Assignment #15: Panning blur

Nikolai

Well, I think we run enough stairs to feel charhged for the next assignment.

This new assignment is going to be a bit more technical than the majority of the previous ones.

You need to get the picture of a moving subject in a way that the subject preferably stays as sharp as possible, while the background would naturally blur.

Pedestrians, bicilysts, cars - I'm sure you can find something moving around you. Remember that the primary object needs to stay sharp, or, at least, look sharper than the background.

As always: fresh pictures only. Definitely no PS blur.:deal
For the rest of the basic rules and index please check out this sticky.

Let's pan'n'blur!

Antonio Correia

This is my 1.st attempt with this camera.
Before I have done it but the photo is not good for here as it is not a fresh one.
It was shot in Vietnam during the hush hour and no filter, no CS2 no tricks.

These are some shots I took this morning.
There was much light as the weather is/was very nice.
But today I have photos with one trick: NDF and CPF
The speed was too slow...
Aperture: f/9.0 ISO: 200 Focal Length: 38mm (guess: 39mm in 35mm) Exposure Time: 0.05s (1/20) Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode Exposure Program: Shutter priority

Nikolai

Antonio,
Thanks for spearheading this one for us!
It's a tough one, ain't it?

Swartzy

Yea baby!

Nikolai

David,

Swartzy wrote:

three pics

Are those all fresh???

Swartzy

Uh OHHH
I goofed.....eeeek! Got so excited for motion blur shots I went and grabbed them....ok.....going for fresh stuff ...they are kind of cool though, don't ya think?

Nikolai

These are cool

Swartzy wrote:

I goofed.....eeeek! Got so excited for motion blur shots I went and grabbed them....ok.....going for fresh stuff ...they are kind of cool though, don't ya think?

I agree, I simply seemed to remember one or two being posted quite some time ago, hence my question

Antonio Correia

I shot some 300 photos to get these.
Some, many, I through them away.
I do know it's not very good.
There are more in my site in here or, later in here.
I just post here 6 of them. The advantage of your assignments is that they make us to go on the field, try and try, and read, investigate.
Well, this is the best so far.

Nikolai

Antonio,

Antonio Correia wrote:

The advantage of your assignments is that they make us to go on the field, try and try, and read, investigate.

That's exactly the idea:-)

Thanks for going out and trying!

Antonio Correia

Nikolai wrote:

That's exactly the idea:-)

Thanks for going out and trying!

My pleasure ! clapthumbthumb

Manfr3d

Beautiful pictures, here's mine:

anwmn1

Well I have missed a few assignments but just happened to be at the boat drags yesterday.

How is this?


Aaron

Nikolai

Manfr3d,

Manfr3d wrote:

Beautiful pictures, here's mine:

That's pretty darn cool! Considering how muich the b/g is panned... Very nice!

Nikolai

Aaron,

anwmn1 wrote:

Well I have missed a few assignments but just happened to be at the boat drags yesterday.

How is this?
Aaron

It's a nice shot, but... I don't see any trace of panning and/or b/g blur..

LiquidAir

Here's one. Getting close with a wide angle lens really exaggerates the effect. 35mm 1/5 at f/4.


While I was playing with motion blur, here is another shot I got:

Nikolai

L.a.,

LiquidAir wrote:

Here's one. Getting close with a wide angle lens really exaggerates the effect. 35mm 1/5 at f/4.
While I was playing with motion blur, here is another shot I got:

Interesting...
Thanks for the entries!

Antonio Correia

I shot this picture today in the late afternoon when the sun was already gone.
I still do not like it very much. I have to try again and I hope I will with the same person at the same time and location.
I don't have time to make some considerations on this photo and about the others I shot on Saturday.
I hope to be able to do so late in the evening.
Thank you for watching.

Nikolai

Antonio,

Antonio Correia wrote:

I shot this picture today in the late afternoon when the sun was already gone...

THis assignment is a tough one technically. Don't despair. The more you try it, the more benefitial it'll be for you.
Practice makes perfect:-)

Antonio Correia

Nikolai wrote:

THis assignment is a tough one technically. Don't despair. The more you try it, the more benefitial it'll be for you.
Practice makes perfect:-)

Nikolai,
I have been thinking that perhaps you should give some kind of tips, or/and ask the photographers to do so, otherwise these assignments are no more than repositories of photos under a theme. Just an opinion. OK ?

At the 1.st set of pictures I was using the 16-35 and the cars were pretty close to me: about 4 to 5 meters.

The cars were driving slowly but fast enough to fill the viewfinder in a while difficulting the job.

I should be shooting under another angle to get better/acceptable results or in a different position looking at the car as the speed changes with the angle towards the camera, even it travels at constant speed.

On the runner the same problem happened to me.
But I was using the 24-70 instead and the speed involved is quite different. I had only the opportunity to make some 15 shots.
Very few.

In both series I have been using the flash in Slow Syncronization to make a blur in the object.

