Time: Activity 4

Slow Shutter Speeds

The subject matter in this picture consists of the silhouetted landscape, the stars, and the mountain in the background. In order to achieve this effect with the stars there are many potential areas for technical difficulties.  One is the necessity for a stable ground to have the camera on, and this is easily fixed by using a tripod. Another is finding the correct shutter speed/exposure time in order to achieve the desired effect of movement in the stars. This is a laborious task, however, and the only remedy is to take multiple test shots and see how they each come out.

The depth of field in this image is large, as the sky, the trees, and the mountain are all in the frame. This adds the effect of making the image look incredibly large while the viewer/audience feels incredibly small.

Adding all of these elements together the photographer achieved the perfect balance of serenity and movement. The cool colors and lack of brightness allow for the stars to remain the focal point of the image and also allow the 'movement' of the stars to be perceived. Since there is a defined point where the star is and a trail that follows each star, it appears that there is a sphere of celestial elements covering the entirety of this picture.