Speed

[Poser1005]

Photoshoot with my friend Teg.... This was one of the first shots i took.

all criticism happily received

[clockdoc]

Nice capture of your friend at the peak of action. I am not into dSLR's yet and do not know what camera you used for your shot but there is a technique called "rear curtain sync". It is defined as: "Rear curtain sync fires at the end of the peak shutter opening as opposed to the beginning. When used with a slow shutter speed, you'll create a streak behind your subject and the subject frozen at the end of the frame providing a more realistic motion effect." This was taken from the following site on flash photography: http://www.vividlight.com/articles/3311.htm (well down the page). Using this technique may have given a more pronounced motion effect to better illustrate your title. Thanks for sharing your shot with us.

[Poser1005]

Thanks very much for the link, I've read about the rear curtain sync, and was actually playing around with it later on in the shoot while it was dark. I was having trouble with getting him opaque with trails as opposed to a ghost with trails... I don't suppose you know how one might go about doing that without upping the flash intensity (which messed with the lighting)?

[clockdoc]

Can you post an example? What camera and flash were used? I'm not sure I can visualize your problem. The way I understand 'rear curtain sync' is that the front curtain opens, allowing exposure by ambient available light based on shutter speed (how long the curtain is open) and f/stop. Then just before the rear curatin closes, the flash goes off providing the stopping exposure, which is based on aperture, distance from the subject and power setting on your flash. Because it was dark when you were experimenting, that may have something to do with the ghosting but I'll defer to folks much smarter than me on this one. 8-)

[Poser1005]

this is one of the rear curtain shots: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11480634@N03/1403402886/

i'm using a nikon d50 with it's default built-in flash.

[clockdoc]

Thanks for posting one of your images with ghosting. Here is what we know from your EXIF data on flickr. The ISO was 400, the f/stop was 3.5 and shutter speed was 1/4 second. We don't know what power your flash was set for, do we? I don't know what the ambient light source was but it established the basic "set" exposure of the wall and columns. Perhaps the onboard flash level was set too low and what you got was the ambient light exposure for most of the exposure. I don't think the flash played a significant role in this image. Distance from the subject may have also been a factor since most onboard flashes do not carry very far, particularly outdoor where there are no syrfaces to act as reflectors.
What do the experts say who are more familiar with rear curtain sync?

[Robin Sarac]

This shot does give the impression of speed...almost like he's being chased. Have you tried tightening it up a bit...cropping just a bit around the outside? The building in the back is a bit distracting. Overall, I really like this photo...I just feel like this dude is m-o-v-i-n-g!

[Poser1005]

hmmm, I might have a look at cropping it... see how that turns out... Glad you get the impression of speed, that's really what i was aiming for

cheers clockdoc for all your interest/help...

any experts with rear curtain sync have anything tips about http://www.flickr.com/photos/11480634@N03/1403402886/ ??

[Robin Sarac]

I've always had the same problem. Unless your subject comes to a stop at some point, you'll get a ghost image of him / her. I don't know how to fix this using rear curtain sync...I would imagine there is a way, or at least a technique to create the same effect with better results.

[inkista]

Maybe try a faster shutter speed? Or increasing the flash power?

Parkour has gotta be tough to shoot well--hard to capture the balletic quality of the movement. I think you did a great job with the shot!