TAOP - Intro - Exercise 5 - Panning at Different Shutter Speeds

This blog post is in relation to the exercise on Page 21 of the OCA Photography 1- TAOP course material.

For this exercise I chose to photograph traffic at a busy round-about, it's the one on the A59 just north of Skipton if you were wondering. The reason I chose this was because the cars would be moving at a fairly constant speed, and the arrows in the background would be a clear indication of movement, as well as being a 'yard stick' when comparing various shutter speeds.
I took a couple of shots at fast shutter speeds as an example of how a moving objects can look stationary if the whole image looks sharp, and have included the learner driver (which looks stationary or very slow) as I think it is quite amusing when compared to something like the Audi TT (which looks fast and sporty).
It took me a few attempts to get the hang of panning at the same speed as the moving cars, and found that it helped to concentrate on keeping the cross in my camera's view finder on just one part of the car, instead of trying look at the picture as a whole.
I'm quite pleased with outcome of this set. There is a sense of movement in all of the photos, and when you compare the blurring of the arrows in the background there is a good indication of speed.
My favourite shot is is the 1/10sec shot of the blue Megan. It's not technically the best photograph (it's slightly over exposed and the horizon is miles out) but it's very dynamic and the the reflection on the road gives the photo a nice shape.
If the thumbnail links are missing, view the full image on the Flickr set for this exercise




TAOP-Intro-Ex5-1    1/200sec



TAOP-Intro-Ex5-2    1/40sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex5-3     1/40sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex5-4      1/20sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex5-5     1/20sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex5-6      1/20sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex5-7      1/20sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex5-8     1/20sec



TAOP-Intro-Ex5-9      1/15sec



TAOP-Intro-Ex5-10      1/10sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex5-11      1/10sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex5-12       1/10sec



TAOP-Intro-Ex5-13      1/10sec



TAOP - Intro - Exercise 4 - Shutter Speeds

This blog post is in relation to the exercise on Page 20 of the OCA Photography 1 - TAOP course material.

"Water flowing over some rocks" was one of the suggested subjects for this exercise. So I pulled on a pair of wellies and headed for a stream that flows through Hambledon Woods, which is one of my dog's favourite places to take me for a walk (and that is the right way round), just a short drive from my house.

So while Chief, my Springer Spaniel, was running around trying to get as much mud on himself as possible, I started to look for a suitable location to photograph this natural water feature. The problem being that the sides of the banking are quite steep and I couldn't get close enough to see the ripples of water in any detail. There was nothing for it but to scramble down the banking and stand with my feet in the steam. This wouldn't normally be a problem, but when you have expensive camera equipment and water, you tend to be a bit more cautious than you perhaps would usually.

The foliage of the trees was making the light levels too low for any fast shutter speeds. By using the on-camera flash I managed to get a few shots where the water is crisp and sharply frozen, but the background is still under-exposed, and for that reason I've included a couple of shots at the same shutter speed with and without flash.

Out of all the photographs, I really like the 4 second exposure as the water has an airy, fabric look. This was a very enjoyable exercise, and one that I will probably try again sometime.


If the thumbnail links are missing, view the full image on the Flickr Set for this exercise.

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-1    1/100sec with flash

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-2     1/60sec with flash

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-3     1/40sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-4     1/40sec with flash

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-5     1/30sec with flash

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-6      1/20sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-7      1/20sec with flash

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-8     1/10sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-9       1/5sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-10      1/2sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-11      1sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-12       2sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-13        4sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-14        6sec

TAOP-Intro-Ex4-15              30sec

TAOP - Intro - Exercise 3 - Focus at Different Apertures

 This blog post is in relation to the exercise on page 18 of the OCA Photography 1 - TAOP course material.


This exercise is similar to the last one, but this time I decided to stay indoors where it is warm, dry and a little less muddy. After searching around the house for objects to put in a row, I came across these four bubbly bottles. The different colours and details of the foils wrappers allows for a good comparison of focus at the different apertures. I set the bottles on a box at an angle to the camera and tripod, and used the 'Aperture priorty' setting on the camera so I could adjust the aperture while the camera will automatically compensate for exposure levels. Despite being near a window and having the room lights on, I still needed to use the on-camera flash. Luckily this didn't create too much distracting Shadow on the back wall.

