5 Alewives Road, Norwalk, CT 06850

$649,000

Very private, expanded Mid-century modern ranch-style home.
3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths. 2777 square feet.

The property is tucked into the woods on .63 acres of natural landscaping, fronting the Five mile River. Great location with easy access to both the Merritt Parkway and I-95, Metro-North train stations in Rowayton and Darien, as well as shopping on the Post Rd. 

Built 1954; renovations in 1997, 2004, 2007.

Three large walk-in closets. Fireplace. Leaded glass entry door. Rear deck. Two storage sheds.

New well pump and new oil tank this year. Oil fired, hot water baseboard heat; three zones.

Partial central air-conditioning and pass-through air-conditioners.

Range, refrigerator, microwave oven, dishwasher, granite countertops. Walk-in pantry. Stacked washer, dryer.

Security system: door alarms, glass breaking sensors, motion detectors, smoke detectors.

Schools:  Fox Run Elementary School, Ponus Ridge Middle School and Brian McMahon High School.

Property Tax: $8,234

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Taiko drummers, Japanese Society of Fairfield County. Cherry Blossom Festival, Mead Park, New Canaan, CT

Here's the handout for today's class. If you have any questions, please email.

Download Work Flow hand out.

Thanks for being in my class.

ISO control on a Canon G11. Photo by Canon.

Hello, Lifetime Learners

I found this post on F-stoppers website that explains ISO very well. It’s not a perfect post. The author claims that raising the ISO increases the brightness of the capture. It does not. It increases the sensitivity of the sensor and amplifies the ability of the sensor to respond to light, like turning up the volume on a radio. For a given aperture, raising the ISO requires a higher shutter speed to provide a correct exposure; or, for a given shutter speed, raising the ISO requires the aperture to be closed down (higher f/stop number). And, like a radio, the higher the volume the higher the “hiss” background noise. That’s the increase in grain-like artifacts in the image that degrades quality, as ISO is raised. After you wrap your head around this concept, the rest of the article is quite accurate.

You might also want to glance at the comments that follow the story. I’m always amazed at how uncivil these discussions can be and the astonishing lack of knowledge and experience form many who post. 

fstoppers article on choosing ISO

Today we talked about RAW versus JPG and smartphone camera controls. Here're some links you may find helpful:

These are from Emil Pakarklis of the iPhone Photography School.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swgXhzE0HF4

https://iphonephotographyschool.com/iphone-camera/

A tiny sample of camera apps. I haven't mentioned the numerous apps for making adjustments to smartphone camera images. And, new apps constantly are added to the Apple App store and Google Play store.

iPhone Camera Apps (iPhone Photography School)

https://iphonephotographyschool.com/best-camera-app-for-iphone/

ProCamera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGuQY48EkSY

ProCam 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgmJXaPTAuA

Android Camera Apps

https://fossbytes.com/best-android-camera-apps/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeNjGNFjAKw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJwqMVELZJo

Assignment: Please make a series of images using the guidelines I've provided. Photograph what interests you, what beauty or tragedy you see. Post 3 to 6 images to your LLI Google Drive folder. 

Follow these links for a review:

Composition

https://petapixel.com/2016/09/14/20-composition-techniques-will-improve-photos/

https://www.joshuacripps.com/2015/02/create-better-compositions-important-rule-photography/

Exposure Control

https://petapixel.com/2016/06/25/comprehensive-beginners-guide-aperture-shutter-speed-iso/

Joshua Cripps Historgram

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvG1DycHY4Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djIxXKwJ7kA

Lesson 5: Portraits

Samples:

https://www.trevillion.com/stock-photo/two-young-women-with-freckles/search/detail-0_00253580.html?dvx=1346&utm_source=Clients+Master&utm_campaign=96e7031da9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_04_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7223f93dac-96e7031da9-81408929

Lighting

Notice how the photographer interacts with his subject--his encouragement and enthusiasm:
https://youtu.be/5GJplEhDcQU

Natural Light Portraits by Jim Kahnweiler

Liz. Photograph by Jim Kahnweiler

Bob. Photograph by Jim Kahnweiler

Nadia. Photograph by Jim Kahnweiler

Cape Lookout lighthouse, Harkers Island, NC. Photo by Kathleen Norris Cook.

