SHUTTER SPEEDS

My students know my approach to shutter speeds, but I wanted to share it with you as well. When you're out shooting, don't ask yourself, "What shutter speed should I use?" 

The questions I start with are, "How do I want this to look?" "What do I want to convey?" "What feeling do I want to translate?" My answer to these questions will determine what shutter speed I choose. This is not science; it's art. So, yeah, I might take a few shots at 1/20, 1/15, and one at 1/6 and decide which one best gives me what I want. Then, if things are moving, and with my camera set for continuous shooting, I get several shots, go home later, and decide which one best fits my original intent, interpretation, or translation.

I rely on shutter speeds when things are moving or might move. For example, if I see a heron just waiting still in knee-deep water, hoping to catch a fish, I make sure I have a high shutter speed set, just in case it starts flying without warning. 

Below are a few examples. I will share what my thoughts were before I started shooting.

I was in downtown Boulder, Colorado. There was a Baile Folklórico dance event taking place.
I watched and photographed the colorful and fast-stepping dancing for a few minutes. But, then my thoughts went from capturing the dancers dancing to capturing the essence of the dance. That led me to change my shutter speed to 1/60th of a second, which is pretty slow for that fast dancing. The results gave me exactly what I envisioned--not the dancing, not people dancing, but simply the essence of the dance: a blur of beautiful color and culture. Below are two shots from that day.

            

Fall colors and a mountain road. I got my autumn shots, but I wanted something more creative; more surreal. I could imagine how the same autumn scene would look if I applied my "swirl" technique. I talk about this technique in my popular book, Right Brain Photography, and in my classes. 

Here is a step-by-step tutorial of how my swirl technique works.
1) Set my lens to manual focus.

2) Focus on the scene, set the appropriate f/stop (I want everything sharp)
3) Make sure I get a slow shutter speed--usually 1/6 to 1/15 will work
4) I place the base of my camera on my palm. 

5) The second I hit my shutter button, I swirl my palm and camera. I don't arch the camera;
    just gently swirl, with my palm as the swivel/swirl point. It takes practice, but the results are cool.

                                                          Shutter speed 1/3 

The water from this damn waterfall was furiously flowing. However, the pounding water wasn't conducive to what I felt, which was a soothing autumn scene. I had also just taken a nice, relaxing hike.

                                                                      1/4

I went to the shores of the Buffalo River in Arkansas. I knew from previous visits that it was hard not to get a good shot there. That day, I saw a couple in canoes coming my way. I picked the best composition for them to be in and just waited for them. I took a couple of shots to get my exposure just right, then waited for them to come into view. They were moving, not fast, but moving. I didn't want to blur them. When in doubt, I choose a high shutter speed, even though it might be more than needed. 

1/250

Horseracing. For these fast-running competitors, I need a very fast shutter speed, if my goal is to "freeze' the horses, especially when they're running perpendicular to me!

1/1600 (hand-held) 

Here is a different type of scenario. As I stood near a powerful waterfall in Rocky Mountain National Park, the ground beneath me vibrated. The sound was extremely loud. However, in the midst of all that, I felt serene, peaceful. After I got my shot of the waterfall, I looked for something else that would interpret; translate my feelings into a photograph. I walked down a slight slope and found my way around two huge boulders, putting me near the bottom of the waterfall. When I saw that scene, I could feel the peacefulness and tranquility. I just had to translate those feelings. I chose 1/6th of a second to achieve that. See below.

I chose this next image for the cover of Right Brain Photography. It was 10-15 minutes after sunset when I started "painting" these natural formations in Garden of The Gods, a city park in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I set my camera on the BULB setting, with my camera on my tripod. The BULB setting allows me to leave the shutter open until I decide to shut it. I depressed the shutter on my cable release, then locked it open. I let my cable release cable dangle as I "painted" the formation with two flashlights. 

5-minute exposure

  

I hope I have given you enough examples for you to understand the importance of why the right questions lead to the right results. I don't simply think mechanically. I think aesthetically as well.

In these examples, I used shutter speeds that ranged from 5 minutes to 1/1600. 

So, please don't start your quest with, "What shutter speed should I use?" Do ask yourself, "How do I want this to look? "What's my message?" "How do I translate these feelings into something we call a photograph."

Have fun, and don't hesitate to contact me with questions.

www.elivega.net     vegaphotoart@gmail.com