Final 10 Images 206 Theme 2 Reportage Paris

I have now finished my final images for Theme 2 Reportage.  My original idea was to post produce these images and convert to black and white in photo shop.  Most of my research has been based on old black and white images shot in Paris as I really love old style black and white photographs. I have been inspired by the great photographers Henry Cartier Bresson, Robert Doisneau and Andre Kertesz and these famous greats have taken fantastic images in Paris.  I have also been inspired by great photographers of today like Eric Kim who is a street photographer and converts most of his work to black and white.

When deciding which images I should select for my final 10 I was also remembering my research from my blog Black and White Photography and researching the Macbeth Chart which allows you to view different colours in monochrome.  I also looked for patterns, textures and shapes which would enhance black and white images.  I then realised that I had so many images which are colour and shots taken at night with different coloured light which are really nice.  I really wanted to include these so my final 10 but taking away the colour took something away from the overall image so they needed to remain colour images.  Although I really like black and white photography during this course and the transition from winter into summer I have become more inspired by colour images.  I have now decided that my final 10 are a mixture of colour and black and white images.

For all these images I have used my Nikon D90 and 18-105mm lens, I fully charged my battery daily and carried a spare memory card with lens cleaner and cloths.  I only have two lenses and the macro lens I have is not the best choice for reportage. These images did not need cropping but I have cropped them to A4 size for presentation purposes.  Most of the images have only had the saturation adjusted slightly or been converted to black and white so there was not much post production work to be done.  My first image I attempted to crop to A4 but I could not crop any part of the image so it remains in its original size.



I have not made any adjustments to this image as I feel no post production was needed.  I have not cropped this image as I feel it is really well framed.  The slow shutter speed 1/13s and the F7.1 aperture has ensured exposure with the ISO set on 1000.  I did not have my tripod which could have been very useful with the slow shutter speed used but I tried to keep the camera as still as possible to try and eliminate any blurring caused by movement.  I shot this image from a low angle trying to capture the cobbles on the street and keeping the line of bikes well in my viewpoint.  This image was shot late at night when you can find quite streets in Paris which is almost impossible during the day.  This gives a really relaxed feel to the image creating a sleepy quiet Paris.  This image shows the composition aspect the rule of thirds which are present throughout the image with the pavement, street lights and the buildings.  Lines are present throughout the image guiding the eye around every part.  I really like the patterns, shapes and textures within the cobbles and the bike wheels and the shadows and reflections caused by the street lights against the trees, bikes and posts. My favourite part of this image is the colours and this is why I could not make my final 10 images black and white because this image had to be included.


 This image has been cropped to A4 purely for presentation purpose as the frame captured on the original image was good.  I have adjusted the saturation a touch in post production because I did not feel it needed anything else.  I did consider removing the branch out of the top of the image but I like photographs in their original state capturing the moment as it was.  I really love this building which is typical of Paris because this is what the buildings are like all around the city.  This image was taken with a shutter speed of 1/200, aperture F8 and ISO 200 which ensured exposure as I was taking the picture in a shaded area out of the sunlight.  A higher aperture and lower shutter would have given a wider depth of field allowing more This image has been cropped to A4 purely for presentation purpose as the frame captured on the original image was good.  I have adjusted the saturation a touch in post production because I did not feel it needed anything else.  I did consider removing the branch out of the top of the image but I like photographs in their original state capturing the moment as it was.  I really love this building which is typical of Paris because this is what the buildings are like all around the city.  This image was taken with a shutter speed of 1/200, aperture F8 and ISO 200 which ensured exposure as I was taking the picture in a shaded area out of the sunlight.  A higher aperture and lower shutter would have given a wider depth of field allowing more focus and sharpness around the whole image but I am happy with the result.  I like the shape of this building and taken at a low angle the shape is enhanced against the background.  I chose this image to be in my final 10 mainly because of the colours which I think have been captured really well with almost no post production.  I really like the pattern within this image which are present as lines, forms, shapes and colours.  Lines are present throughout the image and although the building is centred within the image it does show the composition aspect of the rule of thirds with the crowd of people being present in the bottom third.

                                   

This image was taken on a bright and sunny day walking across the bridge leading up to the Eiffel Tower. I had seen this advertisement a few times whilst walking around Paris and liked the expression on the boys face which shows surprise and excitement.  When I saw the tour bus travelling towards the Eiffel Tower I waited for the shot as the bus moved through the traffic, not really realising the final image would represent the boys look of excitement and surprise whilst travelling under the Eiffel Tower.  This image captures a little of what is known as Juxtaposition which is quite hard to capture in street photography as you have to be extremely lucky or create a staged shot.  This image has been shot with a shutter speed of 1/320, aperture F7.1 and a ISO 200 which ensured the correct exposure.  I have converted this image to black and white in post production as I feel it suits the image.  This image has been shot at a good perspective and represent the rule of thirds and lines really well.  I like the aspect of frame within a frame as the boy is captured within the frame of the bottom of the Eiffel Tower.  I think the image has a lot of grey tones but still maintains a good tonal range overall.  I like the patterns and textures created by the frame of the Eiffel Tower and the line of people boarding the bus have been captured at a really good moment.

