Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Two Peas in a Bucket, Week 2: ISO and Shutter Speed

Similar to last week, I already knew pretty much what I was doing in week 2 of 12 Weeks to Better Photos (from 2 Peas in a Bucket). I always shoot in manual, so I know how to coordinate shutter speed with aperture. But, even though I know how those things work, it was fun to manipulate the mode to focus (no pun intended!) solely on shutter speed.  Besides, just because I know HOW to do these things doesn't mean I always do them WELL.

Oh, and the ISO reminder was helpful too. I ALWAYS forget whether to use high or low ISO in which kind of lighting. That's one aspect of my camera I tend to leave on auto. :)

So this week's assignment brought me to my bathroom. No, relax, I didn't do anything gross! We needed a sink for this assignment, and my kitchen sink isn't against the window (it's in my island, so I'd have my back to the window, which wouldn't be ideal lighting conditions).

I took an ice cream bowl and flipped it upside down in the sink and turned the water on. With the camera on shutter-priority mode, I took 2 shots - one at 1/80 and one at 1/1000. For "extra credit," we could have done a super slow speed, but I would need a tripod for that and I don't have one.

1/80:

1/1000:

The second part of this assignment encouraged us "students" to combine what we know of aperture and shutter speed and take some pics in manual. I wish I had known about this class a year or two ago!

This is in AV mode (1/4000, f/2.8); nice depth of focus, but pretty dark:

This one is in TV mode (1/80, f14.0); the lighting is much better, but the houses across the street are in more focus than I would prefer:

And here we have Goldilocks's favorite - this one (1/1000, f/3.2), shot in manual, is "just right" - to me, anyway. I'd love to hear feedback or suggestions.

Next week: the color of light.

1 comment:

  1. The last flower setting is perfect indeed! Hope you won't mind if I forward this to my friend, who is still new to photography...

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