Final Evaluation

Throughout this study I have tried to show a steady learning curve. From picking up the camera and the inital shots taken with it to the final 12 images produced for my portfolio.

When it comes to photography of snowsports I have very clear ideas about what I want to achieve.

The main things that I think are important to this type of photography and that I have tried to capture are the obscure angles and viewpoints. Freestyle snowboarding involves alot of jumping onto obstacles and rotating at unusual angles so it is important to capture that aspect.

The final 12 images have been give appropiate title I think. Some of which you may have to search for the meaning (connotation) others simply spell out the trick being performed or name the object in the photograph (Denotation).

Final 12

Will This Hurt?

This has been included because I think I have made good use of the frame. The angle of the shot is slightly rotated and gives it good composition. Only a few highlights have been made in photoshop, a simple crop and increased vividness of the base of the snowboard.

From looking at the photograph above you can image that the question 'Will This Hurt?' is going through his mind.




















Dominant

Again this image has great composition and perspective. You can see the sharp and distinct colours from the snowboard as well as the full hieight of the boarder and the run up he has taken. In the background you have someone else which helps determin scale aswel.

'Dominant' is the model of the snowboard being ridden. But it also implies the status of the rider.















Frontside Lip


This is the only black and white image I have chosen to produce. It works well due to the amount of information in the photograph. There is quite a lot to take in, in the background and the black and white softens this and draws your eyes towards the snowboarder. The lines of his arms parallel the object he is on creating a neat image.



'Frontside Lip' is the trick being shown in this image'















The Pout

Maximum frame use in this photograph. The viewpoint is more unusual, looking up towards the snowboarder capturing all the facial expressions. Using the sky as the background gives the subject sharper lines as there is a large contrast between the two.

This has simply been named because of the facial expression of the main subject.
















Trust

I like the perspective captured within this image. You can see the movement from one boarder to the other, almost jumping from background to foreground. Shows good use of space within the frame.

The setup of this photograph shows 'Trust' between two snowboarders.















Into...



This is a fairly simple image. There is nothing to distract the eye fromt the main subject. It is like a blank canvas allowing the snowboarder to be in spot light and highlighting all the colours on the snowboard and clothing.

This has been named 'Into...' because you can only imagine the landscape which the snowboarder is riding into.















Snbowboarders Expanse

The image above shows good composition and perspective. The position of the snowboarder in relation to the valley below. Giving two focal points, the snowboarder and where he is heading. A good depth of field makes this possible. 'Because of this I have called it Snowboarders Expanse'.


















Method

Again there is a great depth of field with a sence of scale coming from the building and person in the background. The background is black and white with just the main subject left in colour to increase the impact of the scene. This contrast in colours creates an extremely vivid image.

The trick being performed is called a 'Method'.















Half Way There

The main thing I like about this image is the viewpoint creating a slightly off axis angle for the main subject. The desturated background brings all the focus to the foreground. The fill in flash also brings out all the detail in the snowboarders expression.

The name of this image implies that he is half way around the rotation of the trick involved.

















Custom


As with the previous images shot on the same location the small hut in the background gives great perspective and scale. The direction of the light over the snowboarders shoulder gives great effects by highlighting the snow trail through the air capturing the direction of travel. I also like the amount of colour in this shot, it makes the photograph much more eye catching.

Just from looking at the image above you can see why it is called 'Custom', the bright colours scrawlled across the bottom of the snowboard is the model name.

















The Launch

The sunlight in this shot is not as bright but give a great point of focus, the first third of the photograph where the snowboarder is. The angle is such that as much of the background is shown increasing perspective, but you can also see critical points of the image like the bottom of the snowboard and the face of the main subject.

This image is called 'The Launch' because it shows the initial movement of the snowboarder as he takes off from a jump.















Blind Determination

This is one of my favourite images. At a glance it can seem too dark and under exposed. I think it captures the mood of the day. There is great detail picked up on the snowboard, you can see the rain droplets and snow metling away. The main subject takes up two thirds of the photo with a small amount of space left for him to move into, showing direction. There are no distractions in this image and it allows you to appreciate what the snowboarder is feeling. This is why I named it 'Blind Determination'.

Photo Shop 02

I have now selected the final 12 images to be included in my portfolio. Not all need post production, however a few I have had to make minor amendments to.

The image above is included in my portfolio. The original shot made good use of the frame but due to the weather and simply forgetting to use fill in flash (commented on previously) I had to increase the exposure slightly.

Another handy tool I put to use in photoshop was the selection tool. Using this allows you to make adjustments to one specific area. In the image shown above I wanted to create a little more definition between the background and the snowboard.

To finalize the image above all i did was crop to the desired size and give the base of the snowboard a little more vibrance. Again the selection tool was used to highlight the area of the snowboard and the vibrance tool shown on the image above.

