The Halloween Photo Challenge - and Episode 81 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

Samhain, Halloween, The Day of The Dead!

We are at that time of the year when, according to some beliefs, the barriers between the worlds of the living and the dead become thinner, and cross overs can happen.

Ghosts, ghouls, vampires, witches, skeletons, zombies, monsters, wearwolves, mummies, or even our ancestors might be roaming the land.

Costumes, guising, trick-or-treat, pumpkins, carved turnips, jack o' lanterns, spiders, webs, and black cats are all part of the cultural props that accompany this time of year.

This, then, is the Challenge I'm setting for the next podcast – create and submit a photo that captures the fun, or spookiness, of these celebrations!

See how you get on – I'm really looking forward to seeing what people are going to produce! But if you find you're struggling, then you can still submit a photo you're having difficulty with - just explain the problem and I can include suggestions and ideas in the podcast too.

Either place your submission (just the one please) into the Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

or email it to me if you don't do Facebook.

And when you submit your image, please tell us a little bit about it – either what it is, or why you decided to take it, whether it has any particular significance for you, or any challenges you had to overcome.

Try and get it in before the end of the weekend, or by Monday (1st November) at the latest. Anything that arrives on Tuesday runs the risk of not being included in the podcast.

You can use a phone, tablet, point-and-shoot or DSLR (or mirrorless).

And then, make sure you tune in to YouTube here -

https://youtu.be/z-PIxFpahzc

on Tuesday 2nd November at 7.30pm (UK time) where I'll go through the photos, and give comments and feedback, and hopefully we will all become inspired by some of the submissions to go and try out new things with our photography.

Meanwhile enjoy Episode 81, where we review the images submitted to the Asymmetrical Symmetry Photo Challenge I set last week, and I reflect on the idea that I should really have just called it "Symmetry, but not quite" to avoid confusion...

And if you decide to click through and watch it directly on YouTube (rather than here on the blog), then you can watch the Live Chat Replay and see the comments people are writing in real time as the podcast progresses.

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2:01 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
7:40 - Introduction to the Asymmetrical Symmetry Challenge
9:53 - Ben - garden leaf
13:30 - Debbie - black and white cup with reflection
17:39 - Opti - windows, walls and texture
22:00 - Garry - clock
28:20 - Matt - lighthouse
33:55 - Viji - leaf skeletons
41:06 - Inga - columns, stairs, people, but is it symmetry?
45:20 - Jim - money
50:40 - Mac - avenue of trees
56:00 - Nurije - gap in the rocks
1:04:51 - Roy - red bins
1:07:15 - Sandra - heart shapes
1:12:10 - Stacy - The Franklin Institute
1:15:14 - Vandana - escalators
1:19:08 - Mark - Crawick Multiverse, and a symmetrical building
1:25:55 - Nicola - under the bridge
1:29:20 - The tilt shift effect
1:35:17 - Rose-Marie - still life of tin cans
1:39:18 - NOTE: The clocks go back in the UK this weekend, so timing might be different next week in your country - check online
1:41:35 - Coming up next week - the Halloween Photo Challenge
1:48:07 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to be notified of new podcasts and behind-the-scenes videos.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then either email me or join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

55

If 2 years ago, my birthday felt like part of a well established routine, and last year's in Lockdown felt distinctly strange, this year felt like an odd mix of both – not the same amount of restriction, and yet not a sense of total freedom either.

If we were to rewind to the early part of this year, when the vaccines first properly started rolling out, I was pretty certain that by mid-summer, our lives would be more or less back to normal. Certainly by my birthday I would have expected to be looking back on our Covid days as an unusual part of our past.

And yet, nearly 5 months since my 2nd vaccine, Maggie, Meg and I are still uncertain and wary about going out, especially where there might be a more dense gathering of people.

We're getting better with going to cafés, although there's still a heightened awareness of anyone who walks close to our table, and of course whoever is taking our order is still wearing a mask (at least here in Scotland – the rules seem more lax south of the border in England, which in turn seems to be reflected in the rocketing number of cases and hospital admissions).

We have been having a weekly delivery order from Tesco since the pandemic began, and don't feel in any rush to stop. Although we will pop into the Co-op to get a few bits of shopping every now and then, during quiet periods, we still haven't returned to live shopping in Tesco supermarket itself, which feels just a little too crowded and scary.

However, at the weekend, Tesco suffered some kind of hacking problem – the site went down, and no one could update their orders. Although they are apparently back on top of things, one side effect of this was our weekly delivery, which should have been here between 9am and 10am, ended up arriving just after 2pm.

