UTAS Project 2 - Images for the Social World

After much self-debating on what theme/story to tell for my Project 2 of my Photography and Social Media course and I have finally decided to go with “Colours of the Queen Victoria Market”. I have always and still do enjoy visiting this Melbourne landmark on a regular basis. So in my 10 photos I am going to endeavour to give the viewer the vibrant feeling I always feel at the market.

Content and Context

The content I have chosen to submit are the colours of the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne. In the shots I have included some graffiti, fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood that is the heart of the market. I have chosen these photos as I feel they all convey the true colours, sights and feelings of the Queen Victoria Market. Each visit to this market confronts me with the same food but the sights and experiences I am bombarded with are different every time.

Composition and Technique

As with my Project 1, instead of using my DSLR I have challenged myself to only take photos using my iPhone. Using my iPhone made the process of taking the shots in sometimes a very crowded busy market a lot easier and spontaneous.  I have modified some of the images on the apps in my iPhone and also in Photoshop Elements on my laptop.

Project 2 Editing

I am submitting my 10 photos portraying the colours of Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market and I am hoping they convey a bit of my joy during my visits. My theme is “Colours of the Queen Victoria Market”. I am using Tumblr http://davinerae.tumblr.com/ and my blog http://53buddhas.blogspot.com.au/ as my digital journal.

Photo 1 - As you enter the market grounds from the carpark you are greeted by this mural. Painted from stencils under the guidance of local artists Fred Fowler and Michael Fikaris. I feel this photo gives an idea of how the market is a place of fun. The manipulation on this shot was a bit of cropping and I also increased the saturation slightly in Photoshop Elements. 

Photo 2 - Mushroom are mushrooms but get right up close and the underside veins are intriguing. I wanted to show what you can really see when you really look.
The manipulation done on this shot was only cropping right in close. 

Photo 3 - I find the colours of the Salmon and Blue Swimmer Crabs very appetising.
With this shot I cropped and increased the saturation slightly to bring out the orange
of the salmon and the blue of the crabs. 

Photo 4 - Looking everywhere rows and rows of fruit are a vivid colourful sight.
All I felt this shot needed was a bit more saturation with Photoshop Elements 

Photo 5 - Not everything at the market is appetising to everyone.
These cow tongues make my tummy churn but I found the texture on the surface intriguing.
This shot was cropped right in close on Photoshop Elements to enlarge the texture of the surface.

Photo 6 - There is a stand full of many different herbs and spices that tend to
blur all together, but this turmeric just stood out to me.
 I increased the saturation slightly on Photoshop elements to really give the colour pop. 

Photo 7 - I love the colours of these beautifully fresh tomatoes.
The manipulation I used was to increase the contrast and also accentuate
the edges to highlight the green stems. 

Photo 8 - Even though the colours of these oranges and melons are in the same range they are totally different. I increased the saturation to brighten up the contrast. 

Photo 9 - Yes onions are onions but when one is cut in half and magnified look at the amazing design that appears. The only manipulation was that I zoomed in on the subject. 

Photo 10 - No visit for me is complete without having one of their famous Hot Jam Doughnuts. I wanted to zoom in enough that it felt like you could almost touch and taste to sugar and jam. 

UTAS Project 2 lead up.....

With my UTAS Photography and Social Media course almost at an end I thought it time I do a short summary of where this course has taken me and what I have learned. I have been interested in photography for a long time and taken many shots over this time. But I have found through the process of looking at other photographers work and exposing myself to a much wider range of work I am now looking at what I photograph in a much different manner.
I have also found I have had to discard some of my views on my photography and just go with the flow. I thought I had never produced themes before, but looking back I have been photographing themes without realising it. In fact I love themes. After much self talk I have decided to construct my theme around "Colours of the Queen Victoria Market".
I have also found a few sites I have found inspiration in are Steve McCurry on https://facebook.com/stevemccurrystudios
I love the way his images catch people just doing what they do in their everyday lives.
Another site I have found inspiration from is The Hungry Australian.
Following are a few of my reject shots I thought I might use as my themes.
 

