Ndbrown07's Blog

Shutter speed is an aspect of the camera that lets one take fast action photos with a fast shutter speed and get clear pictures.  It also allows one to take an action shot with a slow shutter speed to blur the motion and create a different effect.  I chose to capture quick and forceful human body movements and a basketball game was the perfect place to show this aspect of photography.  The purpose of this photo is so one can see the action stopped in a split second of the game.  The ball and the hands of the player taking the shot are a little blurry to show movement of the body.  This photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/500 of a second and an aperture of 10.5. These settings allowed for the camera to focus on a larger area and stop the subject in a blink of an eye. The arms are leading one’s eye to the motion of the ball in the photograph.  The repetition of the bleacher lines in the background also help the subject stand out.  One’s eye is focused on the action in this photo and shutter speed is always a factor in action shots.  Shutter speed can stop a moving instance in time.  These split second images catch moments even the human eye cannot.  That is why I am fascinated with the use of shutter speed and am excited to experiment more with it.

The photo I used to communicate a sense of focal length was taken with a telephoto lens. The telephoto lens takes photos how they are, with no distortion.  The rail gives the photo a sense of depth but I was surprised the plane between the subjects and the back wall seem to blend together.  The purpose of this photo was to create a sort of tunnel to the subjects.  I believe this effect creates a feeling and tone in the composition.  My purpose was to connect the viewer to the subjects.  One could get caught up in the moment of this photo wondering where the thought or view of the subject is. Pride, opportunity, and inspiration all could be themes of this photo depending of the interest of the viewer.  If I would have used a different lens or angel of view in the photo some of the mystery might have been lost.  The leading lines of the railing in the photograph are the most evident element; they bring the eye directly into the picture and lead them to the subject and the thought of this image.  Focal length is a concept and technique that will also help the photographer communicate their intent.

The photo of two male profiles was used to display aperture. When using one’s settings to control aperture, you are adjusting the depth of field. This can help one part or one subject be in focus while another is not; or it can make subjects at different levels in your photo all have prominence. This tool can help the photographer communicate the subject to the viewer. This photograph has a short depth of field allowing only the profile in the front to be in focus.  If the aperture number was a high number, it would have increased the depth of field and both profiles would have been in focus.  My purpose in using a short depth of field was so one’s eye would be focused on the profile in the front.  When thinking about depth of field in your photograph, larger aperture numbers create less depth in the photo and smaller aperture numbers create more depth in the photo.  In this particular photo I used a smaller aperture of 4 and one can tell that there are two different planes in the photo because the profile in the back is blurry. The purpose of taking a picture like this is to direct the viewer to see the image as you intended.  It engages the viewer to connect with the subject. I believe the aperture settings on one’s camera can help the photographer convey feelings, thought, emotion, and it is an important tool to learn how to use.