At 11:33 9/2/01, Ric asked:
Two questions for you and the group - always a problem in my
car/airplane/train photos -
Always the glare from the glass - any reliable way to stop that?
Speed - the cars look like they are posed on the road - how do you convey
speed without compromising sharpness and clarity?
Glare:
It's all about light direction. Angle of incidence equals angle of reflection:
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_______V________
There's not much you can do to make glass any more transparent, but by
selecting the best possible position you can avoid, or at least minimize,
bright sun reflection. As the sun angle changes, your location may have to
change also. The biggest problem is glass with compound curves on which a
flare spot will move as the vehicle moves with respect to the light
source. It can produce a wide range of angles from which a glaring
reflection will occur.
Conveying Speed:
One of the techniques is panning with a relatively slow shutter
speed. There is an art (skill) to this that requires some practice. How
slow depends on vehicle speed relative to background. I would start with
1/30th and bump it up to 1/60th if the vehicles are moving very quickly. A
former pro told me he's even used 1/15th (don't know how he does it). With
an SLR, some do it keeping both eyes open. Nearly all do it from a tripod
(with at least panning slightly loosened) or monopod for support. The
technique blurs the background in the direction of panning, hence the need
for a shutter speed slow enough to cause motion blur. The skill is keeping
the vehicle in the same position in the frame while panning, and works best
if the vehicle is moving mostly across (left to right or right to left)
versus approaching or receding. Some DOF control also helps.
With manual focus, prefocus the lens on a particular track spot, and track
the subject vehicle as it approaches that spot, then trip the shutter just
before it reaches that location to compensate for your reaction time and
the shutter travel delay (mirror movement and stop-down). Maintain panning
throughout. Follow-through after you press the shutter release is very
important.
-- John
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