Critique Not Another Flying Scotsman Pic

[captures.in.time]

The Flying Scotsman done 3 tours over to Fife on Sunday. I was busy all day but managed to nip down to the line at Turnhouse where i knew i could get quite close at track level on the down line.

The fading light made exposure tricky... especially as I needed a reasonably fast shutter speed to freeze her, aperture at f8 to get DOF so went for Manual everything.... except auto ISO. I took a few test shots and was ready. I then focussed about 20m ahead on a lineside box. I felt autofocusing even on Al Servo whilst on a tripod in this situation might lead to a faff or mistake. So id take the shot as she passed the post. The low light made everything a compromise!

When she passed i got 4 shots away. The 4th would have made the best composition but there was too much motion blur at 1/320

 

[mark4183]

it would appear to be out of focus

 

[captures.in.time]

it would appear to be out of focus

I think there is a bit of that at the front end and a bit motion blur going on too.

If doing it again in similar light id shoot at 1/640 and focus closer to the camera. When i do motor sport photography i find focus easier as I use centre point and Al Servo but in this case you cant really do that when on a tripod.

How would you have gone about achieving the focus better in that situation?

 

[ancient_mariner]

Using a tripod to photograph a moving subject when you can't get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze it is always going to fail. In this case I'd have gone for shallower depth of field & risked servo or single shot (so that it would take the photo the moment it hit focus) for a faster shutter speed, and panned as the train went past. If the loco was moving fairly briskly then you've have needed faster than 1/640th to freeze it. Since you've done motorsport then treat the train like any other vehicle, but in front of a different kind of background.

 

[captures.in.time]

Using a tripod to photograph a moving subject when you can't get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze it is always going to fail. In this case I'd have gone for shallower depth of field & risked servo or single shot (so that it would take the photo the moment it hit focus) for a faster shutter speed, and panned as the train went past. If the loco was moving fairly briskly then you've have needed faster than 1/640th to freeze it. Since you've done motorsport then treat the train like any other vehicle, but in front of a different kind of background.

Yes... ill defo try that next time! I guess for this shot i wasn’t really after the blurred background you get when panning as my shot below shows... i guess however there is sometimes “you cant always get what you want!” The light was just too poor! I must admit also I found being up at ISO5000 lead to a lot of grain!

 

[mark4183]

I think there is a bit of that at the front end and a bit motion blur going on too.

If doing it again in similar light id shoot at 1/640 and focus closer to the camera. When i do motor sport photography i find focus easier as I use centre point and Al Servo but in this case you cant really do that when on a tripod.

How would you have gone about achieving the focus better in that situation?

without being there, im not 100% sure.... probably focus on the front of the train as thats the initial point of interest

 

[Fraser Euan White]

Yes... ill defo try that next time! I guess for this shot i wasn’t really after the blurred background you get when panning as my shot below shows... i guess however there is sometimes “you cant always get what you want!” The light was just too poor! I must admit also I found being up at ISO5000 lead to a lot of grain!

View attachment 127054

The shutter speed on your Caterham image is still to slow IMO - the car has to be 'tack sharp' when panning unless a special effect is being sought:

_DSC1643 by Fraser White, on Flickr

 

[captures.in.time]

The shutter speed on your Caterham image is still to slow IMO - the car has to be 'tack sharp' when panning unless a special effect is being sought:

_DSC1643 by Fraser White, on Flickr

It was pretty much my first go at panning properly when i was at knockhill a few weeks back. I went for a 1/125 shutter speed. I found if i went faster like u suggest i got a sharper car but much too little background blur. I just prob need to work on technique

 

[captures.in.time]

It was pretty much my first go at panning properly when i was at knockhill a few weeks back. I went for a 1/125 shutter speed. I found if i went faster like u suggest i got a sharper car but much too little background blur. I just prob need to work on technique

Out of interest though what was the shutter speed u used on your image there... Because it seems a good mix of blur and sharp! If its 1/125 which i read is a good starting point then i defo need to practice my technique! I did shoot some sharper ones that day which ill post later in the correct thread.

 

[Fraser Euan White]

Out of interest though what was the shutter speed u used on your image there... Because it seems a good mix of blur and sharp! If its 1/125 which i read is a good starting point then i defo need to practice my technique! I did shoot some sharper ones that day which ill post later in the correct thread.

We would have been at Knockhill with you; my company run a team of Mazda MX5's

There is no hard & fast rules regarding shutter speed for panning but I always pick a high speed to ensure the car is sharp.

Finding the right location on the circuit (usually the inside of a bend) allows you to move the camera quickly to blur the background. I haven't got steady hands and don't practice enough to be good at panning.

 

[captures.in.time]

We would have been at Knockhill with you; my company run a team of Mazda MX5's

There is no hard & fast rules regarding shutter speed for panning but I always pick a high speed to ensure the car is sharp.

Finding the right location on the circuit (usually the inside of a bend) allows you to move the camera quickly to blur the background. I haven't got steady hands and don't practice enough to be good at panning.

PTA_118 by Captures. in.time, on Flickr

PTA_120 by Captures. in.time, on Flickr

Any of these your company!?

 

[Fraser Euan White]

View attachment 127212View attachment 127213View attachment 127214

Any of these your company!?

They were the two metallic blue cars with orange stripes that had BLiNK Optimized written on the sides of them. Great pics though

 

[captures.in.time]

They were the two metallic blue cars with orange stripes that had BLiNK Optimized written on the sides of them. Great pics though

Thanks! I seen those... sort never got a pic of them! I only caught them racing once and wasn't at the best place on the circuit. They were doing reverse circuit that weekend and to be honest I found it harder to find good vantage points.

 

[captures.in.time]

If you had opened the aperture up a couple of stops to f4 you could then have used a shutter speed of 1/640 and also lowered the ISO by a stop. Then if you had used AI servo and panned with the focus point on the front of the engine you would have got a sharp in-focus image with a reasonably sharp background.

Hey Thanks for your feedback. This prob would have been my thoughts if I was going for a handheld shot anyway... the prob was I got it in my head I'd use a tripod as the light conditions where poor. But you are right a more traditional panini shot would have been better!