Photo of the Week – Nicole Robinson

The Wind, Sand and Surf are Relentless

Nicole Robinson - Wrightsville Beach NC

Nicole Robinson - Wrightsville Beach NC

There were two photographers on the beach this clear, cold and windy late February morning. One faced the sea to capture the sunrise and the pier, probably returning home with the same view captured a thousand times before. Nicole turned inland, taking advantage of the crystal air and painting sun to concentrate on a weathered sand fence, held together with rusted, twisted wire, losing the battle with the elements. The combination of the fanning slats, waving golden grass and artistic eye, with a slow shutter and narrow depth of field,  all resulted in a unique image well worth an early morning foray into the cold.
Her camera was a Canon Rebel XTi fitted with an EF28/135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens zoomed in to 80mm. The shutter speed was 1/60 second and the aperture setting f/5.0. The ISO was a low 100 and the mode used was aperture priority.

Photo of the Week – Lori Tucker

A 2 Year Old Arabian Shows Off

Lori Tucker - Young Arabian Stallion in Tennessee

Lori Tucker - Young Arabian Stallion in Tennessee

Those members who attended the June meeting of the ACC were treated to a presentation of great photographs captured by Lori Tucker and Dale Forrest on a recent visit to an Arabian horse farm in Tennessee. The above shot was selected from several possibilities to post here due to it being an excellent example of this month’s assignment, i.e, the effective use of a slow shutter speed to depict motion. Lori stood in the center while “Probie” strutted his stuff by rapidly circling the ring. She used aperture priority mode (f/4.9) which allowed quick and easy experimentation to find the ideal shutter speed of 1/60 sec to maintain sharp focus as she panned the horse while pleasantly blurring the background. There is still motion apparent in the chestnut’s mane as it gallops by. The natural, soft light was ideal.
The camera is a Nikon D200 fitted with a Nikkor 35-70 2.8 lens zoomed to about 52mm. The ISO was a low 100. The result of all this careful planning and expert execution is apparent.