Sunday, February 13, 2011

2.2 of Tony's Tips For Creative Shutter Speed Images

Whether you’re inside photographing family or outside capturing a cowboy at the rodeo, knowing how to capture motion is an important photographic skill to practice. There’s “Normal shutter speed”, then there’s “Creative shutter speeds”.
Sometimes freezing the action is what’s needed, while other times using slow shutter speeds of up to 20 seconds or longer are required to get the right effect. Here are 2.2 techniques which will help you convey or imply motion in your images to your viewers. With these 2.2 techniques, it doesn’t matter whether you want to stop the action or add blur - You’re the one in control of your image.

Tip #1) Those Silky Water Shots. This technique is one of my favorites. Be fore-warned, these require very long shutter speeds - And a tripod. Water is an integral part of many landscape images, and to be creative you need to first ask the question: Will this image look better with the water frozen in place or silky and blurred?

Most of the time, unless it’s wave crashing up over some rocks, I prefer to have my water smooth and silky. These types of shots help set a different type of mood in your landscapes. 

What shutter speed works best? If you’d like to get that soft water effect, start with shutter speeds around 1⁄4 to 2 sec.  
Again, you’ll need a tripod at these speeds. You want everything else in the scene; bridges, docks, rocks, trees, etc. to be rock solid (pun intended). Only the water, or in the case of this train too, should show any motion.






Would you believe that this train was only traveling at walking speed? With a long enough shutter speed, about 2 sec here, it looks like he's moving much faster - The magic of photography!

At these speeds your camera will still retain most of the detail and contrast in the water, it’s just going to be smoother. If you really want to have some fun, try shooting even slower, jump up to 15 to 30 seconds.

Now, in order to get these creative slower shutter speeds without creating an overly bright exposure, you’ve got to employ some other techniques to limit the amount of light that’s able to get to your sensor.
You’ve got several options. You’re first option is to set your aperture to ƒ/22 (Remember - The larger the number the smaller the aperture, the less light going to make it thru that hole). Also, if that’s not enough, adding a polarizing filter will reduce the light another one to two stops beyond that. This combination should allow for a shutter speed of around a several seconds. 
This works even better on overcast, rainy days as the light levels will already be lower than sunny days - Plus, as an added bonus, your colors will be more saturated and the vegetation and rocks will have a nice wet sheen to them.
Who says you can’t have fun on rainy days? Some of my best shots are taken then. Now, when it’s pouring down and the wind’s blowing, sorry, but it’s not fun outside anymore.

OK, next. In-order to get those really, really slow speeds you see in some of those amazing images, you’ll need more help. You can add a relatively inexpensive Neutral Density (ND) filter or two to block some more of the light entering your lens. ND filters are essentially, dark grey pieces of glass which restrict light without altering colors. Depending on how much light you’d like to restrict for these slower shutter speeds, you could add incremental ND filters rated at 1, 2, or 3-stops each. Again, each stop of light reduction means one more click slower on your shutter speed settings, with each f-stop equaling half as much light as the previous setting. But - And you there was going to be a “But”, as everything has a trade off. These extra layers of possibly distorting glass, stacked on the front of your lens, may not be doing your images justice. 
Next option in the ‘ole tool bag. Everyone that loves long exposure photography loves the Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter. This great little toy enables you to incrementally dial in the amount of light blocked, anywhere from two to ten stops, with one (albeit slightly expensive) filter—How much blur would you like today sir?
With the Vari-ND or other ND filters, you can now photograph at speeds from 20 to 30 seconds in midday sunlight (though afternoon light looks nicer), providing those incredible silky waterfalls, streaks of clouds across the sky and other-worldly looking ocean scenes. I love the look of crashing waves for 30 seconds in the late afternoon, don’t you?
Tip #1.2) If you’ve got an iPhone, iPod Touch or maybe they’ve got one for those Android phones now too, there’s a great little Free app called “Long Time” which will calculate your exposure times for you! (Here’s the: I have no relation/interest/don’t get paid/etc. from Long Time, kinda disclosure inserted here by those fine folks somewhere in some legal dept.). You know me - More cool toys & apps. By the way, just for an odd “did you know?” - I saw somewhere that the word “app” was voted 2010 top new word of the year. Shoot, I make up new words all the time. Most by accident, via the brain not communicating with the speaking parts.
OK, here’s how to use it. Take your time and get your composition all lined up ready to shot (might was well go ahead and take a shot while you’re there in case the long exposure doesn't work), set your camera to Aperture Priority, and set your aperture for the depth-of-field you’d like, then make a note of the shutter speed your meter gives you. Switch over to Manual Mode and set the same Aperture. Whip out your “Long time” app, enter in the original shutter speed and the number of stops of ND filter you’ve added - It will  now calculate the new shutter speed you’ll need. Sweet! 
Now, don’t say I didn’t warn you, but there’s something else you may not have known: This was just as much an phenomenon in the good ‘ole film days as it is today, its just that the physics and the after-effects are a bit different now. There’s no need to go into the hows, whats & whys here, that’s another long boring story. It’s just that, above a couple minutes of exposure, there are a few odd things that can happen. 
Don’t worry, it’s nothing drastic, nothing’s going to explode, the investigators from Fringe or the X-files won’t get called in, you won’t become sterile, and no, time does not stand still. It’s just that at these real long shutter speeds, the math may start falling apart and not produce the type of image or as an accurate an exposure as you’d expected, so you may need to experiment a bit more - 
Which is all part of the fun we have in this exciting hobby we call Photography!

