MMS 173 Assignment 4: Bucketlist

This photography assignment challenged me to explore five different visual themes: Height, Pattern, Night, Flower, and Motion. Each theme required not just technical understanding, but also creative thinking in how to represent everyday scenes in meaningful and visually striking ways. I chose to shoot around urban location, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), where I could find a mix of architecture, lights, nature, and movement from the busy streets that helped bring each concept to life.

Throughout this project, I applied the concepts and techniques I learned in class—such as composition, lighting, exposure, and timing—to capture images that clearly communicate each theme. I also made minor adjustments during post-processing to enhance colors, contrast, and mood where necessary, without altering the authenticity of the shots.

This collection of photos reflects not only my technical growth but also how I learned to observe and interpret my surroundings more creatively through the lens.

Urban Skyscrapers

For this photo, I wanted to capture the theme of height, so I chose one of the tallest buildings in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) — the Infor building. I took the shot at night to emphasize the structure’s illuminated windows, which made the building stand out dramatically against the dark sky. The light also helped highlight its towering size and modern design.

Camera Settings and Why I Used Them:

Shutter Speed: I used a slightly slower shutter speed (1/10s) to let in more light since it was taken at night. This helped make the building details and lights clearer and brighter.

Aperture: An f/5.6 aperture was used to keep both the building and the surroundings in focus. This makes the viewer notice how tall the building is in relation to the street elements.

ISO: I kept the ISO at 800 to avoid too much noise in the dark areas, keeping the image cleaner and more detailed.

Why I Took This Specific Photo:

I framed the photo from a low angle looking up to make the skyscraper feel even taller, exaggerating the height. The lines and structure of the surrounding buildings also help guide the viewer’s eyes upward. I included a bit of the street in the foreground to create scale — showing how small everything else looks compared to the massive building.

I chose this photo because it best shows what height feels like in an urban environment — overwhelming, incredible and full of energy even at night. It fits the theme well and represents how cities like BGC keep growing upward, not just outward.

Lights in Symmetry

For this photo, I wanted to highlight the theme of pattern, so I captured a walkway in BGC where a series of tall light pillars were arranged in a repeating and visually balanced manner. The warm glow of the lights running vertically on each pillar emphasized repetition and rhythm—key elements in pattern photography. To further enhance this effect, I made minor adjustments in post-processing to slightly level the pillars visually, making their height alignment appear more symmetrical and consistent.

Camera Settings and Why I Used Them:

Shutter Speed: I used 1/13s, a slow shutter speed to allow more light to enter the lens, which helped bring out the soft details of the illuminated pillars in a nighttime setting.

Aperture: An f/4.8 aperture was used that allowed enough depth of field to keep both the foreground and background pillars in focus, preserving the continuity of the repeating elements.

ISO: I chose ISO 800 to brighten the scene without introducing too much noise, since most of the light in the image came from the decorative pillars.

Why I Took This Specific Photo:

I was drawn to this location because of how the light pillars were evenly spaced and designed, creating a strong visual rhythm. The warm lights added a cozy, inviting mood to the scene, while the symmetrical layout guided the viewer’s eye naturally through the walkway. I also timed the shot to include a few people in the background, adding life and depth to the scene without distracting from the pattern.

This photo clearly fits the theme of pattern due to the repetition of vertical shapes, light, and structure. By highlighting these elements through composition and subtle enhancements, the image captures how beauty and design can be found in thoughtfully arranged public spaces.

City Lights

For this photo, I wanted to showcase the vibrant yet calm atmosphere of the city at night. I captured this image in BGC, where the surrounding buildings, lights, and people create a lively but relaxed nighttime vibe. The scene shows a contrast between the warm lights in the foreground and the cooler tones of the city skyline in the background, which I enhanced slightly in post-processing to emphasize the night setting. The goal was to bring out the glow of the city lights while still keeping the ambient mood of the area.

Camera Settings and Why I Used Them:

Shutter Speed: I used a slow shutter speed at 1/4s to let in more light, which helped brighten the overall scene during low light conditions. It also added a slight motion blur to the people and car, giving a natural sense of nighttime activity.

Aperture: Set at f/5.6 aperture to kept most of the scene in reasonable focus, allowing both the foreground and background elements—like the trees, lights, and buildings—to be visible with good clarity.

ISO: I kept the ISO relatively low at 500 to avoid noise and maintain cleaner image quality, relying instead on the longer exposure to light the shot properly.

Why I Took This Specific Photo:

I chose this location because it offered a great combination of urban elements—buildings, street lights, and people—within one frame. The light strings and soft glow from the surrounding storefronts created a warm, welcoming feel that’s often experienced in the city at night. In post-processing, I slightly enhanced the saturation and contrast in the sky and building lights to better reflect the nighttime ambiance. This brought out the warm tones in the foreground and the cooler city lights in the distance, adding depth and balance to the photo.

This photo captures the night theme by showing how the city transforms after dark—filled with light, movement, and atmosphere. The subtle motion and glowing lights help convey the mood of a city that stays alive even at night.

Night in Bloom

For this photo, I combined the themes of flower and night by capturing a blooming flower in the BGC Greenway after dark. I wanted to show how nature can still be vibrant and eye-catching, even in low-light urban environments. The natural glow from nearby streetlights created a soft, moody illumination, which helped isolate the flower from the background and add depth to the composition.

Camera Settings and Why I Used Them:

Shutter Speed: I used a slow shutter speed at 1/15s to allow more light into the camera, which helped brighten the scene since I was shooting at night. I kept as steady as possible to avoid motion blur and preserve detail in the flower.

Aperture: This mid-range aperture that is set to f/6.3 provided a good balance between depth of field and sharpness. It kept the main subject—the flower—in clear focus while gently softening the background.

ISO: I used a 5000 ISO to compensate for the low-light conditions. This setting allowed the image to be properly exposed without relying too heavily on artificial light, though I was mindful of noise in post-processing.

Why I Took This Specific Photo:

I chose this subject because the flower naturally stood out in the dim lighting, and I saw an opportunity to highlight its form and texture in a peaceful nighttime setting. During post-processing, I made slight enhancements to the colors of the leaves and petals to help them pop against the darker background. This made the subject more vibrant and allowed it to better represent the flower theme, even in low-light conditions.

This photo demonstrates how both nature and stillness can exist in the middle of a city. By enhancing the color and controlling the depth of field, I aimed to bring subtle details to life—even in the quiet of night.

City in Motion

For this photo, I wanted to highlight the theme of motion, so I captured a busy BGC street at night where cars were constantly moving. I slightly enhanced the colors during post-processing to make the warm tones of the taillights stand out more. This helped emphasize the motion blur created by the moving vehicles, especially the red streaks from the taillights, which added a dynamic and vibrant feel to the image.

Camera Settings and Why I Used Them:

Shutter Speed: I set a very slow shutter speed at 10.0s to allow moving objects (like cars) to blur, creating streaks of light that visually represent motion.

Aperture: An aperture of f/22 helped keep the background sharp while allowing enough light for the scene.

ISO: I kept the ISO at 200 to prevent too much noise while still keeping the image well-exposed in the nighttime setting.

Why I Took This Specific Photo:

I chose this specific spot because of the constant traffic and how the taillights painted streaks of red across the frame. These light trails visually represent motion and make the photo more energetic. I also made small edits to slightly boost the color contrast, so the motion blur from the cars would pop more against the city’s cooler tones.

This photo represents motion well because it captures both the fast pace of vehicles and the stillness of the surrounding environment. The enhanced glow of the taillights adds to the visual storytelling — showing how even at night, the city never really stops moving.

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