January 31 - Shutter Speed Finale

I think this is by far the best photo of the month...this was taken last Saturday at the New England Aquarium at the jelly fish exhibit. This one is a keeper and will make it's way into my portfolio!!!

Shutter Speed: 1/20 second
Aperture: f/4.3
ISO: 400

January 30 - Flying Hubby

This is my husband's best impression of our dog, Babi, from the photo taken on January 29th! But, unlike Babi, there were no treats for hubby, just a happy wife :-) lol

Shutter Speed: 1/160 second
Aperture: f/3.5
ISO: 400

January 29 - Flying Dog!

More dog play...this is a picture of my dog, Babi, again. This time, she is flying!!! What a good sport she is - she got lots of treats after this photo was taken :-)

Shutter Speed: 1/160 second
Aperture: f/3.8
ISO: 400

*** No animals were harmed during the production of this photo.

January 28 - What came first....

The picture or the Egg???

OK, bad yoke....lol

I am running very dry on "in the house" ideas for shutter speed. I can't wait for the warmer weather when I can get outside and practice what I have learned on some real action!!!

This picture was taken with a faster shutter speed to capture the yoke just before it is about to hit the pan. The exciting thing about this picture is not the composition, but the fact that I knew the "type" of picture I wanted and exactly how to set my shutter speed to get it - so I am learning something!!!


Shutter Speed: 1/160 second
Aperture: f/4.2
ISO: 100

January 27 - Green tank

OK, I know the aquarium pics are getting old...there is only one more after this one and it will be posted on Saturday because I will be at an all day crop and I won't have time to take a picture that day, but it's a good one and will make a nice finale to the "Shutter Speed" month :-)

This tank really was this green.

Shutter Speed: 1/20 second
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 400

January 26 - Colorful Aquarium Part II

Ditto the notes from January 25th!

Shutter Speed: 1/20 second
Aperture: f/3.9
ISO: 400

January 25 - Colorful Aquarium

This photo was taken of one of the smaller, more colorful aquariums at the New England Aquarium. The colors came out awesome - I would NEVER have gotten this shot if my camera were set on "Auto". The lighting was really bad and using a slower shutter speed allowed me to capture more light, thus adding to the colors in this photo. This project 365 is starting to pay off!!!

Shutter Speed: 1/40 second
Aperture: f/3.5
ISO: 400

January 24 - Funky Neon Lights

This photo was taken today at the New England Aquarium. Using the same technique as yesterday, I focused on this cool neon wave on the wall and then I zoomed out while the shutter was open. This is much more artistic then my messy living room :-) Be prepared for a few more photos in the New England Aquarium series...

Shutter Speed: 1 second
Aperture: f/20
ISO: 400

January 23 - Psychedelic Puzzles

This photo was taken of my daughter's mess in the living room. Using a slow shutter speed, I focused on one puzzle and then zoomed out while the shutter was open. Doing that caused this psychedelic layered look. Kinda funky.

Shutter Speed: 2 seconds
Aperture: f/6.3
ISO: 100

January 22 - Going Crazy!

This is my best impression of my dog, Babi, from the photo taken on January 13th!

Shutter Speed: 1/160 second
Aperture: f/4.8
ISO: 100

January 21 - Swinging

This photo was taken of my nephew while he was outside swinging today. I was trying to capture the motion of the swing by slowing down the shutter speed enough to blur the photo, but still keep it in focus enough to recognize his adorable little face :-)

Shutter Speed: 1/15 second
Aperture: f/13
ISO: 100

January 20 - Floating Candle

This photo was taken of my hubby as the subject and a candle "Floating" around his head...kind of interesting, I think. Comments welcomed :-)

Shutter Speed: 8 seconds
Aperture: f/9
ISO: 400

January 19 - Capturing falling snow

Catching an image of falling snow is NOT easy. I have tried a few times this winter to get a picture where you could actually see the snow falling. This is my most recent attempt. It is not the greatest photo composition-wise, but you can see the falling snow! I used my neighbor's house as the backdrop so that you could actually see the flakes instead of just a "fog". Maybe next storm I will actually venture out and try to get a prettier backdrop.

Shutter Speed: 1/160 second
Aperture: f/10
ISO: 400

January 18 - The last of the Grafton Common series

Admittedly, I took all the Grafton Common pics on the same night. I figured since I froze my butt off getting these shots, I would use them for a few nights in a row - IT'S NOT CHEATING (as some people have called it), it's pre-planning :-)

Anyway, this is a picture of the Evangelical Congregational Church on Grafton Common. The cool thing about this picture is that it looks really well lit, but in reality, it was nowhere near this lit up. Using a slow shutter speed, I was able to "light up" the church with the little light available - pretty cool.

Shutter Speed: 2 seconds
Aperture: f/3.5
ISO: 400

January 17 - Eerie Library

This photo was taken of the Grafton Public Library on Grafton Common. When I was taking the picture, I didn't like the lighting that the street light was giving off, so I gave up on the angle. But when I looked at the picture on my computer, I really liked the eerie look of the lighting...just goes to show, you can never really tell what a pic will look like on the little LCD panel on the camera, so keep clicking!!!

Shutter Speed: 1/5 second

Aperture: f/4.7

ISO: 400

January 16 - Speed of Light

This picture was taken of the traffic going by the Grafton Inn on Grafton Common with a very slow shutter speed to capture the headlights on the cars. Pretty neat!

