Tag Archives: Shutter Mode

2013 – Ten shots that I love

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Editing is crucial for me and I often put myself through the process of narrowing my shots to find the ones that really work – my blog helps with that. I take about 10,000 photos every year. I shared about a thousand with you in 2013.  As the old year closes, I thought I would take a minute to post the shots that stood out for me.

10. Orange Stairs Orange Stairs

I shot this in an architectural salvage store in Chicago. The color captivated me. It was a great day of shooting and shopping, but this is my favorite shot of my time in the Windy City.

9. One Way20130513-163959.jpgI actually shot this on my last evening in Chicago. I used my fast 50 and it let me get lots of detail even late at night. This year I challenged myself to try things to find the limits of my equipment.

8. The Friendly Yearling20130324-103214.jpgThis is probably not one of my better photos, but it was an amazing moment for me. As I looked at this young buck looking back at me I realized he was the friendly fawn I had met the year before. I was Freshly Pressed for that post, and while that was great, the moment I recognized him was something I will never forget.

7. The Fly In20130119-111408.jpgThis was one of those shots I didn’t know I captured until I reviewed the shots. I thought there was no shot with the chickadee flying in – but it is one that I just love. This shot is one that encouraged me to keep shooting even when the scene looks pretty boring. After all, if I had decided to put my camera away because all I saw was a couple of finches eating, I would have missed this shot.

6. A Frosty Windshield

The payoff, sunrise out my driver's side window.

I took this shot waiting for my jeep to warm up one morning. I was so glad to have my macro lens with me. Macro shooting makes you look deeper into an unexplored world.

5. The Dancing Elk

Blitzen

I love shooting the elk during the rut, but this day was magical. The ground was frosty and there was a full on bull-fight. This bull was the victor and danced his way across the valley letting everyone know.

4. Stop Action Hummer

20130917-122612.jpg

After trying every shutter speed and lighting combination to try to capture a shot of a hummer in flight I decided to try a flash. This was taken right before sunset and I was running out of light – the flash was a gamble, but it worked so well that I began to use it in the daylight to stop action.

3. Tilt Shift Ben

This is my friend Ben. He lives across the road from me and sometimes visits with me while I get my mail. I never noticed how close in color he is to the road before. I shot him as he moved towards me and lucked out on the focus.

This is an experimental shot I took with a tilt shift set up. It was manually focused right after sunset. I was pleased with how it turned out, but this really feels like Ben to me – he is a neighbor dog that drops by to make sure I make it home OK.

2. The Swimming Dog

Speed

This shot of my brother’s dog in the swimming pool took a grand champion ribbon at the county fair – but even if no one appreciated the technical process of stopping the action, I love how that spit second of bliss shows in her expression. The color of the pool in the sunlight made for a great setting.

1. The Blue Jay

Eat and glare

This is my favorite photo I took this year – the attitude of the blue jay, the color of the bokeh, the late afternoon lighting. The funny thing is that I was trying to stop action and this guy just stopped to pose for me.

I’ll admit it, as soon as I got to 10, I wished I had made a top 20 list. Are there any you think should have made the cut? What did you post in 2013 that you are especially happy with? Happy New Year!

Shutterbug Notes:

If I could offer any advice, it would be to try new things. Your camera is capable of so much more than you imagine. Shoot the shots you want in Auto and then try the other modes. Push the ISO. Try that lens that is sitting around gathering dust. You’ll be a better photographer. 8 of these 10 shots would not have happened if I had stayed in my comfort zone. 

You are my Sunshine

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I live in that wide swath of the country that was hit by arctic storm Cleon. Funny, I didn’t know that they named winter storms, but I guess they do. Anyway, I have been housebound since prepping Wednesday night. I worked from home as a layer of ice blanketed the roads on Thursday. By the end of the day I thought the storm might be a bust – just some sleet and freezing rain. I felt silly for getting out the Carharts and putting the survival kit in the Jeep so early – after all it is still autumn. Cleon raged on Friday and by noon there was a foot of snow over that ice. I would work at my computer for a few hours and then I would have to get up and pace up and down the hallway – the signs of cabin fever were beginning to show. I was out of bread, apple cider, and chocolate. I stepped outside over my lunch hour and shot some birds during the flurries (I’ll save those for another time) but as I passed the 48 hour mark my mind was on all the things I didn’t have. A trip out to the firewood pile to restock was about as much fresh air as I had gotten and I was feeling a bit stir crazy.