This image has had the most work in post production as the original image had a man walking down the street towards me.  I did get a shot just before the man walked into the frame but after quickly checking exposure I had to adjust the camera controls and re shoot the image.  I have posted screen grabs in a previous post which shows how I removed the man using the rectangle marquee tool and the edit, fill and content aware tools.  This image was taken using a shutter speed of 1/320, aperture of F8 and ISO 200 which ensured exposure.  I have converted to black and white in post production which suits the image taken.  Taken at a low angle this really captures the lines of the street which guides the eye through the image.  This is one of few images taken in Paris where I managed to capture just one person as Paris is so crowded and that is what makes this image stand out and why I have chosen it as one of my final 10 images.  The focal point is the man on the bike and I like the perspective capturing the old building with lots of details which adds the composition aspect of pattern and texture.

This image captures life in Paris at night, people sitting outside restaurants mostly under heater lamps as the night air draws in but the atmosphere is really lovely.  I was sitting outside the restaurant opposite under heater lamps with people walking past enjoying what Paris has to offer.  This image for me captures a moment in time to which I think photography is about and this is why I choose it as one of my final 10.  This image was taken with a shutter speed of 1/8s, aperture F7.1 and ISO 1000.  The slow shutter speed was needed because when this was taken it was very dark and late at night.  I did not have my tripod but managed to capture the image with very little movement.  I really like the colours in this image and how it has captured the reflections in the window.  I also like the image which has been captured through the window of the people sitting inside and the man staring out of the window seems to be looking directly at me.  I do not know if he saw me take the picture or not but it appears he did.  I like the glasses and the bottles within the window and the way these add pattern and texture to the image.

Whilst walking around Paris I passed an old run down building and some skate boys were using it as a skate park.  I stayed for a while and took some shots of the skate boarders in action and this was one of the images.  I did have some images of skaters jumping off ramps which I like but I like the relaxed atmosphere this image creates.  The boy reading the magazine has been shot at the rule of thirds and I really like the lines created by the steps and building in the background.  The old building creates really nice pattern and texture to this image.  This image was the hardest image to decide on black and white or colour as the colour image was really nice.  There was not much colour in the original, just a pale yellow caused by the sun reflecting on the building and the yellow beer can sat on the wall but it was a difficult decision.  I finally decided to convert to black and white only because I had to make a choice because I like both images the same.  This image was taken with a shutter speed of 1/400, aperture F5.6 ISO 200 which ensured exposure as the sun was quite strong reflecting off the building.  I did consider taking the boy in the background out in post production but I do not like to change images too much Photography for me is about capturing the moment.

This image was taken from the balcony at the hotel which had this really lovely view of the Eiffel Tower above all these lovely chimney pots.  The blue beam of light travels around the tower I checked exposure and waited for the position of the light to be in line with the chimney pots.  This image was taken with a shutter speed of 1s, aperture F5.6 and ISO 1000.  I used my elbows on a table to try and eliminate any camera shake as I did not have my tripod with me.  This is another image that I really like and could not have converted to black and white because of the lovely colours.  I have lightened this image slightly, so slightly I don't think you can and cropped to A4 for presentation.  This image shows the composition aspect of the rule of thirds and lines.  The pattern and textures created by the buildings are really beautiful and the Eiffel Tower and the blue light are the focal point with really great colour.  I like the shape of the chimney pots against the sky in the background.  This is a really nice shot showing the real beauty of Paris at night.

This image was taken through a shop window and is an advertisement for converse boots.  When I saw this window I instantly knew I was going to convert to black and white and then use the history brush to colour in some of the red boots.  I like images which are post produced in this way and converse boots are great too. Taken with a shutter speed of 1/320, aperture F7.1 and ISO 200.   I like the pattern this image represents with the repetition of the shapes of the boots.  I think this image has a nice tonal range with equal amounts of low and high key tones and if you look closely you can see the reflection of the street outside.   This image is not really a representative of Paris as this shot could have been taken anywhere but my representation of it is capturing a moment on the Champs Elysee Paris.  I have included it because I knew how I wanted the final image to be as soon as I shot it and it is one of my favorite images.

This image is the one I most struggled with including in my final 10.  I like images of motorbikes, scooters and pedal bikes and did take quite a few whilst in Paris as they seem to be everywhere.  I think this one made it because I like the old shop situated at the rule of thirds and it has been taken at a good perspective.  The detail of the building is really nice and adds really nice pattern and texture and I like the reflection of another building in the window.  The row of bikes are also positioned in the rule of thirds and also represents lines.  I also think that this image has a nice tonal range with equal amounts of low and high key tones.  This image was taken with a shutter speed of 1/250, aperture F9 ISO 320 as this ensured exposure in a shady build up street and a wide depth of field.  I have converted this image to black and white in post production and altered the colours slightly.

This image is another colour image which made the choice of my final 10 being a mixture of colour and black and white.  Taken with a shutter speed of 1/80, aperture F6.3 ISO 1000 this ensured exposure as it was just starting to turn dark.  The focal point is on the girl with the blond hair which captures her candid expression really well.  There is some really nice colours in this image and together with the detail of the street, the cobbles and the buildings forms really nice pattern and texture.  There is a lot going on in this image and the eye is easily guided around the whole image.  Another image which captures the hustle and bustle of city life in Paris.