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More Exposure and How It Works - A Beginner's Guide - Part 2
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Jan 19, 2019 17:54:42   #
Vince68 Loc: Wappingers Falls, NY
 
Good job Bob on both Parts 1 and 2.

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Jan 19, 2019 18:13:27   #
rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona
 
Thanks, all who have read a commented. I'll be posting Part 3 tomorrow and working on an addendum, as well. I'm hopeful that this has helped a few and very glad if it has.
--Bob

Reply
Jan 19, 2019 22:30:20   #
Triggerhappy
 
Thank you so much for taking time to explain in such an unstandable manner for those of us who have been stuck in the "automatic" mode and who were unsuccessful in understanding the "triangle".
I am sure that although many of the "real photo people" find it boring, I sense that most are sincere in encouraging us novice to learn and enjoy the accomplishments of taking wonderful photos.
Thank you again Bob.
And thanks to all the HOGS who contribute to make us all much wiser in regard to the beauty that can be captured through the lens.

Chris

Reply
 
 
Jan 20, 2019 07:51:59   #
bastro
 
Nicely done sir!
However, next to last sentence, isn't Aperture supposed to be DIAMETER here?
Thanks!


rmalarz wrote:
Ok, folks, we’re off on another adventure in photographic exposure. Since a lot of you found the first installment ( https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-574357-1.html ) enjoyable and enlightening, let’s do another installment. This time it’s going to get a bit sloppy, as we’ll be using water, various sized containers, and a rather large pipe with some special fittings. The fittings are composed of a device which will permit us to vary an opening through which the water will flow, the DIAMETER fitting, (Aperture). This changes the DiAMETER from fully open to something the size of a soda straw. The other fitting is a VALVE, (Shutter). This VALVE can be opened and closed very quickly controlling how long the water can flow through the DIAMETER we set. These fitting are in line with one another.

Let’s start with our container. Imagine GLASSES Sensor or Film). These are cylindrical and vary in height (ISO), but all are the same size around. This is to keep things simple. For our lab work today, our job is to fill a GLASS. It doesn't matter which one. We just need to fill one. The very tallest GLASS is labeled 100. The next tallest size is 200, the next 400, 800, and finally 1600. The 1600 GLASS is the shortest of the group. The idea is that we need to fill whichever GLASS we choose right to the very brim. We can’t allow any water to run over the top. Nor, can we stop filling the GLASS short of right to the top. So, we don’t want to over fill or under fill whichever GLASS we choose to use.

Now our pipe with an unlimited amount of water is close to being the size of a fire hose. We can vary the inside DIAMETER with one lever marked DIAMETER. The other lever is marked VALVE. These are fitted in line in the delivery nozzle. So, let’s pick a GLASS and place it under the nozzle and start our adventure in filling a GLASS.

We’ll pick the GLASS marked 400. We leave our DIAMETER setting wide open. We take the VALVE lever and pull it open and push it closed. Wow!!! Water all over the place. The water came gushing out of the nozzle, hit the GLASS, overflowed, and it’s clean up time. That didn’t work so well, did it?. How to solve this problem. Let’s close the DIAMETER a bit. Since we don’t want another mess let’s close it quite a bit. We open the VALVE for the same amount of time and water flows at a much more manageable rate but doesn't fill the GLASS right to the top. Hmmm, we need to make another adjustment. We'll leave the VALVE open for a bit longer period of time. Ah, that worked. The GLASS is filled right to the brim and no overflow. Perfect!!!

What we’ve discovered is that the right combination of DIAMETER and VALVE allows us to precisely control the amount of water entering the GLASS and fill it exactly. At this point, we decide to experiment a bit. We notice that if we open the DIAMETER setting a bit, we don’t need to open the VALVE for quite a long to accomplish a satisfactory GLASS fill. We then close the DIAMETER setting a bit and we now need to leave the VALVE open for a longer period of time to accomplish the same satisfactory GLASS fill. So, there is a relationship between how large the DIAMETER is set and how long we need to leave the VALVE open and vice versa.

