I am trying to get better at taking pictures.
I am also trying to get better at editing pictures.
In order to do this I have had to learn so much about my camera. And there is a lot to know. Who would have thunk it?
It’s fun. I like it. Learning, that is.
And taking pictures. I like that, too.
Here is one of my practice shots then I’ll tell you something I learned to try to make the shot better.
This is a picture of Whatcom Falls in Bellingham, WA.
I always like looking at pictures of waterfalls when you see the water looking all silky and smooth.
In order to take this picture I knew I needed a longer exposure. This is how long your camera lens stays open allowing light to reach the sensor. Cool, huh! That is something I learned.
When you use a longer exposure you can’t move your camera because then you get a blurry image. So I had to use my tri-pod (Thanks Steve & Jackie for the tri-pod).
Even when you use a tri-pod you can get shake just from pressing the shutter button. To prevent this I used my remote (Again, thanks Steve & Jackie for the remote, too!). This way I didn’t have to touch the camera to get the shutter to release.
To take this picture I set my camera to shutter-priority mode which allows me to control the length of time the shutter stays open. I wanted to use a longer shutter speed like 2 or 5 seconds to see what it would do but the thing about long shutter speeds is you have to have low light. It was simply too early and there was too much light for me to use a long exposure. So to take this picture I set my shutter speed to 1 second. Anything more was just too much light and my picture would have become washed out.
One year ago I would not have known how to take a cool picture of a waterfall. I would have just set my camera to auto and started shooting. Which would have been fine too. But it would have stopped motion and the waterfall would look more crisp and sharp than I desired. So I got my learn on and figured out how to make it less “crisp and sharp”.
I like how the picture came out. I would have liked to use a longer shutter speed and see if I can make it prettier and silkier and more smooth. Maybe one day I’ll plan better and go when the sun is setting and there is less light and try again. I have to practice so I can take cool pictures of waterfalls when we go to Hawaii this fall. See, there’s my motivation!
So anywho…I just wanted to share something that I learned and something I enjoy doing. It isn’t way super cool (well, to me it is) and it’s not professional quality but it’s me. And I kinda like being me!
