Motion Study; Alyeska, March 16, 2017
High shutter speeds are usually needed to get super-sharp images of ski racing. But to give a better impression of the speeds even young racers are developing, for the last two days I tried shooting slalom and giant slalom training with much slower shutter speeds. As a consequence, the number of super-sharp images plummets. But slow shutter speed can give a better idea of race speeds by blurring snow and backgrounds.
Casual observers don't realize how fast racers are traveling in even the "slow" event of slalom. Television doesn't accurately reflect either how fast the skier is moving or how steep the slope really is. Still photos do even less to reflect the speed. Only by standing near a slalom course and watching very accomplished skiers run slalom does the speed, both over the snow and between gates, sink in. So, that is why I was trying to find out if slow shutter speeds could say something about the speed without compromising image quality too much. Photography, like life, is full of compromises.
As a second experiment, I drastically changed some of the settings while editing the images. This reduces the image to its basic dynamic design elements. Not my typical race shots.
Shutter speeds for these photos ranged from 1/80th to 1/160th. Canon 5D Mark IV, 100-400 IS II for all.
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After a lifetime of mainly expressing myself with words, my postings here will mainly rely on images. They will speak for themselves to some extent, but I'll usually add a few comments of explanation. I've taken photographs for decades, since the 1950's, inspired in part by my father's photographic skill. Four years of photo assignments and quality darkroom time eventually gave way to decades of casual and family picture-taking. I re-immersed myself when I left film and turned to digital.