We have marked this relationship noting the setting indications on the DIAMETER and VALVE. So, let’s change the GLASS. We take the next smallest size, the one marked 200. We place that under our nozzle and have our DIAMETER and VALVE settings the same as with the GLASS marked 400. We open the VALVE and close the VALVE. Wow!!! The water only filled 1/2 of the GLASS. Hmmm. What happened? The GLASS is taller and therefore needs more water to fill it. We need to either open the DIAMETER a bit or open the VALVE for a longer time. It’s a matter of letting more water in, in the same amount of time, or letting the same flow of water in for a longer time.

After mopping up some of our missteps, we take a few minutes to ponder and observe. There seems to be a relationship between how much water is needed to fill the GLASS we choose, the size to which the DIAMETER is set and how long we leave the VALVE open. We also notice that we can fiddle with the DIAMETER and that requires us to fiddle with the VALVE and vice versa. We further notice that if we change the size of the container, we have to adjust the DIAMETER or the VALVE, or both accordingly to obtain a satisfactory fill. With all of this filling we concluded that if we change one item, we have to change something else to accomplish the same perfect fill.

We also notice an oddity here. There seems to be somethings that don’t make intuitive sense. The larger the number on the GLASS the smaller the GLASS. We also notice some setting markings on the DIAMETER and the VALVE. The first marking on the DIAMETER is a small number, but the opening is the largest. As we move to larger numbers the opening gets smaller. It’s odd, but with practice, we’ll know exactly the DIAMETER we’re setting and can repeat that setting whenever we want. The same can be said of the numbers on the VALVE. There's a whole number, 1, followed by fractions. The smaller the number on the bottom of the fraction, the faster the VALVE will open and close.

Well, we’ve been at this quite a while now, and it’s getting late. What’s going on? It seems that the later it gets, the less water pressure we are seeing in the system. No worries, we can still fill our GLASS, but we’ll have to adjust for the less pressure by using a larger DIAMETER or leaving the VALVE open longer. If we really need to get a GLASS filled, we might have to choose one of the ones marked with the larger number. Remember the object is to fill a GLASS, we’re not fussy about which one.

This, very simply put, is the way exposure works in your camera. The light-sensitive material is the SENSOR and ISO (GLASS and its SIZE), it can be set to fill more quickly or slowly as needed. Once set, the SHUTTER (VALVE) allows light to flow through the lens for a precise amount of time and the APERTURE (VALVE) controls how much light can flow through. Working together, under your control, the correct settings are made and the optimum exposure is accomplished.
--Bob
Ok, folks, we’re off on another adventure in photo... (show quote)

Reply
Jan 20, 2019 08:10:54   #
Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)
 
I've never heard this analogy and I found it very interesting. I could see where it might help a novice understand the connections between the factors that go into making a proper exposure. I also liked the fact that you write quite good ;-).

Reply
Jan 20, 2019 08:13:57   #
cochese
 
This is great! I wish I had this available 10 years avo when the photovraphy bug bit and I got my first dslr kit. Being a mechanic this brings the magic home very quickly. I struggled for a year or so trying to figure it all out, but I am glad I took the time. It has allowed my skills to grow.

Reply
Jan 20, 2019 09:02:10   #
Jodevoy
 
Thanks, Bob! I feel I generally understand the concepts until I get out in the field and my shots aren’t coming out how I had hoped. I start making changes and get myself all confused. I know I need to stop right there and think it through rather than just start changing things up. I will refer to your analogy next time, I’m sure it will help! I appreciate the effort you put into this guide.

Reply
 
 
Jan 20, 2019 09:02:37   #
Jodevoy
 
Thanks, Bob! I feel I generally understand the concepts until I get out in the field and my shots aren’t coming out how I had hoped. I start making changes and get myself all confused. I know I need to stop right there and think it through rather than just start changing things up. I will refer to your analogy next time, I’m sure it will help! I appreciate the effort you put into this guide.

Reply
Jan 20, 2019 09:41:54   #
biry
 
A fine tutorial! Both parts. Like your photographs, beautifully done. Easy to read. Its you and others like you who make this forum such a worthwhile place. I thank you.