Well, this post isn’t really about me (although it sounds like it so far – right?). You see, I live in the Stone House with 4 dogs – 4 very active dogs. Three terriers – Kirby, Velcro, and Squeegee – and a lovely Goldendoodle named Sunshine. I have written posts about all the terriers and their journey to the Stone House, but I’ve only written a dog shaming piece on Sunshine and that is a shame. You see, Sunshine is a very special dog and deserves his own story.

Sunshine is the last dog to be added to my pack. I never imagined that I would own more than two dogs, but then I saw sad Velcro at and adoption fair. After one of my pups was killed by uncontrolled dogs and Kirby came to live with us I began to think about the safety of my terriers. They say that a terrier is a big dog in a small body, but the truth is that when a big dog approaches aggressively these small dogs are scrappy but no match. I started thinking about what kind of dog would blend in with my pack, have a significant size, and would be gentle enough not to harm the smaller pups. I began to research Labradoodles and Goldendoodles. I had made a few calls to breeders and was considering a drive north to look at some dogs. The reputation of the doodles – crosses of Labs or Golden Retrievers with poodles – is one of gentleness, playfulness, loyalty, and they are supposed to be hypo allergic to boot.

I was talking one day with some friends when I mentioned that I was interested in looking at some doodles, but that I was hesitant to buy a dog from a breeder. I really prefer to rescue pets if possible. Someone told me about a group of Goldendoodles that she was fostering. The story was that their owner had died and they had been left unattended to when they were still nursing puppies. He was shy, tall, easily frightened, and had been unsuccessfully placed more than once. He sounded perfect!

When I met Sunshine he was going by the name Duke. I sat down on the couch and he immediately approached me – a good sign. I took him home and he was a little tentative getting out of the car. He walked behind me, hiding behind me as I moved towards the other dogs. As they approached he just laid down on the ground and looked them in the eye. Before the first evening was over he was fast friends with all three terriers. I saw his long blonde mustache and beard and thought he reminded me of an old mellow hippie named Sunshine – so Duke became Sunshine.

Sunshine is the complete opposite of a terrier. He is mild-mannered, gentle, careful, protective – he is a tiny dog in a tall body. He likes to try to hide under tables, even though he just doesn’t fit. When he plays. you can see the poodle in him – he gets his body low behind his outstretched front legs, ready to pounce. He has only two fears, thunder and gunfire – both of which are not uncommon in the woods. Beyond that he will defend me from any danger. He hikes with me, camps with me, and just hangs out with me. I probably neglected to write about him because he is easy. He isn’t pushy or demanding, although he does like his hand held at least once a day.

What made me think about writing about Sunshine today was the sunshine on that foot of snow in my yard. The dogs have been cooped up just like me – running outside for less than 5 minutes in the extreme cold. Today’s sunshine beckoned us all to come out and play. Sunshine hates it when it’s snowing, but the boy loves fresh snow. Here’s a gallery of him as he enjoys that virgin powder in the glorious sunshine – click through to get a sense of his movement:

Look at all that snow!
I’m gonna run for it…
Wheee!
Taking flight
Turning
Leap
For
Joy
Snow Splash
Mustang
Stretch
Stop
What’s that out in the woods?

Sunshine is that dog that watches you and anticipates your next move. He very gently inserts himself into your routine. He lies on a rug while I cook. He’s laying at my feet under my desk as I type this. He is always close by. He is not, however, hypo allergic. He sheds like a horse. I find blonde dust bunnies in ever corner on the floor and his addition to my home has necessitated another addition – a Dyson Animal. Speaking of the Dyson, I need to wrap this up and vacuum – it’s getting awfully fuzzy in the corners of the Stone House.

Because Sunshine doesn’t have as jealous bone in his body, I know he would not mind me including a slide show of his best pal in the snow. Snow is the one thing that Sunshine is the front-runner in their relationship. Kirby had to watch Sunshine run before he was sure he wanted to try it out. Again, click through for a sense of movement.

