The first lens I used was my favorite 35mm lens. This wide angle of view allowed the subject to be comfortably within the frame but you felt that the action within the frame was too far away. Also, that the subject was too small within the frame although it gave a good sense of movement as there is room for more detail in such a wide angle of view. I also experimented with a fixed 85mm lens which made the subject bigger in the frame but still left enough room for the blurring of the unfocused content within the image.
The depth of field, sharpness on the subjects, even though the they may not have been as sharp or with out elements of blur was enough to separate the moving subject from the blurring back ground.
At this point in the course I'm not sure how far to go with processing these images so for these early exercises I haven't processed or manipulated them beyond basic corrections to produce the jpegs.
In this first image I chose the view point looking up from the ground. This was so that I could have the trees and the sky blur and have an unusual viewpoint of the subject. As far as sharpness of the subject, I think this image is the sharpest of the subject. The sky is less successful but the trees do give enough information to show movement and the effect of panning in the frame. From this view point the sky does not blur as successfully as the tress.
Taken with a 35mm lens f22 at 1/80s, the subject has been places on the 3rd. Because of this placement I feel that the eye is drawn to his expression then around the frame.
Image 1
Changing the orientation of the frame seems to fit the nature of the image. A vertical frame for a vertical subject. With the panning and the subject being within acceptable sharpness, you get a sense of the subject running through the frame.
At f22 and 1/60s, even though the shutter speed is slower, there is still enough of the subject within acceptable sharpness.
Image2
With the following image, younger legs provided by the subject made it possible to try the panning motion with a faster moving subject. Between the previous frame and the following you get a greater sense of speed even though the settings are the same for both images.
Image 3
Changing to landscape for the following image and a slightly closer viewpoint, you get a sense of closeness but the subject feels awkward within the frame. You do get a sense of the subject running out of the frame.
Image 4
With the following image the subject seems to fit more comfortably within the frame and if this was a finish line image of a race, you could imagine that this would be the preferred orientation option.
Image 5
The following images are taken with a 85mm lens. This allows the subject to fill more of the frame. The image becomes more about the study of the subject rather that a situational study which I feel the 35mm frame was about.
Image 6
Image 7 taken from before the subject is straight in front of the camera, still give a good sense of speed and direction but the images where the subject is side on to the camera seem to produce the best results.
Image 7
The blur created by the panning effect shows the movement of the camera in the direction of the blurred elements in the frame. This adds to the impression of speed by almost pointing in the direction the subject is running.
Image 8
Image 9
With the image below, the subject falls nicely on the background elements which have almost blurred into 3 individual bands of colour which the subject compliments and does not clash with which seem to make the image more balanced, although you get a feeling of him being high in the frame and that a lower placement would have added more balance to the image.
Image 10
With the final image I feel that all elements that create an interesting image have come together.
The subject fills the frame and compositionally is placed nicely with his body hitting the right third . His actions are dynamic with good body shape and an expression that shows the effort he is exerting which helps with the impression of speed. Although not the sharpest of all the images the form of the subject against the blurred background combine to produce a dynamic image. There is a nice diagonal from the subjects trailing leg to his right arm that also adds to movement.
Image 11
From the two exercises my favorites are the last in the panning series, image 11, and the last in the shutter speed series. Neither is the sharpest image but the movement they convey I find more interesting than the more static images.