Bill

Reply
Jan 20, 2019 10:47:03   #
mikeglaw
 
This, very simply put, is the way exposure works in your camera. The light-sensitive material is the SENSOR and ISO (GLASS and its SIZE), it can be set to fill more quickly or slowly as needed. Once set, the SHUTTER (VALVE) allows light to flow through the lens for a precise amount of time and the APERTURE (VALVE) controls how much light can flow through. Working together, under your control, the correct settings are made and the optimum exposure is accomplished.
--Bob[/quote]

Bob, I like this description, is there a chart or graph which talks about external light considerations and the appropriate approximate settings so that we start at some point that may not be right but is reasonably close. With that bit of information, I would then go practice this method to see if my manual photography can do a better job than auto, by taking multiple pictures of the same setting over time with variable light sources, intensity, and reflection (here is where we need to understand what filters to use to adjust the light intensity on top of the aperature and shutter). Am I correct in this thinking?

Reply
Jan 20, 2019 11:44:07   #
genocolo Loc: Vail and Gasparilla Island
 
Thank you for taking the time to explain these subjects so clearly.

Reply
 
 
Jan 20, 2019 12:07:01   #
Redmond Loc: Oregon
 
great job, thank you for spending the time, I'm starting to get this stuff....

Reply
Jan 20, 2019 12:24:52   #
aellman Loc: Boston MA
 
rmalarz wrote:
Ok, folks, we’re off on another adventure in photographic exposure. Since a lot of you found the first installment ( https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-574357-1.html ) enjoyable and enlightening, let’s do another installment. This time it’s going to get a bit sloppy, as we’ll be using water, various sized containers, and a rather large pipe with some special fittings. The fittings are composed of a device which will permit us to vary an opening through which the water will flow, the DIAMETER fitting, (Aperture). This changes the DiAMETER from fully open to something the size of a soda straw. The other fitting is a VALVE, (Shutter). This VALVE can be opened and closed very quickly controlling how long the water can flow through the DIAMETER we set. These fitting are in line with one another.

Let’s start with our container. Imagine GLASSES Sensor or Film). These are cylindrical and vary in height (ISO), but all are the same size around. This is to keep things simple. For our lab work today, our job is to fill a GLASS. It doesn't matter which one. We just need to fill one. The very tallest GLASS is labeled 100. The next tallest size is 200, the next 400, 800, and finally 1600. The 1600 GLASS is the shortest of the group. The idea is that we need to fill whichever GLASS we choose right to the very brim. We can’t allow any water to run over the top. Nor, can we stop filling the GLASS short of right to the top. So, we don’t want to over fill or under fill whichever GLASS we choose to use.

Now our pipe with an unlimited amount of water is close to being the size of a fire hose. We can vary the inside DIAMETER with one lever marked DIAMETER. The other lever is marked VALVE. These are fitted in line in the delivery nozzle. So, let’s pick a GLASS and place it under the nozzle and start our adventure in filling a GLASS.

We’ll pick the GLASS marked 400. We leave our DIAMETER setting wide open. We take the VALVE lever and pull it open and push it closed. Wow!!! Water all over the place. The water came gushing out of the nozzle, hit the GLASS, overflowed, and it’s clean up time. That didn’t work so well, did it?. How to solve this problem. Let’s close the DIAMETER a bit. Since we don’t want another mess let’s close it quite a bit. We open the VALVE for the same amount of time and water flows at a much more manageable rate but doesn't fill the GLASS right to the top. Hmmm, we need to make another adjustment. We'll leave the VALVE open for a bit longer period of time. Ah, that worked. The GLASS is filled right to the brim and no overflow. Perfect!!!

What we’ve discovered is that the right combination of DIAMETER and VALVE allows us to precisely control the amount of water entering the GLASS and fill it exactly. At this point, we decide to experiment a bit. We notice that if we open the DIAMETER setting a bit, we don’t need to open the VALVE for quite a long to accomplish a satisfactory GLASS fill. We then close the DIAMETER setting a bit and we now need to leave the VALVE open for a longer period of time to accomplish the same satisfactory GLASS fill. So, there is a relationship between how large the DIAMETER is set and how long we need to leave the VALVE open and vice versa.

We have marked this relationship noting the setting indications on the DIAMETER and VALVE. So, let’s change the GLASS. We take the next smallest size, the one marked 200. We place that under our nozzle and have our DIAMETER and VALVE settings the same as with the GLASS marked 400. We open the VALVE and close the VALVE. Wow!!! The water only filled 1/2 of the GLASS. Hmmm. What happened? The GLASS is taller and therefore needs more water to fill it. We need to either open the DIAMETER a bit or open the VALVE for a longer time. It’s a matter of letting more water in, in the same amount of time, or letting the same flow of water in for a longer time.

