18 | July 19, 2018 | Malibu surfside news life & arts malibusurfsidenews.com Sound in body, sound in class Malibu Beach Yoga adds live music to select sessions Belting it out Malibu songstress graces Pacific Palisades stage on the Fourth Musicians Dahveed Haribol Das (left) with a Mrudang, and Joel Long (Dvine1) on the sitar perform as Natalie Macam (standing) leads the Saturday, July 7 yoga class. The live music practice is to return on the first Saturday of every month at the Point Dume Village studio. Photos by Suzy Demeter/22nd Century Media ABOVE: Alexis Kuran and fellow class participants chant the Om mantra at the beginning of the Malibu Beach Yoga class earlier this month. Malibu Beach Yoga is located at 29169 Heathercliff Road, #217, above Sun Life Organics. LEFT: Dahveed Haribol Das (left) and Joel Long (Dvine1) perform at the first Malibu Beach Yoga class to feature live music. Malibu resident Trinity Rose Drummond performed an original arrangement of the national anthem and more at the annual Palisades Rocks the Fourth celebration, held at Pali High’s Stadium by The Sea. Photo by Hugh Slavitt
malibusurfsidenews.com life & arts Malibu surfside news | July 19, 2018 | 19 Students gain perspective at photography course Malibu’s Breeding outlines essentials, more in recent twohour session Barbara Burke Freelance Reporter On a sunny evening at Malibu Bluffs Park, a group of excited students gathered for an Outdoor Photography Exploration course with Malibu photographer Cecily Breeding. The course taught the basics of creating a visual narrative with photographs, as well as fundamental photography techniques and tips. The event, sponsored by the City of Malibu, was held July 13. A picture is worth a thousand words, as the old saying goes, and Breeding aimed to help students create visual storytelling at its best. There are so many phrases and terms to master when one begins to learn photography. Aperture. Shutter speed. Composition. Focus. Perspective. Gesture. Framing. Landscape (horizontal), portrait (vertical) and orientation (square). Various concepts and terms address lighting of all types – back lighting, front lighting and the ever-tricky side lighting, or dimensional lighting. Then, there are acronyms such as AF (auto-focus) and IOS (a measurement of how much an image is exposed to light). One must master the rule of thirds, a technique for creating the best visual composition by mentally dividing the image into horizontal and vertical planes. Of course, one can consider creating silhouettes and whether to shoot a series of photographs. Breeding, just back from taking a group of Pepperdine students to Fiji, is the quintessential teacher, a wonderful mix of bubbly energy and knowledge combined with the hardto-find ability to make detailed information comprehensible. Students began with the fundamentals. “The basics of photographs involve considering focus and composition,” Breeding said. “Think of those two concepts as the meat and potatoes of a meal, or, if you’re a non-meat-eater, as the kale and tomatoes of a great meal. Everything else is gravy. “The focal point is the center of interest in the image, often involving lines going into a distance. Composition principles instruct that a great photo should have a foreground and a background, not distracting the viewer with any other visual chatter.” Demonstrating with her camera, ever attentive and patient, Breeding helped each student with their cameras. Then, it was off for a nature walk so students could start to take pictures and practice their techniques. Tagging along, guiding but allowing for exploration, Breeding gently told a student, “I like to tell the story of what is happening in my image – look, you can zoom out and tell a whole story of where someone or something is in space – or, you can zoom in and focus solely on one part of what Instructor Cecily Breeding (left) assists photography workshop attendee Rima Homayun on Friday, July 13, at Malibu Bluffs Park. Barbara Burke/22nd Century Media you see.” One student was intrigued by photographing bugs, another by the linear aspects of playground equipment’s angular structures playing with shadows and empty spaces, and another tried to get a bird to cooperate and pose. Returning to the classroom, Breeding said, “Think about how you took your picture – was it horizontal or landscape in its orientation? Or, was it portrait or vertical in its orientation?” Students displayed their images and discussed various factors they considered in composing their shot. “That’s terrific!” Breeding said to one student. “Good job!” Then, she pressed them to take other details into account. “Where’s the focal point of your picture?” she asked. “Why did you choose to compose it that way? Think about telling the whole story as you consider how to frame the photos. Remember you are visually storytelling.” Gesturing, she noted how changing one’s position entirely changes the image’s perspective and message. A mini lecture ensued, with Breeding ensuring that all students comprehended the ever-important rule of thirds, as well as framing principles. Back in the park, bolstered by the confidence of having a little knowledge, students loosened up and had fun. Soon, one was on the ground coaxing bugs to emerge from the grass and Breeding joined them, taking pictures of her students taking pictures, giggling and putting pupils at ease. “Oooh!” she said. “This is fun! I get bonus points on this one because I’m framing and back lighting all at once, and I’m considering perspective.” Back in the classroom again for a brief review and a chat about participants’ images, smiling students listened as Breeding asked each one “What is your light source? Did you use the sun? A flash? See how we can determine that by just looking at your photos?” Soon, sunset’s sweet light serenely emerged, bringing that magic time that photographers wait for to capture a perfect image. The students excitedly shot some images, comparing and contrasting techniques and how to capture content best. “Three key photographic concepts provide us with the basic theories,” Breeding said. “Shutter speed, aperture and ISO are the three key photographic principles.” Seguing smoothly to synthesizing complicated principles, Breeding provided a brief presentation about lenses, aperture and zooming in and out. Studious attendees paid rapt attention, taking notes and asking pointed questions. “The great thing about photography is that you can learn a little at a time, keep practicing based on the knowledge that you’ve gained, and then come back to learn more,” Breeding said as the class came to a close. Attendees nodded in agreement. “I learned a lot about my camera and how it works,” said David Coppola, 12. “I also learned how to compose a picture and how to properly focus.” Coppola’s friend, Mattox Lemley, 13, chimed in. “I learned how a camera functions and how to think about the composition of a shot – how to focus the camera to get the shot I want,” he said. Eight-year-old Willy Hipple, grinning shyly, said “my favorite part of the class was learning how to take a picture right and, see, here’s one that is great.” Willy’s mom, Tania Lopez, was delighted that the City of Malibu offered her son such a great experience. “We’ve been looking for opportunities to have Willy be able to learn about the camera but also to learn how to use the camera,” she said. “It’s hard to find such opportunities for kids his age.” Rima Homayun thoroughly enjoyed Breeding’s teaching style. “I loved this class – Cecily is a great teacher and I will take her next class in the fall which will teach manual photography,” she said. “It’s time well spent and it’s an affordable price.” Breeding will offer another Outdoor Photography Exploration course from 6-8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11. The all ages, co-ed class costs $25 for residents. To register, visit MalibuCity. Org/Register or call (310) 317-1364.
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