I’ve been playing around with my point and click camera for the past few hours trying to familiarize myself with manual mode. In theory I’m prepping for my upcoming trip to Road Atlanta where I hope to catch some nice shots of Petit Le Mans 2009.
Now I’m no photographer, nor do I claim to be, but I have been able to take more than a few “in the moment” shots, which are pretty awesome despite my obvious lack of equipment or training. That said I’m a total rube when it comes to manually setting up the camera. After examining shots I’d taken before, compiling a list of f-numbers, shutter speeds and focal lengths I still was unable to “beat” the automatic “Easy” mode on my Canon A85.
Sure the photos came out all right, and sure I could easily touch most of them up in a photo editor but that’s not the point. My goal is to shoot outside of the automatic mode i.e. high-speed action shots and low light night shots. High-speed action is one thing. Obviously the “action mode” leaves a little bit to be desired when cars are racing past in excess of 100 mph. On a sunny day I can bumble my way through the settings and manage to take a fine shot.
Low light on the other hand is another animal. Road Atlanta has lights but they aren’t the kind that automatically lends themselves toward picture taking. There are lots of shadows, headlights and brief intervals of glare, which wreck any photo you may attempt. After copious trial and error I’ve managed to eek out a few that while blurry were quite nice.
So the long and the short of it is I can’t beat the computer, at photo taking at least. Then again that’s not what I’m going for. In a perfect world my goal is to tweak the settings so the camera can do it’s hocus pocus magic without being confused, and to create a great shot that I’ll capture the moment.
