The pole vaulting picture is amazing. The detail is so great, in fact, that the coach was able to notice that the state runner-up pole vaulter shifted her grip at sometime during the jump. Although she began the approach correctly gripping the pole, by the time she turned and began her descend to the pit her grip had shifted. the coach realized that maybe this was the reason the pole occasionally fell into the bar and knocked it off. The coach planned to help the athlete make the adjustment during the summer training camp. The results could lead to a championship the next year.
These days, everyone is a photographer.
With the use of slow motion cameras and high speed cameras, even the amateur photographer can find ways to produce images that stop, blur and pan motion to an extent that will both impress and motivate others.
Stopped motion photos. This popular type of action photograph does exactly what its name suggests. A pole vaulter caught in mid air; a bicyclist leaning into a curve; or an insect suspended in air as it approaches a flower. Achieved with a fast shutter speed, all of these photos freeze the action so that viewers can enjoy and dissect the beauty and power of motion.
Intensified by capturing the image at the peak of motion, stopped motions images can show coaches examples of stopped slices of a complex motion or show scientists the flight systems of insects and birds. As high speed cameras continue to develop, viewers are treated to even more detailed views of motion that was not visible 20 years ago. Ultrahigh-speed cameras and other forms of vision research may be fun for amateur photographers but they are a necessity to scientists and other motion research experts.
Blurred motion photos. Used as much for art as research, blurred motion photographs are created by using slower shutter speeds. Shutter speeds are usually measured in fractions of a second and typically range from one full second to 1/1000th of a second. The basic explanation is that the longer the shutter remains open, the more light is allowed onto the film. In addition to determining the amount of light that gets in, the shutter speed also determines the amount of motion that will be stopped or blurred. Traditionally created as shutter speeds slower than 60, blurred motion photography is expanding as tripods and other stabilization methods continue to evolve and progress. Often used in night shots that capture everything from blurred fireworks or cars traveling down a road, slow motion photography can be used by artists and amateurs alike.
When a photographer gets ready to create a photo that person has many decisions. Although the lighting exposure is obviously the mot important, in many cases the decision to blur motion for effect can also be very important.
Panned motion photos. Often created as horizontally blurred backgrounds, panned photographs are most often used to exaggerate and highlight motion. Using a shutter speed that is often set at 60, a panned photo is taken by following the action, releasing the shutter, and then following through with the motion. The very best examples of panned motion include a subject that stays mostly in focus, with a background that is horizontally blurred.
Often used as another kind of artistic technique, panned motion photographs are often very dramatic. Some of the most popular kinds of panned photographs are of colorful bicyclists making their high speed way through trails and roads.
High Speed Cameras Create Images That Stop Motion and Allow Scientific Research
Although traditional photos taken in sunlight might work with shutter speeds that are 1/125th of a second, shutter speeds for high speed shutters are much faster. In fact, some standard single lens reflect cameras have shutter speeds as fast as 1/8000th of a second.
And while high speed camera shutter speeds determine the stopping and blurring of motion, this part of the camera also determines light exposure. Working in conjunction with the aperture, the shutter serves as a balance between exposure and controlling motion.
The Eastman Kodak Company, founded in 1888 by George Eastman, popularized photography and by 1976 the company captured 90% of the market share of U.S. photographic films. This popular past time, however, is now the method that scientists use for research.
