300m Vertical Pan Blur

[Arthur Morris]

This image was created with the tripod-mounted 300mm f/2.8L IS II lens and the EOS-5D Mark III in early morning light near White, GA. They were planted at an I-75 exit.

ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop set manually: 1/5 sec. at f/22.

Why should I have been at ISO 50 or ISO 100 at most?

Don't be shy; All comments welcome.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Shoot at low ISO/high f-stop to get a slow shutter speed. Or use a ND filter for even longer exposures. Do you shoot full frame and never crop, if so, I admire your skill in always getting that thin strip, top or bottom to frame your images. I like the vibrant colours and the change from warm to cooler colours add interest. I particularly like the three tulips LLC.

[Cheryl Slechta]

I love this one Artie. Ditto Jackie's response on ISO.:S3:

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Jackie and Cheryl. You both agree but did not answer my question :)..... Why should I have used a lower ISO (while staying at 1/5 sec.)??? For image like this I crop very little most of the time. Once I have a nice concept I take lots of images and work on timing the shutter release and adjusting the panning rate to control both top and bottom strips. And I did notice the three flowers llc and included them in my plan. If I remember correctly the bottom strip needed a bit of clean-up....

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Read it too fast. Either noise then or colour saturation. I am guessing noise. A lower ISO would have produced a smoother looking image. Saturation though it is supposed to be better at a lower ISO could be adjusted in PP.

[Arthur Morris]

Good tries but not those either :) Any differences would be microscopic at best.... Clue: what is the only difference if I stay at 1/5 sec. and use a lower ISO?

[gary ellwein]

Well done with the clean bottom border. Vibrant colors with enough detail to identify the subject. In manual mode, dropping the iso would have gotten you to around f11-f8 which is likely the wheel house for your lens and camera.

[Wendy Kates]

I agree with Gary. Dropping the ISO would have enabled you to open up the aperture, which would have reduced your depth of field a bit, potentially contributing to the "blurred" quality of the image. By the way, the colors are a little too vibrant for me, but that may just be me. Overall, I love the image, especially its varying shades of pinks, and the contrast with the green stems.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Uh, reduced potential impact of sensor dust (with wider aperture)?

-Michael-

[Arthur Morris]

Well done with the clean bottom border. Vibrant colors with enough detail to identify the subject. In manual mode, dropping the iso would have gotten you to around f11-f8 which is likely the wheel house for your lens and camera.


Yes, a much wider aperture but the wrong reason. The wheel house that you refer to deals only with sharpness but that is not an issue with blurs.... So keep thinking!

[Arthur Morris]

I agree with Gary. Dropping the ISO would have enabled you to open up the aperture, which would have reduced your depth of field a bit, potentially contributing to the "blurred" quality of the image. By the way, the colors are a little too vibrant for me, but that may just be me. Overall, I love the image, especially its varying shades of pinks, and the contrast with the green stems.

Thanks. A version with toned down colors would likely work well. Yes on the wider aperture but I find that that does not effect the degree of blurring or the look of the image. There is a very good reason to create pleasing blurs at low ISOs especially when there is lots of light. But nobody has figured it out yet :).

[Arthur Morris]

Uh, reduced potential impact of sensor dust (with wider aperture)? -Michael-

Bingo! You will always be seeing a ton more dust bunnies at f/22 than at the wider apertures, and that especially includes the microscopic dust that is pretty much impossible to clean.... Well done.

[Randall Farhy]

Artie, I like the blur effect and overall composition and balance, especially the way the lights dominate yet remain anchored by the darker region. Being able to control this "full frame" takes quite a bit of practice and a good eye. While the group of 3 is interesting, I also feel it's a bit distracting that close to the edge. The lower edge in general feels burnt due to color values, with an overall saturation that feels heavy, yielding an exaggerated blueish cast to my eyes. Appreciate the comments re: using aperture to control dust-not something I'd given much thought as I'm usually shooting more toward the wider end. Tried my hand at an interpretation toward the lighter end, with altered orange and red hues to create more of those darker flower heads.

Regards-R144280

[Sharon Hallowell]

Wow! This is stunning! Sharon

[Diane Miller]

A very pleasing blur. :S3: I could see a version with the colors tones down just a little.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Randall. Your version is way too washed out for me. I may post one toned down slightly but man, those colors were blasting that morning.

[Paul Lagasi]

It reminds me of a watercolor, I am still trying to master these blurs, some day's it works and the images are pleasing and other days it just looks like I took a blurry photo. Your image is pleasing to my eyes, love it

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Paul. Best advice--try soft light and take lots and lots of images!