Controlling Exposure with Shutter Speed

 All three photos were taken at ISO 400 with an aperture of F8. Normally I would use F11 or higher for a scenic shot, but I a bit of a hurry and forgot to change it.  
 

exposure time 1/50 sec

exposure time 1/100 sec

exposure time 1/320 sec

The first and second shots are over exposed as it was darker, but not as dark as the last shot which is slightly under exposed.  I wanted both the detail in the fields and the dark cloud formation with the bright orange sunset to show in the photo. I will eventually edit the photo so that it is closer to what I saw on that day. 

I often take multiple shots at different shutter speeds, do you?

South Dakota Sunday: Palisades

Palisades State Park

Today I am pulling form my archive for South Dakota Sunday. These photos were taken at Palisades State Park in September of 2011. The park is only about a half hour drive from Sioux Falls, SD.

South Dakota Sunday: Roadside Chapel

I am not a religious person, but I can never resist stopping when I come across a Roadside Chapel. Little chapels like this one are scattered all across the state. Some at rest areas on major highways and some on small county roads. This tiny chapel is located on two lane US Hwy 212 between Watertown, SD and Henry, SD.

Grand Canyon Views

I hope you have enjoyed these photos nearly as much as I enjoyed capturing them. May each of you have a wonderful holiday season and a blessed new year. Many of these scenic photographs are available on calendars and prints in my on line gift shop.

Montezuma's Castle

Earlier this month on Artistic Composition I posted a bit about my vacation last month in Arizona, today I would like to focus on Montezuma's Castle. Located high on a cliff this ancient home shows the forethought and ingenuity of the people who once lived here. The location must have offered the residents a great deal of protection.

The only access was made through the use of tall ladders starting at the base of the cliff and extending to ledges either natural or man made in the side of the cliff at which point another ladder would be placed to reach the next ledge. 

I can only image what life must have been like for the residents that were not in the prime of health, for they certainly would have been confined to one area of the castle.  

Walking along a paved walkway at the base of the cliff  one can see glimpses of many small caves in the cliff wall. Some are semi-sealed off with windows in the outer wall and others are open. According to the brochure many of these would have been used for storage and may have been used for individual confinement. Talk about one heck of a "Time Out" spot.

Benches have been placed in various spots to allow visitors to sit and rest or just soak in the soothing atmosphere.

I could not help but wonder if the foliage in the canyon has changed much since the castle was built. There were some trees that looked very old and others of course were not so old but the foliage was very thick in areas.

Not too far from the base of the cliff just a short way off the path we could see the river that supplied the ancient people with water.

 

This park although small is most surely a spot I could find myself returning to often if I lived closer because of its' extremely peaceful setting. If you find yourself in Northern Arizona I strongly recommend visiting this historical location.

Summers End

Before I get to more of the Arizona photos I wanted to share a few end of summer shots taken around Norfolk in late September and early October.

With the kids all back in school and the weather cooling down the ocean front was very quiet on this weekday afternoon.

On another afternoon I went wandering and came across this peaceful neighborhood full of beautiful homes and calm waterways.

I am hoping to head back to this neighborhood for some Autumn photos as I can just imagine how beautiful it looks with the trees ablaze in autumn colors.