I’m diving in
How does he do it?
Maybe I need to move a bit faster
Turning
Gaining speed
Launching
Flying
Soaring
Cleared for takeoff!

Everyone needs a little Sunshine in their life!

It’s hard to believe that this is my 200th post. I have been thinking about where I want to take theeffstop. I know I want to take good photos and share thoughtful or silly stories. I get a lot of comments about the camera settings I have shared, so I will continue to include those, but I will put them at the end of each post. I’m not really interested in writing a how-to blog, but I love sharing the knowledge I have picked up along the way. Thanks to all of you who have taken this journey with me. Your support and friendship have meant more to me than you will ever know.

Shutterbug Notes:

Both of these galleries were shot using Shutter Mode. On a bright sunny day you don’t have to push the ISO too high, especially in the snow. I set my ISO to 1000, Shutter Speed 1000. If you keep the focus point in the center of the frame you can focus on the face even as the running dog moves through the frame, in other words, give him room or you will cut his head off. 

Shutter Speed – A Month of Hummers

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Over the course of the last month I have been experimenting with shooting in Shutter Mode – a departure from my beloved and comfortable Aperture Mode style of shooting. You can read about my progress here, here, here, and here.

If you don’t want to bother with clicking all those blue words – here’s my journey in a nutshell:

1. I like to shoot birds and wish I could capture more action shots.

2. Shooting in Aperture Mode focuses on light and not speed, so while I can easily control the depth of field, I miss a lot of that action.

3. Most wildlife photogs shoot in Shutter Mode, because controlling the speed gives you a better chance at stopping motion – this prompted me to get out of my comfort zone and give it a try.

What I have learned in the last month is that great light increases your camera’s ability to get you great results, and that you need to know the limits of your camera’s ability to handle lower light with higher ISO settings. ISO is crucial in allowing more light in when you increase shutter speeds even in sunlight.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that my camera can push these settings pretty far and still yield good results. I would encourage you to find a review that assesses your camera’s capabilities to see where the experts draw the line on ISO performance. For my camera, the line seems to be at 6400 with the experts in a controlled lighting situation – in the field I find I prefer the results at 3200 and lower. That’s twice the limit I have ever been comfortable trying, and reading up on my camera convinced me that my thinking on ISO and grain was stuck somewhere in past with my first Canon Elph (circa 2002).

When starting down this road my goal was to try to get shots of hummingbirds with definition in their wings. I have hundreds of shots from the last year with eyes in focus and wings that are barely discernible – now I love some of these shots, but getting wings with actual feathers defined was a rarity. Now I am not at the point where I am completely stopping motion on a hummingbird – honestly, I think that to do that dependably would require the use of a flash, and that is way outside my comfort zone. What follows are my favorite shots from a month of shooting in Shutter Mode.

Click on any image to start the slide show!

Approaching – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Shiny Sipper – 1/800 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Hovercraft – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
In-flight Beverage – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Stationary Sipper – 1/800 second f6.7 ISO 2000
Coming in for a Landing – 1/800 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Swan Song – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Poised – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Reaching – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Touch Down – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Coming in Low – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Going for Style Points – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 1600
Vertical Assault – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Degree of Difficulty? – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
All a Flutter – 1/800 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Defenses Up! – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Dine and Dash – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 1600
Table for Two? – 1/1000 second f6.7 ISO 3200
Tired Warrior – 1/320 second f6.7 ISO 2000

Now I know that last shot is not really an action shot. That girl worked her heart out for me – she’s out there on the front lines everyday defending that red bottle feeder, and her exhaustion is starting to show. She’s the acrobat diving into frame in so many of these shots. Well done, my little friend, well done.

Shutter Speed Part 3 – Happy Accidents

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This is the third post in a series on migrating away from my comfort zone – shooting in Aperture Mode – to exploring the wonders of shooting in Shutter Mode. In Part 1 I talked about the trade offs of Shutter vs Aperture Modes and the search for the structure of a hummingbird’s wings. In Part 2 I discussed some simple setting changes that let me get more shots off and have more keepers in a series on a visit from a bluejay. Today I want to discuss an unexpected byproduct of shooting in Shutter Mode – Happy Accidents.

