Stroboscopic golfer (possible?)

[kanuski]

I have been dreaming of a shot for a while now but I am not sure if it is possible. I want a shot of a golfer swinging at the ball. The flash will fire several times during the swing showing faint impressions of the golfer and golf club at several stages of the swing. Then a second flash will fire on rear sync showing the golfer at the end of the swing. It sounded simple when I first thought of it but now I am thinking it might just turn out to be a blurry mess. I am going to try it but any suggestions or ideas from you would be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[AlexanderB]

May be just merge several shots?

 

[Scatterbrained]

I've seen this done with other action sports, but not golf. If you have a light that can cycle quickly, you can set the camera on a tripod and use burst mode to capture the swing sequence, then blend them in Ps. I'm not too sure if you can separate flash functions to have one strobe ( group A for instance) shoot stroboscopic while another (group B) hits rear curtain.

 

[Derrel]

stroboscopic golf swing photo - Google Search

 

[480sparky]

I've seen this done with other action sports, but not golf. If you have a light that can cycle quickly, you can set the camera on a tripod and use burst mode to capture the swing sequence, then blend them in Ps. I'm not too sure if you can separate flash functions to have one strobe ( group A for instance) shoot stroboscopic while another (group B) hits rear curtain.

Given the short duration of a golf swing, most consumer-grade cameras aren't capable of capturing very many distinct images due to their low fps rates. 4-6 may be it. Shooting is a dark room with the shutter on Bulb, and using the strobe to 'take' the image would work better (think of a 70's disco).

 

[Ysarex]

You need a Graph Check:



It took 8 frames on 4x5 sheet Polaroid. The sequence rate was variable. I knew a couple guys who had one and used to hang out at the local golf courses. An instant see your golf swing for 10 bucks.

Joe

 

[KmH]

It takes a specialized camera high speed film camera and a strobe light that can shoot 50 or more frames-per-second with sufficient power.

You might be able to rent a set-up, but a quick Internet search didn't turn up any sources.

 

[kanuski]

Thanks everyone.
I think this is going to be more difficult than I first imagined.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Harold Edgerton pioneered this at MIT, there's at least one golf image here - http://edgerton-digital-collections.org/galleries/iconic/athletics . I don't know if any of these links would have any practical use or not Edgerton Center: High Speed Imaging Links .

This is more or less a 'lo-tech' plastic (cheapie) variation of the camera Joe posted - Lomography Oktomat ? Lomography Shop . I don't think this would quite work like what you have in mind! would be just for fun; I have the Pop 9 which is similar but produces repeat not sequential images.

 

[Derrel]

This page might be of some help. Oleg Novikov Photography » Nikon Speedlight SB-800 review

A number of flashes offer a stroboscopic or repeating flash mode; the power level is not all that high, but at close range, with elevated ISO levels and a moderate aperture, it shouldn't be all that bad. Not sure if you shoot Nikon or Canon.

 

[amolitor]

There are plenty of homebrew trigger kits out there. Typically you can program in, basically, a variable delay with a fair bit of precision.

Get a set of strobes and a set of the delay triggers. Set them up to all trigger off the same event (possibly just a button-press). Then your 3 or 4 or 10 strobes all go off pop-pop-pop-pop so and so many milliseconds apart.

Take you an hour to get the timing dialed in and pull a decent shot out of this setup. See, for example, HiViz.com.

 

[Buckster]

I think this can be done with a simple variable speed party strobe, like the ones at Spencer's in the mall. You'll need a way to power it, of course, but an extension cord should take care of that, if you're not picky about where exactly you want to shoot it, like the 9th hole at a golf course.

Set up on a tripod with a remote trigger later in the evening so that you can use a longer shutter speed, or use a ND filter to slow it down, or a combination of both. I don't think it needs to be pitch dark out. You'll want to capture the whole swing, of course, so a couple of seconds should do it.

A few test shots should allow you to get the strobe positioned near or far, where it's not blowing out the club with each burst. You can always put it behind an umbrella, softbox or panel too.

From there, it's a timing issue between you and the swinger. "1, 2, 3, GO!!!! Okay, let's try it again."

I would guess that you'll need one good static shot of the golfer to use for his head and body in post production, as that part of the swinger will likely blow out as well as blur from multiple bursts from the strobe when it's set up to properly expose the club at each position in the swing.

Sounds like a fun project!

 

[amolitor]

Just to reinforce Buckster's point, human beings are incredibly accurate at following an audible cadence. "1, 2, 3, swing" carefully spoken the same way every time can give you insanely accurate repeatability. It's just a thing people can do. The Blue Angels, I am given to understand, run their maneuvers on these kinds of spoken cadences.

 

[kanuski]

Thanks Sharon,
There are lots of cool toys on those links. I could get distracted for days.
The MIT golfing shot looks exactly like what I had in mind but it is just as blurry and blown as I thought it would be as well. I am hoping to end up with a recognizable face. I will play with it this week and post my results. Thanks.

 

[kanuski]

Derrel, that is exactly what I had in mind. I shoot Canon and have a YN565 and a YN568. I only hope they have the power to light the shot and the speed to keep it from getting too blurry.