Capturing movement

[FoxyShorty]

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting, but I've been enjoying this forum for a little while now. Lots of great tips and advice to take in as a beginner.

I was out with my DSLR today, trying to capture the movement of the wheat fields, but just couldn't get it. I tried all kinds of variations of aperture and shutter speed, focusing mostly on a slow shutter speed. Could someone direct me how to correctly capture movement in an image, please?

I wanted to post an image, but could not for the life of me find the attach file/manage attachments section under the additional options. In the bottom left corner it says I may not post attachments :er:

Thanks to anyone who'd like to help! I appreciate it.

 

[mwcfarms]

You can upload them to a thirdparty site like Flikr, Photobucket etc and then use the link

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...forum-functions-pictoral-guide-using-tpf.html

 

[ann]

what type of motion. blurry, frozen, etc.

 

[tirediron]

What sort of movement? Race cars, a flowing stream...

To post an image, see the pinned thread at the top of this forum.

 

[Petraio Prime]

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting, but I've been enjoying this forum for a little while now. Lots of great tips and advice to take in as a beginner.

I was out with my DSLR today, trying to capture the movement of the wheat fields, but just couldn't get it. I tried all kinds of variations of aperture and shutter speed, focusing mostly on a slow shutter speed. Could someone direct me how to correctly capture movement in an image, please?

I wanted to post an image, but could not for the life of me find the attach file/manage attachments section under the additional options. In the bottom left corner it says I may not post attachments :er:

Thanks to anyone who'd like to help! I appreciate it.

Well, you can't 'capture' movement in a still photograph, only suggest it. That's why it's called 'still photography'.

 

[mwcfarms]

If your trying to get the appearance of the shaft of wheat flowing in the windy. Wait till its windy and try then or you can pan your camera while you take a picture. Those are the only two suggests off the top of my head.

 

[KmH]

Well, you can't 'capture' movement in a still photograph, only suggest it.

:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

 

[Petraio Prime]

Well, you can't 'capture' movement in a still photograph, only suggest it.

:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:[/QUOTE]

Well, it's the blindingly obvious truth. I was trying to be polite. Perhaps you have heard of motion pictures?

Here is an example of an 'action' photo, showing some blur in the racquet and ball:


http://www.photographyboard.net/girls039-tennis-4424.html

 

[Derrel]

One idea for motion in a field of wheat would be to buy a 10-stop neutral density filter, and use that to allow you to tripod mount the camera, and use a lengthy exposure time, such as 15 seconds, on a windy day. Since you live in Ontario and it's July, I assume the wheat is still green, and so it will look quite pretty seen against a blue sky, or even a stormy gray sky late in the day. You could also try shooting at NIGHT, or at dawn or dusk, and get a lengthy exposure that way.

I grew up in farming country where a lot of hard white winter wheat was planted,and am familiar with the shimmering look of wind-blown wheat. I think I know what you're after. It's not going to be dead-easy to convey that feeling in a single frame.

 

[FoxyShorty]

Thanks Derrel, you were a big help in describing how to suggest movement.

I did mean that I wanted the wheat to be blurry. I was playing around with slower shutter speeds, and keeping the f stop large (and tried all other variations) but the images were still too light. I'll try it next time with the tripod and a longer exposure time.

 

[white]

I did mean that I wanted the wheat to be blurry. I was playing around with slower shutter speeds, and keeping the f stop large (and tried all other variations) but the images were still too light. I'll try it next time with the tripod and a longer exposure time.

Large, as in a large number (f/16, etc), or physically large, like /2.8.

If your aperture is closed down as far as it will go and your images are still coming out overexposed, you will need to either shoot when it is not so bright or invest in an ND filter.

 

[FoxyShorty]

Hey, thanks. Large F stop, like F 16. I am on the look out for ND filters- thanks!

 

[LarryD]

If you're trying to keep the stalks somewhat still, and the heads in motion (or stopped motion), then you will definitely need a tripod... anything slower than about 1/60 and you will almost always have some camera shake - and that's just not good photography..

I would invest in a circular polarizer before I would get an ND. It's usually good for a couple of stops and can be used in a number of other conditions where an ND simply reduces the light...

KYou may not need more than a half second exposure to get some pleasing results with a good breeze........

 

[FoxyShorty]

I would invest in a circular polarizer before I would get an ND. It's usually good for a couple of stops and can be used in a number of other conditions where an ND simply reduces the light...

KYou may not need more than a half second exposure to get some pleasing results with a good breeze........

Thanks! I'm confused about what type of filter to get first (trying not to overspend right away through sheer excitement). Want both filters, polarizer and ND... thinking a polarizer would be used far more often?

Also, could someone explain to me how a polarizer is "good for a couple of stops"? What does that mean?