After mopping up some of our missteps, we take a few minutes to ponder and observe. There seems to be a relationship between how much water is needed to fill the GLASS we choose, the size to which the DIAMETER is set and how long we leave the VALVE open. We also notice that we can fiddle with the DIAMETER and that requires us to fiddle with the VALVE and vice versa. We further notice that if we change the size of the container, we have to adjust the DIAMETER or the VALVE, or both accordingly to obtain a satisfactory fill. With all of this filling we concluded that if we change one item, we have to change something else to accomplish the same perfect fill.

We also notice an oddity here. There seems to be somethings that don’t make intuitive sense. The larger the number on the GLASS the smaller the GLASS. We also notice some setting markings on the DIAMETER and the VALVE. The first marking on the DIAMETER is a small number, but the opening is the largest. As we move to larger numbers the opening gets smaller. It’s odd, but with practice, we’ll know exactly the DIAMETER we’re setting and can repeat that setting whenever we want. The same can be said of the numbers on the VALVE. There's a whole number, 1, followed by fractions. The smaller the number on the bottom of the fraction, the faster the VALVE will open and close.

Well, we’ve been at this quite a while now, and it’s getting late. What’s going on? It seems that the later it gets, the less water pressure we are seeing in the system. No worries, we can still fill our GLASS, but we’ll have to adjust for the less pressure by using a larger DIAMETER or leaving the VALVE open longer. If we really need to get a GLASS filled, we might have to choose one of the ones marked with the larger number. Remember the object is to fill a GLASS, we’re not fussy about which one.

This, very simply put, is the way exposure works in your camera. The light-sensitive material is the SENSOR and ISO (GLASS and its SIZE), it can be set to fill more quickly or slowly as needed. Once set, the SHUTTER (VALVE) allows light to flow through the lens for a precise amount of time and the APERTURE (VALVE) controls how much light can flow through. Working together, under your control, the correct settings are made and the optimum exposure is accomplished.
--Bob
Ok, folks, we’re off on another adventure in photo... (show quote)




Bob,

Although your knowledge is impressive, there can be "too much of a good thing." I may be a voice in the wilderness here, but if I wanted to read a textbook, I would go to a textbook. In addition to being painfully long, the water metaphor complicates and further confuses the subject of exposure, which when boiled down is really pretty simple. After the first few paragraphs I felt like I had gone down the rabbit hole to Wonderland.

When you state, "It's getting late," the reason it was getting late is that you had been writing a tome, the subject of which could have been expressed completely in 25% of the space.

This is one man's opinion, not the only opinion. In fact, I would like to read opinions from the opposite point of view. >>>Alan

Reply
Jan 20, 2019 12:42:55   #
Architect1776 Loc: In my mind
 
rmalarz wrote:
Ok, folks, we’re off on another adventure in photographic exposure. Since a lot of you found the first installment ( https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-574357-1.html ) enjoyable and enlightening, let’s do another installment. This time it’s going to get a bit sloppy, as we’ll be using water, various sized containers, and a rather large pipe with some special fittings. The fittings are composed of a device which will permit us to vary an opening through which the water will flow, the DIAMETER fitting, (Aperture). This changes the DiAMETER from fully open to something the size of a soda straw. The other fitting is a VALVE, (Shutter). This VALVE can be opened and closed very quickly controlling how long the water can flow through the DIAMETER we set. These fitting are in line with one another.

Let’s start with our container. Imagine GLASSES Sensor or Film). These are cylindrical and vary in height (ISO), but all are the same size around. This is to keep things simple. For our lab work today, our job is to fill a GLASS. It doesn't matter which one. We just need to fill one. The very tallest GLASS is labeled 100. The next tallest size is 200, the next 400, 800, and finally 1600. The 1600 GLASS is the shortest of the group. The idea is that we need to fill whichever GLASS we choose right to the very brim. We can’t allow any water to run over the top. Nor, can we stop filling the GLASS short of right to the top. So, we don’t want to over fill or under fill whichever GLASS we choose to use.

