The following is a direct copy and has been Pasted in for future reference from the Art of Photography coursework PDF Doc. (pasted in Maroon)
10 -12 photographs
You need the camera to be fixed in front of something that moves several times or continuously across your view. Water flowing over some rocks is one possibility, or a friend riding a bicycle a number of times in front of the camera. The subject and setting of the image above is a good example. Try and think of something by yourself but make sure that the setting – and in particular, the background – is simple and plain. Set the camera on a tripod, if you have one, so that the flow of movement is across the view. If the subject is someone walking or riding, their image should fit just within the viewfinder frame. Make a series of exposures, from the fastest shutter speed on your camera to a very slow one, such as one second. Adjust the aperture each time, or have the camera set so that it automatically adjusts the aperture (see its instruction manual) so that the exposure stays the same, as in the last exercise. Keep a note of the shutter speed used for each frame. Compare the finished images and mark each one with the shutter speed that you used. Find the slowest shutter speed at which the movement is sharply frozen. With some kinds of movement, like a person walking or cycling, there will be different rates of movement at the same time: the bicycle, say, will be moving at one speed, while the legs may be moving faster. You should be able to see this, too. Make notes about each print in your learning log.
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Equipment
Nikon D800E
24 / 70 f2.8 lens
Tripod
Method & Approach
In this exercise I decided upon using the bicycle idea as suggested, I was originally going to capture a local rock band performing locally to me (multi-coloured lights and musicians moving about the stage etc.) but when asked at the point of entry can I take my camera in with me the answer was a flat no, it was considered to be a potential weapon, even though I new all the band members from my school days and 90% of the crowd, oh well.
I positioned the camera on the tripod, switched to manual focus, took a couple of pre-shots to get the background and surrounding characteristics right and then commenced with my son cycling past.
Please see pictures and captions below.
Note – all pictures have been compressed hence there will be a quality reduction when enlarging.
My initial picture was taken with an aperture setting of f8 and a speed of 1/10th sec. This has captured the subject with plenty of movement and recognition of a bicycle moving.
My second picture was taken with an aperture setting of f7.1 and utilising the same speed of 1/10th sec. In this shot I also adjusted the focal length from 38mm to 70mm. This has captured further movement and less recognition in comparison to the picture above.
My third picture was taken with the same aperture setting of f7.1 this time I altered the speed slightly to 1/13th sec and kept the focal length of 70mm. The subject was travelling slightly slower in this shot and has a similar “blur” to the first picture taken but for the focal length.
My fourth picture was taken with an aperture setting of f5.6 and a speed of 1/15th sec and still maintaining the focal length of 70mm. The subject was travelling at approximately the same speed in this shot which has plenty of movement and a little more recognition of the bicycle and rider moving.
My fifth picture was taken with the aperture set to f4 this time and I altered the speed again to 1/30th sec still maintaining the focal length of 70mm. This time the subject has plenty of movement with full recognition of a bicycle and that it is moving.
What have I learnt from this exercise
From this exercise I have learnt that it will take several attempts to capture the result you are looking for, especially setting the camera speed, subject speed and focal length.
It also pays to have a rock solid tripod as any camera shake wont really effect the moving subject but will totally blur the background and spoil the image.
I would like to try this another time but at twilight or night time using two speedlights and the camera set to trailing sync.
stingray493 