Lesson 3: Master Shutter Speed

I think I went a bit photo crazy with examples of how to use shutter speed for this assignment...

       Longer shutter speeds are ideally used in low light situations which allows the the sensor to collect light when the aperture isn't enough to create a correct exposure.  Its also used to show motion like the ones shown in my photos above.  When using a longer shutter speed you want to make sure you're using a sturdy tripod or else your photos will be blurred.
       In real life situations, long shutter speeds are ideal for shooting the stars or painting with light, or taking nighttime scenic photo's.  Slower shutter speeds allow photographers to get very creative with their shots.   The photos below show my previous attempts at 'painting with light,' and also shooting the stars.  Shooting the stars can be very difficult;  In this shot I was using a very flimsy tripod which allowed just the smallest bit of wind to blur my photo.  If you don't recognize it, thats Orion's belt.  My personal favorite star constellation.  I've yet to clearly photograph the stars the way I'd like.  Below that is an example of what a slow shutter speed can do when photographing a waterfall.  Again a tripod is a necessity in shots such as these.  Or if you don't have one on you, do what I did: Use a rock. =]

In real life situations, using a very fast shutter speed can be a huge benefit.  It can allow you to literally stop a moment as it's in motion.  In the photo shown below, I used a faster shutter speed to stop water as it was crashing onto rocks, or falling off of them.  Fast shutter speeds are most useful in sports, cars, animals, water...pretty much everything that moves.  Unlike stopping motion shots however, the shot below that of the moon is an example of using fast shutter speeds in low light situations.  See, because the moon is so bright, a slow shutter speed would only blow out its light creating a photo that looked like a giant football stadium beam.  The moon needs a fast shutter speed to expose correctly.

For this weeks assignment I wanted to play with light outside at night.  I have some leftover sparklers and even some colored flashlights, but if you live around the Saratoga area you know that it has been pouring rain day in and out for the past four days.  I'd really been meaning to head over to the Albany airport, set up my tripod and photograph the airplane trails as they leave the ground and head into the sky.  Even the rain would have made for some good examples of shutter speed if it had rained a bit harder during the day.  In any case for the assignment I photographed a bike rider, in the progression of faster shutter speeds to slower, until he's almost invisible.

f/3.5 at 1/125

f/5.6 at 1/60

f/8.0 at 1/30

f/13 at 1/13

f/20 at 1/5

f/22 at 0.5