Project365 - Second Curtain Flash

Introduction

The kids are over for the weekend, but the continual snow has everybody a little down. So what better to lift everybody's mood than a little RC Car racing ? Since the cars move on a set track, it's pretty straightforward to capture some of the action. It's also a great opportunity to try a new technique called Second Curtain Flash.

The idea is that under normal conditions the flash fires as the shutter opens, freezing the action. Then, depending on the shutter speed, the shutter closes again, finishing the shot. Second Curtain Shutter delays the flash until the shutter is about to close. So in slightly longer exposure shots, the effect is to capture some blur of movement, and then freeze the action with the flash.

The Setup

My trusty Canon 60D, with the venerable 24-105mm f/4 L lens. The Canon 430EX II flash is mounted on the hotshoe, and set to ETTL and Second Curtain Flash. In order to get the blur, the shutter was set to 1/4 second, aperture at f8, and the ISO at 125. I shot handheld, as I was down on the floor, on my belly to achieve the look I wanted.

The Photos

A little racing action sees the grey car passing the yellow car. The blue streaks are actually the Bluetooth indicator lights on top of the cars.

I really like how the yellow car blurs brightly. You get such a sense of speed from this effect !

Taken a little bit wider, both cars are in the frame. Unfortunately, there's not much contrast between the grey car's "blur" and the dark background. So it's not as good as I had hoped.

Lessons Learned

This was a quick little shoot - only a dozen or so photos. I like the effect, but have come to realize that it works best when you have high contrast between the background and the subject.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Project365 - The Boy Scout Motto

Introduction

I was on Facebook this morning, and a friend pinged me via the Messenger app. He was lamenting that a pair of bald eagles were roosting in a tree on his acreage, but he couldn't "find" his good camera body & long lens ! Of course, I felt for him - it sucks not being able to take the shot you want. But - how do you "lose" your equipment ?!?

On my way home from dropping Pat off, I came across an accident. The fire trucks and ambulances were long since gone, and the police were probably waiting for a tow truck to come cart the wreck away. Fortunately for me, I never leave the house without a camera with me.

The Setup

Nothing exciting, my Canon 60D with the trusty 24-105mm f/4 L lens. I shot handheld from across the hi way, as the constable didn't seem thrilled to see me !

The Photos

Bear in mind these were entirely spur of the moment. Couldn't really even call them Street Photography, as there were no people in the frames.

When I first came upon the scene, I had a moment where all I could think was "Whoops !". Truly, I hope nobody was hurt, but I may never know.

As you can see, the van tore up the guard rail before ending up on its side, up against the pole. I suppose we're lucky the pole didn't come down too !

Lessons Learned

The motto of the Boy Scouts is "be prepared", had I not had my camera with me, I wouldn't have been able to capture these photos.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Project365 - Long Exposures

Introduction

This is my first blog back, since my eye infection. I felt I was taking too long, and didn't want anyone to think I had abandoned the project. I haven't, but I also didn't shoot today. So this entry is based on some of my earlier work.

In this series, I experiment with long exposures. With only one exception, the photographs were shot at a shutter speed of 30 seconds. This allows a LOT of light onto the sensor, which creates some remarkable images. But that also poses challenges, as the photographer must contend with trying to create great images, while only adjusting ISO and aperture. I shot a lot of photos that night, and these will hopefully represent those challenges & some success.
The Setup
I wa shooting my then-new Canon 60D. It had the venerable 24-105mm f/4 L series lens, and because of the length of the exposures, I mounted the camera on my tripod & used my cable-release to trigger the shutter. The shoot was held at Bridgeland Station, on the Calgary LRT line. It has pedestrian bridges that cross over Memorial Drive, as well as an unconstructed view of the downtown core.
The Photos

This is the first photo. It was shot at f/9, ISO 100 and 30 seconds. The lights on the building pop, but the foreground is kind of eerie looking. It also looks a little blurry, but that's what photographers call "noise".

Here is the exact same shot, only at 15 seconds.the image looks less noisy & loses the eerie glow.

Here is the shot I like best. I went back to a 30 second exposure, but dialled back the aperture to f/13. The lights still pop, the buildings are still sharp, and the colours look the most natural to me.

I shot these next two the same night. Due to the fact the shutter was open for 30 seconds, you don't see the cars themselves, but they leave long red streaks where the tail-lights glowed. I also love how the lens filter created remarkable star bursts around the street lights !

Here we are facing the oncoming traffic. The train is more visible, as it stayed in the station for the back half of the shot. But you can still see the lines of the headlights. Gotta admit, I like the effects created by long night exposures.









Lessons Learned
I like night photography. Long exposures allows the sensor to collect a lot of detail, as well as creating cool effects with the lights on the moving cars. Perhaps later this year (when it's a little warmer !), I'll experiment with long-exposure still photography & see how that turns out.
Thanks for sticking around ! There's lots more to come, now that my vision is coming back...