Chichester Harbour Conservancy Introduction to Photography Introduction Chichester Harbour over the last 100 years has become a much loved and heavily photographed location at the heart of the south coast of England. Designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1964, it is a particularly special place for photography. With such a diversity of environments, habitats, villages, people and history and such a large area the photographic opportunities are endless. With such a wealth of images to capture it can sometimes be frustrating when what you see doesn t come out in the photo taken. Follow our guide to help you get the most out of your camera. The Camera Basics Composition Types of Photography around the Harbour Locations Photography Exercises #1: Time Photography Exercises #2: Fixed The Camera Basics Modern cameras with automatic settings have been designed to automatically take the best photo with the light available. The problem with this is that it takes away from the photographer the creative tools that can allow them to create their own personal interpretation of what they are seeing through the viewfinder. Most cameras, both older 35mm film and modern digital, can have the automatic setting switched off. More advanced cameras can be set to manual mode (allowing changes to shutter speed, lens aperture, etc) or on basic cameras you can select a scene option such as landscape, portrait, etc where the settings are changed to suit your requirements. Despite all of the modern technical advantages even the most expensive digital camera and the oldest film camera share the same principle features that allow for the composition and creation of a photographic image. Focus The camera viewfinder is what you look through when composing a photo. With SLR (Single Lens Reflex) cameras you see into the camera and then look out through the lens itself. In the view finder you can see if the subject of the image is correctly in focus. If a subject is out of focus it is blurry, in focus it is sharp and clear. Most cameras have auto focus but on many you can set it manually which can allow you to focus on subjects that are not in the centre of the frame. For example you may specifically want parts of the image to be out of focus.
Aperture The aperture is a round window located in the lens that you can control. Making it bigger or smaller lets in more or less light to the camera. On a really sunny day you want to let less light in, so make the aperture hole smaller. On a cloudy day you want more light so make it bigger. The human eye works in the same way, adjusting the iris when switching a light is switched on in a dark room. The size of the aperture hole is measured with f numbers. The smaller the f number, the bigger the aperture. Depth of Field A side effect of changing the aperture of your camera lens is that the distance in front of your lens that is in focus increases or decreases. If you open the aperture wide the distance in focus reduces. If you have a fast lens (f1.8 for example) you can reduce the depth of field of your focus to only a few inches, with everything in the foreground and background out of focus. Reducing the depth of field can make the subject of your photograph really pop out and it is also a technique often used for macro photography. Photo: Thorn bush on Chidham. Shutter Speed If the aperture is the window into the camera then the shutter is like a curtain you open and close to let the light onto the film or centre at the back of the camera. The speed that the shutter opens and closes effects the amount of light let in to the camera, i.e. if the shutter is slow it lets in more light and longer for more light. You open the shutter when you press the shutter button and it is this that makes the shutter noise. The shutter speed is measured in seconds but because light is so quick you normally set camera shutter speed in fractions of a second, for example 1/200 which is often used in daylight situations. If the subject of the photo is moving very fast (e.g. a flying bird) you need to take the photo with a fast shutter speed to freeze the bird in motion. There are also occasions where you want a photo to
be blurry, for example to show movement (e.g. a fast car) or to create a smooth texture, often used in long exposure images of bodies of water or a cloudy sky at night. Shutter speed and aperture are commonly adjusted together (compensating one with the other) so that with the available light you can creatively use depth of field and motion in an image. Photo: Long exposure of Emsworth Mill Pond at dusk. Over and Under Exposed Using the aperture and the shutter you control how much light comes into the camera and onto the film or digital sensor. For automatic cameras it changes them for you so your photo is not too bright or too dark but that means you are unable to control depth of field, motion, etc. With the aperture and shutter speed on manual you have to be careful to let in the correct amount of light. If a photo has had too much light it is over exposed, often too white or light. If the camera has not had enough light the image is under exposed with dark areas. With both over and under exposed photos detail within the image is lost and sometimes cannot even be recovered with post production editing (e.g. Photoshop). ISO ISO speed originally applied to the different speeds of camera film that were available, with faster speeds better for use in less light. With digital cameras you can adjust your camera s ISO speed to allow you to take photos in lower light but for many cameras it means your photos will then have noise, which appears normally as white dots or loss of image quality. ISO speed is another way (working with aperture and shutter speed) that you can adjust your camera so that enough light is available to capture an image creatively.
Composition What makes a good photo is very subjective, everyone views and appreciates photos in their own way, but there are some defined composition rules than can help you compose an aesthetically pleasing image. Despite being called rules a creative photographer can (and often does) bend and even break them in the right situation to create an incredible photograph. Rule of Thirds Many rules of photo composition are created so that the resulting image has a sense of balance and the Rule of Thirds is one of the most famous, so much so that some digital cameras have it built into the screen or viewfinder. The rule is based on a visual grid splitting the frame into three vertical thirds and three horizontal thirds. Subjects within the frame should be aligned to either one of the lines or one of the intersections. Studies have shown that the human eye naturally goes to these interesting areas rather than the centre of the frame so subjects in these locations become points of interest. Photo: Walkers on the northern edge of East Head Golden Ratio The Golden Ratio (also referred to as the Golden Section) is a composition technique that has been used for 1000s of years in both art and architecture. The ratio (approximately 1.61803398874989) when used in photography creates a compositional spiral where if the subject falls on the intersecting points it creates a visual balance, leading the observer s eye to the centre of the spiral. Photo: Birds on wires in Chidham.