Cape Lookout lighthouse, Harkers Island, NC. Photo by Kathleen Norris Cook. Rule of Thirds

And Kathleen's image offers three more compositional lessons. 1) leading lines. As you can see, the lines don't need to be literal lines to provide the elements that lead your eye through the image. Actually, the lighthouse itself is such a dominant element, no lines are needed to bring our attention to the center of interest. Because the tower so dominates the composition, the leading lines take our eyes away from the lighthouse along the lines of the grasses. 2) the large expanse of the blue sky gives the photo substantial negative space, forcing our eyes toward the tower.

Cape Lookout lighthouse, Harkers Island, NC. Photo by Kathleen Norris Cook. Leading lines

3) note the low camera angle. She would have had to kneel, sit or lay in the sand to make this image. Even though the base of the lighthouse is cut-off by the dune, like cutting a full-length portrait at the ankles--which I don't mind in this case, the low angle gives the image extra impact by emphasizing the sand and grasses.

Light: low afternoon or early morning sun helps emphasise the shapes and textures.

Bravo, Kathleen!

And, I would guess that Kathleen did not really think about all this when she "saw" the lighthouse. She might have walked around a bit before she came upon this alignment of elements and made this photograph. And I would also guess she took several captures, from another angle or two, with exposure bracketts, and made a vertical composition as well.

Hover your mouse over image for caption information and by-line.

I thought of a couple of things I wanted to emphasize when discussing composition and didn't mention.

1) Camera position. This is crucial to framing. An image taken from above the subject or from a worm’s eye view can produce a dynamic image. But, think of Dorothy’s photos of her dogs and how they might be improved if she had kneeled to take the picture at their level. The same with children.

Bromley. Photo by Jim Kahnweiler  

Follow this link to Minden Pictures for examples of low angle, eye level images of feral rabbits on Okunoshima Island, Japan: https://www.mindenpictures.com/gallery/feature-stories/1058/2682/2203/0/rabbit-island-by-yukihiro-fukuda.html

2) And, I didn’t present a good example of leading lines. These are picture elements, often curves and converging lines that move the viewer’s eye from the foreground into the image toward the horizon.

Leading lines. Before processing. Photo by Jean Jacobson

Leading lines. After processing. Photo by Jean Jacobson

The Tetons and the Snake River. Photo by Ansel Adams

Chateaux Kyserberg. France. Leading lines. Before (L.) and after processing. Photo by Jim Kahnweiler

Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows in winter, Yosemite National Park. Photo by Joshua Cripps

Also, I should have emphasized framing as a compositional technique. Natural and structural elements can frame the center of interest and help bring the viewer's attention into the image. The center of interest need not be completed surrounded by a literal frame; partial framing works, too.

A Walk Through Paradise Garden. Photo by W. Eugene Smith.

Taos Church, New Mexico. Photo by Ansel Adams

Florence framed by the entrance to the Piti Palace. Photo by Jim Kahnweiler

Vineyards in the Valley of the Moon, Santa Rosa, CA. Photography by Jim Kahnweiler

Assignment 2.

Use your a smartphone or regular camera, to make a series of images with intent: decide what you want to photograph--it can be highly specific or broadly defined. If you want, construct a still-life with objects found around your home, or beach, or anywhere; the idea is to build a photograph. Or, find objects and-or people with red, white, blue; or green, white, orange; or red, black, yellow. Or, subjects with clearly defined converging or intersecting lines or curves. Or, reflections, patterns. Abstract. Realistic. What you feel. These are just suggestions. Anything goes, as long as you are deliberate in your selection. Post your best 6 or fewer to Google Drive; remember your logic or inspiration to share during discussion.

Lesson 3: Control the Camera

Exposure: Relation between shutter speed, aperture, ISO

How to evaluate exposure: histogram, clipping warnings, view result

Review this website: https://petapixel.com/2016/06/25/comprehensive-beginners-guide-aperture-shutter-speed-iso/

Feel free to comment on this post

See you Tuesday

About Light Photography Workshops promo image

I'm offering a photo workshop in the San Francisco Bay Area, October 4-10, 2015. I'm teaching with Alan Blaustien. See his work here and here. We're planning an intense week of shooting and instruction at several iconic locations such as the Golden Gate Bridge, China Town and North Beach. We're also planning a day in the wine country. Alan has lived and worked in the Bay Area for over twenty years and will take us to places tourists seldom go. We'll talk about using the light for landscapes and portraits and demonstrate location lighting techniques. We'll get up early to catch the sunrise and stay out late to watch the sun set. I will share my expertise in post capture processing, so bring your laptop.