Shutter Speed

Fundamentals of Digital Photography: Assignment Four

Photographs of a dungeon map mat, The Player's Handbook (Dungeons and Dragons), and a box of dice with the D-20 spinning. Photograph of Tristan striding on his bike on a neighborhood street. All taken in Belmont, MA. September 30, 2023.

Shutter Speed While Focused on a Moving Object

1/15 sec shutter speed

Photo of Dungeons and Dragons's The Players Handbook and a box of Q-Workshop's Dwarven Metal Dice Set with the 20-sided die spinning on a Chessex battlemap mat. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. September 30, 2023, Belmont, MA, USA. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. (ISO 400, 1/15 sec, f/29, 35mm)

1/30 sec shutter speed

Photo of Dungeons and Dragons's The Players Handbook and a box of Q-Workshop's Dwarven Metal Dice Set with the 20-sided die spinning on a Chessex battlemap mat. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. September 30, 2023, Belmont, MA, USA. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. (ISO 400, 1/30 sec, f/20, 35mm)

1/60 sec shutter speed

Photo of Dungeons and Dragons's The Players Handbook and a box of Q-Workshop's Dwarven Metal Dice Set with the 20-sided die spinning on a Chessex battlemap mat. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. September 30, 2023, Belmont, MA, USA. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. (ISO 400, 1/60 sec, f/14, 35mm)

1/125 sec shutter speed

Photo of Dungeons and Dragons's The Players Handbook and a box of Q-Workshop's Dwarven Metal Dice Set with the 20-sided die spinning on a Chessex battlemap mat. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. September 30, 2023, Belmont, MA, USA. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. (ISO 400, 1/125 sec, f/10, 35mm)

1/250 sec shutter speed

Photo of Dungeons and Dragons's The Players Handbook and a box of Q-Workshop's Dwarven Metal Dice Set with the 20-sided die spinning on a Chessex battlemap mat. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. September 30, 2023, Belmont, MA, USA. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. (ISO 400, 1/250 sec, f/7.1, 35mm)

1/500 sec shutter speed

Photo of Dungeons and Dragons's The Players Handbook and a box of Q-Workshop's Dwarven Metal Dice Set with the 20-sided die spinning on a Chessex battlemap mat. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. September 30, 2023, Belmont, MA, USA. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. (ISO 400, 1/500 sec, f/5, 35mm)

1/1000 sec shutter speed

Photo of Dungeons and Dragons's The Players Handbook and a box of Q-Workshop's Dwarven Metal Dice Set with the 20-sided die spinning on a Chessex battlemap mat. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. September 30, 2023, Belmont, MA, USA. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. (ISO 400, 1/1000 sec, f/4.5, 35mm)

Panning While Focused on a Moving Object

Panning 1/30 sec shutter speed, f/16

Photo of my son, Tristan, striding as fast as he can on his green TheCroco balance bike down a neighborhood street. September 30, 2023, Belmont, MA, USA. Photo by Natalie Cherie Campbell. (ISO 400, 1/30 sec, f/16, 35mm)

Reflection

The main challenge I experienced during this shoot was thinking of the overall framing of the photograph while focusing my attention on taking the photo at the right moment with the correct object in focus. Because of this, what I caught in the rest of the photo wasn't always well-framed or purposeful.

Even so, I did find the exercise rewarding. It was cool to catch a focused photo of the die spinning with an even blur at 1/30 sec shutter speed. It looked as fast as the photo taken at 1/1000 sec shutter speed looked frozen. It was cool to realize that I had somehow, in the 1/1000 sec shutter speed, caught the moment that the 20 on the dice faced me. A "natural 20" is a significant role, essentially meaning beyond one's highest hopes for success. The photo does not show the spinning effect, but it is still cool to know that I was able to catch the 20 while it was spinning because of the high shutter speed.