Panning with a slow shutter speed - horse races

[Brownbear]

Hello all,

Last summer I tried this a few times, and I'm at it again. I don't care for the cluttered background at the racetrack so I'm panning with a slow shutter speed of 1/40-1/80 second... My goal being an artistically appealing image... I can't do anything about the harsh light unless I'm fortunate enough to have a cloudy day. I'm limited in my positioning as a spectator so framing is also challenging.

My 20-200 mm lens gives me more time for framing but my 300 mm lens is sharper. On that note I didn't sharpen these on downsizing. I do believe that they are all in focus (even #3) albeit that is sometimes hard to determine due to the bobbing/disappearing heads.


Shutter Priority

1.

SS 1/40 f/16 ISO 100 Nikkor f4 18-200 mm Nikkor lens at a focal length of 90 mm




2.

SS 1/40 f/8 ISO 100 Nikkor 18-200 mm at a focal length of 90 mm




3.

SS 1/80 sec f/20 ISO 100 Nikkor 18-200 mm at a focal length of 200 mm




I hope to try again a later this month and because the response from friends and family on these images is decidedly lukewarm, I'd be most appreciative of some feedback/tips and suggestions to improve.

Thank you.

[Geoff F]

I wonder, Christina, if a monochrome image might look better with the blurred effect? Or at least very muted colours.

Possibly have a fraction more edge space?

I suspect this sort of effect needs to be well blurred in order to look like a deliberate style instead of just a mistake.

[Brownbear]

Hi Geoff,

Thank you for taking the time to advise. After I receive more feedback I will try monochrome on one of the images. I did add contrast to the horse and rider, selectively so that is something for me to think about.

More space, yes but my PP skills are not at the level that I can do this well, so I will continue to work on my framing. And for more blur perhaps I need to lengthen my pan after grabbing focus... I will try both next time around. Great advice, and truly appreciated.

I wonder, Christina, if a monochrome image might look better with the blurred effect? Or at least very muted colours.

Possibly have a fraction more edge space?

I suspect this sort of effect needs to be well blurred in order to look like a deliberate style instead of just a mistake.

[Max von MeiselMaus]

I like the blurred background but not so sold on the blurred legs. I am also not so keen on the ghosting on the second horse. I would try using shorter exposures and seeing at what point you could retain a blurred background but have a sharp horsie if, in fact, that is possible. Perhaps widening your aperture would help separate horse from background.

I like the second one best as the placement of the rail doesn't interfere with the horse's head. I also like the experimental feel of the third image.

Keep at it!

[Shadowman]

Where were you focusing, the jockey or the horse? Probably easier to focus on the jockey as he'll be moving less.

[Brownbear]

Thank you, Max. Truly appreciated.

The one thing that I adore about these is the blurred legs... And I'm not keen on the ghosting on the 2nd horse...It's the most ghosting I've seen in my attempts of these and not sure why it happened. SS of 1/40 to 1/60 seem to work best to blur the background away (poles, signs more obvious with faster shutter speeds) so there really isn't much room for settings.

Yes, I need to also think about the placement of the rail. Thank you for sharing that.

I'm going to give it a few more tries later this month, and will post if I manage any improvement.

Truly appreciated.

I like the blurred background but not so sold on the blurred legs. I am also not so keen on the ghosting on the second horse. I would try using shorter exposures and seeing at what point you could retain a blurred background but have a sharp horsie if, in fact, that is possible. Perhaps widening your aperture would help separate horse from background.

I like the second one best as the placement of the rail doesn't interfere with the horse's head. I also like the experimental feel of the third image.

Keep at it!

[Brownbear]

Where were you focusing, the jockey or the horse? Probably easier to focus on the jockey as he'll be moving less.

At this point in time I can't remember because I keep switching my focus point. Initially I was focusing on the horse's eye (last year) because the image is about the horse (for me) but I think this time around I might have focused on the cloth draped over the horse as I read that tip when panning racehorses, somewhere. That said the jockey's head also moves up and down along with the horse.

[Donald]

I love that.

There's enough detail to allow us to be in doubt as to what we're looking at, but because of the artistic creativity employed, the whole thing becomes a piece of art rather than a sports picture. Wonderful.

[Shadowman]

At this point in time I can't remember because I keep switching my focus point. Initially I was focusing on the horse's eye (last year) because the image is about the horse (for me) but I think this time around I might have focused on the cloth draped over the horse as I read that tip when panning racehorses, somewhere. That said the jockey's head also moves up and down along with the horse.

