I am quite new to photography only getting my first camera 5 years ago A 6mg pixs Kodak z650 digital camera I had a lot of fun using it , I used it for the 1^st course I went on at the botanical gardens a short course on how to use your camera this is the 1^st time I used manual settings and have never gone back .

Took in the garden faces the glass houses



After I finished that course i wanted to get a certificate in photography and saw a course at a local adult education course
It was Ncfe photography level 1 it was use of camera controls Explore and develop image production skills and produce and evaluate a range of photographic images . At the end you had to have a portfolio of 12 images , I choose to do my favourite place and took 12 images from Stratford upon Avon . Half way though this course I managed to get a canon 450d at a curry’s opening day sale I was really pleased and used this for the rest of the course .

 Here is a sample of my work from Ncfe level 1

 

After i finished level 1 I went back the year after a done Ncfe level 2 Certificate in photography

At the start i picked action and movement , still life and natural history

For my final 12 photos portfolio i picked natural history

My level 2 work

Now I hope to study this city and guilds level 3 at Burton college I am amazed how much equipment there is and how good the studio is . I am use to a run down adult education centre with just 2 portable stands and lights
I have not work in a studio before so wouldn’t mind a try . I am not sure what certificate to go for but wouldn’t mind trying some macro work , Id like to get some units towards a diploma so if I come back next year and I could do the other units I need .

Macro reseach , Karl Blossfeldt

                                                                     

                                                   Karl Blossfeldt





Karl Blossfeldt was a German sculptor and photographer he was also a teacher and artist who worked in Berlin, Germany. he was born in 1865 and died in 1932

He is best known for his close-up photographs of plants he captured these photos and used them to instruct his students.
Karl was a self taught photographer and used a homemade camera designed to significantly magnify his subjects.

Blossfeldt's practice involved selection and alteration at nearly every stage. He is reported to often photograph several  different plants at once and then later, cut up his contact prints and rearrange individual elements. When enlarging an image to emphasize detail, Blossfeldt would often crop again, selecting only a portion of a plant. Unwanted details such as leaves, roots, distracting shadows, or even photographic blemishes were eliminated from the contact prints by hand.

Blossfeldt was 63 years old when his first book of photographic images, "Urformen der Kunst" was published. The book contained 120 of his original photographs and was released following an exhibition of his work at Berlin's Gallery Nierendorf. His second book, "Wundergarten der Natur" was published in 1932.

This flower looks amazing hes presented it beautifully and
manged to show the texture and lines of the leafs

I like the way he shows up the tonal range of these plants he
cropped and magnified hes images many times to get some great Macro shots

                    I like how he gets so much contrast in the shots with shade and light

 Karl used crop allot in hes photos showing amazing macro photos

I use crop in some of my photos just to get that little bit closer to the subject

Comparison with my work

I have took some photos face on slightly cropped

 them and turned them to black and white

Canon 450d

lens 50mm

Shutter speed 1/1600 sec

Aperture f/2.2

ISO 100

Metering Evaluative

                                                          kodak z650

                                                   Shutter speed 30 sec

Aperture f/2.8

ISO 125

Metering

                                                   centre weight average

Canon 450d

Lens 55-250mm at 179mm

Shutter speed 1/100

Aperture f/5.6

ISO 200

Metering Evaluative



A talk about Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt work to music

Karl Blossfeldt has had books published over the years

conclusion I like the way karl was self taught much like myself to think he made hes own photography equipment and managed to get such great macro shots in the 19th and early 20th century is amazing .