Once we realised it was going to be late, we knew we would be fine going off to our favourite place for a mocha, In House Chocolates – a standard birthday treat we couldn't do this time last year.

Meg and I enjoying a very chocolatey coffee

However, the delayed delivery meant we had to miss out on the traditional picnic, walk on the beach, and ice cream.

First world problems, of course. Does it really matter? Not particularly. Way more important was we were still able to have my stepdaughter and grandson over to join us for dinner.

But it did act as a reminder that the world is not yet "back to normal", and in fact probably never will be.;

And that a "new normal" has yet to be established.

We are in a time of transition.

I'm sure in 10 years we will look back and, knowing how things played out, feel the path was inevitable and we won't be able to imagine it could have been any other way.

But from this perspective, here and now, the future still feels very unknown.

However, for this evening at least, having eaten too much in the way of birthday chocolate hazelnut brownies, I am feeling loved, stuffed and contented.

Asymmetrical Symmetry - and Episode 80 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

Symmetry – we all know what that is, yes?

If not, a quick google search will tell you.

Can't be bothered to google it? OK, basically it's when 2 sides of something reflect each other perfectly.

In essence, if you stuck a mirror in the middle of the image, the reflected half in the mirror wouldn't really look any different to the actual half if you removed the mirror.

So a circle is symmetrical and so is a square, but an arch is only symmetrical left-to right, not top-to bottom.

Which brings us on to Asymmetry, which is where one side is totally different from the other.

So where the Canadian or Japanese flags are symmetrical (left to right), the American and South African flags are not.

In photography, asymmetry is often favoured. The "Rule of Thirds" is all about having your main subject off-centre.

Part of the reason for this is when something is perfectly symmetrical, the brain doesn't have to work very hard to absorb the image, and so doesn't feel the need to devote much time to it.

Seen it. Got it. Next...

So what's Asymmetrical Symmetry then?

Photographically it's about capturing an image that at first glance appears symmetrical, but it's not quite. There's just enough symmetry to appear pleasing to the eye, but just enough asymmetry to hold the attention.

So think of a door with a window on either side, but with a cracked flower pot sitting on only one of the windowsills.

Or a cat sat, facing forward, staring into the camera, but the tail or the tongue coming out on one side.

Think mirror-like between the two sides of the image, but with something subverting it, and undermining the reflection.

This, then, is the Challenge I'm setting for next week's podcast – create and submit a photo that has an asymmetrical symmetry to it.

See how you get on – I'm really looking forward to seeing what people are going to produce! But if you find you're struggling, then you can still submit a photo you're having difficulty with - just explain the problem and I can include suggestions and ideas in the podcast too.

Either place your submission (just the one please) into the Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

or email it to me if you don't do Facebook

Try and get it in before the end of the weekend, or by Monday (25th October) at the latest. Anything that arrives on Tuesday runs the risk of not being included in the podcast.

You can use a phone, tablet, point-and-shoot or DSLR (or mirrorless).

And then, make sure you tune in to YouTube here -

https://youtu.be/3i_HevtHg7A

on Tuesday 26th October at 7.30pm (UK time) where I'll go through the photos, and give comments and feedback, and hopefully we will all become inspired by some of the submissions to go and try out new things with our photography.

Meanwhile enjoy Episode 80, where I explore these ideas of asymmetrical symmetry, and give feedback and critique to submitted images.

And if you decide to click through and watch it directly on YouTube (rather than here on the blog), then you can watch the Live Chat Replay and see the comments people are writing in real time as the podcast progresses.

---

1:57 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
08:04 - Introduction to Asymmetrical Symmetry
22:46 - Moment of panic as I accidentally close the browser
24:03 - return to summing up Asymmetrical Symmetry
29:54 - Introduction to the Critique Section
32:15 - Vandana - a cross and a cobweb - bringing the elements together
39:30 - Mac - the problem of seeing the edit
44:45 - Rosie - creating a larger expanse to emphasise the mood
50:45 - Rose-Marie - photographing fungi - when subtle images get lost in crowd-voting sites
1:10:05 - Coming up next week - The Asymmetrical Symmetry Challenge
1:12:10 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to be notified of new podcasts and behind-the-scenes videos.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then either email me or join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

Computer... AAAARRRGGGHHH... and Episode 79 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

Without warning, my computer died almost 2 weeks ago.

I left the room.
I came back into the room.
The computer was dead.

No amount of pressing the power button, or unplugging it and plugging it back in, made any difference.

A deep, gut wrenching, soul withering, primal panic gripped my insides.

