Tag Archives: Time

Shutter Speed Exposed!

There are plenty of reasons to understand shutter speed better. It is an important controller of many aspects of the composition of our photographs. When things are moving fast we can fix them – capture the speed of the moment. And, when things are moving slowly the camera can make them look fast. And, when we are interpreting movement in our image we can inject a little blur and make it look like our image has movement just like the real world. Shutter speed is one of the three main aspects of exposure along with ISO and Aperture. Shutter speed is about our exposures.

Today we have published a new entry in our Photographic Glossary… Shutter Speed

Contribute A Definition?

Send us a definition of a photographic word or phrase...

Send us a definition for our list of photographic words and phrases. Simply write a clear definition and send it in. Include an original picture if you wish. Give us your name and a link to your website and we will credit your work.

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

Knowing Your Wildlife Subject

Find out everything you can about your wildlife subject

Find out everything you can about your wildlife subject. It will save you time and you stand a better chance of getting the shot you want.

Do your research in good time before your trip

Photographing wildlife is one of the most satisfying photographic subjects. When we get a great shot we feel terrific. However, if your back-to-nature shot is to be a success then you should make sure you know what you are doing. Preparation and research is essential. Find out how to improve your chance of a good wildlife shot.

Define the shot you want

For any sort of wildlife consider what you want to achieve… and what is practical. Doing a Google image search for the animal you want to shoot will reveal hundreds of pictures that relate to your subject. It really helps to go through those and see what is possible, and what you like. Getting ideas about shots will help you to visualise what works. On location it will also help you clarify ideas for when and how to take the shot. Pick out a few pictures you like. Review them often to keep what you want in your mind.

Research the creature

A lot of photographers go on location to photograph a particular animal and never see one. They appear on location assuming they will find an animal but don’t know where ‘exactly’ to look or when. Wildlife is often rare, shy, wary of humans or deep in the natural cover of the landscape. Knowing roughly where an animal or bird lives is definitely not the same as knowing its habitat or how it uses its environment. Read up on Wildlife Photography. Make time to learn the nesting, habits, feeding and hunting activities. Without a good knowledge of these you will stand little chance of tracking down your intended animal. Read the work of experts. Then you will be able to build up a complete understanding of the animal and how to photograph it in the wild.

Health and safety

This is about both you and the animal. Wild animals are just that – wild. If you disturb them they may, in their surprise, attack you. On the other hand, if you surprise them they may abandon a nest or kill their own young as a result of the stress. Often wild animals are only found in wild places too. Most of us today are not used to these places and don’t know the ways of the country very well. Chasing an animal down in unfamiliar territory (mountains, wild open areas etc) could prove hazardous to you. Particularly in the winter.

Get to know the shots and the areas where you will get them by going on guided shoots. There are lots of companies that specialize in overseas and local wildlife shoots. They will know when the animals will be visible and where to find them. They probably have great hides to use while observing and imaging your chosen beast. They will also be able to show you what is the best equipment to use for photographing and tracking down you chosen animal.

Get trained up to cope with the environment you will be shooting in. Too many people each year get lost or die because they had no idea how to cope with the conditions they encountered. That could have been avoided with a few simple, and fun, sessions with expert trainers.

Knowing the moods of your subject

Using guides will help you get to know more about what you can reasonably expect from a shoot. You will find out about the animals moods or habits and what time of day it is out-and-about. The mood of an animal is all-important to the shot. Catch it doing anything natural and you have the type of shot that is a winner. However, if an animal is stressed or wary, scared or protecting young – your shot is unlikely to be what you want. Knowing the mood and normal activities of an animal is crucial to getting the candid shots that make great photos.
More after the jump…

Composition

Great wildlife shots are also about Composition. A good wildlife photographer works within the environment. They know all about where they are and what they are after. They place themselves in locations for the best shot of their animals. If you don’t have a natural and pleasing background for your shot all your efforts will be wasted with the animal. Hides, walls, tracks, vehicles, local roads and buildings can all impact your shot. So you need to give careful consideration to not only the location of the shoot, but where you will be pointing the camera when the animal happens past.

Time

Wildlife photography can be very time consuming. Good wildlife photographers may wait weeks for a particular shot, or some such length of time. If you visit the Wildlife Photographer of the Year External link - opens new tab/page website you will see comments next to shots by the winners about the photos. Sometimes they mention their preparation and time. It is useful to see what is involved.

Don’t always expect to come back with what you want. You may be lucky. I hope you are. But, whatever, be patient. Wildlife photography is great fun, very rewarding and often fruitful. Success only comes consistently if you know what you are doing.
Enjoy!

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

Time-lapse photography – an introduction

Time lapse photography is a sequence of photographs which captures the same scene or activity over intervals creating a regular series of photographs. When compiled, the sequence forms a continuous, projection of the process. A slow process appears accelerated. Examples might include the movement of clouds, which might normally be very slow. The growth of a plant over days might be another example. Here is a time-lapse sequence of a sunset with some lovely clouds…

Here is another one showing a Lotus flower blooming as a timelapse sequence…

A quick-starter introduction
In general time-lapse is done from one viewpoint. So using a tripod is helpful to keep the scene fixed and the image steady. Other settings need to be steady too. It is important to make sure the scene changes as little as possible to make the final sequence smooth. Scene changes, exposure changes and re-framing make the final image sequence jerky and difficult to follow.

