I am a student, I am required to use tmax 100 and have to produce a photo where the subject is panned. I don't want to use a car or bike etc as my subject! Also I need a photo of the subject blurred and the rest (background) is crisp. I have an eos elan (original) and a wide angle 28mm lens. What do you suggest!!!

-- martha goldsmith (oscar@unidial.com), September 28, 1999

Answers

Kids on swings are great subjects for panning. You can usually take all the time you want and their path is predictable.

-- Asher (schachter@a1.tch.harvard.edu), September 28, 1999.

Been to the horse races lately? That's a good pan subject. Airplant taking off, but you gotta' get close...The kids on a swing is a good idea.

-- Joe Cole (jcole@apha.com), September 28, 1999.

Point the camera at yourself and then spin yourself and it around; kind of like a waltz. If you set the shutter speed slow enough, 1/8 second or slower, you should be reasonably sharp and the background will be blurred.

-- (dkucheran@creo.com), September 28, 1999.

If you can borrow someone's TLR or rangefinder you might be better off. It's much easier to track your subject when you have a continuous view.

-- Asher (schachter@a1.tch.harvard.edu), September 29, 1999.

some of my recent blur photos include the following

My niece at play with a big-wheel tricycle, small dog in hot persuit (CUTE!)

"Monster Trucks" in air, 1/4 second exposure, outdoor venue, flashed at -1 stop (Use a whole roll of film on this, there will be a LOW keeper/junk ratio)Oh..do this at NIGHT.

60 second exposure of the beach..did those waves ever blur... get some interesting rocks or people into the foreground, and maybe a pier or some structure in the background to contrast with the super- blurred waves.

Skateboarders, doing the things skaters will do... use a wide angle if you can get close, set the shutter to 1/2 the focal length of the lens(EX: 35mm, use 1/15 or 1/8th of a second, 28mm, use 1/8th or 1/4 second) A -1 stop flash to get a somewhat solid form in the center of the blur, or to enhance sharpness of the main figure if creating a tracking-blur shot.

If you have friends with a truck and a second attractive car, you could possibly (depending on local traffic laws) shoot from over the tailgate of the truck, backwards at the 2nd car(or truck) with a longer shutter speed...the blur will more like what you see on the viewscreen on a star-trek ship, with a sharp car in the center... might not be exactly the assignment, but if you pull it off, it'll be so nice that it could be overlooked.

If it moves, you can shoot it with either of the two blur techniques. Good luck and happy shooting.

PS: shoot ALOT of film...this sort of shot takes lots of practice.

-- Roseblood (kyller@annex.com), September 29, 1999.

For your picture with a blurred subject and a crisp background, you might consider experimenting with first and second curtain sync flash. DJ

-- N Dhananjay (ndhanu@umich.edu), September 29, 1999.

Wow!!! Thanks for all the great ideas, I think I will try all of them! By the way what exactly does flash at -1 mean? I have a built in flash and also a 380EX cannon for my camera that I still don't quite understand. It has a switch for greater amounts of flash (I think) or maybe more powerful ones. .orH with a flash sign. I can't with to try these thanks again!!!!

-- martha goldsmith (oscar@unidial.com), September 29, 1999.