Saturday, September 20, 2008

Camera Critter Meme #24

For this week's Camera Critter Meme, I thought I would pass on my favorite way to shoot when I go out. I didn't start shooting this way, but I have come to rely on it every chance I get. When I began shooting the smaller forms of wildlife where I live, I would stick my camera on Aperture Priority, the lens on f/8, the ISO at 200 and proceed to shoot to my heart's content. I was pleased with the results and continued shooting that way until...

Early last year, I read an article in a photography magazine which got me thinking. The author mentioned that in the studio, he always shot using manual settings based on the lighting around the subject. Most studio photographers shoot that way. But it was his usage of manual settings which caught my interest. I then refreshed my memory on manual shooting which was a style of shooting I used during my film days, grabbed my camera, set it up using the Sunny 16 Rule and off I went to my favorite shooting site, Dry Canyon Trail of Redmond, Oregon.

I came across a number of subjects to test my new style of shooting on and began snapping away. I shot the entire time with my camera set using the big "M" settings and never touched the dials all day. When I came home and looked at my photos, my eyes popped out. The contrast and colors were vivid and gorgeous, better than I thought my camera could accomplish. I was suddenly very sold on using Manual settings as often as possible.

California Tortoiseshell

Zephyr Anglewing

I set the camera initially with settings of ISO 200, Shutter Speed of 1/200 and aperture of f/16. I then turned the shutter speed to 1/400 a second which is a good quick speed, and increased the aperture to f/10 which was the same number of clicks I adjusted the shutter speed. The photos, as I mentioned before, were spectacular. Today, I shoot at ISO 100, a shutter speed of 1/400 and with an aperture of f/8 (which is the sweet spot aperture for the lens I shoot with). My camera is set to adjust exposure in one third increments, which differs from the listed settings in the charts below. However, following the suggested guidelines as mentioned below will provide similar results to my photos above.

More information on the Sunny 16 Rule can be found at the site linked above, or here:

For those interested, more in depth information on manual exposure can be found here and here:

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful! Love its color!

Posted my CC! See you!

ratmammy said...

great photos! i wish i was as good a photographer!

Unknown said...

OK you got my attention. I usually just shoot in auto and I get what I get but after reading your post I realize I really do need to learn how to use my settings :)

Your bug is fantastic. Great detail.

bcmomtoo said...

These are amazing! Now, if I can just figure out what all that camera stuff means...

I'm guilty of using the Auto setting on my camera most of the time. I need to see what else I can do.

Norm said...

I love the color of your beautiful butterfly...

bobbie said...

Beautiful. I especially love the angelwings.

Lapa37 said...

A beautiful butterfly good shots.

Rhea said...

Beautiful butterfly! You did a great job.

Trish ~ ♥ ~ said...

Great job, thanks for the tips.

Reader Wil said...

You are both a good photographer and an expert on butterflies!

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful butterflies! Thanks for the setting info!

i beati said...

amazingly beautiful. I bet you see so much wildlife there.

Carletta said...

Beautiful butterflies!
Thanks for the lesson - I hope to get a new camera soon and this would be very helpful. Glad you shared.

Minkydo said...

Beautiful. Thanks for the link. I have been meaning to play around with my manual settings.

Anonymous said...

Cool photos Ashrunner and thanks so much for the settings advice. I will check that out on my camera too.

Ramblings of a Villas Girl said...

Very beautiful, but all you photos are.

Jane Hards Photography said...

My post yesterday was all about night time settings. You have covered this subject really well. Beautiful results and hopefully it will encourage others to ditch the auto and try those setting if they wasnt to get beautiful result like these.

Gretchen said...

I used a butterfly this week, too. :)

Misty DawnS said...

Absolutely fantastic post my friend. As you know, the photos are fantastic, and the advice is priceless... as your advice always is in my opinion ;-)

AppleDebbie said...

Gorgeous photos! Thank you for the photography lesson. I'm just now discovering the various settings on my camera. Your post has inspired me to experiment more. :)

Nikki - Notes of Life said...

Great tips! Thanks for sharing :) Beautiful photos too!

Unknown said...

Those are beautiful butterflies!! Lovely!

Lilli & Nevada said...

I love to come and visit here as you take the photos of the bugs i can't see here besides i just don't do well with all those little things. Nice colors too.