Assignment: Things in Motion

[PWS-Staff]

Action shots can be tricky if you want to show a subject in motion as opposed to freezing a subject in action. Freezing an image is easier because you can set a quick shutter speed and snap away -- catching people and things in mid-air. Showing somebody or something in motion is more complicated because you have to adjust your shutter speed to show motion without the entire picture looking blurry or too soft. Take a photo of someone or something in action and show movement. Your image can be an animal, an athlete, a car, or anything that moves. Post your best here and describe the lighting challenges you faced while taking the photo.

From "Lighting," by Chris Bucher

[cougar]

It's not easy especially under this snapshot moment but at least I'd tried this shot... http://www.flickr.com/photos/suvcougar/5706026341/

[InspiringFotos]

Capturing things or people in motion is really hard. I capture this motion shot of my youngest son while out boating at Saguaro Lake in Arizona. I come across several  challenges when trying to take action photos while boating. 1) Trying to keep the camera from shaking as the boat is moving and turning fast in the water. 2) Lighting can be challenging as some of my pictures can be over or under exposure depending on what direction the boat is traveling on the lake. Photo was taken with Kodak Z712 IS Zoom Digital, 19.3 mm, f6.3, 1/1250 sec.

[goldcoastgolfer]

That's a great moment that you captured.  I wonder what it would look like cropped to really focus on what's happening to your son.

The vibration technology they've built in to lenses these days is amazing - did I read somewhere that you've got yourself a new camera?

[goldcoastgolfer]

I took this shot of my eldest son jumping his scooter at the local skate park. My challenge though was that I couldn't actually track him moving - I was just setting the focus on a point where I thought he would be when was in flight, pointing the camera in the general direction that I thought he would be in, and then taking a blind shot.

I found a position where I could be underneath him so I could catch him in mid-flight but at the angle I was at found that the sun was playing havoc with the camera's light meter so I over exposed the shot by 1.3 stops to get the detail of my son in flight. 

Taken with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 with the following settings:

Focal Length: 4.8mm
Exposure Time: 1/800s
F Number: f/4
ISO: 200

[InspiringFotos]

That is a kewl shot of your eldest son on the scooter air-born. I know what you mean about overexposure when you are looking up to take your picture. Did you use a filter when you took this shot? I found that when the sky sometime gets overexposed that using a filter can help.

Yes, I did get a new camera this year. I got a Canon EOS Rebel T1i. I love my new camera.

[goldcoastgolfer]

The Panasonic I was using (my wife's camera) at the time was a point and shoot - a more advanced one admittedly but still limited with what I could do - which doesn't include the ability to use filters 

I just bought myself a Nikon D7000 this year - got it last week which is a replacement for my old Nikon F60 film camera so I'm having fun learning to take photos again.

[InspiringFotos]

This is way I finally got the Canon because of my limited ability with all the other cameras, especially when my skies were being washed out. Well, it sound like you and I are going to explore the powers of a digital camera without limitations this year. Try taking a picture of your son again (air born on the scooter), but this time try a filter to see if that helps with the washed out sky.

[goldcoastgolfer]

I'll definitely do that - just need another sunny day now!  It's been a pretty gloomy spring down here.

[InspiringFotos]

I don't have sunny day problems in the desert, I have rainy day problems. So when it does rain I am out there trying to get a shot as those days don't come around a lot. Try the filter and see if it makes a difference

[goldcoastgolfer]

These shots were inspired by something my daughter did - playing with a spinning top.  The light in the room these photos were shot in is quite warm in the morning and provides a nice effect.  However it's been cloudy a lot lately so when the sun broke through quickly, I snapped off a quick series of photos.

As much as i wanted to get the top spinning in motion, it didn't actually stand still so I elected to take a photo of it with a high shutter speed, showing it precariously balanced instead.  One of the unexpected shots I managed to take though and perhaps the best of the series was when the top fell of the chair - I caught it just before it hit the ground...

Taken with a Nikon D7000 with a Sigma 17-70mm lens:

Focal Length: 70mm (105mm in 35mm format)
Exposure Time: 1/8000
F Number: F4.5
ISO: 2500
Exposure Bias: 0
White Balance: Fine Weather

[InspiringFotos]

The top picture would have been nice to see a little bit of blur to show that spinning motion though I do like the 2nd picture that you capture with it in motion falling off the chair. I also like the fine details of the top that you would not of seen if you captured the spinning motion.

[goldcoastgolfer]

I'll try again and see what it looks like with the top spinning.  It's spinning so fast that I think if I turn it down to 1/1000 hopefully it will catch the blur of the top spinning but not moving around to much.

[StearnsJD]

Over the "Humps"

[goldcoastgolfer]

Great shots.  Any chance of finding out what setting you used at the time?