In my typical Aperture mode I might have gotten an inflight shot by accident once a month that was useable. Now sometimes I got lucky when there was so much action that all I had to do was keep snapping and hope for focus like this. Apart from this flurry of activity those times when a bird launches into the air were mostly just unreadable blurs.

Now most of these shots are not really useable, but they are readable and I think I am learning more about the way a bird flies. That information will help me take better shots of birds as they launch themselves into the air – knowing the process helps me to make better guesses of where the action will be in a split second.

I have always imagined that birds launch themselves into the air by flapping their wings and lifting off – but no – they take a leap of faith, hopping or stepping off to catch the air before they even spread their wings…

Alley oop!

Alley oop! f6.7 1/1000 second ISO 1600

Geronimo!

Geronimo! f6.7 1/800 second ISO 3200

Cowabunga dude!

Cowabunga dude! f6.7 1/800 second ISO 3200

To infinity and beyond!f8 1/800 second ISO 2500

To infinity and beyond! f8 1/800 second ISO 2500

Like I said – not great photos, but they do give me a better feel for where to look for the action on take offs, but what about landings? I am learning that wings are much more open when a bird is landing – they flutter to catch their balance. Sometimes they even overshoot their target – it all happens in a split second and I always missed it in Aperture Mode…

Incoming!

Incoming! f6.7 1/800 second ISO 3200

Overshot the landing!

A real nail-biter! f6.7 1/800 second ISO 1600

All a flutter!

All a flutter! f6.7 1/1000 second ISO 1600

Knowing that the landing is the prime time to catch wing action was a huge advantage to shooting. I also noticed that certain feeders with narrower foot holds tended to require more wing flaps to land on, so this weekend I set out to try to make one good capture. I knew what was needed – bright light, fairly high ISO, fast shutter speed, a bird landing on a  tricky perch – not much to ask for – right?

A focused landing! f9 1/1000 second ISO 3200

A focused landing! f9 1/1000 second ISO 3200

I found this feeder a couple of weeks ago at Lowes and wondered if the birds would use it because of the narrow edge. It turns out that they do use it and if you can get into place before noon on a sunny day with the right camera settings you just might capture some wing action.

Shutter Speed Part 2 – Catching the Action = More Good Shots

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In my last post I talked about my exploration of using Shutter Mode as a means of capturing action that was impossible when shooting in my beloved Aperture Mode. To make these shots I bumped up the ISO far outside of my own comfort level to make it possible to use faster shutter speeds in the available light. Since I am shooting a long lens, the aperture can never be exceptionally wide – there are no really fast zooms for the mirrorless platform yet. f6.7 is as fast as I can go at maximum zoom – so there are limits built in. In Aperture Mode I was shooting at around 1/250 second and I kept my ISO under 1000.

This set was shot with apertures between f6.7-f7.1 at 1/500 second and an ISO setting of 2500. Bluejays tend to be skittish, they bounce from tree to tree deciding whether or not to risk visiting the feeders.  I took these shots in the space of 10 seconds. There are 23 shots – I discarded three that were out of focus. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have disabled my preview so that I can keep shooting. If I had been shooting in Aperture Mode I would have gotten off about 6 shots hoping for one or two in focus, removing preview would have let me shoot more, but I am guessing my percentages would have been the same – 30% verses over 90%. Shooting in this mode gave me lots of options for that best shot.

I have also decided to leave my comfort zone in another way – my photos are in a gallery this time. I didn’t upload large size files because I am just using up too much storage space, but I think these work OK – on a future post I will use fewer images and try it larger. Click on the first image to see the images in the order in which they were shot – this feature shows the camera settings on the lower right of the screen for each image. If you click fast enough you will get a feel for what my encounter with the jay was like.