It is also worth fixing your settings on the camera so the auto features do not change the light. So switch your camera to manual control. Set ISO, aperture and shutter speed too, so the shot is correctly exposed and with a steady exposure throughout the sequence. Focus the camera and turn off ‘auto-focus’. This will ensure the camera does not suddenly auto-focus on movement or changes in your scene – which would change the framing of your sequence introducing jerkiness.

Once your camera is set up you need to find a way to take the pictures at intervals. In a short sequence, say a table-top diorama or story you might take shots manually. Take a shot, change the scene, take a shot, and so on.

For a longer sequence with regular intervals you will need some form of intervalometer – a device that counts off intervals of time and takes a shot each period. The intervalometer is attached to your camera. You set the time interval and your camera takes shots until stopped.

See some intervalometers on Amazon.co.uk.   External link - opens new tab/page

Make sure you have sufficient space on your memory card for your project to be completed. One shot every second for one hour that produces 3600 shots. You will probably need to use a small file format that uses a small memory space to store that number of shots!

Making your time-lapse sequence
Once you have your shots you will need to combine them into a slide show or time-lapse video. To create your video some software is needed. Many photo-editing applications like Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop (CS5 extended) can do this conversion. Some great free software is available. Try IrfanView   External link - opens new tab/page will create slide-shows for you that will run as video sequences. There are also dedicated software systems that are specialised and can produce sophisticated shows of all sorts of sequences. One example is ‘Proshow’   External link - opens new tab/page. You will need to refer directly to the relevant help-files or manual to get instructions for your application.

Long sequence time-lapse
if you are sufficiently committed you can get some wonderful sequences over a long time period. People do daily photographs of themselves, actions or scenes year on year, long term changes in the environment, traffic… you name it. As an example here is a wonderful timelapse created from 3500 images taken during the course of a year.

One year in 2 minutes from Eirik Solheim   External link - opens new tab/page on Vimeo   External link - opens new tab/page.

Further training
Here is a more in-depth training video on time lapse from GavTrain…

Have fun with time-lapse photography. Remember, we love to have your comments and feedback.

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

Can you write? Of course you can!
Write for Photokonnexion...

We would love to have your articles or tips posted on our site.
Find out more…
Write for Photokonnexion.

Simple tips for a good photography stance

Poor photography stance could ruin your shot

Poor photography stance could ruin your shot! Rehearse a smooth performance...

Click and go? No.

OK, it sounds simple. To take a shot in bright daylight just focus, point and click. Easy. No, not so easy. You need to think about your photography stance. Why?

Breath, shift, close, stab and roll – that’s why. These are some of the things people do when they take a photograph. Here is the full sequence. They line up the shot – everything just so… Then, they take a breath and shift their weight. Suddenly, they close their eye and stab the button followed by something I call ‘the roll’. The roll is where the camera is whisked away from the face to see the subject of the shot. This sequence causes movement through the shot.

Being aware of these problems helps you to adjust your stance and breathing. Then you can take the shot in a fluid way. Building up a steady, controlled set of actions will train your body and mind. This training helps to prevent the movements that cause loss of sharpness.

The sequence of a controlled shot should be deliberate and rehearsed. Through the shot your photography stance should aim to avoid the uncontrolled movement of the ambush. Hunt your shot with deliberate, stealthy moves. Here are some tips to help you get a sharper shot.

The photography stance you should work on

A good photography stance needs a stable position…

  • The basic foot/leg position is critical. Stand still, with your feet apart. Slightly more than one length of your own foot should fit between them. One foot slightly forward helps. Make sure you are comfortable.
  • Your back should be straight and neck upright.
  • Tuck your elbows in to your body to create a triangle-of-support for your camera.
  • Your right hand should hold the camera hand-grip.
  • The right index finger should be poised lightly on the shutter button.

  • Your left hand should be palm-up under the lens supporting its weight. Your left-hand fingers should be free to focus without shifting support from the lens in your palm.
  • The camera eye piece (viewfinder) should be gently but firmly held to the ridge above your eye. It will act as another stable point but allow you to see comfortably though the eye piece.
Composing the shot – involve your photography stance

Once the camera is comfortably held to your eye, you can compose the shot. Hold your stance. Breathe smoothly during this composition.

A good photographer has a ‘way’ of breathing. People often take a sharp in-breath before shooting and hold it. That causes movement and an unbalanced position. And, your heart-rate quickly goes up too. More movement! Think about your breath.

Once you are aware of your pattern of breath you can control it. Keep your breathing smooth and under control. Find the top or bottom of the breath – your choice. At that point in the breath there is a brief moment when the body is still. Shoot then! You may slightly delay the next phase of your breath until the shutter has shut. (OK, that could be interpreted as holding your breath). Try it until you are happy with the result.

