Case Study 2: Water Falls

This is the famous one... Capturing Water Fall at very slow shutter speed. I got hands-on in Colorado while hiking towards Adam Falls.

It was 8:00 in the morning at Adam Falls... Bright day but not sunny (because the Sun was behind high mountains).

Started taking picture at 5s and f/5 (keeping shutter speed as priority) but it was all white... after some trial and errors... I got this amazing one at 1s and f/32.

Key was
1. to increase shutter speed (from 5s to 1s) so that shutter closes "comparatively"  faster and offer less time for light to come in

2. to increase aperture value (from f/5 to f/32).. it in-turns decrease the diameter of lens so that it allows less light to come in.

In short, a perfect amount of light for longer duration of time to get this effect... flowing water fall.

Exif Data:
Shutter Speed: 1.0s
Aperture: f/32
Focal Length: 35mm
ISO: 200



Here is another photo of same place at (same ISO and focal length as above):
Shutter Speed: 1/500s

Aperture: f/5

FAQ 1: What is Exif?

Couple of my friends asked me to write a brief about Exif for people who are new to digital photography... so here it is:

The full meaning of Exif is Exchangeable image file and it is a specification/ format for storing interchange information in image files. Exif Data consists of metadata tags like Date and Time information; Orientation (rotation), Aperture, Shutter Speed, Focal Length, Metering Mode, and ISO information etc.

The main purpose of this blog is to study Exif and compare photos. Exif data provides insight about how camera settings affect photo characteristics such as exposure, depth-of-field and subject movement.

Case Study 1: Ceiling Fan

This is a classic example!

One fine afternoon, I was lying on my couch and taking pictures of ceiling fan at different shutter speeds. Thought of sharing the results with exif information.

The action is smooth in first image since shutter was open for enough time:
Shutter Speed 1/10s; Aperture f/8.0; ISO 200
Focal Length 55mm; 35mm equivalent 82mm

In second image, the shutter speed is faster and still it has enough light because aperture is wide open (from f8 to f4):
Shutter Speed 1/20s; Aperture f/4.0; ISO 200
Focal Length 55mm; 35mm equivalent 82mm

The last image is dark and the action is almost freezed because shutter was open for less time:
Shutter Speed 1/60s; Aperture f/4.0; ISO 200
Focal Length 55mm; 35mm equivalent 82mm