Shutter Speed: 10 seconds
Aperture: f/14
ISO: 400

January 15 - Out the front door

This picture was taken of the view out my front door. I stood on my front porch to get this nighttime view of Lake Ripple and one of my favorite restaurants, Cancuns :-)

I think it came out pretty neat :-)

Shutter Speed: 10 seconds
Aperture: f/13
ISO: 400

And just for fun...

January 14 - Laser Burst

This picture was taken in my living room, in the dark, using my husbands laser level (it's a tool).

Using a very slow shutter speed, I got a very cool sunburst effect with the laser.

Shutter Speed: 15 seconds

Aperture: f/5.6

ISO: 100

January 13 - Bathtime

This picture was taken of one of my dogs getting a bath :-) Poor Babi was tonight's "subject". Using a faster shutter speed, I was able to capture the water spraying off of her when she shook. Click to enlarge if you can't quite see it.

Shutter Speed: 1/160 second
Aperture: f/4.3
ISO: 100

January 12 - Chilly Water

This picture was taken of the Pratts Pond waterfall on Waterville Street in North Grafton, MA.

OK, I know this is more water, but at least it is outside my house. I think this one is my favorite photo so far :-)

Shutter Speed: 1/5 second
Aperture: f/9
ISO: 100

January 11 - Wipeout

This picture was taken of some kids playing ice hockey on Lake Ripple in Grafton, MA. Using a medium shutter speed, I was able to capture their motion and one poor gentleman's wipe out!


Shutter Speed: 1/5 second
Aperture: f/22
ISO: 100

January 10 - Spray, Rain or Massage?

As promised, more water...

This was taken in my shower at home and then the coloring was enhanced in Photoshop. I was at an all day crop today and didn't have the energy to be real creative...maybe something more interesting tomorrow.

Shutter Speed: 1/160 second
Aperture: f/5.3
ISO: 100

January 9 - Drip

After trying out two ideas and failing miserably, the frustration began to set in and I went back to the water...lol.

Check out how this faster shutter speed captures the drips in this slow stream of water.
Shutter Speed: 1/160 second
Aperture: f/3.6
ISO: 100

Expect more water tomorrow :-)

January 8 - Flicker

For today's picture, I wanted to contrast 3 different shutter speeds. I used a flickering candle in a dark room as my "subject".

This image was taken with the camera's Auto feature, flash on. Notice how dull the image looks.


Shutter Speed: 1/80 second
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 100

This next image was with a slower shutter speed, flash off - very nice. Captures the subtle light of the candle flame nicely, I think.
Shutter Speed: 1/5 second
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 100

This image was with a very slow shutter speed and it totally blows out the light and ruins the picture.

Shutter Speed: 15 seconds
Aperture: f/22
ISO: 100

I enjoyed doing this little experiment in light. I always have THE HARDEST time with night photography. It's good to know that there is hope :-)

January 7 - Got Milk?

We went through 6 perfectly clean goblets in order to get a somewhat decent photo of this milk being poured and it still needed a few touch-ups in photoshop to remove my daughter's reflection in the glass :-)


Shutter Speed: 1/5 second
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 400

I must admit that I had to use the close-up feature on the camera and not shutter priority, so the shutter speed was not as fast as I would have liked, but it still caught the milk being poured and it was in-focus which is always a plus.

January 6 - BOING

This photo was taken of a slinky in motion.

Shutter Speed: .3 second
Aperture: f/4.4
ISO: 100

Using a slower shutter speed, I was able to capture the magical "boing" of the slinky. OK, so I am over exaggerating the "boing". I just like saying the word BOING!!!

BOING!!!

January 5 - Church & State?

This photo was taken in front of St. Mary's Church on Waterville Street in North Grafton, MA while a postal vehicle was driving by.

Shutter Speed: 1/5 second
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 100

Using a slower shutter speed, I was able to capture the motion of the postal vehicle. I wanted to practice a little with the slower shutter speeds because I am having more trouble with slow shutter speeds than I am faster ones.

January 4 - Apples in the shower

After trying out two other ideas, and failing miserably, I returned to the bathroom with some props. This photo was taken in my shower, again using some bath toys and Elmo's Bath Fizzies to change the color of the water to blue, credit goes to my very patient husband for holding the apple.

Shutter Speed: 1/160 second
Aperture: f/5.2
ISO: 100

Using a faster shutter speed was able to catch the droplets of water hitting the apple - love it!

I think I need to leave the house tomorrow and take some pictures of something other than water :-)

January 3 - Living Room Fan

This photo was taken of the fan in my living room. I couldn't quite get the look I was going for, but by using a slower shutter speed, you can still see the "motion" in the fan blades. I also made some color adjustments in Adobe Photoshop.

Shutter Speed: 1/5 second

Aperture: f/13

ISO: 100

January 2 - Bathroom Sink

This photo was taken in the sink of my bathroom with some bath toys and Elmo's Bath Fizzies to change the color of the water to blue.


Shutter Speed: 1/160 second
Aperture: f/5.3
ISO: 100

I have to give credit to hubby for the idea behind this photo. Using a faster shutter speed was able to catch the droplets of water hitting the water - love it!

January 1 - Blackstone Canal

This photo of the Blackstone Canal dam behind the old Fisherville Mill was taken standing on the Depot Street canal bridge in Farnumsville/South Grafton.

Shutter Speed: 1/13 second
Aperture: f/22
ISO: 100

I was going for the silky waterfall effect, but leaving the shutter open too long over exposed the photo because there was too much sun. Leaving the shutter open too long let in too much light.

There is plenty of room for improvement!!!