Shooting while riding in a car

[asugrad1988]

Hello:
I'm very new to photography. I just recently bought a Nikon D5000, and it seems quite overwhelming. Anyway here is my question:
I will be taking a trip and there is a barn along the way that I would like to shoot. However, since it is about 200 yards off of the interstate and we won't be able to stop, I was wondering what settings would I need to make on the camera to allow for our car driving about 75mph. We will be leaving in the morning, and lets just hope that it will be a sunny day.
thanks

[degrub]

1/500th sec maybe ?
Why not take a test spin on the road ?

i assume you are not the driver.

[Craig Murphy]

There is also a beginners questions section on LL.

[Rob C]

You don't need the Beginner's Section: Top Gear did a definitive take on drive-by shooting, and the sub-machine gun won highest points.

Poor old Stig; so much venom, so many holes.

Rob C

[LesPalenik]

If you are shooting sideways from a moving vehicle, you should use minimum 1/2000 s.
If you can shoot it head-on, you can get away with a slightly slower shutter speed.

 

[Ari-FLM]

As you get closer to the barn, put your hazards on, slow down (isn't 75mph illegal anyway?), and let the motor drive rip.
As someone said, use about 1/2000th.
Repeat until you get the shot.

[Dick Roadnight]

1/500th sec maybe ?
Why not take a test spin on the road ?

i assume you are not the driver.

I think that it might be a 20 mile trip to get back to the shooting point, so the normal "suck it and see" digital technique will not work as well as usual.

Convince the driver you have a flat tyre, and take the shot while (s)he checks it out.

[Rob C]

Hello:
I'm very new to photography. I just recently bought a Nikon D5000, and it seems quite overwhelming. Anyway here is my question:
I will be taking a trip and there is a barn along the way that I would like to shoot. However, since it is about 200 yards off of the interstate and we won't be able to stop, I was wondering what settings would I need to make on the camera to allow for our car driving about 75mph. We will be leaving in the morning, and lets just hope that it will be a sunny day.
thanks

When did the States' drivers enter the real world? I thought they were condemned to a max. 55mph?

Rob C

[degrub]

80 mph here in parts of Texas. 70 most places.

[George Montgomery]

If I may, I'd like to show a barn shot I took on the PA turnpike. I was the passenger.
barn on pa turnpike
f/10 at 1/2500 ISO-800 D90

GeorgeM

[stever]

yep, that's pretty much the same poor composition with usual powerlines that i get shooting from a car -- but i still keep hoping for success

[Rand47]

Sometimes you get lucky.  This is the full frame, no cropping at all. Not a great photo, but qualifies in my book as fun & interesting.  70-200 @ 200, stabilized, at about 80 mph through the side window!  I use a both-eyes-open approach to be able to anticipate the composition.  CA Highway 101 near Paso Robles.  Gray stormy / rainy day.

Beats the heck out of just "watching" the world go by.   

[OnlyNorth]

Hi,
The onlooker might know the shot is from the moving car and from the driver chair.Below You see one I did last Fall 1/100,1600ASA.
Thank You
Radu

[carloalberto]

Rand47

I think it's a great shot. Impressive chiaroscuro (for want of a better word) which lends depth to the sky and the tree on the right foreground ancho rs the shot. Well done.

[Jeremy Roussak]

Rand47

I think it's a great shot. Impressive chiaroscuro (for want of a better word) which lends depth to the sky and the tree on the right foreground ancho rs the shot. Well done.

I think I've wandered into a parallel universe.

Jeremy

[Rob C]

I think I've wandered into a parallel universe.

Jeremy

I have a similar fear too, Jeremy.

In Spain, they'll nick you for using a mobile (cellphone) when you drive, and I think them right. And that only confuses your voice and ears!

Rob C

[Craig Lamson]

I shot a project for the company that leased the Indiana toll road a few years back.  For some of the shots I set up a camera in my truck and shot some 'moving" shots.  Some were quite interesting.  BTW, I did this via a remote release and a mounted camera...no eyes to the viewfinder


Here are a few:

[Rand47]

Rand47

I think it's a great shot. Impressive chiaroscuro (for want of a better word) which lends depth to the sky and the tree on the right foreground ancho rs the shot. Well done.

Thanks for the kind comment.  "Playing" is fun and sometimes yields something that doesn't end up in the trash. This dramatic "chiaroscuro" sky was what had me playing.

[qwz]

field by qwz, on Flickr

1/1600
F5.6
ISO 320

about 60 km/H

i think 1/1000 at least needed

[fike]

I would also say that you should shoot at least 1/1000th shutter speed, but even at that speed, don't expect to have excellent critical focus.  By extension don't expect to be enlarging your photos to 13" x 19" or to crop aggressively.  

With that said, I wouldn't hesitate to take shots out the window...particularly if you can use the movement to your advantage with creative blur affects like Craig showed above.  Work to the strengths of your platform...in this case a fast-moving car.

I would avoid bracing your arms or elbows against the window frame when moving.  Allow your body to buffer the vibrations of the engine and the road.

If you are going to shoot from a stop, turn the engine off and brace on the window-frame.