Freeze Action

Freeze Action or Fast/High shutter speed is used to freeze motion images. When using a high shutter speed, usually, we will need to compensate with a higher ISO or larger aperature depending on situation and intended effect.

Took the above pictures at a SAF commissioning parade sometime back. This was done with "Continuous Shooting" in order to freeze the multiple actions of the caps in the air

Honestly, I feel the quality of the photo above is bad. The lighting is bad, the contrast is bad, the White balance is off, the composition is bad, and every thing that can gone wrong has more or less gone wrong. However, I feel this picture illustrates the point of "freeze action" very well. This picture was taken when the subject (me) was almost falling over during my wakeboarding session. If the shutter speed was any slower, this picture would have been a total blur because not only am I still moving on the water, I am also swaying left and right on the verge of falling.

This photo could have been better if I have calibrated my white balance manually. Somehow, the auto white balance didnt really work - perhaps it was a cloudy day and the lightings varied quite abit from place to place and time to time. Also, a larger aperature and higher ISO might have helped brighten the picture alittle.

This above image was shot at 1/1244 secs. The shutter speed has to be fast to capture the "anti-gravity" look of the hair when the subject (my sis) spun around causing the hair to lift off. The aperature was at f/3.5. A larger apperature was used to compensate for the faster shutter speed which might reduce the amount of light entering the lens.

f/3.2 & 1/400secs & ISO 640

f/3.2 & 1/400secs & ISO 640

f/3.2 & 1/400secs & ISO 640

For this attempt, I decided to capture water droplets dripping from a tap. It is not always necessary to use a flash burst of light to capture a freeze shot. As long as there are sufficient light, a freeze shot can still be successfully captured with the aid of a high shutter speed. For this set up, I placed my study lamp very near to the right of the tap.

The three pictures shows very varies stages before a water droplet leaves the tap. I personally like the third picture the most in this series of water droplets photos.