Panning with Different Shutter Speeds

To demonstrate movement for this exercise I decided to use travelling vehicles, by varying the shutter speed and following the vehicles movement will be illustrated by the introduction of motion blur within the back ground.

f/5.6-1/500-100-40mm
Panning with the vehicle here at a shutter speed of 1/500 freezes the action of the vehicle and the surrounding.

f/6.3-1/320-100-40mm
Slight motion introduced in the surroundings and wheels of the vehicle at this shutter speed.

f/6.3-1/200-100-40mm

More motion is detected in the surroundings at this shutter speed.

f/10-1/100-100-40mm

More motion is detected in the surroundings at this shutter speed.

f/18-1/60-100-40mm

The appearance of movement is now more apparent as the scene illustrates more motion blur while keeping the vehicle in focus.

f/16-1/40-100-40mm

More motion is detected in the surroundings at this shutter speed.

f/20 -1/30-100-40mm

More motion is detected in the surroundings at this shutter speed. Vehicles are now becoming more difficult to keep focused while panning free hand. 

f/22-1/20-100-17mm

Large amount of motion is detected in the surroundings at this shutter speed. This gives the appearance that the vehicle is travelling fast.

While taking the photo it should be noted that the effect on the surroundings differed significantly depending on the speed the vehicle was travelling at. At Shutter speeds of 1/20 each shot became more difficult depending on the vehicle approaching and amount of movement that was involved while panning. 

Looking at the exercises involving movement I am drawn more towards the lower end of the shutter speeds which in "Shutter Speeds" was around the 1/50 mark as this gave the appearance of the jet of water in smooth lines and the splash around the base of the fountain was still slightly in focus and not overly blurred. I like the rainbow effect through the fountain, which was very dependant on light and wind.

Moving on to the panning exercise its nice to illustrate this principal with fast moving objects. However the faster they go while shooting at slower shutter speeds made getting the right photograph very challenging. Again here I prefer the speeds of 1/20 which make the foreground and background nicely blurred while the vehicle remains in focus. 

Exercise: Shutter Speeds

This exercise illustrates the effect on the photo by varying the shutter speed from the very fast 1/4000 to the slow 0.5 second.
On a visit to Marwell Zoo, I noticed a fairly high powered water jet/fountain which in the available light had a stunning rainbow effect shining through it and decided that this would make a good subject for my next exercise.

Photos with varying shutter speeds

f/5.6-1/4000-800-194mm
This shot freezes the jet of water from the fountain and all other detail around.

f/5.6-1/3200-800-194mm
Shutter speed is still fast enough to capture the jet and spray from the fountain.

f/5.6-1/2500-400-194mm
Shutter speed is still fast enough to capture the jet and spray from the fountain, however the base is becoming blurred and ISO has changed to keep the photo at a constant exposure.

f/5.6-1/2000-400-194mm
Shutter speed is still fast enough to capture the spray from the fountain but here you can begin to see the base of the jet is blurred.

f/5.6-1/1600-400-194mm

Shutter speed is now beginning to show signs of movement through the entire stream of the water fountain.

f/5.6-1/640-100-194mm

The water jet is becoming more blurred as the voracity of the water fountain becomes too fast for the slower to capture.

f/6.3-1/400-100-194mm

Note a change in aperture to keep exposure a constant.

f/9.0-1/200-100-194mm

Note a change in aperture to keep exposure a constant.

f/13-1/100-100-194mm

The jet of water is now beginning to become streamlined, adding to the appearance of fast moving water/spray. Note a change in aperture to keep exposure a constant.

f/20-1/50-100-194mm

Note a change in aperture to keep exposure a constant.

f/32-1/25-100-194mm

The fountain now appears as streams/jets of water, more appealing to the eye. 

Note a change in aperture to keep exposure a constant.

f/32-1/10-100-194mm

The fountain now appears as streams/jets of water. 

Due to the light, constant exposure was now getting tricky, stopping down the camera internal exposure setting was one method I used here to try and keep exposure constant.

Note the water droplets from the top of the fountain falling around the base are now becoming blurred.

f/32-1/4-100-194mm

The fountain now appears as streams/jets of water and the water droplets are blending into one.

I used an ND4 filter here to try and lengthen the exposure time/shutter speed while keeping the exposure 'near' constant! 

f/32-0.5-100-194mm

The fountain now appears as streams/jets of water and the water droplets become a blur of movement. 

I used an ND4 filter here to try and lengthen the exposure time/shutter speed while keeping the exposure 'near' constant! 

Altering the shutter speeds, on moving object can help in portraying movement. Personal preference will vary depending if you like to see the fountains water captured still, or flowing as a stream or jet of water. On reflection increasing the shutter speeds can lead to over exposed photos (see 0.5sec - last one) so choosing the correct lighting environment is critical.