Skater's Twirl

[Shadowman]

f/5.6, ISO 250, 1/1250 sec

Medal 2 by JOHN, on Flickr

Medal by JOHN, on Flickr

[RBSinTo]

John,
Any other considerations aside, I think these two shots suffer from a shutter speed that was too fast, so that there was no hint of motion blur which would have improved the image. These remind me of photos of propeller-driven aircraft taken with the propellers frozen, which looks strange and eliminates any feeling of motion.
Robert

[wilgk]

I like the B/W treatment, normally one would expect to see colour in the costumes, I think this processing gives me a chance to better appreciate the concentration & focus of the skater.

[Rent]

My first impression was the same as Robert, I'd like to see some movement. OK with monochrome
Roy

[Shadowman]

John,
Any other considerations aside, I think these two shots suffer from a shutter speed that was too fast, so that there was no hint of motion blur which would have improved the image. These remind me of photos of propeller-driven aircraft taken with the propellers frozen, which looks strange and eliminates any feeling of motion.
Robert

Hi Robert,

I have a few with slower shutter speeds, thanks for commenting.

[Shadowman]

I like the B/W treatment, normally one would expect to see colour in the costumes, I think this processing gives me a chance to better appreciate the concentration & focus of the skater.

Hi Kay,

Thanks for commenting.

[Shadowman]

My first impression was the same as Robert, I'd like to see some movement. OK with monochrome
Roy

Hi Roy,

Thanks for commenting.

[Shadowman]

This one was shot at 1/125.

Skater's Blur vignette by JOHN, on Flickr

[Geoff F]

First two look good to me.

[Shadowman]

First two look good to me.

Hi Geoff,

Thanks for commenting.

[Rent]

John I think I would try even slower ie 1/60th or even 1/30th, if only to see what it looks like.
Roy

[Shadowman]

John I think I would try even slower ie 1/60th or even 1/30th, if only to see what it looks like.
Roy

Hi Roy,

The skater's routine only latest 3 minutes, I was hoping for a longer performance but knew from the previous week that this might be the only opportunity to capture something so I set the camera to two different shutter speeds and switched between shutter and aperture mode to make sure I got something. I could've just used shutter priority but thought I might be faster if I just switched between the two modes. I thought 1/125th would be slow enough, next week I'll try a bit slower. Thanks for viewing.

[Stagecoach]

I thought 1/125th would be slow enough, next week I'll try a bit slower. Thanks for viewing.

I would be wary of going slower John unless you don't want to get the head/face sharp. Another option will be to try a burst.

[Shadowman]

I would be wary of going slower John unless you don't want to get the head/face sharp. Another option will be to try a burst.

Hi Grahame,

Thanks for comments, I agree that going slower will require me to either know the skater's routine and/or target a specific body area to at least get some portion of the performer's body in focus.

[rpcrowe]

Everyone has contributed their ideas.

I will contribute mine...

I like the shots with both the faster and the slower shutter speeds but, somehow, they don't absolutely click for me. I tried to analyze why and came to the following conclusions.

I would like to see some shots at a wider aperture but, if your lens is like mine; it maxes out at f/5.6 at the longer focal lengths. however, if you have the capability of shooting wider, to isolate the skater from the rather skuzzy looking ice, it might help.

Perhaps a lower angle might help, however, we are often constrained regarding our shooting positions and cannot always position ourselves where we want to shoot.

Perhaps the color versions might separate the skater from the gray ice...

[Manfred M]

The slow shutter speed technique only works when the head of the skater is relatively still and the body is in motion. The timing of using slow shutter speeds is critical, for instance, shooting at the top of a jump. That requires a fairly good knowledge of the skater's routing as well as lots of practice.

The only other technique that I can think of that will work her will not work in this situation. A large studio flash near the skater to freeze the motion (and this depends on the flash; the duration has to be <1000th sec) and "dragging the shutter" at a slower shutter speed to allow the ambient light to introduce motion blur. This again requires testing and a setup that work.

[Shadowman]

Everyone has contributed their ideas.

I will contribute mine...

I like the shots with both the faster and the slower shutter speeds but, somehow, they don't absolutely click for me. I tried to analyze why and came to the following conclusions.

I would like to see some shots at a wider aperture but, if your lens is like mine; it maxes out at f/5.6 at the longer focal lengths. however, if you have the capability of shooting wider, to isolate the skater from the rather skuzzy looking ice, it might help.

Perhaps a lower angle might help, however, we are often constrained regarding our shooting positions and cannot always position ourselves where we want to shoot.

Perhaps the color versions might separate the skater from the gray ice...

Hi Richard,

Regarding the lower angle, I did get some of those in previous week's shoot. Gold Medal P9 by JOHN, on Flickr

As far as using a faster lens, I have a few selections I can use next week. Thanks for commenting.

[Shadowman]

The slow shutter speed technique only works when the head of the skater is relatively still and the body is in motion. The timing of using slow shutter speeds is critical, for instance, shooting at the top of a jump. That requires a fairly good knowledge of the skater's routing as well as lots of practice.

The only other technique that I can think of that will work her will not work in this situation. A large studio flash near the skater to freeze the motion (and this depends on the flash; the duration has to be <1000th sec) and "dragging the shutter" at a slower shutter speed to allow the ambient light to introduce motion blur. This again requires testing and a setup that work.

Hi Manfred,

I would love to use flash but wouldn't want to distract the skater, I know I can reduce the intensity but that would also minimize the purpose.

[Manfred M]

Hi Manfred,

I would love to use flash but wouldn't want to distract the skater, I know I can reduce the intensity but that would also minimize the purpose.

A speedlight at your working distance is unlikely going to produce enough light to achieve the result I am writing about. I would be looking at a studio flash with at least 10x the power output of a speedlight, equipped with a light modifier and light stand somewhere on the ice surface. It would have to be a planned shot where both the rink and the skater would be doing a formal shoot.

[davidedric]

Apart from all the expert comments, my other thought was I've seen this young lady before - in Manfred's b&w vs. colour thread

Dave