This exercise is to show how by moving the camera with the subject, or panning as its known, at differing shutter speeds can freeze certain parts of the image while keeping the background blurred. This is a method I have used in the past with limited success.
I tried varying locations for this, but in the end chose to photograph trains using the mainline between Teignmouth and Dawlish in Devon. For those who do not know this area of Devon, the railway runs right long the coast and is only separated from the sea by a large sea wall and foot path. Ideal for trainspotters!! for the record I am not one of them, however I found this to be good vantage point for this exercise.
Image 1
Shutter Speed 1/60 sec
Image 2
Shutter Speed 1/60 sec
Image 3
Shutter Speed 1/30 sec
Image 4
Shutter Speed 1/30 sec
Image 5
Shutter Speed 1/30 sec
Image 6
Shutter Speed 1/30 sec
Image 7
Shutter Speed 1/30 sec
As you can see from this series of photographs, I maintained a shutter speed of 1/30 - 1/60 sec, as the trains were travelling fairly slowly at this point on the line, around 25mph. I quickly found that the 1/30 shutter speed gave me the required blurring to the background to give the impression of speed. With images 1 & 2 the background is blurred, but not a great sense of speed is related in the photographs, the blurring in image 2 is more likely to bad camera handling at 1/60 sec than speed of the train!
Comparing images 2 & 3, these were taken from virtually from the same point and both trains were travelling at the same speed, image 2 was taken at 1/60 sec and image 3 at 1/30. Image 3 gives a greater impression of speed, due to the background and foreground being blurred to a great extent than image 2.
Images 4 & 5, all taken at 1/30 sec show a sense of speed, but retain the train in focus, telling the story to the viewer of a train to Exmouth travelling at speed. Image 6 is poorly focused, this was most likely down to bad camera handling, but proves that this is a technique that requires a lot of practice to get right.
Image 7 is my favourite of the series, the background is completely blurred due to the motion of the camera following the train at the shutter speed of 1/30 sec. the bogie on the front of the train remains in perfect focus, as does the driver, who can be seen drinking from a sports bottle within the cab of the train. The blurring of the background gives the impression that this train is travelling a lot faster than the 25mph is was actually doing at the time.
As was shown in the previous exercise, if image 7 had been taken at a shutter speed of 1/2000 sec, it would have frozen the train along with the background, giving no sense of speed whatsoever.
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