How to push the shutter button

When ready to shoot, DO NOT stab the button. The smoothest method I have found is to have my button finger poised at the edge of the button and turned out slightly at the outset. To shoot, I roll the finger onto the button. It’s only a tiny movement. Then the contact is composed and relaxed. Work on a smooth motion like rolling pastry. All the time keep your hands firm but relaxed – not strained or white knuckled. Finger poised ready to roll onto the button.

Some people roll the index finger down onto the button from the side. This will work too as long as the movement is under control and smooth. Your photography stance will hold you in a stable position while you press the button. So make sure you are holding your position.

Roll your finger onto the shutter release button - maintain your photography stance.

Roll your finger onto the shutter release button - maintain your photography stance.

While pressing the shutter button don’t close your working eye. Many people blink in anticipation of the shot. Look through the lens for as long as possible. This helps control the hand movement and steadies the camera. The action of the mirror/shutter will block your view during the shot. If you are prepared you will not flinch or change your photography stance.

The “anti-roll bar”

Now you use the “anti-roll bar”. ‘Bar’ yourself from rolling the camera away from your face the instant you press the button. Before I found out about this I ruined many shots rushing the camera from my face after the shot. You will often find, in your enthusiasm, the removal is premature. Movement is introduced while the shutter is still open. To overcome this tendency slowly say “one thousand” to yourself after the shot (takes one second). Next, gently remove the camera. Practice it and soon you will not do ‘the roll’ any more.

Practice makes your photography stance perfect

Put these tips together and you will return controlled shots. It will help break the cycle of frenetic composition and hasty captures. With practice your shots will get sharper and more considered. You will be making the shot, not snapping it. With proper use of the photography stance you will have sharper images and better control.

Comments, additions, amendments or ideas on this article? Contact Us
or why not leave a comment at the bottom of the page…

Like this article? Don’t miss the next — sign up for tips by email.

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

Composition – Time…

Light is one of the critical features of our capture. Time is also essential. Our picture is the result of a time-line. It’s a creation of the moment chosen to take the shot. The capture distils the events from a line of moments before the button press. It tells the story.

Spring Sunset • Some images appeal to something deep in us. Time is a part of that.

• Spring Sunset •
Some images appeal to something deep in us. Time is a part of that.

Primal drives are one type of story

Sometimes a picture is not special by virtue of the moment. A deep orange sunset sparks something in our primal memory. The power of the wave pounding the shore is as enduring as the rock of ages. We recognise these ideas. We replay them regularly through the images of popular culture. They are special because they are timeless. They touch something deep in our psyche. We see the same timelessness in manifest terror or nightmares.

Happiness or horror, timelessness and the impact of the moment come from within. They are triggered by the photograph. We recognise the point of some photographs from within the depth of ourselves. Perhaps it’s an emotional response. Maybe it’s from something deeper. In this, time is not a story. It is the depth of ourselves.

Time tells a story

If there is no primal appeal there must be something else in the image that makes the point. Time is the critical factor. Time tells a story.

When we look at an image we see a story of some sort. Sometimes it is a clear story; sometimes the story is an unsolved mystery. Whatever, we see some sort of ‘past’, ‘now’ and ‘future’ in the image. The capture of the moment is the point of the story itself. It is also the context in which it is seen. There are as many stories as there are pictures. Your picture sums up the story as you see it – at that moment. The element of time is the crux of the matter.

It’s not about the exposure

We should not confuse the element of time in the scene with the duration of the exposure. Shutter speed is important. It may affect the final artistic outcome or the way you tell the story. However, managing shutter speed is a technical decision or a tool to help the final portrayal. The story told, as a point in time, is separate from the exposure process.

Time in the picture goes beyond the moment

That moment, the capture, is not a merely an isolated incident. It is about something that is about to happen, or is happening or has happened. Do we wait for the clouds to clear, do we wait for the person walking into the frame, do we exclude them? A lot of decisions are made about the scene. Are we going to wait for the rain, do we arrive at sunset or dusk… decisions about the time of the scene. What is going to happen next? When do we take the shot? When will everything be in place?

These are questions from which we make decisions about the moment of the shot. They are also the final piece in the story we construct in the process of the shot. We make these decisions to tell the story more completely. If the finished picture is to have a powerful impact the story should be compelling and appealing.

Time is most obvious in landscapes but there’s more…

There is a story in everything. In landscapes we see the way time has taken its toll on the formation of the rock and the shape of the hills. In flowers there is the joy of the season and the renewal of life. In architecture there is the build itself and the story of the lives shared within its walls which establish is character. Natural history tells of the long drama of life. In fact the story that features in your picture is the essence of your capture. It is recognised by the viewer, even if only implicitly. It is that which creates the character and appeal of your picture.

The element of time is important to every photograph. It is essential for taking the shot – the exposure duration. It is more important as an element of composition. It is the story.

Time awareness

As one of the principle elements in the shot, time adds an essential dimension. Time needs the full attention of the photographer. When you compose your photograph make sure you feel the story. Be aware of its impact on the viewer.

Comments, additions, amendments or ideas on this article?
Contact Us or leave a comment at the bottom of the page…

Like this article? Don’t miss the next — sign up for tips by email.

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photographer and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photogs.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.
By Damon Guy see his profile on Google+.