A Tribute to Firefighters

A few weeks back, as part of my Photography 101 class, I, along with 14 classmates, took a field trip to the grounds of the State Capitol. Our photo assignment focused on the use of shutter speeds and f-stops. Basically, we were practicing shooting in the Manual setting, balancing the f-stops and shutter speeds. I won't bore you with all of the details, but I thought it would be fun to share a few of my photographs in two of the five categories.

In the Selective Focus category, our instructor, Bonita Chimes, asked us to find a still object and use that same item for a series of shots. For each shot, we had to change the position of the camera by moving further and further away from the object. My friends, Effie and John and I were wandering around Capitol Park, when we came upon the California Firefighters Memorial. These firefighter statues are part of the memorial and I thought they would make an excellent subject for my photographs.


For this first shot, I set my tripod as close as I could to the subjects and balanced the f-stop and shutter speed on my camera. (In other words, when I looked inside the viewfinder, I wanted the green scale to be at the number zero. Not up by the + or down by the -.)

Exposure (shutter speed): 1/125
Aperture: F8


Then, I stepped back a few feet and re-balanced the camera.

Exposure: 1/100
Aperture: F8


Again, I backed up a bit, so I was now approximately 5-6 feet away from the statues.
I love how the hose moves your line of vision from the bottom left corner all the way to the nozzle.

Exposure: 1/100
Aperture: F8


Here I was standing about 10-12 feet away. As you can see, a tree appeared on the left hand side and a fence is taking shape behind the statue.

Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: F8


Lastly, our instructor asked us to stand as far away as possible. This was as far away as I could go without literally standing in a bush. :-)

Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: F8

After our field trip, we printed out our photos and brought them to our final class to be critiqued. According to my instructor and my peers, my final shot was the best of the five. My instructor's reasoning: The tree and the fence help to frame the statues, drawing your eye right to the firefighters. I couldn't agree more!

The second part of our assignment was entitled, Beginning Photo Journalism. We had to tell a story from beginning to end...in just 6 shots. Thanks to my firefighter hubby for being patient with me as I tried to balance my camera, compose these shots and tell his story.

Getting Dressed for a Fire


Taking off his shoes

Exposure: 1/500
Aperture: F5.6


Putting on his boots

Exposure: 1/320
Aperture: F5.6


Pulling on his bunker pants and suspenders

Exposure: 1/640
Aperture: F5.6


Sliding into his jacket

Exposure: 1/800
Aperture: F5.6


Pulling the jacket closed; clipping it shut

Exposure: 1/640
Aperture: F5.6


Helmet is on...he's ready to go!

Exposure: 1/500
Aperture: F5.6

Do you notice he's giving me that look......I can only guess that he must have been thinking, "Are we done yet?!" or "It's bright out here. Where are my sunglasses?!"

Thanks, Babe, for humoring me and letting me take pictures of you at the station. I couldn't be more proud of the job you do!