On alert
Looking over the selection
Keeping watch
Sampling the menu
Considering another
Taking a second look
Checking out the other feeders
Choosing a morsel
Taking aim
Diving in
Looking for more
Eat and glare
Looking for trouble
Considering dessert
Squaring up
Going in for seconds
Thinking about it
Looking over the dessert tray one more time
Dessert!
Considering another
Maybe just one more
OK, you’ve twisted my arm
I’ll take this one “to-go”

Shutter Speed Part 1 – It Gives You Wings!

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In photography there are always trade-offs. Modern DSLRs try to balance the trade-offs to give you the perfectly exposed photo.

When it comes to shooting mode, I’m an Aperture kinda girl. I love the control I have over the DOF (Depth of Field). WIthout thinking I can spin that adjustment dial until the image is bright enough and the subject is isolated to my satisfaction. I developed my love of the Aperture Mode over the course of years of shooting things that don’t move a lot, like flowers and rusty things. When I started shooting birds, I started in Auto to see what the camera would choose for the situation. I noted the shutter speeds seemed to be between 200-350. Moving to Aperture mode, I kept that number in mind. Since I hate noise (grainy-ness) and love bokeh (the cool blurry swirly backgrounds in photos that make the subjects pop), I kept the ISO low and the Aperture pretty close to wide open. That is my comfort zone. Unless I am shooting in a studio under a light kit I keep to that formula.

That brings us to the trade-offs. What I give up for my love of a shallow DOF and lots of creamy bokeh is the ability to stop action unless there is a ton of light. Sometimes I have gotten pretty lucky, but not nearly as often as I would like. I see in focus action shots of wildlife all the time, I see them taken with mirrorless cameras too – there has to be a way. Trying a new mode would prove to be part of the answer. It’s time to leave my comfort zone and tread out into the wilderness that is Shutter Mode! After reading some articles I have decided that since this whole bird obsession thing is an exercise aimed at becoming a better photographer, I owe it to myself to try this long neglected mode on my camera.

This weekend I was pretty much house bound with a nasty bug courtesy of a tick bite acquired on a recent hike, so I read a few articles about shooting birds. Something I had never considered was increasing the ISO – for me the low ISO has been like a treasured idol in my toolbox of predictable outcomes, even though my camera has one of the highest ratings for performing at higher ISO settings. Another thing I had to give up was the image review feature – the more I shoot the more I have seen how that third-of-a-second image in my viewfinder has robbed me of shots, losing my subject as the image flashed onscreen. By Sunday I resolved that I was ready to take off the training wheels and try this out.

I decided to start a quest to understand the structure of a hummingbird’s wings. I have shot lots of hummers in the last year and have always focused on their eyes whenever possible. I still did that, but I did a few things to increase my odds of getting a good shot. First, I made my focus point as small as possible so that I did not have to pre-focus on the feeder first and hope to get a focus on the bird. Next, I chose certain feeders to focus on – ones that were in bright sunlight. Finally, I deleted all shots of birds not in motion – I have hundreds of clean focused shots of birds sitting still – I want to see motion. I also deleted shots where the wings were not definable. I took some test shots at different shutter speeds – 500, 640, 800, and 1000 – each of these settings required a change in ISO to produce an image bright enough to use. I used to work with ISOs from 200-800 – now I would work as high as 2500. Beyond that I was just not happy with the grainy nature of the test shots in the available light on that day. This required me to change settings as the light changed – it was a partly cloudy day so I got lots of practice.

The shots that follow are not great, but I am seeing that it is possible for me to get closer to capturing or potentially stopping movement. Stopping a hummingbird’s wing is an unrealistic challenge – but I do think that I understand the structure better now.

I started with some of my better shots in my old mode taken in the last week – usually in pretty good light to begin with.

f6.7 1/250 sec ISO 100o This is one of my better efforts in Aperture Mode

f6.7 1/250 sec ISO 1000
This is one of my better efforts in Aperture Mode

f6.7 1/250 second ISO 1600 This is a shot where I just increased the ISO - the light was almost perfect so even in Aperture mode I got a sense of the feathers.

f6.7 1/250 sec ISO 1600
This is a shot where I just increased the ISO – the light was almost perfect so even in Aperture Mode I got a sense of the feathers.

