Rotten Photos

[Artshot]

Had a quick 2 hours between rain storms to get out on my bike and try to capture some lush rotten wood. No time for a tripod but I'd hoped my built in flash would get me some reasonably focused shots with less than flattering light. I was surprised how many shots failed from camera shake, even at 1/125.
I've got some flash purchase questions I'll put in the gear forum.
Any other tips other than slow down and quit shaking from the cold?

[JBW]

if you don't want to use a tripod take along a cane/walking stick. Learn how to use it to brace yourself and your camera to eliminate camera shake.

[Shadowman]

Hi Art,

Perhaps you should perfect your handholding indoors first, also what focal length and aperture were you using? And finally which focusing mode were you using?

[tbob]

As with all muscle memory skills, the only way to improve is to practice; a lot. Hand holding is a combination of tensed and controlled muscles over your entire body; so you are rigid but under complete control. Learning the correct muscle tone and how to do it takes a lot of time. And practice. Wish it was not so, but maybe the best option is to chuck the tripod for a while and shoot free hand. It really is a useful skill and nice to be able to call on when the shot requires speed and flexibility; no time to set up the tripod.

[Artshot]

Thanks for the replies. I have 2 quality tripods that I've only used a couple of times for long exposures. I travel by bicycle so I like to keep things light. 95% of my photos are also using manual focus lenses, so I think I'm doing OK with most hand held shots.

What I'm curious about is using a flash, and why it doesn't appear to be helping me get better shots. I'm about to purchase my first flash, so I guess it's time to do some reading and a lot of experimenting.

I was expecting some flash magic would simply freeze my photos regardless of technique..

[Wavelength]

Very nice set of images; they have fine abstract quality

[Geoff F]

I suspect, Art, that false focus may be more of a problem than camera shake. Were you using auto focus? That tends to focus on the closest hard edged area of your scene, which may not be where you intended. When possible I always manually focus for shots like this. Even then, the actual scene may require more focus depth than can be achieved from just one shot.

For these scenes, I would shoot with an aperture between F11 and F14 (or narrower) but even that will only give a very shallow focus depth.

Regarding flash, when I first moved from an old style fixed output flash to a modern 'self thinking' flash unit I was getting nowhere because i was still thinking in the old way. Then I changed my approach and now I always set my camera manually to suit the scene (but allowing for any limitations such as max shutter speed) then allow the auto flash to find its own output level. With a little bit of flash exposure compensation where required.

[DanK]

hard to tell for certain at this low resolution, but I agree with Geoff: this doesn't look like camera movement. That would often create a halo around edges, rather than a more diffuse blur.

[leprechaun]

I don't think that shooting at 125 would cause camera shake.
In lieu of a tripod use a loop of parachute type cord and depending on your height, make a loop and attach one end to your cameras the (tripod screw) and step on the bottom of the loop with your foot and use this simple support to assist in steadying the camera by keeping tension on the cord .
Another way for low speed shots is to hold the camera upside down and press the back of the camera onto your forehead with your elbows tucked tightly to your sides. I have had some good shots at as low as 15th sec using this in a pinch.

[Artshot]

Sorry for confusing everyone. The above photos are the good ones from yesterday. They suffer from zero depth of field, poor light, and high ISO. The other 35 photos I took with the flash did have obvious camera shake, and should have been the ones I posted.
Promise to be more clear in the future.
I'll also buy that flash and learn how to use it so I can ask more intelligent questions.

[Stagecoach]

The above photos are the good ones from yesterday. They suffer from zero depth of field,

Personally, I feel that the actual DoF you have in image No 4 (brown with yellow fungus) helps it vastly.