Now our pipe with an unlimited amount of water is close to being the size of a fire hose. We can vary the inside DIAMETER with one lever marked DIAMETER. The other lever is marked VALVE. These are fitted in line in the delivery nozzle. So, let’s pick a GLASS and place it under the nozzle and start our adventure in filling a GLASS.

We’ll pick the GLASS marked 400. We leave our DIAMETER setting wide open. We take the VALVE lever and pull it open and push it closed. Wow!!! Water all over the place. The water came gushing out of the nozzle, hit the GLASS, overflowed, and it’s clean up time. That didn’t work so well, did it?. How to solve this problem. Let’s close the DIAMETER a bit. Since we don’t want another mess let’s close it quite a bit. We open the VALVE for the same amount of time and water flows at a much more manageable rate but doesn't fill the GLASS right to the top. Hmmm, we need to make another adjustment. We'll leave the VALVE open for a bit longer period of time. Ah, that worked. The GLASS is filled right to the brim and no overflow. Perfect!!!

What we’ve discovered is that the right combination of DIAMETER and VALVE allows us to precisely control the amount of water entering the GLASS and fill it exactly. At this point, we decide to experiment a bit. We notice that if we open the DIAMETER setting a bit, we don’t need to open the VALVE for quite a long to accomplish a satisfactory GLASS fill. We then close the DIAMETER setting a bit and we now need to leave the VALVE open for a longer period of time to accomplish the same satisfactory GLASS fill. So, there is a relationship between how large the DIAMETER is set and how long we need to leave the VALVE open and vice versa.

We have marked this relationship noting the setting indications on the DIAMETER and VALVE. So, let’s change the GLASS. We take the next smallest size, the one marked 200. We place that under our nozzle and have our DIAMETER and VALVE settings the same as with the GLASS marked 400. We open the VALVE and close the VALVE. Wow!!! The water only filled 1/2 of the GLASS. Hmmm. What happened? The GLASS is taller and therefore needs more water to fill it. We need to either open the DIAMETER a bit or open the VALVE for a longer time. It’s a matter of letting more water in, in the same amount of time, or letting the same flow of water in for a longer time.

After mopping up some of our missteps, we take a few minutes to ponder and observe. There seems to be a relationship between how much water is needed to fill the GLASS we choose, the size to which the DIAMETER is set and how long we leave the VALVE open. We also notice that we can fiddle with the DIAMETER and that requires us to fiddle with the VALVE and vice versa. We further notice that if we change the size of the container, we have to adjust the DIAMETER or the VALVE, or both accordingly to obtain a satisfactory fill. With all of this filling we concluded that if we change one item, we have to change something else to accomplish the same perfect fill.

We also notice an oddity here. There seems to be somethings that don’t make intuitive sense. The larger the number on the GLASS the smaller the GLASS. We also notice some setting markings on the DIAMETER and the VALVE. The first marking on the DIAMETER is a small number, but the opening is the largest. As we move to larger numbers the opening gets smaller. It’s odd, but with practice, we’ll know exactly the DIAMETER we’re setting and can repeat that setting whenever we want. The same can be said of the numbers on the VALVE. There's a whole number, 1, followed by fractions. The smaller the number on the bottom of the fraction, the faster the VALVE will open and close.

Well, we’ve been at this quite a while now, and it’s getting late. What’s going on? It seems that the later it gets, the less water pressure we are seeing in the system. No worries, we can still fill our GLASS, but we’ll have to adjust for the less pressure by using a larger DIAMETER or leaving the VALVE open longer. If we really need to get a GLASS filled, we might have to choose one of the ones marked with the larger number. Remember the object is to fill a GLASS, we’re not fussy about which one.

This, very simply put, is the way exposure works in your camera. The light-sensitive material is the SENSOR and ISO (GLASS and its SIZE), it can be set to fill more quickly or slowly as needed. Once set, the SHUTTER (VALVE) allows light to flow through the lens for a precise amount of time and the APERTURE (VALVE) controls how much light can flow through. Working together, under your control, the correct settings are made and the optimum exposure is accomplished.
--Bob
Ok, folks, we’re off on another adventure in photo... (show quote)



Reply
Jan 20, 2019 13:14:19   #
BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten
 
Bob, it’s very nice of you to take the time and write the tutorials you present here.
Thanks!

Reply
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