Project 6

Candle Trail

Date Taken: 11/24/2011

Camera: FUJIFILM FinePix S2550HD

Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec.

F-Stop: f/6.4

ISO:6400

Focal Length: 5mm
Tripod: no

Birthday Cake

Date Taken: 11/27/2011

Camera: FUJIFILM FinePix S2550HD

Shutter Speed: 1/1250 sec.

F-Stop: f/8

ISO:6400

Focal Length: 10.4mm

Tripod: no

The first image shown is Candle Trail. With this I was attempting to capture the simple

elegance of candle light. One night, I took a few pictures of a single candle on the

cement, yet found myself dissatisfied with it. I then added many more candles with hopes

of achieving something better, still nothing. It wasn’t until I arranged the candles in a

wavy line that I felt I had something. I took several pictures, experimenting with the

settings on my camera, particularly the ISO. While I was happy with the composition of

my photograph, I was dissatisfied with the “graininess” and noise in the picture. I believe

this was particularly due to my cameras maximum ISO settings that were used. I would

have also like to have more of the cement exposed, to provide a sense of origin.

            The second image is called Birthday Cake. There is nothing about this picture that

was planned, it was purely coincidental. I was at my aunt’s house for her birthday and

was asked to bring my camera to take pictures of the family. A few hours into the visit,

this cake was brought out. What I found most appealing is the arrangement of the

candles. Most people will distribute them throughout the entire cake, however, these candles were placed in a very close proximity to each other, creating an even bigger flame. It was very dark in the house so the candle light seemed to intensify. I got in close and took the picture. It wasn’t until afterwards that I noticed the specks of light in the background from some string lights. I felt this help add to the picture. While I was happy with the moment I had captured, I was disappointed with the graininess of the picture. Yet again, this was due to my cameras maximum ISO settings. All in all, it was a lesson learned with night photography, something I will benefit from in the future.