This was taken while walking the Golden Mile in Melbourne.  

Doors of Montsalvat was another theme possibility

William Ricketts Sanctuary was another option

This is one of my rejects from the Victoria Market

And another reject..

Which Theme or Story should I choose?

On this journey to my final project submission for my UTAS course Photography and Social Media Course I have come across so many themes I want to cover and stories I want to tell. I have gone from Melbourne's Graffiti to 10 Things to do in Melbourne to Colours of Vic. Market to Letterboxes to Doors !! But at least I think I have my choice down to two - Colours of the Queen Victoria market  or Doors of Montsalvat. Maybe I'll just do both and then decide which one I will submit. I would really love your feedback.

Colours Of Queen Victoria Market

Doors of Montsalvat

Photography and Social Media - Project 1 Submission

The date has now arrived for me to submit my Project 1 work for my UTAS course. I have found even in the short time the course has been running, my outlook on how I take my photos has changed dramatically. I tend to be looking at the world around me in thirds, leading lines, complimentary colours and numerous other ways I never did before. I would love to hear any feedback you may have on my work so far. 

Project 1

Not being a fan of the “selfie”, I asked some of my friends if they were to take a photo of something that represented me, what would it be? So that is what I started out to do and that is why I have chosen the photos I am submitting.  I also decided that I would challenge myself and take all my photos for this course with my iPhone rather than my DSLR.

Photo 1. The suggestion was given to me to take a photo of something mysterious and a bit crazy. After taking several simple shots of my face and choosing one, I then played around with MultiExpo. I feel the red gives a bit of a crazy feel and the reason I am showing just my eyes is to convey a bit of mystery.

Davine trying to portray a mysterious outlook

Photo 2. Another person gave me the suggestion of something fun. As it happened to be Christmas, and I love Christmas and try and have a Christmas tree in each room of my house I thought the Christmas bauble a good choice. I wanted my image to be a secondary feature as the Christmas Tree is the main subject. I think the shot shows how I feel about Christmas and the bright colours show the fun I get out of life. This photo was modified using the app Moldiv which I had never used before.

Hopefully the colourfulness of this shots portray the fun side of me

Photo 3. Quite a few of my friends said I just had to include a photo that included my camera as I don’t leave the house without it. I included this photo as I feel it shows the real me doing something I truly love.  I would class this shot as a self-portrait as I directed another person in how to take the shot I wanted. I then modified the shot using the Photo Editor app. Firstly creating a soft hazy light and then softening the edges. This is my favourite photo of the three, I like the softness the haze has given the overall feel of the photo. I also feel it represents the message I was trying to convey. 

Me doing what I love!

Photography and Social Media - Week 3/4

Week 3 of the course comprised of setting up a digital journal, which I have done on Tumblr. Tag all my shots with the #smputas tag, also done. Lastly I had to upload at least 5 selfies - done in my last post, with explanations of how I got the effect.

Week 4 consists of four activities being Composition, Design, Colour and Light. In my next couple of posts I will address these activities.

Activity 1 - Composition. There are quite a few different techniques I can use in my photos for this activity. I must use at least two of the techniques, but I will try to tackle more.

- Rule of Thirds

This photo, as with all my photos for this course was shot using my iPhone. It was taken in the conservatory in Fitzroy Gardens. I tried take this shot using the rule of thirds by where I placed the purple flowers and the white lady statue. The only modifications I did was that I cropped it slightly. 

- Leading Lines

My leading lines shot was taken at the Royal Botanic Garden in Melbourne. I felt the railing as well as the steps led the eye to the unknown at the top of the steps. What was at the top of the steps? Temple of the Winds. I modified this shot in Afterlight by increasing the saturation slightly and darkening the shadows slightly. 