The focus in the camera was in AI Servo, 200 ISO (I like 200 ISO don't know why ).

I know that shooting an object 25 meters away with a 100 mm or 200 mm is easier than what I am doing. If the object is not coming to us but perpendicular to the axis of the lens.

The question here is to keep the axis of the lens aligned with the object.
This has been often, too often, my problem.
While the camera shoots, I realize that my central point of focus is not on the object anymore but at the back of it, because I concentrate on the composition (?).
Wrong, because I want the object sharp and still, quiet.

I must concentrate on the central point. Period.

And shoot away.

Have to try. I must. I want. I'll do it tomorrow.

No. I was writing this lines and I decided to shoot NOW.

This experience - it doesn't matter colour temperature, etc - proves what I was saying before about the axis.

My hand is still in relation to the camera and - in spite of the low speed - I succeed 1 shot in 8 concentrating on the relative position.

And how about this triple motion blur with reverted lens hood (!) ?


Aperture: f/2.8 ISO: 200 Focal Length: 17mm (guess: 18mm in 35mm) Exposure Time: 0.1666s (1/6) Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode Exposure Program: Shutter priority Exposure Bias: -0.333333333333

Antonio Correia

More experiments ( 6 !! ... )

Nikolai

Antonio,
You've made very valid points, and that's exactly what I wanted to happen - a person realizing there is something wrong and finding out the way to fix it. I'm positive that now you remember your own findings MUCH better compared to a possible bunch of tips I could provide right off the bat. Now not only you know what works (your last images are pretty good), you also know what does not.

You see, I'm an old school guy. In my time the way they taught swimming was to throw a kid in a deep place and let him be. Most swam out:-).
These assigments are set kinda the same way. Theme is set and then off you go. It's like the life itself - no boundaries, but no support line either.

As I said - your last set is very good!

douglas

Big Red Truck
Big Red Truck f4.5 @ 1/20 with xti and nifty fifty

Antonio Correia

I could not shoot the guy running as it was raining heavily.
After dinner I went for the pictures to the exposition in Lisbon next month.
No rain, camera in the boot of the car as usual.
Here are some shots, successful ones I think.
I used the 70-200 f/2.8 L USM.
May be the colour correction is not that good ... This is the best I can do so far.
I decided this time to post part of the exif for a better understanding of the picture. I got these from a session of 110 photos.


Aperture: f/3.2 ISO: 1600 Focal Length: 70mm (guess: 71mm in 35mm) Exposure Time: 0.0333s (1/30) Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode Exposure Program: Aperture priority Exposure Bias: 0 ExposureMode: 0 White Balance: auto


Aperture: f/3.2 ISO: 1600 Focal Length: 70mm (guess: 71mm in 35mm) Exposure Time: 0.0333s (1/30) Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode Exposure Program: Aperture priority Exposure Bias: 0 ExposureMode: 0 White Balance: auto

More here for now and latter here

douglas

Hey Antonio I notice you sometimes put a "guess" in 35mm FOV. The crop factor for Canon 20D is 1.6 so you can just multiply your lenses focal length by 1.6 to get 35mm equivalent. For example if 70mm is in the exif of your 20D then 70 x 1.6 = 112mm in 35mm format.

Antonio Correia

douglas wrote:

Hey Swartzy I notice you sometimes put a "guess" in 35mm FOV. The crop factor for Canon 20D is 1.6 so you can just multiply your lenses focal length by 1.6 to get 35mm equivalent. For example if 70mm is in the exif of your 20D then 70 x 1.6 = 112mm in 35mm format.

Douglas, I think you are referring to me not to Swartzy. Am I wrong ?

If it's me, what I think it is, I have to say that the EXIF is a copy of SmugMug's. ( I mean from the photo when it is in SmugMug).
I myself never really understood that thing of guess but ...


You gave me the opportunity to ...

douglas

Oops ill edit that , ya I was refering to you Antonio. I never noticed that in SmugMug exif! My next shot below @ 50mm from smugmug says 50mm guess 389 in 35mm! The Rebel xti is also 1.6 FOV which = 80mm in 35mm

douglas

2nd Curtain Flash Test
I was trying out 2nd curtain flash effect with the onboard flash on my xti. Its kind of interesting it freezes the main subject but you still get light trails with slow shutter. Will be nice to play around when i get a better flash.



Exif here: levels adjusted in PS

anwmn1

Figured it out
Okay Nikolai- after getting whipped on my first image I went back out. Thanks for these assignments I do believe I got it this time.


F22 1/8Shutter 200ISO


The Race Track
















Aaron

Nikolai

Aaron, Antonio, Douglas
Thanks for the entries, guys!

Aaron, this one is pretty cool - sharp subject, blurred b/g:



Cheers!

Antonio Correia

I know it's late but here are some shots I did this afternoon.

Nikolai

Antonio,

Antonio Correia wrote:

I know it's late but here are some shots I did this afternoon.

Those are pretty cool!