photo friday--"iso and shutter speed basics" & a link party!

hi to all my fellow photo-lovin' friends!

it is time for another edition of photo friday.

starting last week, i began working my way through an online photography course created by two peas in a bucket.

week two's lesson is about iso and shutter speed.

here's my summary of the lesson:

1.  the vocabulary:
iso: film speed which depends on your surroundings and the amount of light available.
shutter speed: (this seems fairly obvious, but here goes anyway) how fast the shutter operates--hence the name "shutter speed"
digital noise: film grain

2.  the takeaway:
iso:  i really love visual aids (being a teacher and all) and this iso visual (from the lesson) really helps me grasp the general settings

i'm basically remembering outside (lower) and inside (higher)
and
the higher the iso the higher the digital noise (or graininess)


shutter speed:

• use a tripod for slower than 1/50

• hand held shooting should be no slower than 1/60

• use a higher shutter speed (1/1000 or higher) when wanting to "freeze" an object in motion
• make sure you read the bottom part of the lesson after you do the challenge and get the tips about "balancing" the exposure.  very helpful!!!

3.  the challenge: the kitchen sink test
photograph running water (such as a glass/bowl under the tap in your kitchen sink) using an appropriate iso (higher if inside) and use shutter speed priority mode (S or Tv).  set the shutter speed for 1/80 of a second and take a picture and then take another one with a really high shutter speed higher than 1/1000 of a second.   note the differences and how the higher shutter speed "froze" the moving water.  also note how the higher shutter speed used a lower f/stop (aperture) and less of the picture is in focus.

you can really see how the waves/water is "frozen" with the higher shutter speed in the right picture (arrow).  also note how the aperture is much lower in the picture on the right and how less of it is in focus---just like the lesson said it would be!

now we are supposedly ready to shoot in full manual mode!
if you still aren't sure about that (like me), print and use this nifty "manual mode cheat sheet" from mom and camera.  so handy! 

and now on to our week-in-review photos (beach edition):

friday:

saturday:

sunday:

monday:

tuesday:

wednesday:

thursday:

ok, now it's time for you to link your photo-related posts from this week!

only a few guidelines to help us all have a fun party:
1.  please link to your specific photo post (and not your home blog page)
2.  add my button to the post or your sidebar so we can keep this party growing











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3.  and visit some of the other linker-uppers and give them some comment love


thanks to everyone who participates each week!