TheGoofster
Old Foggie
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2006
- Messages
- 5,451
Every other year or so, my family and I return to the states on furlough, during that time we do a lot of traveling up and down the East Coast. This past summer we traveled about 14,000 miles in 2 months.
As you can imagine, that means a lot of time in the car (some days we will spend 16 or 17 hours on the road). Because my wife gets car-sick in the passenger seat, she asks is she can drive most of the time. This leaves me with a lot of time just sitting there watching the scenery zip by.
That is why I started practicing what I call speed photography. Basically it is trying to shoot pictures from the passenger seat of the car as things fly by about 70 mph.
What I discovered by doing this, is that it has actually helped me improve my reaction time in taking photos (how many times have we missed that great shot because by the time we get the camera to our face, and get everything ready, the shot is gone?). By taking shots while in the car, you find that you normally have less than a second to see the shot, get the camera up to your eye, and get the best frame possible before the shot goes away.
Of course, you don't have time to adjust any settings, so I normally just leave the camera on automatic (or a good speed setting if it's a nice day), and only worry about capturing and framing the picture.
What's amazing is how fast time goes by when you do this. Now, rather than just sitting there bored, I am fully engaged in what is happening around me, constantly looking for another shot.
No, you probably won't get any prize winning shots this way, but you might just be surprised at how many keepers you end up with after a long day of traveling.
Here are a few of my shots that I like that I took while zipping along at a pretty good pace:
Other things you can shoot can include state signs, license plates (I'm trying to get a shot of a plate from each state), certain cars you like (I love shooting shots of corvettes), and basically anything that is interesting or that you would like to remember.
As you can imagine, editing your shots afterwards definitely helps (man is it hard to get a straight angle in less than a second).
So, the next time you find yourself in the passenger seat, and you have your camera with you, give it a try. It's a lot of fun, and it actually helps develop a little extra quickness and getting that picture taken.
As you can imagine, that means a lot of time in the car (some days we will spend 16 or 17 hours on the road). Because my wife gets car-sick in the passenger seat, she asks is she can drive most of the time. This leaves me with a lot of time just sitting there watching the scenery zip by.
That is why I started practicing what I call speed photography. Basically it is trying to shoot pictures from the passenger seat of the car as things fly by about 70 mph.
What I discovered by doing this, is that it has actually helped me improve my reaction time in taking photos (how many times have we missed that great shot because by the time we get the camera to our face, and get everything ready, the shot is gone?). By taking shots while in the car, you find that you normally have less than a second to see the shot, get the camera up to your eye, and get the best frame possible before the shot goes away.
Of course, you don't have time to adjust any settings, so I normally just leave the camera on automatic (or a good speed setting if it's a nice day), and only worry about capturing and framing the picture.
What's amazing is how fast time goes by when you do this. Now, rather than just sitting there bored, I am fully engaged in what is happening around me, constantly looking for another shot.
No, you probably won't get any prize winning shots this way, but you might just be surprised at how many keepers you end up with after a long day of traveling.
Here are a few of my shots that I like that I took while zipping along at a pretty good pace:
Other things you can shoot can include state signs, license plates (I'm trying to get a shot of a plate from each state), certain cars you like (I love shooting shots of corvettes), and basically anything that is interesting or that you would like to remember.
As you can imagine, editing your shots afterwards definitely helps (man is it hard to get a straight angle in less than a second).
So, the next time you find yourself in the passenger seat, and you have your camera with you, give it a try. It's a lot of fun, and it actually helps develop a little extra quickness and getting that picture taken.
