Assessment 1, Activity 6 - Shutter Speed and Motion

The aim of this experiment was to discover the effect shutter speed has on capture of motion. Three techniques were used including a fast shutter speed to freeze motion, a slow shutter speed to blur motion and panning to create a blurred background with the subject in focus.

IMAGE 1: A fast moving subject using a high shutter speed to freeze the motion

Freezing: 80mm, ISO 100, Aperture 4.5, Shutter 1/4000

IMAGE 2: A photo of a moving subject while panning the camera (keeping the subject in focus while moving the camera) to create a blurred background

Panning: 35mm, ISO 100, Aperture 4.5, Shutter 0"4

IMAGE 3: Photo of a moving subject using slow shutter speed to blur the motion

Blurring: 35mm, ISO 400, Aperture 4.5, Shutter 0"3

Findings:
In image 1, I used my 70-300mm telephoto lens to get in close to the action from the fence at the rodeo. I used a shutter speed of 1/4000 to capture the motion as the bull tried to buck its rider. I also used the continuous shooting mode to capture frames very quickly so as not to miss the action taking place. With the shutter this fast, there was no blurring of the movement at all.

In image 2, I photographed a moving bike. On my tripod, I used a relatively slow shutter speed of 0"4 and used the tripod swivel top to move the camera to keep the subject in the middle of the frame while the shutter was open. The background has a nice blurred effect, however the subject is not as in focus as I would have liked. Next time I will try handheld as opposed to the tripod.

In image 3, I rolled a bright candle stick holder across the floor and photographed it from above using a 35mm lens, a tripod and a relatively slow shutter speed of 0"3 seconds. The effect was a movement blur of the orange candle stick while the background remained stationary. The longer the shutter was left open, the more blue was produced.