Tip of the Day - When you Can’t Stop the Car [or the Airplane]

Glowing Farm (Illinois, 16 June 2009)

Shot from the car on I-55 as storm clouds gathered, 
the image was cropped and enhanced with an 
artistic effect called ‘Glow Edge’ in Paint Shop Pro

So you’re tooling along on the Interstate and you see something interesting...clouds, land formations, scenic views or damage from a storm or fire.  It would be nice to snap a shot or two.  You might even be able to make something more of it with editing. 

I may be somewhat amateurish in my photographic pursuits.  I don’t always pack the tripod and have been guilty of other lapses and lazy habits.  So let me restore some semblance of photographic propriety and say this first – of course, it would be better if you could pull over, get out of the car and properly shoot the scene.

However, what if there is no shoulder on the road and no exit in sight?  You could extend the camera through the sunroof or out the window and pop off a few shots...which you will almost certainly regret and delete.  Not to mention the distracted, unsafe driving that would entail (I would never do something like that).  No, this little bit of advice is best applied when you are the passenger in the car and can devote all of your faculties to taking the picture. 

The scene is Interstate 25, north of Denver.  Beck is driving to Cheyenne and I’m enjoying the great western landscape.  Storm clouds were forming over the high plains country and I wanted to capture it.  It was not possible to stop the car so I was going to shoot out the window. 

Sometimes that works just fine.  

Storm Approaching (Illinois, 16 June 2009)

(The image was taken at highway speed through an open window)

If you have a camera with more controls, you can increase the potential for a better shot.  If your camera is a basic point-and-shoot, set the mode on ‘sports’ or whatever setting increases the shutter speed and captures motion.  If you have more control options, increase the ISO (film speed).  Usually, the lower numbers are preferred because (like with film) the image quality is better.  However, if you just want to get a shot worth keeping from a vehicle going 65 mph, the higher ISO will allow a faster shutter speed.  On top of that, since you’re shooting off to the horizon, the focus is infinity and depth of field is not an issue.  That means you can use the lowest f-stop you have.  The important thing is the faster shutter speed can be enough to freeze the scene, even as you whiz by.

Also, if you fly and like to look out the window because our magnificent American landscape is even more remarkable from above, this same technique helps get images worth saving.  High ISO + low f-stop = fast shutter speed...provided you have a window that’s not too foggy or scratched.  Another tip would be to NOT steady the lens by leaning the camera against the window.  The plane’s (or car’s) vibrations can blur the shot.  I try to gently cushion the lens with a few fingers against the plastic.  It steadies the camera while absorbing the vibration.

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead (7 May 2009)

Even if the scene is nothing you want to enlarge and frame for your Greatest Hits Wall, you can still play with it and create something interesting using editing software, as was done with the first image above...or here.

T-lines and Storm Clouds in Chrome (Illinois, 16 June 2009)

Zooming down the highway, you often don’t have much 
time to think about framing a shot. While scatter-shooting what flies 
by and cropping some decent composition from that 
THEN adding some novel editing is no way to produce the kind 
of image that can be enlarged or worth much, one can still 
make something interesting to share or use in a cheesy blog.

By now, you’re probably thinking, “OK...this story began in Colorado. I don’t see any shots of the high plains, Big Sky Country with storm clouds”.  Turns out it wasn’t until we got to Cheyenne that I realized there was no memory card in the camera.  Bleep that bleeping bleep!  No pictures...only memories. 

So, you get TWO gems of advice this time, the second is to make sure you have a memory card (or film) in the camera.