'Lost in the City'

In today's blog post I will show my first journey of using DSLR camera. The task was to go on a 'derive' through the city, try to detach myself from everyday notions and take 6-8 photos of the unusual details I noticed. Also I will discuss about Contact Sheet and EXIF details. 

''Derive'

First I would like to find the real meaning of this word. As I can read: "One of the basic situationist practices is the dérive [literally: “drifting”], a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances. Dérives involve playful-constructive behavior and awareness of psychogeographical effects, and are thus quite different from the classic notions of journey or stroll. In a dérive one or more persons during a certain period drop their relations, their work and leisure activities, and all their other usual motives for movement and action, and let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there. Chance is a less important factor in this activity than one might think: from a dérive point of view cities have psychogeographical contours, with constant currents, fixed points and vortexes that strongly discourage entry into or exit from certain zones. But the dérive includes both this letting-go and its necessary contradiction: the domination of psychogeographical variations by the knowledge and calculation of their possibilities". (Guy Debord). 

In reference to 'derive' I get lost in the city of Leicester with Canon 700D camera. It was my first time with professional camera outside. It took me few hours to finish my drift. As it was my first attempt some of my pictures are not perfect yet. 

A contact sheet simply was the positive print of total negatives from a roll and often each image the same size as the negative itself. The purpose of using a contact sheet is to be able to quickly scan a series of images and then enlarge them. 

I share some of my raw pictures with you. First I created contact sheets in Adobe Photoshop software and then choose a few best pictures and add EXIF details to give more details about the picture. The process of creating a contact sheet is very simple, I just open Adobe Photoshop, then click on the top left corner File-Automate-Contact Sheet II, and then I upload my images from the computer, later I save my finished Contact sheet to the desktop or hard drive. 

                                                                 Adobe Contact sheet

     First I put all of my images in one folder in my computer

Then in Photoshop I go to File > Automate > Contact Sheet II.

In the Source Images section of the Contact Sheet II dialog box I choose the folder that contains my images.

I can make customization of my Contact Sheet choosing under Document - Units, Width/Height, Resolution and Mode

If I want I can select the Flatten All Layers option.

Under Thumbnails, I can decide how I want my images arranged on the page.

I can select the Use Filename as Caption option to label each image based on its file name.

I Click OK and Photoshop will create my contact sheet. I can save or print it from the File menu.

Here are my contact sheets:

         

                                                                               Contact sheet I 

                                                                             Contact sheet II 

                                                                      

                                                                        Contact sheet III

EXIF details 

Along with the JPEG photos that most modern digital cameras produce, they save some extremely essential information. Exchangeable Image File Data, or "EXIF data" for short, refers to this information. For example, if you ever need to know the precise day and time a photo was taken, or which camera, shutter speed, or aperture was used, the EXIF data will have that information and much more. Many image editing programmes will show the EXIF data in a photo, but the quickest and easiest way to see it is directly in Microsoft Windows and MacOS. 

How to access that information? 

I should navigate to the folder where the photo is located, then right-click on the photo and click Properties, then click on Details at the top of the pop-up window, then scroll down to the Camera section and I can see available EXIF data of my picture. 

right click - properties - camera details

'exif details'

    Now I can see what EXIF details my images have and I can sign and compare my photos. 

Canon EOS 700D     F7.1, exposure 1/125 sec., ISO 100, focal length 45mm

I like this photo because of it's colors, they are bright and clear. I can see a good contrast between the tower and the sky. The tower is sharp and plays the main role in the picture as I wanted. I can see many tiny details of the the tower. What I didn't notice before walking with DSLR camera is the fact the tower has two clocks. I think this photo is a good example of 'drawing in light' what I discussed in last blog post. I think this photo is successful. 

Canon EOS 700D     F4, exposure 1/30 sec., ISO 320, focal length18mm, no flash

Here I was playing with camera angles, I took photo from the bottom. In my opinion this is an unusual interesting way to show the building. Also the building has sharp roof finish and it relates to the tree next to it with the same sharp 'ends'. Also I captured old lamp, I think it suits good to the old building. I think the picture is well composed. 

                Canon EOS 700D     F5.6, exposure 1/60 sec., ISO 1600, focal length 55mm

In this picture I like the contrast between a massive building and a tiny moon, which in fact the opposite is true - the building is tiny and the moon is huge. Also I can see a relation between something made by human - a construction and something super natural. What could go better is fact that I can see little small spot on the left side, for the next time I have to be sure my lenses are clean. 

             Canon EOS 700D     F5.6, exposure 1/200 sec., ISO 100, focal length 35mm

The first idea was to capture the fountain but later I suddenly saw pigeons flying around me. I was trying to capture the best shot, I can say it was very challenging. Consequently I shoot three different buildings, I can see some shadows, on left building from another building and in the middle building I can see shadows of trees and flying pigeons above. I really like how the Sun plays role in this picture. I can say a lot is going on in this picture which makes it interesting. What I would do differently is to set up different setting to have everything sharp, as I can see the middle building it is not. 

      Canon EOS 700D     F4, exposure 1/60sec., ISO 400, focal length 18mm

In this picture I can see the game of colors. The little tree stands out of the Cathedra with its beautiful pink color. To make this picture I was trying different camera settings. I'm happy with this picture because I shoot two wonderful objects almost in one line. What I could do differently next time is to take a picture when the Sun is still high. It could make a fantastic contrast and fill the background with clear blue color.

 

                     Canon EOS 700D     F5.6, exposure 1/80sec., ISO 640, focal length 55mm

Here I caught something that I wouldn't notice. A little red tower. As the sun slowly goes down I can't see enough light. What I can do is to edit my picture for example in Adobe Photoshop or Pixlr software to make it lighter. I like the fact the tower is in the center of the image.

                       Canon EOS 700D     F4, exposure 1/60sec., ISO 400, focal length 18mm

In this picture I was trying to catch beautiful colors of sunset, as I love the mix of warm colors in it. I think I should learn how to take a 'good night' picture. At the top of the image I can see a natural gradient, but I think the building could be more visible, and I should be more focused on what is over the grass, because grass play big role as I didn't want. 

Here I show how I changed automatic settings to try different effects on image:

        Canon EOS 700D     F3.5, exposure 1/30sec., ISO 250, focal length 18mm, flash

        Canon EOS 700D   F4, exposure 1/125sec., ISO 400, focal length 18mm, flash

Canon EOS 700D    F5.6, exposure 1/40sec., ISO 400, focal length 18mm, flash

Canon EOS 700D    F3.5, exposure 1/40sec., ISO 125, focal length 18mm, no flash

                            Canon EOS 700D    F4, exposure 1/60sec., ISO 400, focal length 18mm, flash

As I can see the quality of the picture depends on camera settings, such as exposure, ISO, focal length and aperture. In the next blog post I will explain what are those camera settings and how to use them.

To sum up my 'derive' through the city it was very interesting experience. What I have learned is fact that I definitely should try different camera settings and test them in practice. Canon 700D camera was very convenient to use. For this time I get 'lost' in the center and surroundings, for the next time I would like to try get 'lost' deeply in nature. I'm quite happy with the outcome of my work. Now I know what skills I should improve and work on to be a better photographer in the future. For example I can edit my raw pictures and make them black and white. Also use different camera lenses. Even though I didn't know yet much about all camera settings, taking pictures made me happy!

https://helpx.adobe.com/nz/photoshop/how-to/create-contact-sheets.html

https://www.ricksdailytips.com/view-a-photos-exif-data/