We have done some interesting exercises in week one and week two, and I have learnt a lot of skills of shooting, adjusting camera and principles of selecting location. For example, in the first week, we spend all our time on the basic functions of Sony EX-3 camera and its tripod. From how to set up the tripod and mount the camera correctly on it, to the actions like panning, zooming and tilting. Although how to do these might be slightly different on other cameras, but the basic principles are always same. We also tried some more complicated functions inside the camera, like changing the white balance, focus and exposure. It is really interesting for me to explore these functions and find the relations between them (like white balance and exposure), but it is also difficult for someone who uses the camera for first time.
The thing I discovered about the exposure is, as the homework I showed in class, the cloud which blocks sun always make it difficult to find a good exposure outside. When I tried to shoot the coming trams in front of the building 80, the background sky was always too bright, however because of the cloud and high buildings, the street was actually not that bright, even a little bit dark. So when I tried to use Zebra to check the exposure, I found the street is too dark if I make the sky looks just good, and the sky becomes too bright if I use the right exposure on the street. So I asked Robin if there is any way that by camera itself I can separately change exposure on different object, but it seems impossible unless we have some other equipment. At the end I decide to make the street little bit dark in order to not make the sky completely white, and maybe it is a right decision in that situation?