Photography Review: Still Life and Landscape

Next week, I'll be at Cebu for the annual convention of the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians and WONCA regional conference.. Since it's gonna be my first trip there, I have to take a lot of shots of the city, the people, the famous places. One important thing that I'm gonna surely bring is my DSLR camera. However, I've been on "hiatus" for quite a while on my once-favorite hobby.

Reviewing what I learned when I enrolled for a weekly photography class in Quezon City, here are the notes I've scribbled down during that session. I've also included some of the pictures I've taken prior to the lesson and after it. (Most can be found in my flickr account.)

Still Life Photography
- Object photography, meaningfully or artistically
- Kinds: Indoor - most common
             Floral - this is my most common subject
             Sculptural
             Food - most difficult
             Impressionistic
             Imitation - from existing art work
- Characteristics: Clear subject
                           Simple
                           Good use of colors and contrast
                           Good light
                           Unique perspective
                           Has a "personality"
- Techniques: In "M" or "Av" mode -- sorry, I'm using Canon. I don't know its equivalent to Nikon. 
                     Large aperture (F5 or larger)
                     Single drive
                     AWB, cloudy can be used for wooden subjects
                     Use telephoto lens - 50-100m
                     Zoom in
                     Single AF area mode
                     Center weighted metering

** Tips in taking pictures of flowers and plants --> I barely remember this part. Haha!
- Look for a sense of order or layers or patterns
- Understandable shapes
- Remove distractions or other elements


Landscape photography
- Pictures of an outdoor location
- Emphasizes local colors, culture of the place
- Unique man-made, or natural structures
- Subject is the back-ground
- Types: Natural
             Urban/Cityscape
             Road
             Skyscape
             Seascape
             Night
- Techniques on how to take it: 3 layers - foreground, midground, background --> 1/3 bottom, 2/3 sky --> if you want to emphasize the sky. But according to the great Mr. Scott Kelby, you can deviate from this rule. 

Bangui Windmills

                                                "M" or "Tv" priority
                                                Small aperture (F8, F9...)
                                                Dynamic shutter speed
                                                Single drive
                                                Auto white balance (AWB)
                                                Wide-angle lens (18mm, 17mm, 10mm)
                                                Dynamic AF area mode
                                                Evaluative or matrix metering mode



I am also reading photography books by Scott Kelby and watching lessons on the YouTube. I haven't joined any photowalk yet but given the opportunity, I'll gladly join one. Most importantly, I gotta have lots of practice and patience.