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The aperture controls how much light enters the camera. When the aperture is adjusted it decreases and increases the amount of light entering the camera, by making the hole larger or smaller (a large or small aperture).

The aperture is measured in stops indicated by a fraction:
f/1.4 f/2.0 f/2.8 f/4.0 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/18 f/22 each aperture is half or double the amount of light of the preceding aperture. The smaller the number the bigger the aperture.

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I was watching someone feeding the swans and captured an image of them bowing their heads to feed. I cropped the image so that only the swans looking down were in the image.

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ISO 100, f18, 1/80 sec Focal length 48mm

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I took the lid off a plastic water bottle and held it up to the sunlight. I placed the camera lens up to the open end of the bottle and shot through the empty bottle. I wanted to try and create an abstract image.

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I wanted to create an abstract image and took this shot of the corner of a fire surround. In order to give a sense of mood, I decided to make it black and white.

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ISO 200, f5.6, 1/5 sec Focal Length 55mm

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I placed a torch inside a colander and placed it in a darkened room. I wanted to create an abstract effect using the light inside the colander.

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I wanted to create a blurred image of the colourful flowers by moving the camera as I took the shot. In order to achieve this, I set the shutter speed at 1/3 sec to give me time to slowly move the camera to the side and create a blurred effect.

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This is a a different angle of the colander with a torch inside. I took this one from above to try and create a UFO effect.

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I saw this mirror on a building site near Ouesburn in Newcastle. It was a lovely sunny day and the refection was crystal clear. I thought that the images in the reflection were really interesting as was the convex image. The Yellow of the mirror surround is complimented by the yellow images in the reflection. The main image is near the top of the photo to show project power looking down. I also like the way that the clouds in the mirror almost join with the clouds in the background.

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I wanted to capture the splashes on the pond from the fountain without causing any motion blur. I love the shape of the lillypads and the dark colour of the water contrasting the dark green leaves.

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I wanted to capture the reflection of the flower in the water but in a subtle way. Also caught the reflection of the overhanging bushes above the pond. Really like the contrast of the main flower fully open and the other flower more closed. Also the contrast of the dark water and white petals.

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Wanted to capture the hard work done by this bee. Wanted to creature a shallow depth of field in order for the bee to almost pop out of the photo. I would have liked the focus to be more precise but I probably rushed it a hit due to the movement of the bee (and was scared of being stung). I really like how the colours of the flowers match the colour of the bee.

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Wanted to try and merge the arts of painting and photography. Decided to take a long exposure of the sea and lighthouse. Used a 10 filter and exposed the image for 19 seconds. I like the blurred effect and the different layers of shading. It looks a little bit like a watercolour painting.

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tried to capture the shadows on the building. Liked the gold and blue colour combination.

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Walked past a closed guitar shop which still had the lights on. There were bars in front of the door so used manual focus to get the guitars in focus but blur the bars.

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Liked the colour of the building and the leading line from the pavement . The sun was starting to set and was reflecting onto the red bricks.

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Liked the contrast of the dark building and the lights . Wanted to capture the movement of the people walking past the bar so used a slow shutter speed.

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Saw this car parked below a mirrored roof. Captured the image to try and give the effect of an upside down car.

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My camera is a Nikon D3200 DSLR. It has a 18mm - 55mm lens with an auto focus option as well as manual focus. The camera has a number of settings including auto, portrait, sports as well as an aperture priority, shutter priority and manual. There is a screen on the back of the camera which shows the aperture, shutter speed and exposure meter. Each of these can be adjusted using a dial on the top side of the camera. Photographs can be viewed in the screen also once taken. There is a battery compartment on the bottom of the camera which can be opened and the battery can be removed and charged. There is a battery life level on the main screen of the camera. The images are stored on a SD memory card which is stored in the side of the camera. This can be removed and placed in a card reader in order to be viewed on a PC or laptop.

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This week I have been working on adjusting shutter speed in order to capture specific types of images.  The shutter speed is the amount of time that the camera allows light to enter . I have tried to capture single shots of a moving subject without blur using a fast shutter speed and motion blur using a slower shutter speed. The challenge has been to make sure that the photo is not overexposed in bright light when using slow shutter speed. I have learned that using AFC - continuous focus when shooting and continuous shutter release mode is really helpful to capture fast moving images without blur.
A slow shutter speed will blur an image and a fast shutter speed will capture movement as a sharp image. A slow shutter speed can be used to capture movement and a slow shutter speed can be used in sport or fast moving subjects.

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It is important to remember the safety aspects of photography. When taking photographs there can be a number of hazards to consider such as environment, temperature (hot/cold), correct clothing for the situation, weight of equipment, awareness of surroundings etc.
Considerations should also be made to ergonomics related to editing photographs. Using the correct seat, height of monitor, taking regular breaks from the screen etc.

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I have tried to take images this week using more consideration for composition. I have used the rule of thirds and tried to position my subject to reflect this.
I have looked for opportunities to use reflection, symmetry, colour and contrast.
I have noticed that this has distracted me from just taking photos as freely as I have been previously. I believe that once I fully understand the reasons behind why I am taking a photograph and with enough practice, composition will become second nature.
I have always tried to consider what my subject is and why I am taking the photo. What am I trying to capture?

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Since stating the course, I have noticed a marked improvement in the quality of the images I have taken. I am more aware of subject, exposure, shutter speed, aperture, composition and editing.
I have noticed that my natural interest is street photography and am inspired by real life images and capturing life as it passes in real time.
I will definitely undertake a further course in order to continue to improve my skill.

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I have always had an interest in photography since completing a GCSE in 1986. Since then, I have mainly taken photos using a phone camera. Currently I have a Nikon D3200 DSLR and have been watching Youtube tuition videos to improve my understanding. The camera has a 18-55mm lens and uses a SD card to store the photos. I am shooting the photos using the RAW setting. I decided to look for a photography course to help me understand how I can get the best from my camera, composition, subject choice etc. Week 1 was a great overview of the basics of photography, camera set up, editing software ideas and expectations for the rest of the course.

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ISO (International Standards Organisation) controls the sensitivity of the camera. It is measured in stops 100, 200, 400, 800. The higher the ISO number the less light is needed to create an image. However, the higher the ISO, the higher the amount of noise there will be in the image. To keep the noise to a minimum the lowest ISO possible should be used.

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Photographs can be 'manipulated' or 'edited'. It could be something as simple as changing the colour and contrast, making an image black and white,  or it could be removing or adding to an image in a way that changes the context and story.

Photographic images are all about the frame, the meaning or context of an image can be changed by what we exclude or leave out as much as by what is in the image.

In most instances editing an image is about improving the quality, but sometimes this can be used in ways that could be deemed unethical. Examples of this could include to edit a documentary or journalistic image which is supposed to portray reality, a fashion image such as removing blemishes, to soften a persons skin, to remove spots and scars, to change the shape of their body, adding additional images that were not part of the original photograph.

Adobe Lightroom is the industry standard image editing and management software.