The last time I felt like this was when I drowned my car.

The computer is so much more than just something to send emails and watch funny cat videos on.

I run my business, I do the podcasts, and especially since the pandemic it has been my major vehicle for interacting with the world.

It's like suddenly seeing a thousand futures all slamming their doors in front of you.

Massive over-reaction and what feels like an infinite stretch of time before the practical, problem-solving part of my brain kicks in, feels a bit too familiar.

And just as that practical, problem-solving part of my brain starts to surface and says, "Calm down, you have everything backed up...", guilt sauce gets splattered all over it as I remember it's several weeks since I last did.

Breathe? What do you mean breathe? I'm hyperventilating here!

Rogan! Let's phone my son, Rogan – he built the computer for me – he'll know what to do.

Strange how as we move through life and there comes a point where our parents stop being the first people we turn to for help, and then a couple of decades later, our kids become the first port of call.

It's not long before I have the panel off the side of the computer and am trying to take a photo of the insides with my phone, to send to Rogan. The thick layer of dust coating everything isn't helping.

Fortunately we had already arranged to head up to Edinburgh to see Rogan for the first time for nearly 2 years, so a couple of days later we turned up, computer in hand. He tried a few things, and then I left it with him.

The following day he said it was definitely the power supply which would have to be replaced. Unfortunately, until it was he wouldn't know if anything else was fried, so other bits might need replacing too.

However, when we had last seen him face to face, my computer was already 3 years old and we'd been talking about upgrades. But before anything could be implemented the world went into Lockdown.

So if he was going to be replacing various bits just to make it work, why not do some upgrades at the same time?

Once we talked through all the improvements I wanted it became clear he was basically going to have to build me an entirely new computer.

Hopefully, if all goes according to plan, this Friday I should be heading up to see him and can pick up my new beast-of-a-machine.

It can't come soon enough.

One of the immediate causalities of the death of my PC was my live weekly video podcast.

For the past 12 days I've been using my 10-year-old laptop which overheats and one of the screen hinges is broken – meaning every time I open it up I'm half expecting the screen to break off entirely.

I postponed last week's podcast straight away as I knew the laptop wouldn't be able to operate the programmes I use for screen sharing and live editing submitted photos.

The first time in 18 months I didn't do the podcast.

Felt weird.

I didn't want to postpone it a 2nd week, so I decided to go ahead last night with a focus on it being more of an interactive chat. I asked people to send me questions, and in turn I had questions for the viewers.

I was quite convinced no one would turn up. In fact I'd already received several messages from people saying they wouldn't be able to make it along. So I was pleasantly surprised to have over a dozen viewers show up and join in the chat.

In some ways it felt like the most personal and interactive podcast I've done.

However, I'm looking forward to operating with a proper computer next time – not least because the laptop temperature rose to alarming levels while I was live streaming, and I had to have freezer packs sitting underneath it to take the edge off!

Next week I'm going to be talking about symmetry and asymmetry in composition – an understanding of which can be a really useful extra tool for photography.

But in the meantime, enjoy Episode 79 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres below, and be utterly amazed and impressed that I get to the end without the laptop computer literally melting on me...

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0:00 - Welcome, explanation of why this podcast is different to usual, and dealing with an overheating, 10 year old laptop...
2:15 - What's coming up, greetings and comments
7:30 - When did I start in photography?
11:05 - Problem of interacting with people in Street Photography
15:40 - Understanding the power balance between the photographer and subject
19:35 - ASK THE VIEWERS: what is your most common camera mistake?
31:10 - How many lenses should you have?
36:45 - In-camera photographers
41:41 - What lens should you use?
46:20 - Triggers and off-camera flashes
50:00 - We learn from all the things that go wrong, not from things that go right
54:48 - How far in can you crop?
58:45 - What's the difference between a full frame sensor and a crop sensor?
1:05:15 - Shooting from ground level
1:08:28 - ASK THE VIEWERS: Fantasy Landscape - where would you most like to photograph?
1:15:48 - How to approach photographing "dreich"
1:23:12 - A bit about abstract nature photography and in-camera-movement
1:25:00 - Indoors vs outdoors photography
1:29:18 - How do you get people to feel comfortable behind the camera?
1:31:08 - Is there a maximum click count we should take into consideration?
1:33:00 - ASK THE VIEWERS: what is the best piece of photography advice you've been given?
1:43:30 - For black and white, should we do it in camera, or take colour photos and convert afterwards?
1:45:00 - Coming up next week
1:48:50 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to be notified of new podcasts and behind-the-scenes videos.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then either email me or join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/