"Running" - Themed Thread Photo Challenge

Hey guys! Great additions to start things off (no Mike, it's not a competition), so let's up the ante.

Motion by humans and animals clearly has some serious issues when not filmed but photographed. Heads bob up-and-down when we walk/jog, and only become a little steadier when we sprint. If you go for a high shutter speed, like my initial shots, the feeling of motion is "robbed" by the brevity of the exposure. But if we use a longer shutter speed, the body's bobbing up-and-down results in a blurred blob for a head.

Can anyone provide some pics which optimize the "in between" of these two extremes for people/animals? Maybe together, we can get some idea/guide to shutter speeds to get the 'feel' of the motion but not the blur.

Also, what do you all think about the shots with horses and dogs where clods of earth or mud/sand-spray kicked up kinda add to the sensation of motion? Does that a give a better sensation of speed than the blurred backgrounds...?

Do add your thoughts/pics.....
Cheers all.

My first outing with my 7D was to take some shots of my friend's horse. Unfortunately the weather outside was abysmal and the indoor area is very, very dark. Even at f4 and ISO1600 I was stuck shooting at 1/15s. Still, when given lemons you make lemonade - so I decided to try some motion blur shots. And found that you really need faster than 1/15s for a cantering horse - still I quite like this one...

AS you've noted, it's very hard to get a decent panned shot of an animal (probably a human, I don't know) in motion. As compared to a car, where the only thing with relative movement is the spokes of the wheel. I've found that my customers generally do not want those shots either, they see them as "out of focus" rather than artistically interesting. In any event, I shoot them once in a while for fun to see what I can get.

Here's one, shot at 1/80:

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I ran across these guys near Sedona, Arizona and they were running and jumping into a pool in a stream. I shot these on my 1DmkIII and then copied each image to a new layer and then masked out the background where appropriate. They really had to run to get out past the rock outcrops and land in the water.

tracknut wrote in post #8770913
and one at 1/15th:

I actually really like this shot for some reason

One place that cars can become tricky is in the corners as they are all varying their speed. I have a couple from turn one at richmond where one car will look good but they get blurrier as you move out from that car. Its hard to get the car you want to be the one that is sharp...lol

ssracer wrote in post #8771765
One place that cars can become tricky is in the corners as they are all varying their speed. I have a couple from turn one at richmond where one car will look good but they get blurrier as you move out from that car. Its hard to get the car you want to be the one that is sharp...lol

Yep, not only that but at a corner, the car(s) is not staying the same distance from you, so purely panning is not going to keep the whole car in focus. Some of the car is getting closer to you, some may be getting further away from you... basically it's a mess

Dave

Excellent additions from Frank, Dave, Karlo and Sean. Thanks guys.
Frank, I think it's really interesting how the noise in your horse shot somehow adds to the feeling of the hideousness of the shoot itself, and I for one, love the artistic effect, despite the "technically inferior" result.
But as Dave pointed out, pet owners don't (usually/ever?) want art. Just a picture that shows their pet in an "odd" position. So if it's animals we're shooting for their owners, that shot would, unfortunately, be "out".
So where does that leave us?
Looking at Karlo's pic, I laughed out loud because I suddenly felt that the runners could have been simply balancing on one leg - and yet I love the feeling that they're running into the frame, top-right! I've attached another pic of my daughter that I think gets around the issue of a "balancing-on-one-foot-runner", because I chose a shooting location where I'd scouted out the other kids, and the faster ones were all leaning over - as did my daughter.
But still, I don't like it that much........
I'm still pondering on this one though, because I love motion in a stationary photo. It's what, for me, epitomizes how a photo can outclass video a thousand times over - "motion in a moment of time".
Over to you.....

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skygod44 wrote in post #8773825
Frank, I think it's really interesting how the noise in your horse shot somehow adds to the feeling of the hideousness of the shoot itself, and I for one, love the artistic effect, despite the "technically inferior" result.
But as Dave pointed out, pet owners don't (usually/ever?) want art. Just a picture that shows their pet in an "odd" position. So if it's animals we're shooting for their owners, that shot would, unfortunately, be "out".

Tee-Hee. I guess I'm lucky. My friend is a very arty-type. That shot is the one she didn't like too much, the others were much more blurred. This was one of her favourites!

hollis_f wrote in post #8773891
Tee-Hee. I guess I'm lucky. My friend is a very arty-type. That shot is the one she didn't like too much, the others were much more blurred. This was one of her favourites!

Wow! Goes to show how communication with the "client" (if she is one, or even if she isn't!) is so important. I'm reminded of a model shoot I did in July where a shot I was going to bin was my wife's favourite, and the client was stunned by it....never would have guessed myself!

Here's an example of what I was talking about when the cars get into the corner...I was shooting for the 88, but I think the 44 actually came out the most clear:

Not strictly people running but people on machines that are travelling bloody fast..

Panned..

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Interesting Sean, but can you lend your skills to perfecting a "running" shot? It's really a combination of panning and establishing an exposure-guide that I'm aiming at in here to get motion frozen, but with living things.....
Thanks anyway for showing great panning skills.


EDIT:
And you too, Jurgen! I've seen lots of great shots from you in Laos....any of them with, for example, kids "running"? If not, then this is your next challenge!

I am far less capable when it comes to people...especially my two and a half year old. Here's one from this weekend where he was chasing some other kids in a circle...keeping up with the sporadic pattern was hard enough, then my lens has trouble keeping up with focus as he kept getting closer then further quite fast...

skygod44 wrote in post #8774424
And you too, Jurgen! I've seen lots of great shots from you in Laos....any of them with, for example, kids "running"? If not, then this is your next challenge!

Thanks Simon.. OK,,the gauntlet has been thrown down,,I'll take up the challenge..