Types of Photography Around the harbour Chichester Harbour has a huge variety of different both natural and manmade habitats and environments plus many different villages. From a photographic perspective there are many different types of photography that can be done within the boundary of Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty including the following. Landscapes With such a beautiful location as the harbour itself there are an unlimited number of locations that can provide inspiring views of the landscape and water. Landscape photography is very popular and does not require any specialist equipment, although a tripod and a wide angle lens can help in creating a wide view with a stable horizon. Landscape photography can include foreground subjects or be of just the vista itself. Many landscape photographs are taken at sunrise and sunset to provide colour to the composition. Photo: A winter s morning on the edge of the Chidham peninsula. Wildlife Chichester Harbour with diverse natural habitats is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, including many migratory birds and some very rare plants. Photographing animals, fast moving birds or insects can be difficult requiring fast shutter speeds and quick reactions. The harbour is also home to shy and illusive animals (such as deer and snakes), which means researching their habits and having the patience to wait for the right shot. On the other hand the many plants and trees around Chichester Harbour provide perfect subjects for photography, in particular macro photography. Macro photography requires a special lens that allows you to focus on a very close subject so you can capture small details.
Photo: Dragonfly at Dell Quay. Documentary The harbour is home to many different activities, some stretching back in history (oyster farming) and some far more modern. Documentary photography can be the photographing of a particular activity or process, capturing it in detail and context. An example of a good documentary photography project might be documenting the building of boats, focusing on the old and new skills involved, the equipment required and the people who work there. Photo: Father and son repairing a small boat in Emsworth.
Portraiture Portraiture photography is about capturing a moment in time but also about capturing a person s character too. The harbour has many interesting residents and visitors, all interacting with it in many different ways. The challenge with portrait photography is to somehow capture something of the personality and character of the subject, something that will hint at not only the person but their life. An example could be photographing a series of fishermen based in the harbour. Photo: Sir Jeremy Thomas taken on Thorney Island. Locations Chichester Harbour is over 9000 acres in size and as such has a huge variety of locations to take photos. Below are examples of some popular photography spots and some that are more off the beaten track. Exploring the harbour on foot or by boat is a great way of finding your own places to capture the harbour and its residents. Be sure to get your own unique perspective but do stay on footpaths or get permission before going on private land. Favourites Some favourite places for photography in and around Chichester Harbour are: - Emsworth (the Mill Pond is a popular, particularly at sunset) - Itchenor (the many boats and yachts at Itchenor are perfect to photograph) - East Head (at the mouth of the harbour the sand dunes are a perfect location for photography) - Bosham (the rising tide, the old church and the many visitors mean that Bosham is a photography hot spot)
Off the Beaten Tracks The harbour coastline and inland provide some wonderful locations for photography, below are a few off the beaten track examples of places that are worth hunting out: - Prinsted (a beautiful village filled with old, thatched cottages) - Fishbourne Meadows (hidden between the church and the mill pond, the meadows are home to some rare wildlife and flowers) - Warblington (home to the old castle tower, Warblington also has some wonderful coastline and views of the harbour) - Footpaths around Salterns Copse (a small piece of woodland on the harbour edge next to Chichester Marina)
Chichester Harbour Conservancy Photography Exercises #1: Time The following two photography exercises all relate to time: 1. Every Minute Counts The first limited time photography exercise is all about making every minute of the time you have allocated count by taking a photo for every single minute. If you set aside one hour for a photography walk not only must you come home with sixty photos but they must all be taken in quick succession. This exercise requires you to look and think quickly, learn to be relaxed with composition and technique and develop the skills often used within street photography, where photographers try to capture Henri Cartier-Bresson s Decisive Moment. 2. Alphabet With a limited amount of free time with your camera you can play the Alphabet game, where you take 26 photographs, one for each letter of the alphabet. You can be literal by taking a photo of the letter D on a sign or more abstract where you photograph an object with a name that begins with the letter. This game can be played anywhere, be that in the street, in the countryside, on the water and even around the home and garden. You can play for 15 minutes, an hour or more if you like. This exercise relies on quick thinking and helps develop instincts with your camera and photography techniques. For an extra challenge try playing the game with a friend and compare the resulting photos trying to guess the order the photos should be in. Is this T for toy or G for Giraffe? Photos copyright of Paul Gonella 2012 (www.quietcorners.com)
Chichester Harbour Conservancy Photography Exercises #2: Fixed The following two photography exercises all relate to being fixed with a particular restriction: 1. Fixed Lens Many cameras have a lens that you can use to zoom in and out on a scene. For this exercise go out on a photo walk with only one fixed lens, if you have one try using a prime lens like a 50mm. If your lens is fixed to your camera simply take photos without using the camera s zoom function. This exercise requires you to concentrate on composition & depth of field focusing & also getting closer to people (with portraits) or exploring objects and textures (e.g. rope tied to a boat, etc). 2. Fixed Exposures With digital cameras you are able to almost take a countless number of photographs while out on a photography walk, sometimes taking many photos of the same subject. For this exercise you are fixed to only taking 36 photos on a photography walk (we recommend for this a short walk of 45 minutes to an hour or so). This exercise is designed to replicate the use of a roll of 35mm camera film and as such you are not able to delete any photos, just take 36 in total. This exercise requires to you carefully concentrate on composition and technique before you press the shutter button. To make that little bit harder you could try setting your camera to just manual settings for exposure and shutter speed and not review any of the photos until you get home. Photos copyright of Paul Gonella 2012 (www.quietcorners.com)