I want to get and how I could get them to the best of my ability.

• Landscape photography

This type of photography is when you capture of the nature and of the outdoors that makes the viewer think they are there with you. It is when the photographer creates their own connection into the photo to show whats around them and what they can see in that location. It is when you not expecting to get a good photo so you leave all your equipment in the car or something and end up getting a really good photo. A lot of landscape photographers wake up in the very early hours of the morning to get a really good photo, for example a sun rise.

Some examples include:

An example of landscape photographer is Colin Prior. He first began to take photos underwater and got passionate about that, he then won ‘best newcomer to underwater photography’ in 1981. From there he carried on his photography life and deplored all the different genres of photography to discover he enjoyed landscape the most and carried his career on from there. He does work as a commercial advertising photographer and does his landscape photography personally and found himself whilst doing it. He is documenting Pakistan’s mountains which will make book and an exhibition, he is also exploring the relationship of the elements in a mountain environment.

Some of his work includes:

photographylife. (2019). Landscape Photography. Available: https://photographylife.com/landscapes. Last accessed 29th March 2019.

Mansurov, N. (2019). What is Landscape Photography?. Available: https://photographylife.com/landscapes/what-is-landscape-photography. Last accessed 3rd April 2019.

Prior, C. (2015). Colin Prior. Available: https://colinprior.co.uk/portfolio/. Last accessed 3rd April 2019.

• Nature photography

A lot of nature photography is for scientific use, travel and cultural publications, they are also considered the finest examples of fine art photography. To be a nature photographer they need to learn a lot and be very professional about it. They need a lot of professional equipment like, tripods, protective camera case and different types of lens. They also need to research a lot about the landscape or animal they are going to photograph. Nature photography takes a lot of time waiting in the same place for a long period of time before getting the right picture. This is because the animal they are wanting to photograph might not be right or be in the right position.

Some examples are:

An example of a nature photographer is Marina Cano. She is from Spain and based in Calabria Northern Spain. She first started as a teenager using her dads camera. As she went on she started to get better and better and she won serval international awards. She has now published some books, the 1st one is called “Cabarceno” which is about photos from the biggest wildlife park in Europe. The 2nd one is called “Drama & Intimacy” which is a selection of photos from South Africa, Kenya, England and Cabarceno. She has been part of the Canon Ambassador since 2015, representing the field of Nature photography as a wildlife photographer.

Some examples include:

 

Kordic, A. (2016). Everything you Need to Know about Nature Photography. Available: https://www.widewalls.ch/nature-photography/. Last accessed 3rd April 2019.

Cano, M. (2019). Marina Cano wild photography. Available: https://www.marinacano.com. Last accessed 3rd April 2019.

 

• Documentary photography

This is a type of photography used to show events or environments which are significant to history but also relevant to historical events, as fellas everyday life. Photographers use documentary photography to describe unknown, hidden, forbidden or difficult places to get to, or for circumstances that date to the earliest bits of history around.

Examples include:

An example of a documentary photographer is Edward Burtynsky. He is labeled as one of the worlds most accomplished contemporary photographers. Some of his global industrial landscape photography are in some of the major museums around the world, for example The National Gallery of Canada. He has received a BBA in photography/Media studies from Ryerson University in 1982.

Some of his photography include:

Wikipedia. (2019). Documentary photography. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_photography. Last accessed 3rd April 2019.

Burtynsky, E. (2019). Edward Burtynsky. Available: https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/projects/photographs. Last accessed 3rd April 2019.

• Panorama photography

This type of photography is when you can use specialised equipment or software that gets images with horizontally elongated fields of view. It can be known as wide format photography. It can be done by putting different pictures together to then create a longer picture called Panorama photography.  When the ratio between the height and length of the photo is at least 1:2 it is considered as panoramic photography.

Some examples are:

An example of a panoramic photographer is Will Pearson. He is based in London and specialises in large-scale 360 photography and panoramic photography. When Will moved to London he has been documenting the changing skyline and has travelled around the world to capture other cityscapes. He put 2 photos together to create one, he puts extremely high resolution pictures together. His largest photo has been 72 metres wide.

Some of his work include:

Frich, A. (2019). The guide to panoramic photography. Available: https://www.panoramic-photo-guide.co.uk/panoramic-photography.html. Last accessed 3rd April 2019.

Pearson, W. (2019). Will Pearson. Available: https://www.willpearson.co.uk/portfolio/. Last accessed 3rd April 2019.