Assignment #4 - Motion

All right! This one was a fun assignment. Well, they've all been fun assignments, but I really like "capturing motion" in photographs, so I hope these pictures show "motion" well.

Photograph 1 - Nicole Chasing the Basketball - Parts Blurry
In this shot, Nicole was chasing the basketball and I used a shutter speed that wasn't quite fast enough to freeze everything, so the ball is a little blurry and so are Nicole's feet - showing that they were moving faster than the rest of the subject. I also really like the natural "circle" that the shape of Nicole's pose makes with the ball, and that the "horizon" is really high in the photo.

Photograph 2 - Ducks on the Snake River - Mostly Still/Sharp
This was the cutest thing for me to watch, and I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of these little ducklings chasing their parents as they fought to "swim" against the fairly strong current. I took this picture at dusk, so I'm a little surprised at how fast I was able to get the shutter speed on this. I love the texture in the water.


Photograph 3 - Rubik's Cube Falling - All Blurry
I spent a lot of time taking pictures of this Rubik's Cube. I set up a background of some black material on my couch, and originally just wanted to capture the bright colors on the cube. But then, as I messed around a little, I found what a cool effect I got by balancing the cube on a corner then moving my hand and taking the picture really fast as it fell. Since I wasn't working with very much light, I was able to use a longer shutter speed.

Photograph 4 - Nicole Tapping a Pen on her Toes - Partly Blurred
I can't really explain why I like this one so much - maybe the use of cutting form? Maybe that the focal point is blurry while everything else is sharp? I don't know, but I do think that it portrays my daughter really well. :) She loves her "little piggies".