# Zip Line Photos



## MarkNC (Apr 12, 2011)

I'm going to be photographing kids (and some adults) on a zip line next month and I need any tips you can provide. I've had trouble in the past photographing bikes and runners who are moving at roughly a 45 degree angle to my camera. In other words, if they are coming straight toward me or straight across my frame, they are ok, but the others are blurry.

I'd like to impart a sense of motion, so I may try some panning as they go by. The zip lines are several hundred feet long (one is 600',) over a ravine, and in the woods. Here's a basic idea of my equipment. A good Canon DSLR, an 18-55mm lens and a 70-300mm lens. I can provide more details upon request.

I welcome any suggestions you might have. There will be 60-70 kids so I'll have an opportunity to try different ideas. The pictures are primarily for the zip line operator, but if the pictures come out ok, I'll give them to the kids, also.

Thanks,
Mark


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## mikehaugen (Apr 12, 2011)

MarkNC said:


> Here's a basic idea of my equipment. A good Canon DSLR, an 18-55mm lens and a 70-300mm lens. I can provide more details upon request.


 
I would recommend giving the details right off the bat.  A "good" canon dlsr is a very relative term.  I consider a 5dmkii "good", and anything from the 1d series "exceptional", anything less is "acceptable" or "above average."  Also there are 2 70-300mm lenses just by canon, not to mention other aftermarket lenses.

The only advice I can give is try ai servo for your focus issues on your "good" camera, and learn what the different settings on your camera will do for you to get what you want to achieve.


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## MarkNC (Apr 12, 2011)

OK, well maybe my camera isn't good after all. Here's what I have.

Canon EOS Rebel T1i
Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5 - 5.6 IS
Canon EF 70-300mm 1:4 - 5.6 IS USM

I should add that I am also looking for the best spot to take the photos. Keeping in mind that the farther I go from the starting tower, the lower I will be in relation to the zip-liners...

Thanks,
Mark


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## mikehaugen (Apr 12, 2011)

Well that is not exactly a "bad" camera either, as I said it is all relative.  I would try to get at the other side, instead of from the starting tower otherwise you will get pictures of people's backs.

If you are looking at pictures to give to the people, then you will definitely want to get their faces and I would say like a 45 degree angle from the front maybe to start.  If you are looking for pictures to promote the event, then I don't think faces are as important.  Try to get somewhere that you can give the viewer a sense of perspective to show how high they are from the bottom of the ravine, or like you said show how fast they are moving probably with panning as long as you have a decent background that is not the sky, hard to show motion against a plain background.


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## bazooka (Apr 12, 2011)

For ideas, search "zip line" on flickr.  There are some good shots in there that may give you some ideas you hadn't though of.  How you can setup and what kind of shots you can achieve is very much dependent on the location.  You have a broad focal range to choose from so that's a big plus.  The 70-300 IS is a nice lens from what I've read.

If you're shutter speeds are fast enough, motion blur won't be an issue.  If you want to show motion blur, unless the subject is moving perpendicular to you, you may have focus issues because they may have enough time to travel outside of your depth of field, not to mention camera shake blur even though you are equipped with IS.  I'd err on the side of safety and use faster speeds.  As suggest above, you might also try servo focus mode if the subjects are coming at your or at an angle.


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## behanana (Apr 13, 2011)

mike and bazooka might be able to validate this suggestion, but I would think getting either a tripod or probably a better idea would be a monopod to help with panning to show the motion.


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## bazooka (Apr 13, 2011)

I think a tripod would be beneficial for the "straight-at-you" shots.  You can zoom in long and still shoot at a relatively low shutter speed if you need to.  But IS also has you covered here to some degree so I'm not sure it would be as much benefit as it would cost you for this particular shoot.  You can shoot with a mid-range aperture or closer to wide-open, and it's outdoors (right?) so light shouldn't be a problem.  Plus, if you do panning shots where they are perpendicular, it's much easier to handhold, particularly if you don't get a ball head.  If you didn't have IS, I'd strongly recommend it.


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## gsgary (Apr 13, 2011)

If it were me shooting i would add dramatic lighting with off camera flash, i would also forget about panning unless you are very good at it because you will end up with 2/3rds in the recycle bin because it sounds like you don't use this technique much, with your camera and lenses you would probably better off prefocusing on a set point


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## Big Mike (Apr 13, 2011)

I'm thinking that the most successful shots for something like this...will be the ones where you can see the rider's face and if they are showing some real emotion....excitement, fear, trepidation etc.  The rest of it is good, but secondary to that.  As such, I'd try to get as close as possible and zoom in nice and tight.  (or course, some wide shots to show the grand scale would be nice as well).  

So in my mind, the trick will be getting sharp, zoomed in shots of the kids as they move on the zip line.  I'm not sure how fast your AF will be with those lenses and that camera....so you may want to try zone focusing.  Set up the camera position (tripod would help) and focus on an area where you know the kids will pass through.  Then wait for them to come along and fire away when they pass though.  It will help if you can use a deeper DOF, but that will sacrifice shutter speed or ISO, so use your best judgement.


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## behanana (Apr 15, 2011)

I was thinking about this post and your questions, I think it would look really cool if you could get behind the braking area, where the kids will be coming to a stop, zoom in on thier faces as they hit the stop, should give for some good expression. The only problem is if you can get behind the stop area. Just a thought.


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## RaynaMcGinnis (Apr 23, 2011)

I shoot a good bit of adventure photography and I can tell you that unless the light is perfect, your lens are going to be a bit slow. You may want to look into renting one with a larger aperture. I switched over from a f/3.5 to an f/2.8 and it made a huge difference. 

Shortly after I upgraded to a camera with a much higher ISO and that helped as well. With outdoor lighting it's hard to predict what you're going to get. 

As far as angles, with a zip line you have a few options. I'd try to get up above and at the same height as the zip line. If you can get directly in front of or behind, this could make for an interesting shot (facial expressions) but off to the side may give it a more "real", less flat feeling. 

Good luck!


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