Exercise 4 - Shutter Speed

 

I decided to photograph waves on the beach for this exercise. It gave me an opportunity to play with my new D300s, so I could become more familiar with its controls.

I used the Nikkor 18 – 200 VR lens, set at 150 mm. I tried to catch the waves as they were breaking. I set the focusing to manual with the mode in Shutter priority. The camera was tripod mounted.

The first image was taken at f/5.6, 1/1250 sec. This speed freezes the action – individual droplets can be seen and the edge of the curling wave is very sharp.

At f/9, 1/500 sec the action is still frozen but the depth of field has increased slightly.

At f/14, 1/250 sec the curl of the wave is still reasonably sharp but the surf is starting to become less distinct.

With f/18, 1/125 sec the sharpness is becoming less on the wave, although the foreground is in better focus, due to the increased depth of field. The droplets are now starting to have trails.

At f/29, 1/60 sec the time taken with the shutter open has made it impossible to catch the wave as it curls. Focus on the wave has now been lost, so the previous setting of 1/125 sec is the optimum for these conditions – if the requirement is to have the main subject in sharp focus with the maximum depth of field!

The lens was at minimum aperture at f/36 to give this 1/30 sec exposure. The wave is now obviously breaking and seems to have more definite movement. The increased depth of field has little use at this speed, as the whole image is becoming blurred due to the movement of the water.

The camera has been pushed one stop to enable this shutter speed of 1/20 sec, as it was already at the minimum aperture of f/36. The image then had exposure compensation in Adobe Lightroom to bring back the realistic colour balance. The perception of movement is now greater than the previous image, although the whole picture is becoming even more blurred.

The camera has been pushed another stop to 2.0 over exposure to record this exposure at f/36, 1/10 sec. Again the exposure was compensated in Lightroom. At this speed the individual droplets have tracking lines which now show the power of the wave – it now seems to explode as it breaks. The resemblance of a wave is now disappearing, but just look at the power – you can almost hear it!!

Finally, after a further one stop push, this image, captured at f/32 and 1/6 sec exposure becomes an image of pure motion. The resemblance of the waves has virtually disappeared, leaving only the lines of direction that the water took. It may not be the best picture of a breaking wave, but for me this is the most interesting, dynamic image of the series. Yes – there’s burn out and nothing is in sharp focus, but it has the feeling of something alive. And all because of the shutter speed!

Following this exercise I moved into the back garden again, to show how the shutter speed can affect the whole perception of the area on a windy day. These images were taken within 2 minutes of each other with the camera set up in the same way, with the same lens as the main exercise.

This image, taken at f/4.2, 1/400 sec shows a pleasant place to enjoy the evening G&T. The movement in the trees isn't seen, as the motion has been frozen

This image, pushed 3 stops with f/25, ½ sec gives a much more realistic view of the garden on the day – now it looks cold and uninviting as the movement in the foliage signifies a windy cold place – not one to settle down in – stay indoors with a bottle of red!!

This exercise shows how much another element of the camera settings needs to be considered when taking an image - it’s down to what the picture is to portray and what the author wants it to convey and make it feel like. Shutter speed is probably more important than the focus or aperture setting – it is to me anyway!