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Camera: Nikon Z50 (Mirrorless) with SD memory card.
Lenses: Nikkor DX 16-50 and Nikkor DX 50-250.
Neutral Density Filter for 16-50 lense.
Manfrotto Compact Tripod.
I use the Nikon Snapbridge App to transfer photos from camera to phone and can also connect the phone to camera as a remote to take photos without touching camera.
Camera uses a rechargeable battery which can be removed to charge separate if needed, battery power can be checked through the camera screen.

In lesson 1 I understood more of the basics of my camera, what some of the buttons/ dials were for and the main, basic settings for the cameras manual function. I changed the format of my images to RAW so I am able to get the best quality images. We learnt how different cameras can take different forms of memory card, all can be formatted if necessary, and older cameras still using film, rather than being digital.
When taking photos this week I have mainly stayed on manual mode and used manual focus to try and increase my knowledge of the different camera functions.

We also went through the basics of health and safety in photography and while using a camera, being aware of your surroundings is a major point, for example; living near a few coastlines simple things like checking tide times or being wary of cliff edges are top priority when it comes to taking photos.
We should take into consideration the ethics of photography before proceeding in taking photos, e.g. how we take and share them.
Legalities of photography can also be an issue, for example copyrights.

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I continued editing with Lightroom, taking more photos and experimenting with different settings on my camera. This has helped me in the process of choosing images for my final portfolio.

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Majority of these photos are from my travels and adventure over the past few years, a lot edited just using Instagram but I feel they are all good examples of showing different compositions ( basic rules and guidelines of photography).

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This week I learnt how shutter speed (light measured in seconds), ISO (light sensitivity) and aperture (how much light the lens lets in) work together to create a balanced photo. I also learnt how to check for the best exposure on the histogram and have used this when taking these photos in manual mode this week.

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This column shows an example of one of my photos, step by step from the original image, process of editing and the final export result.

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This shows the histogram on the display of my camera, this currently shows that the image I take would be under-exposed, if it was more balanced and showing in the middle that would be correct exposure and if it was showing to the right it would be over-exposed.

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Arrow pointing to the exposure metre on my cameras display, this helps you get correct exposure aswell, if it's right on the zero marker this is the correct exposure. If its further up or down the scale it shows photo will be either under or over exposed. Adjust your manual settings to get correct exposure.

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I like the blurred out background on this photo however I wish the bottom of the plant was more focused.

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I love the texture on this tree trunk, it shows a lot of detail in the photo. The subtle, blurred pop of colour draws your eyes to the centre of the photo

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I like how you can use the architecture of the building as framing for a shot to draw the eye of the audience.

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First time using lightroom this week, I tested it on a few photos, found it quite easy to use and make a photo significantly better in a short time.
We also went through black and white photography, I edited one of my photos on lightroom to show use of a black and white image.

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I thought this shot would make a good example to be edited to a black and white image. I think the texture in the water and sky help make the pier stand out and make the contrast of greys in the image stand out more.

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I took this photo maybe a year ago, and now edited on lightroom, brightening up the roses and added a bit more texture. But darkening and adding more shadowing/ vignette to the background to help them stand out more. This is a meaningful image as they were bought and planted as a memory to my Grandad, and just so happens that they have just begun to bloom again in the garden.

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I chose a different viewpoint on the  Tyne, trying to capture a couple of the Tynes bridges and the Sage, but wanted the lampposts to stand out a bit in the foreground and almost frame the image. I edited the red colour on lightroom for a brighter hue and deeper saturation to make the lampposts stand out even more in the image.

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Full edited the colour of this on lightroom, I wanted to make a big contrast between the sky and the bridge, making the bridge quite dark and the people on it almost silhouettes.
I edited the red colour on its own to make the American flag stand out a lot more on the image.

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When I took this photo the skyline looked quite faded but with a bit of editing I got them to stand out a lot more against the sky, I like how a few of them are showing a vague reflection in the water and the trees framing the image makes you look more towards the centre of the image.

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Another shot from Central Park at a slightly different angle to above, added the metal fence into the foreground of the image gave it a different perspective and helps draw the eye to a different part of the image. Again edited to bring out the colours and skyscrapers a bit more.

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Fully colour edited, made the image a bit brighter (maybe too bright?) But I think this part of the beach is quite unique as all the stones/ rocks are orange, so I wanted to bring out that pop of colour to the image.
And I thought the placement of the driftwood added another dimension to the photo.

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Took a quick snap of this on my phone while in Mallorca this week.
I was hoping once edited I could get the colours in the glass to stand out a bit more, you can see a few colours there but wasn't able to capture the full beauty of the window. Maybe trying the flash when taking the image would have helped the colours.
However I still think it shows a good example of patterns, repetition and symmetry.

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I have edited this image even further so every colour is desaturated other than the yellow and red, the pop of colour really draws your eye to the image.

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Another desaturated image other than the red on the swing bridge

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Actually had a day off work with nice weather so decided to go to Durhams Botanical Gardens, all the flower photos below were taken on my visit. I have yet to edit any, but these will follow.

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Example of an image that didn't go to plan:
I was experimenting with shutter speed, but it was overly sunny, even with the low ISO, there was just too much light being let in so image became extremely over exposed.

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I kept experimenting with the shutter speed, I added my neutral density filter to the lense after the first attempt, this allowed a lot of light to be blocked from the lense to create a better exposure.
However I didn't have my tripod to set up and the slightest movement on a long shutter speed will blur the image, which is what happened in this photo.

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Since I didn't have my tripod to set up to prevent the images from being blurred my solution was to place my camera on the picnic table I was currently sitting at. I managed to get it at the right angle to show both fountains of water, being able to show how the long shutter speed can change the effect of moving things in the photo, ie. The water looking very smooth and leaving the rest of the image very sharp.

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This is my original image that I added to lightroom for editing.

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I wanted to try and dull down some of the background colour, so the foreground stood out more. This was my first attempt at using the masking tool, as you can see I tried isolating the pink in the background to desaturate it, however I didn't like the outcome of that so I reversed the masking.
I really like this tool however I just need a bit more practice with it.

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Once I had edited the image I thought there was a bit too much background to the photo and it was taking away from the foreground, so I decided to crop the image to show the detail and highlight the flower bud a bit more.

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This shows a screenshot of me starting to export the image, I was able to add a watermark to the photo and rename the photo before exporting image back to my gallery.

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Screenshot showing successful export of edited image back into my gallery.

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This is the final edited version of the image exported back to my gallery, including the added watermark.