Check out this slow motion video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NPGqr6olrk

[Brownbear]

Donald... Thank you. Encouraging to hear and perhaps this is the direction I should strive for.

John... Thank you for the video... Helpful to view. Indeed. it seems the least motion occurs around the jockey's head (and butt)...

[IzzieK]

I have not much experience in horse racing shoots so I cannot comment on the technicalities of doing it myself....so in preference, I like #1 and #2 though they need more work according to me (only). I'd practice shooting them straight up(no special effects yet) before doing any artistic endeavour even if to just know how things work first...just my thoughts...

[Stagecoach]

Hi Christina,

Good to see you are back to this project again and there's some interesting results here.

I find both No 1 & 2 very pleasing but wonder why. With No 2 I find myself spending time diagnosing the cause of each affect caused by panning and movement differences, fascinating

Notice how the horses tails in 1 & 2 are so movement free, explain that

Where to focus was discussed earlier and I recall the conclusion was that it did not matter where, as anywhere on horse or rider would cause the entire subject to be within the DoF at those apertures. The number on the cover being the easist and largest target.

Look forward to seeing more.

Grahame

[Brownbear]

Hi Izzie,

Thank you for the feedback... Truly appreciated.

Here is a normal shot for you to see and learn why I'm experimenting. This one is actually an okay shot but you can see that the race track does not make for a beautiful setting... Most of my normal shots are filled with telephone poles and race dummies in the background. Shooting normally makes for a news image not a beautiful image... Hence my experiemental artistic endeavours. I love the horses not the setting.

I have not much experience in horse racing shoots so I cannot comment on the technicalities of doing it myself....so in preference, I like #1 and #2 though they need more work according to me (only). I'd practice shooting them straight up(no special effects yet) before doing any artistic endeavour even if to just know how things work first...just my thoughts...

[Brownbear]

Hi Grahame,

I'm not so sure if I should keep trying because it is infuriating but I suppose it is the challenge of photographing these horses that keeps me trying.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Artistically pleasing is my goal but I change my mind every time I look at these. That said I just changed #2 to b&w on Geoff's suggestion, and at this moment in time, I like it. The b&w seems to hide the ghosting around the horses head.

I replaced #1 (because I decided that I don't like it) with a blurry image in line with #3 (encouraged by Donald) and also Max because the horse's head is above the rail which I think works better. However, I suspect it may be too, much blur for most folks. That said... Note how sharp the #2 is (repeatedly)... What do you think of this one? My husband doesn't care for #3 and I suspect that that is also the case with you, and for #1.

The horses tails are stationary because they are in line with the jockey's butts (also relatively stationary as seen by John's video link)... I love the tails of the horses, dreamy and beautiful!

Thank you for reminding me about the DOF and number on the cover being easier... Truly appreciated.

Hi Christina,

Good to see you are back to this project again and there's some interesting results here.

I find both No 1 & 2 very pleasing but wonder why. With No 2 I find myself spending time diagnosing the cause of each affect caused by panning and movement differences, fascinating

Notice how the horses tails in 1 & 2 are so movement free, explain that

Where to focus was discussed earlier and I recall the conclusion was that it did not matter where, as anywhere on horse or rider would cause the entire subject to be within the DoF at those apertures. The number on the cover being the easist and largest target.

Look forward to seeing more.

Grahame

[andrewaxford]

Hi Christina
I have photographed horses a few times at various events and I find I end up with blur usually when I don't want it! Would you perhaps be better to pan at faster shutter speeds and then gradually slow down until you hit a sweet spot balance of motion and background. I like motion in the horse legs as they are moving faster than the rest of the body but a faster shutter speed would give more sharpness to the body and rider maybe.

[Brownbear]

Hi Andrew,

Thank you for taking the time to advise. Truly appreciated.

The fastest SS I've managed to blur the background away with is 1/80 sec and the background is still just so/so because there are so many poles/signs/dummies on the track. 1/40 sec works best for the background and 1/60 sec seems to be my best compromise. I'm also limited in my position and panning distance because I just have to find the best spot in the crowd. All that said I will try a faster shutter speed again as I also wish the body and rider to be sharper... I'm truly not sure if I can do it but will be trying later this month and in early Sept.

Hi Christina
I have photographed horses a few times at various events and I find I end up with blur usually when I don't want it! Would you perhaps be better to pan at faster shutter speeds and then gradually slow down until you hit a sweet spot balance of motion and background. I like motion in the horse legs as they are moving faster than the rest of the body but a faster shutter speed would give more sharpness to the body and rider maybe.