Now - The other fun creative use of Shutter Speed. The Action-Stopper. 
Tip #2)  On the other end of the scale as you pass from long exposure, thru “normal shutter speed”, you get to practice another art of motion photography - Freezing the Action, with blazing fast shutter speeds: Think 1⁄1000 sec., 1⁄2000 sec. and even higher. Your goal now is to eliminate any blur in the image, stop the motion - Many times in mid-air. This doesn’t mean eliminating the perception of motion; just eliminating blur in the shot.









In these images of birds flying and horses playing polo, although the action is stopped, there’s no doubt about motion in the image! To really stop the action, start with a shutter speed of 1⁄1000 sec. This speed should freeze most common action, but you may need to go even faster for, you guessed it - faster action. It’s going to depend on the subjects speed and how you want to convey it to your viewers.

The compromise (yes again, there’s always a compromise) is that you’ll need a large aperture opening to allow enough light in for a properly lit exposure. Now that most of the newer digital cameras are capable of improved low noise, try dialing up your ISO to 400 or 800 to gain extra speed/light.

Now, the other challange is getting sharp focus on your subject. Here are two ways to accomplish this: One option is to use your “predictive focus tracking”, which tracks your subject refocusing while you hold the shutter button down half-way (pull out the manual for your camera to look this up) or prefocus ahead of time at the point that you’d like to capture the motion. Modern cameras are amazingly accurate with their new focus tracking capabilities, so I’ll normally use either one of these methods, depending, not only on the subject, but also, which direction it’s going. 
Many cameras feature a group-focusing pattern, which causes the camera to search for your subject as it moves through the frame - This can be a good thing or it could slow you down and cause you to lose the shot (as the puppy and grandkid go running by). Experiment with your camera to learn the best way to take advantage of each tool it includes. For the prefocus technique, try focusing on a spot where you know the subject will pass through, like jumping horses or motorcycles; practice on the first few that come thru, then lock that focus for the rest. If you can prefocus on the subject as they come up to the jump or point that you’d like to shot them, holding the shutter half-way until just the right moment.
Just remember - Photography is just like any other hobby, be it guitar, bike racing, dance or pottery -  This will take practicing, experimenting, learning more about how your camera operates in each situation, then practicing again, experimenting some more, looking at your results (which is where digital comes in real handy - looking at your experiments right away), learn from them and experiment and practice again. Luckily the practice isn’t as boring/repetitious as piano lessons can be - I know, I’ve been there.
Oh yeah, Remember one more very important tip - HAVE FUN!!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Wildlife

Still in the process of putting together your next lesson, but thought I’d throw in a quick reminder of the day while it’s in my head:

Anything that has nothing to do with elephants is irrelephant.