F6.7 1/250 sec ISO 1000 Switching to Shutter Mode and bumping up the ISO first

F5.9 1/250 sec ISO 1000
Still in Aperture Mode and bumping up the ISO first – still wonderful light

f6.7 1.250 sec ISO 250 Starting to loose the light - but because the feeder was close it still worked - I can see the ribs of the feathers

f6.7 1.250 sec ISO 250
Starting to lose the light – but because the feeder was close it still worked – I can almost make out some of the structure of the feathers – last shot in Aperture Mode.

Now onto Shutter Mode – these shots were all taken yesterday.

f6.1 1/250 sec ISO 1600 After a short rain shower I switched to Shutter Mode - kept the speed low and pushed the ISO a bit. I focused on the closer bird and can begin to see definition in the feathers.

f6.1 1/250 sec ISO 1600
After a short rain shower I start a new day in Shutter Mode – kept the speed low and pushed the ISO a bit. I focused on the closer bird and can begin to see definition in her feathers.

f6.1 1/250 sec 1250 ISO The same bird moves to the other side of the feeder - you can clearly see the layers of feathers that I have previously been unable to capture. The ISO is making a difference.

f6.1 1/250 sec 1250 ISO
The same bird moves to the other side of the feeder – you can clearly see the layers of feathers that I have previously been unable to capture. The ISO is making a difference. I only got this shot because I disabled the preview feature. With no image to review I can keep shooting.

f6.7 1/640 sec ISO 2000 The bird is scratching in flight - in Aperture Mode this shot is a goner, it would have been a blurry mess. In Shutter Mode it is fairly clear and you can see the underside of his wing.

f6.7 1/640 sec ISO 2000
The bird is scratching in flight – in Aperture Mode this shot is a goner, it would have been a blurry mess. In Shutter Mode it is fairly clear and you can see the underside of his wing, plus it stopped the action of his foot.

f6.7 1/800 sec ISO 2000 A bit too much sunlight, but this shot captures the recoil motion of a wing flap. Personally I like the inverted image of my pergola in the feeder too.

f8 1/800 sec ISO 2000
A bit too much sunlight, but this shot captures the recoil motion of a wing flap. The smaller Aperture setting has slightly reduced DOF – just a bit deeper focus on the bird and feeder. Personally I like the inverted image of my pergola in the feeder too.

f6.7 1/800 sec ISO 2000 This is more detail than I have ever seen on a wing - the sunlight was pretty intense, blowing out a couple of areas, but the grain is OK so far.

f6.7 1/800 sec ISO 2000
This is more detail than I have ever seen on a wing – the sunlight was pretty intense, blowing out a couple of areas, but the grain is OK so far.

f6.7 1/640 sec ISO 2000 It's clouding up and I'm losing light. More grain than I like but I am still seeing feather structure - managing ISO is the crucial.

f6.7 1/640 sec ISO 2000
It’s clouding up and I’m losing light. More grain than I like but I am still seeing feather structure – managing ISO is the crucial.

f6.7 1/640 sec ISO 2500 Same bird - another shot I would have missed if I hadn't turned off the preview feature and an angle I rarely capture because the movement is the closest thing making focusing a crap shoot. I' still seeing feather structures even in this lower light.

f6.7 1/640 sec ISO 2500
Same bird – another shot I would have missed if I hadn’t turned off the preview feature and an angle I rarely capture because the movement is the closest thing making focusing a crap shoot. I I’m still seeing feather structures even in this lower light.

f6.7 1/500 sec ISO 2500 The sun peaks back out and I get a shot with a bit lower speed - you can see how much feather detail is lost by moving below 1/640 second.

f6.7 1/500 sec ISO 2500
The sun peaks back out and I get a shot with a bit lower speed – you can see how much feather detail is lost by moving below 1/640 second.

So to sum up – speed + ISO + good lighting = better ability to stopping action, but the trade-off can be grain in your image unless the light is really great. My camera has a huge ISO range and I just need to push it to see how far it can go on a good sunny day. This probably seems like old hat to most wildlife photogs, I was probably doing things the hard way and I clearly was not making use of my camera’s capabilities. I have been resistant to trying to shoot fast-moving things like sports events because I have limited myself by staying in that comfort zone – it’s time for me to break things loose.