Shutter Speed

Fair St. Louis
July 4, 2011
Photograph by Tom Atwood

There were two good reasons to use a high shutter speed at Fair St. Louis. First, the planes on July 4 were moving very fast. These North American AT-6 Texans,  built in 1938, fly at speeds above 200 mph. Second, the lens I used was a 300 mm zoom, so any camera movement is magnified at that focal length and usually results in a blur, or fuzziness. Sometimes, blurs at a slow shutter speed can help, adding a feeling of motion. But this photo needed to be sharp.

Shutter: 1/800; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 200; Focal length: 300 mm