Peddle Power

[John 2]

Something different for change and probably not everybody's cup of tea so comments very welcome.

Fuji X Pro1
35mm f1.4
1/16oth sec @ f16 ISO 200

[Rita]

Hi John. Personally I love it. I was reading up on how to accomplish something like this today and practiced
for awhile. My first attempts were nowhere near this, as expected, so much more practice is needed for me.

[rpcrowe]

Nicely done!

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[Brownbear]

Amazing! I've never seen anything like this but I love it.

[John 2]

Thanks all for your comments.

Keep trying Rita and post your efforts. The willingness to help and experience on this forum will soon put you on the right track.

To be used sparingly I think Christina and I think that you have to choose your subjects carefully but I occasionally have a play on a rainy Sunday.

[Rita]

Thanks for the encouragment John. I will keep trying! As soon as I get something other than a complete
blur I will post what I get

[speedneeder]

Cool photo! Did you try cropping out the white sky above? It looks great as it is, just wondering.
Also was wondering if you could get tighter to the rider with the ?motion blur? effect? I find myself focusing on the clear area around the rider as much as I focus on the rider.
Thanks for posting!

[John 2]

Thanks for commenting Brian. Tried a tighter crop but ended up preferring it as you see it. I have to hold my hand up to the halo effect. Hadn't noticed it until you pointed it out. It was sloppy processing. I tried to increase the contrast of the rider at the last minute and must have used a feathered selection. Should have done it at the layer stage.

[AndrewMcD]

How IS this effect achieved? I think you've made a very good choice with the subject you've chosen to use this on.
Andrew

[John 2]

Hi Andrew, thanks for commenting. This is simply the application of the Radial blur filter in Photoshop set to the zoom setting. That gives the effect but you have to make a selection of your subject first and then invert it so that everything other than your subject is in fact selected. The Blur Tool then gives you the ability to define the centre of the zoom blur which by trial and error needs to be positioned behind the subject. You can improve on that by copying the selected subject before you invert the selection and then reducing the size of the original by cloning over the edges of the subject using the immediate surrounding area as your cloning source. Then add the radial blur before pasting the copy back as a layer. This has the effect of ensuring that the radial lines start behind the copy and you get a clean transition. It also means that the subject and the background can be PP'd separately to get the subject to stand out. Once you are happy with the end result, you can merge the layers. The only real difficulty is matching the tones at the join between FG and BG so that the join is not obvious. The more accurate the initial selection, the easier this is. Something that I haven't quite managed. Hope this helps.

[speedneeder]

Good strategy.
I have tried this also by blurring everything, and then using a mask to 'unblur' the things you want sharp.

[John 2]

You're right Brian and that is probably an easier way to achieve an accurate selection. Tucked away for future use.

[AndrewMcD]

John,
Thanks for taking the time to provide such a detailed explanation! Fascinating stuff and yet another tool to take note of as I delve further into this photographic business.
Andrew

[bugster0121]

Very nice capture. Shall have to remember those instructions.

Thanks