OT: Photography related science projects?

[BTBeilke]

I wasn't sure which forum was most appropriate for this type of question, so I decided to put here. I apologize if I should have posted it elsewhere.

My daughter who is in 5th grade, has a science fair coming up. She goes through periods where she really likes to take photos. Does anyone have any interesting ideas for a photography related science project? These projects need to be experiemental or demonstrative in nature as opposed to inventing or building something. So, a pinhole camera, for example, would not be appropriate for this fair. (They have an Invent America contest later this spring.)

I have thought about doing something along the lines of testing how aperture settings and shutter speeds affect photographs or doing tests to determine the distances at which camera-mounted flashes are effective for different exposure settings. But the problem I am having is coming up with something that will sound interesting enough to a 10 year old that I'll get more then "rolling eyes" :rolleyes: when I make the suggestion.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[Mark_H]

Your idea about aperture settings would be interesting. By shooting repeating objects along a scale such as a tape measure, she could show how depth of field changes with aperture setting. With the scale she can measure the depth of field from the photograph. With a little research she could the diagram the optics and explain what is happening with the depth of field.

[RossW]

Polarization of light would be a super topic; some photos showing how a polarizing filter can deepen the sky or cut reflections would demonstrate the practical effects.

Let us know how she does.

[SWPhotoImaging]

Do a DOF study, using some small objects from her personal area of interest. Does she collect little horses, or other small things that could be lined up across a checkerboard to demonstrate different DOF at different apertures?

[RossW]

Use of the flash to freeze action would be an interesting topic... try to replicate the famous pictures of milk drops forming a "crown" splash, or even the moment of impact of ball on bat, bullet in apple -- OK, scratch that last one, but maybe she can find an example of that sort of shot to use in a display. If you can borrow a strobe, or purchase a cheap one from a party store or RadioShack, she could use it to freeze a moving object into a series of stills in one frame... hammer striking a nail, golf swing, etc. Lots of possibilities.

[PhotosGuy]

Some good ideas here. Maybe demonstrate how a wide angle can make something small look more real?