(Photographer as Sculptor)
Student's Thoughts while on assignment:
I had selected this one [British Flag picture' because the light had more of a glow on the Union Jack.
There seems to be a theme for windows, although I didn't plan it that way. I look forward to you feedback.
British Flag
Yes, thanks for shipping me the more glowing version of Union Jack. A pretty good composition, and I especially liked how you used the building's edge to be the physical framed edge of the right side of the photograph. Such a move is called, sometimes, a Framing Device. It has the effect of really concentrating our attention on the action in the framed area, but gives a nice detail and anchor for the whole photo too. This "composition stuff" is front and center in your next lesson as you learn more and more to architect your picture. I note that the image is rather soft? [Tech Note: email me the information on this one: shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and focal length. It seems like your shutter speed was too slow for such a handheld shot, particularly if you were zooming a bit into telephoto range. Repeating, but good minimum handheld shutter speeds (for steady shots) are in the 1/60th-1/250th range.]
Coffee Mug
Lovely. A appreciate (as said in email too) how well you are getting the essence of this assignment. Taking notice of the whole world around you (yes, especially, morning coffee.) Light and its effects really abounds and it is very wise to get over the hangup on having MIND BLOWING beautiful subjects all the time. The simplest gesture of steam coming up and out of this coffee cup is well timed, well seen. The hard granite counter picks up a nice silhouette form in the shadow as light illuminated the textures. In you photo above AND in this photo, the bright point-of-interest (flags above and steam in this shot) a set off very nicely against a semi-dark, or middle-dark background. This enhances the photo rather well versus the alternative of light on light where the effect might disintegrate. So, noticing noticing noticing is the operative lesson in all of this Pursuit-of-Light! I also appreciate how some of your color-as-simple palette (nearly just one color in this case) has come forward with you into new lessons!
Blue Dormer
Perhaps my favorite. The most complex of the set, most abstract, yet also clearly enough about a dormer window with stained glass. Showing the real world, yet showing much more insight and evolution of an idea about the space. You saw this (or maybe just me) as a set of thick lines in brown, white, and even red. A playful way to see patterns. Like I mentioned above, the way the photo has been staged is terrific: 1) using the monochromatic nature of the white paint and brown beams to set off that explosion of blue/red color, 2) using the curved banister again (like in flag photo above) as a framing device to hold the central interest. This one too, like above, seems rather soft as if focus was missed or perhaps (again) the shutter speed was too slow. As you were inside this time, less light is available and slower shutter speeds can result. Let me know the settings on this one too (shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and focal length). I really want to get you taking sharper shots and understanding the roll shutter speed plays in the steady precise sharp image.