I discovered there are a number of ways to achieve the same outcome. In the image above I have used a number of layers. The layer on top was desaturated whilst the layer underneath was in full colour. What you can above on the base of the snowboard is the top layer being erased allowing the colour to come through form the layer below. In hindsight it is easier to select the area to modify.

Short List

The more recent short list of photographs I have taken across all of my shoots have now been put into a slide show. From these I will slect the final 12 images for my portfolio.


The slide show is Labelled 'Short List'


A couple have already been slected for post production in photoshop. When selecting the images to be part of the final selection I am considering a number of things.


Those which make full use of the frame and need very little cropping, the vantage point and angle of the image as this is a major thing I have looked for in other peoples photography. The balance of colour and contrast. And possibly the most important is the positioning of the subject of the photo within the frame.


An example of these things can be seen below.

Cole Barash

From the photographers Ive studies so far I find Cole Barash's work most stimulating. He has worked for many clients within the snowboarding and sports world. At only 21 this is a great achievement.


Alot of his work I have seen is done at night under the illumination of flood lights and coloured flashes. I have briefy experimented with coloured flash photography at night. Although being hampered by the kit I have available, I can appreciate what sort of skill is involved.

I have provided a slide show of the works from Cole Barash. However below are some of my favourites and resons why.

In all of Cole's work the vividness of the colour is extremely powerful and instantly draws your attention. Illustrated in the image above. Not only has he captured great composure of the snowboarder, he is in the centre of the frame giving a demanding presence, Your eye instanly looks at the subject.
















Above is another example of vivid colour giving the image a really rich texture. Although I am under no illusion of the amount of post production in some of the images they still have a great layout. The image above makes full use of the frame. The snowboarder is in the centre but the posture and lines from the arms follow the rail helping to encapsulate it as part of the complete image.















Even in shots as above when in monochrome you can see the difference and impact the flash has had on the image. It is highlighting the main subject in centre frame and the snowtrail behind, capturing the movement while creating shadows or silhouettes of objects that could otherwise draw attention away.














Although the image I have shown above is quite different to any of those in Cole's collection and any I have taken, it grabbed my attention. The contrast between light and dark has been created just at the right point, along the centre line. I think this gives the image a greater depth of field. You are instantly forced to look to the top left (encorportaing the rule of thirds) where the snowboarder is giving the effect of looking into the distance.

Swad Comp

The final shoot for this project was of a competition held at my local dry slope.

During the shoot I tried to put into practise everything I have discovered such as, the position of the snowboarder in the frame and how much of the background or foreground should be included in the image. I was using fill in flash techniques to freeze the movement and also highlight any areas which had shadow cast over them.

These two aspects are possibly the most important to my work.

Below are my favourite images from the shoot. More can be seen in the slide show on the main blog.

The above two photo's manage to pick out the snowboarders really well. The fill flash has given alot of contrast between the subject and the background and managed to freeze the movement.

The next two images are working on more difficult angles to capture. This is becuase with being this close to the moving subject it is more difficult to freeze the movement and also you need to avoid any collions.

These are possibly my favourite types of images. They show alot of detail in the foreground where the snowboarder is, highlighting the colours giving plenty of contrast. The vantage point is obscure and so it also puts a strange perspective on the surrounding background.

The inspiration for these types of images comes from images such as Dean Grays shown below.

Dean 'Blotto' Gray

For over 250 days each year, for the past 11 years, Gray has been documenting the snowboarding life. In doing so, he has become one of the most inexhaustible photographers the young sport has yet seen.

As the Principal Photographer for Burton Snowboards, he is among the sport’s most prolific, most widely published and most aware of snowboarding’s cultural significance.

Shown Below are a number of photo's by Dean Gray which give me ideas and inspiration for my own work.

A number of things from this image capture me. This is what I am trying to accompish in my work. It shows the interation between the subject of the photograph and the surroundings. The surroundings, in this case the fence helps to determine the scale of the image. The snow boarder in the image is well positioned in relation to the frame and everything else in it and the level of light helps to draw your eye to the snowboarder first rather than the fence or anything else.

My own attempt of something similar is shown below.

You can above that the shading and lighting levels draw your eye to the snow boarder rather than everything else in the background.

Another of Dean Grays image is shown below.

This time more of landscape photograph, but still capturing the snowboarder giving the image alot of perspective. Also the position is allowing your eye to travel towards the space the subject will move into.

Due to my own geographical location it can be difficult to capture images like the own shown above or to re-shoot at locations like this.

Below is a photograph taken by me which I think shares alot fo the same characteristics.

Though I appreciate it is not quite on the same scale of the image by Dean Gray it still gives a good perspective of the snowboarder in relation to the background.

I do think that it would of been better to have the subject in the top and right hand thirds of the photograph allowing slighty more movement of the eye from the subject to the background.