If the thumbnail links are missing, view full image on the  Flickr set for this exercise.

TAOP-Intro-Ex3-1     f/4

TAOP-Intro-Ex3-2    f/8

TAOP-Intro-Ex3-3      f/13

TAOP-Intro-Ex3-4      f/20

TAOP-Intro-Ex3-5         f/25

TAOP - Intro - Exercise 2 - Focus with Set Aperture

This blog post is in relation to the exercise on Page 17 of the OCA Photography 1 - TAOP course material.


This time I had to find a scene with depth, and one of the suggestions in the course material was a wood full of trees. So despite the miserable damp weather and dull grey light, I marched off to Castle Clough woods, which are about a ten minute walk from my house. After a lot of searching and a bit of trial and error, I eventually found a composition that would show three distinct depths of field (foreground, middle and background).

With my 18-55mm lens, and the camera set to a wide aperture of  f/5.3, I found that I had to get very close to the berries in the foreground. This meant placing the tripod in the middle of a Hawthorn bush, so this turned out to be quite a painful exercise, but I think I got some nice shots.

Out of the three photos, I think the middle focus is the best demonstration of depth of field, but my personal favorite is the foreground focus. I like that the detail is in the corner, and as you look towards the center you can see how the focus changes. It also makes a very good computer wallpaper, it's on my desktop background as I speak.


If the thumbnail links are missing, view full image on the Flickr set for this exercise

TAOP-Intro-Ex2-1     Focus on the foreground

TAOP-Intro-Ex2-2     Focus on the mid-ground

TAOP-Intro-Ex2-3     Focus on the Background

TAOP - Intro - Exercise 1 - Focal Length and Angle of View

This blog post is in relation to the exercise on page 16 of the OCA Photography 1 - TAOP course material.

This first exercise is all about taking photos of the same scene at different focal lengths. As I live in Burnley in the heart of the Pennines, there are plenty of landscapes with hills in the background, and Pendle Hill is one that stands out on it's own, so I thought this would be a good place to start.

The idea is to take three photographs. One at a wide angle view, one at the furthest telephoto setting, and one at the "standard" focal length, that is when what you see through the view finder is the same as what an unaided eye would see.
I have two telephoto lenses, one 18-55mm and a 55-200mm. I set up the tripod, mounted the camera and started with the smaller lens. I took a shot at 18mm (widest view angle) and then tried to find the "standard". This appeared to be at 55mm, so I took a shot and then fitted the larger 55-200mm zoom lens. Again 55mm seemed to be "standard". I then took a photo at 200mm (furthest telephoto setting).


If the thumbnail links are missing, view full images on the Flicker set for this exercise

TAOP-Intro-Ex1-1     55mm focal length

TAOP-Intro-Ex1-2     18mm focal length

TAOP-Intro-Ex1-3     200mm focal length

Hi there!

Hello, my name is Steven Woodcock and I have created this blog as part of my OCA course, Photography 1: The art of photography.

I've never had a blog before, never felt the need or seen the point for one. I think it's that I don't like the idea showing myself off to the rest of the world. So this is a completely new experience for me, and it's a little scary, but I'm going to give it a shot.

A little bit about me, I'm 28 and have been taking pictures as a half-arsed hobby for a number of years now and decided that this year I'm going to start taking it seriously, really try to learn and improve. And I thought the best way of doing this would be to take some kind of course, but as I work shifts (I'm a maintenance electrician by trade) it would be impossible to attend a class or meeting on a week to week basis. So that's why I have chosen this distance learn course with the OCA, it will give my the flexibility to do things in my own time at my own pace, but still give me the motivation to get things done (hopefully).

So today is my first day, and I'm spending it setting everything up, getting everything I need, and having a read through all the paperwork finding out exactly what I've let myself in for. It looks like it could be a long road ahead, wish me luck, I'll need it!