Have a good day!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Focus52 Week 5; Theme: Framed


Week 5 of a new challenge I've undertaken on my Flickr site.
If you're looking for ways to motivate you, inspire, give you reason to go shoot, this is just one example.
Join an on-line group, create a project for yourself, find something that will motivate you and/or stir up your creative juices.
Look at other peoples projects. Do they have a theme that you can relate too? Is there one that has a challenge that you'd like to attempt?
Projects can be short, as in something you'll complete today. They can be one new photo every day for 365 days. Or, they can be submitting one new photo a week for 52 weeks as I'm doing in this Focus52 group.
The trick is, to find something and get started. I know, that sounds odd coming from someone like me. Someone that's never known what the word Focus means. But, I'm trying it and so can you.
Join Flickr for starters. It's Free to have up to 200 photos and 3 sets. You can always delete photos as you start to max out or, you could join for $24/year and keep adding all you want.
Then, start a project, a theme, a challenge, something new to learn, something new to show someone else. Post your images on your Flickr site and let the world know.
You don't have to be shy about having shots that don't look professional - That's not what it's about! It's about having fun and learning. Even the best professionals out there started as an amateur too.
So... Get started.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

That Ole Workhorse 50mm lens

Hello again,

Lets talk about that 50mm "only" lens.
For those that have been shooting for awhile, that great little 50mm you once used may have been relegated to the bottom of your camera bag to collect dust, while your more glamorous telephotos, wide angle and other zoom lenses now have all the fun.  
Those of you new to DSLR photography probably figure you don’t need a 50mm, after all, your new camera came with an 18-55mm - “Won’t that work?” 
Long answer short - Yes, but, No!  That “kit lens” is generally a great starter lens, but you’ll soon find that you’ll need to upgrade it... Soon. Look for one or two of the better quality zoom lens, but also consider a 50mm prime lens too - Just for the fun and challenge.
This once popular tool, which came as the “standard lens” for a new 35mm SLR “back in the day”, has now been completely displaced by those inexpensive, distortion-prone mid-range zooms with slow-as-molasses focus, which are now standard stock on most new DSLR’s. I blame the folks in the Marketing Dept. for that. 
But at least that mid-range zoom has gotten better and is a great start for your venture into the world of DSLR photography. Keep practicing and learning more.
The 50mm dilemma - They’re not long enough for some scenes, nor wide enough for others. Not being able to zoom makes them more challenging to use. Then, why bother?   For most modern day digital photographers, spoiled with zooms, the thought of using, much less buying, a  50mm “only” lens is all but forgotten.
Here’s why you should consider either digging yours out or buying one. 
Not only are they excellent for hand-held photography in low-light conditions, but as most have a much wider aperture than many zooms, this allows for excellent selective focus and shallow depth-of-field shots. When stopped down, you can also render a scene tack sharp from front to back. 
And, since most prime lens have superior glass, images taken with the 50mm “only” lens exhibit superb sharpness and contrast found only in the more expensive pro-level zooms. Add in features such as low distortion, compact size and lightweight - Maybe you’ll start to appreciate the value and utility of the standard 50mm “only”.
Don’t worry about whether the 50mm lens you have is of the f/1.8, f/1.4, f/1.2 flavor, or, even  the one I have, the Macro f2.5. They’re all great. Most are autofocus but you’ll work with manual focus often too. Actually, the Macro versions may be more versatile, as a Macro and a standard 50mm. 
I’ve got my eye on one of those f1.4’s though. The f1.2’s may allow twice as much light, faster low-light shutter speeds, shallower depth-of-field & nicer bokeh than f1.4, but - all at a much steeper price.
The angle-of-view of a 50mm lens is about 46-degree (on a full-frame sensor, slightly less on an APC sensor), which is very close to what we see with our naked eye. The problem for most photographers is - 1) it’s not wide enough to capture a large group. 2) it’s too wide for the inside of confined spaces or 3) not powerful enough to bring those distant objects into acceptable image size. 
Yeah, so. Work with it!
Knowing the limits of what this focal length can or cannot do to your pictures will lead to better training of your “photographer’s eye”.
The 50mm Shuffle:
While many will dismiss the 50mm focal length as being “compositionally challenged - This is where the extra work/challenge comes in - You have to move yourself (while looking thru the viewfinder) in order to get the desired results. If your subject is too far away, you just shuffle your feet to get closer to the scene. If the space between you and the subject is too tight to include everything into the frame, then you have to shuffle your feet backwards a bit in order to fit everything in.
I know it can seem tough, I’ve been there myself. But that’s part of the fun!
So dig out your old 50mm or go find one to purchase. I found mine on Craigslist for under $80 (make sure you bring your camera to test used ones).
Next time you leave for a “photo-walk” - Take only your 50mm, you may surprise yourself.
Thanks again for visiting.

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