Photographing a Moving Motorcycle

[Killjoy]

You can see the blur in the tires to show the motion, but the rider is clear, while the background is out of focus.



ISO 100. F/5.6. 1/500th shutter.

I was lying on the ground, with my 50D and 24-105 lens.
I had just helped a buddy finish putting this basket case together.

[Ahh!]

Originally Posted by duronboy

Correct. Bring an empty memory card because you will take a LOT of pictures.

Roger that! This is a justifiable "Spray and Pray" technique. Surprising how much bounce a Deville has when you are shooting out the window, backwards.

[Dustin]

Originally Posted by duronboy

Correct. Bring an empty memory card because you will take a LOT of pictures.

Do you think 8GB is enough? About 1600 pictures, and I doubt I will take that many, but who knows?

[KenJulio]

um, that's more than enough. unless you plan to shoot all day :)

Someone posted a shot while 'leading' the bikers, that would be easier to do, just make sure everyone is paying attention to traffic while you shoot, that will help create motion blur.

[duronboy]

Sounds like you're shooting jpeg. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it gives you much less room to maneuver your colors and brightness when you're done shooting. But yes, I think 8GB is enough for one session. I don't think I'd have patience to shoot more than that, much less the patience to look through them, later on!

If on average you took a 5 shot burst every 30 seconds, that'd be 600/hr. That's about enough!

I'd say spend just enough time on it to get a decent grip on the concept. Don't make yourself hate it on your first try. Dream on it, then try again. It's easy to get frustrated, just keep at it. but who knows, you might just kick butt the first go-around!

[duronboy]

Hey, another idea is to take the show downtown to a busy street. Have mom just sit pretty at the side of the street with you on the sidewalk while traffic is blurring behind her with a nice, slow shutter speed. Just wait for a nice giant bus to blur by and it'll look awesome! You could even use some strobe on mom to freeze her. Just make sure you don't let it get on the traffic, or it'll negate the whole purpose.

[Dustin]

Thanks for the tips!

The one thing I cannot wrap my head around is aperture. Every time I think I understand it, I go and shoot a couple pictures, and everything is jacked! I wish there was a resource that could explain aperture from beginning to end.

[Ahh!]

Originally Posted by KenJulio

... just make sure everyone is paying attention to traffic while you shoot, that will help create motion blur.

That would be me. Yes, it was her job to drive, mine to photograph. But watching for traffic does not create motion blur.

[KenJulio]

Originally Posted by Dustin

Thanks for the tips!

The one thing I cannot wrap my head around is aperture. Every time I think I understand it, I go and shoot a couple pictures, and everything is jacked! I wish there was a resource that could explain aperture from beginning to end.

Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" is worth it. Check out the amazon store link and search for "understanding exposure"

[duronboy]

Originally Posted by Dustin

Thanks for the tips!

The one thing I cannot wrap my head around is aperture. Every time I think I understand it, I go and shoot a couple pictures, and everything is jacked! I wish there was a resource that could explain aperture from beginning to end.

Understanding aperture "From beginning to end" is a very ambitious goal! I'll just lay down the basics:

The wider the hole in the lens, the larger the aperture. The larger the aperture, the smaller the f/stop number. A lens with an f/stop of f/1 is a very large lens. A lens with a very high f/stop number is a very small lens. Much like a wire with a large gauge is very thin. If someone says you should "stop down to f/16", they're letting you know you you should close the iris of your lens to allow less light into it. If someone says you should shoot something "wide-open", they're suggesting you open the iris to it's largest setting, or it's smallest f/stop number.

Here's something to play with to get an idea of what happens when you choose different settings:

Understanding Exposure - SimCam - Film and Digital Camera Simulator - Photonhead.com

[KenJulio]

What is Aperture and how does it affect my Photo?