Tag Archives: Shutter Speed

Photos of the week

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This is a photo from our courtyard near the front door. The morning light made the cactus look like it was lit from inside.

I think my photography is improving thanks to an online photography class I’m taking through the local community college. I struggle with the concepts at the beginning of each week. Every Monday there is a new module online. I have to print it out, highlight and reread the material several times. I’m looking for clues for the weekly assignment which is due over the weekend. There’s also assigned reading from our textbook.

Instead of telling us what the assignment is, the professor says the instructions for photos can be found throughout the module.

This week’s topic is aperture, which are the “f stops.”

By putting the camera in Aperture priority, I can adjust the aperture (which is the hole in the lens) to let in more or less light. But the camera decides the shutter speed so the photo has the correct exposure. The module said to use this mode. Whew! I found one clue for my assignment. The instructions also said to use creativity with the depth of field. Plus I need to submit four photos.

What is depth of field?

Depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a photo that appear acceptably sharp. It is influenced by factors such as aperture, distance to the subject, and focal length of the lens.

In the photo above, I focused on my Bird Buddy feeder and the house finch. The bird is staring into one camera while being photographed by me. The background is blurred because the depth of field is shallow. The lower the f stop, the larger the aperture opens, letting more light into the camera. (Nothing confusing about that, right?) It makes the depth of field more narrow.

I’m not sure if I’m supposed to submit the same photo using different aperture settings or not. I’ve decided since this is technically an art class, I’m going for four different subjects using different f stops. I’ve got three so far. I will once again remind myself, “I’m doing this to learn, not for grades!”

I knew my pink flamingos would make it into a photo assignment. I used an f stop of 4.5 which is a low stop, which means the aperture opening is big. The shutter speed adjusted to 1/4000 of a second, which is really fast. That fast shutter speed made for crisp and clear flamingos and barrel cacti. The low f stop kept the foreground and background fuzzy.

Now to find one more photo! I took a ton of photos of my buddy Red. He hung out with me while I was photographing in our yard. Unfortunately, I didn’t think his photos turned out well enough to use for this week’s assignment.

The other day, I spotted Red with a girlfriend or wife. But she was only here for one day. Maybe she’s in their nest?

My buddy Red. He’s a little out of focus. I don’t think it was because of f stops or shutter speeds. He’s a flighty little thing. I think it was movement blur.

What’s your opinion on a shallow depth of field with a blurry background and crisp focused subject? Or do you prefer photos where everything is in focus?

Have you used the different settings on a camera in manual mode? Aperture priority or shutter priority?

Photography Update

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27

I’ve named my favorite bird “Red.” Very appropriate don’t you think?

I’m struggling with my photography class this week. There was a ton of reading and the professor made a note to be sure to take notes, because the instructions for this week’s assignment would be found throughout the module.

This week’s topic is Shutter Speed. Last week was ISO. I have a prediction that next week’s topic will be aperture.

I have to turn in three photos this week. One is to be panned. I’m supposed to capture something moving by panning at the same speed of the moving object. That object is supposed to be clear while the background will be blurred.

I’ve tried with quails and doves, but they aren’t cooperating. Red is too flighty. I can’t pan fast enough. I’m going to have to rely on my husband walking, riding a bike or driving the car. Not too exciting. And the professor wants us to be creative.

Then the other two photos are to be creative using a fast shutter speed and a slow shutter speed. But I’m finding contrary instructions in different parts of the module.

Here are the photos from my first assignment:

We were told how to set the camera’s ISO and Aperture and to use auto focus. I liked the crocodile because of the shadows from our pergola.

I thought this cactus in our front yard was interesting.

I think this photography class is way more work than what I expected. It continues through May. I have to remind myself not to worry about grades. I’m doing this to gain knowledge. But old habits of worrying about grades are still with me from my school days!

UPDATE ON UPDATE:

I reread the module. Printed it out and highlighted all parts referring to the assignment. I referred back to my camera’s manual. All of a sudden it clicked. I had my husband ride his bike up and down our driveway while I took the “panning” shot. I got the other two shots I liked during the last two days.

My husband wanted to know who the old man was on the bike!

What classes or activities have you taken on to gain knowledge?

Do you worry about how well you’ve done?

Or are you content to learn something new and not worried about the outcome?