Experimenting with Low Light, Action and Aperture Priority

Today was another damp, gray day and I thought this would be a good chance to play around with the aperture priority setting.  I prefer to shoot in manual, but I haven't quite found 'the zone' where I can have a wide aperture and a fast enough shutter speed to not have everything be completely blurry.  So I figured using aperture priority would give me a chance to see what an acceptable shutter speed is for action photos when I've got the aperture 'wide open'.

I think 1/640 is about the bare minimum I can get away with if I want to have relatively crisp shots.  Of course, this is with the ISO set at 200 - I like the sharpness of the photos I get with the low ISO - although I tend to get hyper-critical because I'm generally looking at the photos on the computer where I can zoom in to 100% and then I get all angsty if the photos are grainy.  I probably need to print some higher ISO photos and see what they look like.  But that is an exercise for another day.

While this photo has some issues (and you would have to know that Abby is leaping toward the camera, which is why her leggies look so small compared to her upper body), I like it.

The ear flappage is a little blurry, but there is plenty of light on Abby.  BTW, Abby is cropped at the waist because the original photo cut off her feet, which made her look off balance.

This is a nice shot - Fi is looking at me, her eyes aren't too dark and it's obvious she is moving.  I like it.

Abby in action!

Abby is a little dark, but I generally like the shot.

This is a 1/500 photo - definitely more blur but you don't lose the idea of the photo - and I like the blur of the moving ears and tail.

A little bit of sun, so 1/800 made this shot crisper.

1/800 here, too - crisp and good separation from the background.

This photo cracks me up because it looks like the top of Abby's head is being flattened by the top edge of the photo as she tries to leap out of the picture!

When the sun came out the camera went to a 1/1000 shutter speed, which, in my opinion, let in a little too much light - I'd have set it at 1/1250, at least, but again, I was experimenting - and returning to my belief that manual generally works better for me.

Totally not following the rule of thirds here, but I had good reason for it.

Again, a little too bright - and while I can adjust the exposure to some extent with Lightroom, I like it better when I just use a slightly faster shutter speed.

 

Sproing!

Here I was just on the wrong side of the sunlight...

Anyhoo, hopefully I will actually remember what I've done today when I go back to shooting in full manual.

I also got some portraits today because, well, I could.

I think before my photography class starts, I need to replace that white lattice fencing with some more neutral green fencing.

I don't know why Abby's chin is tennis ball yellow - perhaps it is some weird reflection...  But notice the cropping - no limbs cut off at the joint (something I learned in the free dog photography class I've been watching).

This final photo amuses me; it's not photographically brilliant, but it's an easy exercise in perspective - and the only time Fi will ever look bigger than Abby!

Day 271/365.