Wildlife Photographer of the Year - how?

[jimbo66]

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Leaping wolf snatches photo prize

Hasselblad 503CW with a 6x6 Fujichrome backing + Planar 80mm lens; 1/30 sec at f11; ISO 50; purpose-made Ficap infrared camera trap

The link above shows the Wildlife Photograph Of The Year, above is the technical data. I'm new to using flash, but from what I understand, using a slow shutter speed of 1/30 sec would result in trails either ahead or behind the subject, depending if you used front- or rear- curtain sync.

How has he managed to freeze the action without trails at such a slow shutter speed? Can anyone enlighten me please?

Many thanks,

Jim.

[Daoust]

I can sort of understand them awarding him the prize because of all the work and time he would have put in to planning and preparing for the shot. Plus the fact that it really is a one in a million shot helps. Yeah, it's dark, and all, but still. It's a pretty rare capture, I would think.

[Sime]

It is an awesome photo - The Wulf looks positively menacing. I'd say he's just used enough light to freeze that sucker...

[jimbo66]

but why no trails at 1/30 sec? am I missing something obvious?

[zona5101]

the shutter speed doesn't matter...the flash is stopping the action. The ambient isn't blurred because it wasn't moving and the wolf isn't blurred because of the speed (duration) of the flash.

[jimbo66]

Many thanks for your reply Zona5101.

I understand why you'd use a slower shutter speed to let in more ambient light, thus exposing the background.

I also understand how the flash stops the subject's action at a point in time.

What I don't understand is why there are no trails if the wolf is moving across the frame faster than the shutter is? I would have thought you'd need a shutter speed of about 1/500 to freeze that wolf without trails, not 1/30.

I clearly have much to learn about flash!

Regards,

Jim.

[Bigcrustyape]

Yeah, the other guys are spot on. The flash duration in this case determines whether the wolf is frozen in motion or whether there is movement. Different flashes will have different flash durations. Most flashes are fast enough to stop dead most things. 1/30 of a second is not relatively slow considering the location was in pretty much darkness. In this case, it would be very difficult to get light trails. The only difference would have been if the shutter was opened for a 10 or 20 seconds and as the wolf jumped through the flash went off. This would have resulted in the same photograph (including the wolf being frozen), but with there being more detail in the surround. Still no light trails. If the wolf was covered in fluorescent tubes as he ran along, then that would be a different story! Light trails would occur, but as he is a dark imposing element in this photograph, he reflects almost no ambient light at the best of times, let alone at night. That's why when you shoot a street at night with cars rushing by, it's the headlights and tail lights that leave the trails, not the body of the cars themselves.

[dakwegmo]

Jim,

Judging by the light in the shot in the shot, it seems to all be coming from the flash. That means it was dark when the image was made, so when the flash wasn't firing there wasn't enough light in the scene to record anything on the sensor. Think of it this way, if the shot had been made with the exact same settings, without the flash firing the image would have been almost completely black. If there had been more ambient light in the scene there would probably be some motion blur. But without any ambient light, the flash duration determines how the subject is frozen in the image.

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by jimbo66

Many thanks for your reply Zona5101.

I understand why you'd use a slower shutter speed to let in more ambient light, thus exposing the background.

I also understand how the flash stops the subject's action at a point in time.

What I don't understand is why there are no trails if the wolf is moving across the frame faster than the shutter is? I would have thought you'd need a shutter speed of about 1/500 to freeze that wolf without trails, not 1/30.

I clearly have much to learn about flash!

Regards,

Jim.

OK - so technically there is a blur of the wolf in the frame. We just can't see it because it occured when the shutter was open in complete darkness. Like a black cat in a coal mine. Sometime during that 1/30 of a sec the flash fired and lit the wolf. The flash lit the scene for maybe 1/10000 of a second during that thirtith of a second providing enough light to record the image and also freeze the motion.

[jimbo66]

Thanks BigCrustyApe and Dakwegmo, your comments are very helpful.

When I said "trails" I should have used "motion blur".

Dakwegmo: your explanation makes it much clearer for me. The fact that it was darkness and the flash was the only light source makes perfect sense.

I'm assuming that if that shot had been taken at the same settings, but with lots more ambient light, 1/30 would probably record some motion blur and the flash would have provided the frozen image.

Again, thanks for your help everyone.

Regards,

Jim.