- Symmetry
This is the Conservatory in Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne. Looking face on at this beautiful building it is obviously symmetrical. I modified it by increasing the contrast slightly in Afterlight.

- Pattern and Repetition
The bark on this Queensland Kauri struck me straight away with it's repetition of the bark colours. The only modification done was a slight darkening of the outside border.

- Framing
Looking at this fountain I thought the huge cactus framed it dramatically. I increased the contrast slightly in Afterlight so the fountain would stand out a bit more.

- Point of Interest

The point of interest of this huge tree is the shadow of the trunk and branches. No modifications were made.

- Point of View (unusual)
The unusual point of view I wanted to portray in this shot was the obvious partying that had been going on in the beautiful Fitzroy Garden over the Christmas holiday. I modified the photo using PIP Editor.

- Fill the Frame
The only modification made to the shot of these flowers was that I cropped the photo slightly.

More Selfies for my UTAS course

OK here are a few more selfies, although one of them would probably be classed as a self portrait. I had to give someone (a real non-photographer) directions of what I wanted done. With these selfies I have concentrated more on what I enjoy, to give the audience a bit more of a glimpse into my life.

This shot shows me participating in one of my relaxing pastimes - fishing

Here's another pastime I don't mind doing - mmmm ice-cream

Yes, I do love Christmas. In fact I try to have some sort of
Christmas tree in each bedroom of my house. 

Then there's me with my baby!
I'd say I would take at least one photo every day either with my
Canon DSLR or my iPhone. 

Photography and Social Media Course

I have recently started an online Photography and Social Media Course with UTAS (University of Tasmania). I will be using my "53buddha" blog and my Tumblr  account as my digital journal. In the first couple of weeks we have been asked to consider the following questions.
Which photography themes inspire me? I would have to say Landscape, Travel and People.
Which platform would I prefer to use for my digital journal? As I mentioned above I intend to use my blog and tumblr.
We also have to participate in the online discussions (which can take up a lot of time), and check out some photographers that inspire us. To get some inspiration I have joined a couple of Facebook photography groups eg. Aussie Landscape photographers and Australian Geographic.
I have also decided to challenge myself and ONLY use my iPhone for all my photos, leaving my Canon DSLR tucked up in her bag.

Just a bit of experimentation with a double exposure

There's always room for a bit of colour in your life

In preparation for Project 1 we are to take some test "selfie"shots. Not being a fan of the selfie I try to play with the shots so much that I am hardly recognisable! The top shot is my first attempt using a multiple exposure then the second i just played with lots of colour. I would love any comments on my progress.
#smputas

Saturday night at The Meadows

You may ask where and what The Meadows is? Well The Meadows is one of the two greyhound racing tracks in Melbourne and is situated about 26 km (26 mins) from Melbourne CBD. It's also where four girlfriends and I had our Christmas night out last Saturday night. I'm not much of a gambler but this is a pretty entertaining night which includes entry to the venue, and a buffet dinner, which was quite nice. We were lucky our table was situated right at the windows and looking straight at the finish line. I really like greyhounds and would like to adopt one but it's a bit pointless while we are still in our travelling mode. I have been friends with Alice, Melissa, Robyn and Wanda for around 15 years and cherish their friendship, and we always have a lot of fun when we venture out. I did have a win and a couple of placegetters so I came out about even.

Davine, Robyn, Alice, Wanda and Melissa out for a great night

Here they come

This little beauty won me some money 

As night fell the sky turned the most amazing colour

Seeing we have finishing our travels for a little while and staying home for Christmas I have decided to do a bit of exploring in my own city, Melbourne. So I will be doing some posts on what beautiful attractions Melbourne has to offer. 

I'd love to wish all my readers a very merry Christmas and the happiest New Year. 

I have also just started an online Photography and Social Media course with UTAS (University of Tasmania) and we have to keep a journal on our progress. So I have decided to do my online journal on 53 Buddhas and also on a Tumblr site I am in the progress of setting up.