Motion blur / freezing motion - handheld D80

[vkm]

Hello All,

My first post here. Trying to figure out my photography class assignment. The task given is to take 15-10 images of frozen motion and 15-20 images that allow motion using a 50mm 1.8f lens handheld with the aperture-priority setting. I use a Nikon D80.

With my fledgeling knowledge, i am thinking that to reduce camera shake, the shutter speed has to be atleast 1/60. Is that long enough to get a motion blut for the second part of the assignment? I tried to take pictures of a friend of mine practising dance and i had to drop down to 1/25 to get some blur going - and I think the aperture was set to f8 or higher. the light was also pretty poor in the room.

What are some typical times/subjects/settings that I can experiment with for arresting motion and allowing motion? Assignment was handed out yesterday and due in a week and will be eventually printed in black and white for classroom critique. We have been told that we cannot take pictures of automobiles of any kind! !

If this is not the right forum for this post, please let me know or maybe the admins can move it.

Thanks very much for your time,
Vinod

[fletch]

For frezing motion try anything that is fast paced and well lit. Sports or wildlife spring to mind or maybe cars or traffic.

For showing motion while handheld I imediately thing of panning. Otherwise you will struglle to get motion blur without camera shake. Try take cycle racing if available or motorsport, trafic again is a good one for this. You will need shutter speeds of arround 1/10 or 1/20 mabe faster or slower depending on the speed of what you are trying to photograph.

Be sure to post the results here for us all to see.

[Dodgeinart]

Hey Vinod, welcome aboard.
You have the correct thought pattern. For your assignment it sounds that shutter priority will serve you well. Obviously freezing motion is not a challenge.
A bicycle is a quick way to show motion blur. Sports, almost any kind just follow the action and try to keep them from blurring at 1/60th. Even most 5 yr olds will blur at that speed.

[Mr Guy]

Exactly, motion blur isn't so much about the shutter speed, it's about the shutter speed RELATIVE to the speed of the object. Stars are crisp at one second, but have motion blur over several hours. My dog occasionally blurs at 1/160!

Just find something fast enough, and consider using the "hug yourself" tripod. I think it's called the T position or something like that. It's when you grab your own shoulder and rest the camera in the crook of your arm. Looks silly, but fairly effective.

[Chip]

Using aperture priority will make this a bit tricky. And the twist of "no automobiles" makes it even more challenging.

Generally, you'll need to experiment with using progressively smaller apertures to find the one that's small enough to give you a slow enough shutter speed to produce the blur.

If at all possible, it's a great advantage if you can find a moving subject that's always moving at the same speed. That makes finding the right aperture/shutter combination easier, since it removes the speed of the subject as a variable. A roller coaster at the same point in a track comes to mind. Or maybe a ball always dropped from the same place and tracked downward? Or possibly something as simple as a hand sliding across a table?

And don't be afraid to go slower than 1/60th if needed to get blur. I've had some decent shots (no camera shake) at 1/40 and even 1/30.

Can you vary your ISO for this assignment? If so, perhaps adjusting the ISO will give you needed flexibility.

Good luck. I'd like to see what you come up with, if you don't mind posting.

[fletch]

Another thought, great motion blur shots can be had on childrens playground equipment like a roundabout. If you mount the camera on the moving part all the parts moving will be frozen in the frame but the background blured.

[vkm]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks! Much appreciated!

I tried to take pictures of the escalators at the mall this afternoon during my lunch hour and was unceremoniously shut down by mall security. I guess another lesson learned - one may not be allowed to shoot pictures everywhere!

I checked with my assignment sheet and it does require us to keep the ISO at 400 and at aperture priority. The 'no automobiles' option was included to challenge us to not take the easy way out and shoot the first car that goes by and bring it to class and actually do some scouting,thinking work. Of the 20 pictures that 'allow motion', only two chosen ones will be printed and one critiqued.

The best next step seems to be to 'calibrate' the camera/lens in terms of shutter-speed/aperture combinations that show blur and get a sense of how things change. Of course, the light when I do the experiment and when I actually shoot the picture might be different - but oh well.

Here is another rookie question. Assuming I want to take a picture of a jogger running from left to right in my frame. I want him to be a blur as the trees or bushes behind him stay in focus. I am thinking that I would have to focus and be ready to click when he/she enters my frame - what would I focus on as I get ready? the trees that would be behind the jogger? Is this where DOF comes into picture? The trees and the jogger should both be in my DOF?

I do apologize if I have not gotten the concepts clearly or just plain wrong!

Thanks again,
Vinod

[fletch]

You would probably want to have the trees in focus otherwise everything in the photo would be blured. Best option would be to try both though.

[Chip]

Originally Posted by fletch

You would probably want to have the trees in focus otherwise everything in the photo would be blured. Best option would be to try both though.

I hadn't thought of that, but being on a moving object might sure work. I'll have to try that myself soon. Thanks, Fletch.

[vkm]

Wanted to say thanks to all of you once again and post the picture that I finally submitted. I shot in RAW and did some 'developing' with Adobe Lightroom. But I did not save that into a jpeg format. I kinda re-did the same post processign with the Nikon PictureProject software that came with the camera to post it here. The picture certainly serves the purpose of the assignment and demonstrates motion blur. I am not able to really feel anything more from it. Any suggestions on how it could have been composed and shot differently and with some more punch?

Thanks again,
Vinod

Here is the link to the picture on flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2107273...7610120223938/