Becky
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Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
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I looked at lots of images in the Macaulay library and I'm very drawn to crisp, close-up shots of birds in their natural environments. I love it when a photo is so clear you can see the individual barbs of the bird's feather, or the tiny feathers of the eye-ring, or a reflection in the bird's eye. One photo I saw captured a small droplet of water or dew on top of a chickadee's head! This is the kind of photo I'd be thrilled to take. I currently own a Nikon D5100 which I've had for 8 or 9 years. I have a Nikon 70-300mm zoom lens and a Nikon 300mm fixed lens, which I use with a 1.4x teleconverter. I got the 300mm used/refurbished from Adorama, and it squeaks when it focuses, but it works well enough. So... even though my equipment is not brand new, I feel it fits my ability level for the time being. My primary goal for this course is to learn more about how to use the equipment I have - as well as learn new techniques for taking great pictures. Over the years I've taken some pretty good shots of birds - but I always feel this happens by accident, not by design. I'm hoping this course helps me increase my knowledge of how to use my camera and lenses to capture better photos of birds!
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I really enjoyed this assignment. I chose the tufted titmouse for my first field study bird because they're frequent visitors to the feeders in back of my house. Although I see them often, I'd never really taken time to learn about their behavior. Reading more about their feeding habits and preferred habitat helped me better predict when and where I would see them. One fun fact I learned about titmice is that they will often take the largest seed/nut they can find to a nearby branch and either eat it or stow it to eat later. I just missed a shot of one with a very large peanut in its mouth, and I took lots of bad, blurry pictures before I managed to get these two shots (Nikon 300mm w/ 1.4x teleconverter).
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I definitely see a difference in my work since the first assignment. I worked on proportionality and using negative space to get the right angles... though I can still see I'm off a bit when I look at the reference photo. I created a color palette and used glazing to add value to the piece. I want to keep practicing these techniques... I feel like I am just beginning to develop my skills, and I'm really enjoying this focus!
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I'm really trying to pay attention to proportion, value, and negative space. I'm pleased with how my pencil sketch of this Eastern Bluebird came out, though I can see the bird's eye needs to be bigger. I'm going to try to sketch it again more loosely so I can add color. This drawing is from a photo I took yesterday when five bluebirds appeared at my deck feeders. Such a treat! Because it's cold and snowy I'm doing a lot of drawing from the photos I take - and then I research/add notes about my subjects. What a great way to learn!
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Shading and texture are coming more easily - though I always feel I am drawing with lines that are too dark. I need to "lighten up!" Also, proportion seems to be getting better. I find gesture drawing with moving objects really difficult. I captured a gesture of the pintail from the video and then went back and refined it with the video paused. It was great practice.
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I'm having so much fun with this - and I see so many ways to use comparison studies. I began with a comparison of two oak leaves. Honestly, I'd never really thought much about the fact that there are so many different kinds of oak trees. To start, I randomly picked two different leaves and used them for my first comparison study. This made me curious to know more about the trees in my area - and I've been learning more about them each day.
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I definitely want to continue practicing capturing light/dark and dimension. I have an easier time with this when I am drawing one object, as opposed to trying to represent a landscape outside. Practice will help!
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Drawing from the photo made me really pay attention to small details. It was challenging to get the proportions right - but fun to try. Thank goodness for erasers! :)
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I had fun with this exercise - it forced me to take my time and look at the shapes in relation/proportion to each other - rather than thinking about the whole subject. It came out better than I thought it would!
I definitely see a difference in my work since the first assignment. I worked on proportionality and using negative space to get the right angles... though I can still see I'm off a bit when I look at the reference photo. I created a color palette and used glazing to add value to the piece. I want to keep practicing these techniques... I feel like I am just beginning to develop my skills, and I'm really enjoying this focus! 
Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)