Freezing the Moment: Westridge’s Upper School Photo 2 Students Experiment with Shutter Speeds

This week, Upper School Photo 2 class headed to the Pitcairn lawn to work on dramatic shutter speeds, popping water balloons to get hands-on experience photographing a fast-moving subject. In order to grasp the camera settings’ full range of impact, students tested several hypotheses about shutter speed, ISO, and depth of field, then examined their results and collaborated—and got some pointers from Upper School Art Teacher Shannon Keller—to figure out the best way to capture their images.

“It is so beautiful to see how the water holds its form or appears fuzzy or the myriad of other ways that water travels through space within the quick shots of the shutter,” Keller said. “Ideally it also triggers other experiments for these young photographers as they explore their tools on a greater level.”

Observing the movement of water on camera accompanies an upcoming project, where students will manipulate shutter speed in a dark environment to “paint” with light.

Pictures taken by Sabrina C. ’25 and Lucia F.-R. ’25. Emerson F. ’25 is featured in the middle photo.

Westridge School, 324 Madeline Drive, Pasadena, (626) 799-1053 ext. 200 or visit www.westridge.org.