Cannot Freeze Motion

Technical: Canon EOS 7D, 1/8000 sec, f2.8, focal length 60

David will tell you how he pulled off this shot. I’m just admiring it myself. It’s dammed hard to do this! So what we learn is that David has shown that you don’t stop the motion of bee’s wings at 1/8000 sec. I believe that flash is even shorter. Try that next time. Then there was Harold Edgerton at MIT who used high speed flash to show a bullet splitting a playing card on edge. For me without that kind of sophisticated set up, I am perfectly happy that you caught this shot. Really, good!

Soccer

Technical: Nikon D90, 1/200 sec, f14, focal length 55

Susan has entered the world of sports photography. Image you on Sports Illustrated. Kevin would be impressed. Don’t get any hopes. SI just cut staff, big time. They are a weekly and the fantastic photos of not too long ago have given way to the new editorial group. Too bad. So for sports, pay attention to the background. Close up shots are better. A few wide angle will set the scene. It’s in the details that sports images are made. It’s the sweat on the brow and the intensity of the look in a player’s eye. All that… but it’s a kids game. So you got a great shot of kids having fun. The background is what it is. SI will not be calling. But keep at it. Oh, and use a high shutter speed… 1/500 or so to catch the action without blur.

 

Motion Blur by Luck

Technical: Canon EOS 7D, 1/160 sec, f13, focal length 50

Cousin David titled this ‘motion blur by luck.’ I would call it panning the camera. He shot the image and moved the camera in the same direction with the geese in flight. This will blur the background while keeping the subject in focus. It’s another way to make ‘bokeh’ without playing with depth of field. This is especially helpful in sports where you can visualize a race car going by and the crowded background is a pleasant blur. It enhances the notion of action. With birds this can be difficult because often the flight is less predictable. Here David got a fine shot. I didn’t notice the goose on the right. It was obscured by the background. But the goose on the left is nicely isolated.

Patriot’s Day

Technical: Nikon D200, 1/400 sec, f5.3, focal length 240

This series documents the re-enactment of historical battles at the start of the Revolutionary War in America. The colorful and authentic clothing is historically accurate right down to the shoes, leggings and stockings. The British army is more colorful because of the bright red uniforms. It was easy to get candid photographs of the participants before the battle. The staging area was open to the public and the actors were all very gracious. Once the battles began the crowd was kept back to avoid injury. No bullets were fired but the black powder could cause problems. Besides, who wants a picture of grandma among the soldiers in battle.

In many ways it’s like a sporting event. There are critical moments, which are hard to capture and produce coveted images. In particular I tried to capture the spark and smoke as the guns were fired. In the setup, the sargeant would call to his group to present arms, take aim, and fire. It was a sequence repeated through the day. Then it was a matter of firing the shutter as the weapons were fired. I got to experiment with the motor drive. It really doesn’t work. You miss more than you hit. But if you don’t believe me, try it for yourself. I tired to anticpate the moment and then triggered the shutter by best guess. I spent the day trying and got a handful of shots in sharp focus.

There is a pause at the moment that the sergeant says fire. Here one soldier is ahead of the others. Notice the the first soldier in the line has his eyes closed anticipating the blast from his flintlock. But it was the glow and blast of powder that I sought to capture all day.

Cardinal

Technical: Nikon D200, 1/250 sec, f5, focal length 135mm

The king around the feeder for me is the cardinal. Its red color is majestic. The blue jay and the cardinal were most skittish. They would land for a moment and be gone almost before I could react. I began to keep an eye on the nearby trees. The bird would sit among the cover and get courage to fly to the open feeder. I began to anticipate when they would swoop in. Voila! I got a cardinal in mid swoop. The feeder was in the open because the squirrels would climb and/or leap from any nearby branch to cling to the feeder and clean it out in minutes. There was even a cover on the post to prevent the squirrels access by climbing up the post.

Hummingbird

Technical: Canon EOS 7D, 1/1000 sec. f6.3, ISO 200, Focal length 135

Rather than have you look for the previous post, I have posted again for reference.

Cousin David again. Wow. These were great. If I had captured any one of these images, I would have been very happy. So it is the reader’s choice as to which image is best. The background is blurred nicely, so the viewer can concentrate on the little bird. It was shot with a tripod. The fence in the background remains constant. The branch moves upward as the hummingbird pushes against it. Focus is good.

Hummingbird

Technical: Canon EOS 7D, 1/1000 sec. f6.3, ISO 200, Focal length 135

Cousin David again. Wow. These were great. If I had captured any one of these images, I would have been very happy. So it is the reader’s choice as to which image is best. The background is blurred nicely, so the viewer can concentrate on the little bird. It was shot with a tripod. The fence in the background remains constant. The branch moves upward as the hummingbird pushes against it. Focus is good.