Running of the Bulls Technique

[jjbinx]

Shooting from a balcony with noisy action coming from one side, passing below and then receding . . . followed by the quiet aftermath

Seems to me that Video would be a better option.

jj

 

[Myles Baker]

You could try from street level

These were taken in 1987.



















--
"Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry."
Terry Pratchett

 

[Myles Baker]

Other than shooting the Bull Run make sure you catch the opening of the festival on the 6th at the main square. Get there early as it gets pretty packed. I was there in 1987,88 & 89. So many great memories of that place.

 

[dmanthree]

Shooting from a balcony with noisy action coming from one side, passing below and then receding . . . followed by the quiet aftermath

Seems to me that Video would be a better option.

jj

Maybe, but at 1/2000 of a second you can see details that are virtually invisible in video, like a facial expression of some fool about to be trampled.

I'd shoot stills, but that just me.

 

[jjbinx]

Shooting from a balcony with noisy action coming from one side, passing below and then receding . . . followed by the quiet aftermath

Seems to me that Video would be a better option.

jj

Maybe, but at 1/2000 of a second you can see details that are virtually invisible in video, like a facial expression of some fool about to be trampled.

I'd shoot stills, but that just me.

For me, an action event involves sound and motion.
No matter how well we capture that still image it’s just a moment.

I find that sharing with others who were not there with you works better with a video.

In fact, I’d be more inclined to capture the event with a smartphone video (landscape orientation of course) than using the best sports/action stills camera.

But of course this all depends on one’s purpose - trying to catch that brilliant action shot for art/documentary/award or capturing memories for personal reference

jj

 

[Digirame]

Both video and stills can be good, taken together. Some people set their phone or camera on a tripod and run video. Then with another camera take still photographs. I don't know if that could be done easily at such an event for the OP, but that is popular for a lot of people events. For example, I saw that at a wedding recently.

 

[Myles Baker]

Practice by shooting photos of moving cars, perhaps shoot from a safe location on a bridge or overpass at oncoming cars below. This is somewhat similar, although the bulls will move more randomly. With 45 megapixels, don’t worry about filling the frame with the bull, go wider and get the bull inside the frame, and, hopefully focused.

We can help walk you through the menu settings. Basically, shoot RAW, shooting Servo focus, probably center zone without face detection. Very fast shutter speed, an aperture of maybe f/5.6 and AutoISO.

Good advice too.

R2

 

[2ndact scene1]

• Myles Baker wrote:

You could try from street level

These were taken in 1987.









--
"Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry."
Terry Pratchett

The motion blur may or may not have been intentional but certainly conveys a scene of fear and panic.

 

[Myles Baker]

• Myles Baker wrote:

You could try from street level

These were taken in 1987.

The motion blur may or may not have been intentional but certainly conveys a scene of fear and panic.

It wasn't intentional, this was the definition of spray & pray with a compact camera in one hand & a rolled up newspaper in the other. Its my favorite of those photos. It conveys the feeling of running better than I can articulate.

--
"Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry."
Terry Pratchett

 

[jjbinx]

Both video and stills can be good, taken together. Some people set their phone or camera on a tripod and run video. Then with another camera take still photographs. I don't know if that could be done easily at such an event for the OP, but that is popular for a lot of people events. For example, I saw that at a wedding recently.

Most of us have these wonderful cameras at our disposal but most owners only seem to want to learn how to use half of the capabilities - stills.

jj

 

[R2D2]

Both video and stills can be good, taken together. Some people set their phone or camera on a tripod and run video. Then with another camera take still photographs. I don't know if that could be done easily at such an event for the OP, but that is popular for a lot of people events. For example, I saw that at a wedding recently.

And for this one I would just stick my GoPro right on top of my camera! :-D

R2

 

[Digirame]

I do enjoy taking video with all of my cameras. I'm not good yet at video editing. But I'll learn that too. I know many people use their phones for video. I've seen them mount them on tripods often. It's very popular where I live. The younger crowd uses their phones at lot for photography, for both stills and video. I don't see as much people with cameras...just phones.

 

[Digirame]

R2, spot on! Yes, that's a great way to get both video and stills.

 

[Digirame]

I should add...taking video is important to me...so much that that was one of the reason I bought into the mirrorless system (first with the M-series and now the R-series). I could use the viewfinder when taking video. That's something you cannot do with a DSLR camera (because of the mirror). Why would someone use the viewfinder instead of the LCD screen? Well, for me I found that I could keep the camera more steady when using the Canon 55-200mm lens (hand-held). I remember taking video of the Aztec dancers at quite a distance away, zooming in with that "short" telephoto lens. I was happy with that. I like that about mirrorless cameras.

 

[winston_smyth]

Zone focusing.

Focus the Lens on something about 2m from you, then set to manual focus.

Focus farther away I'd you expect your subjects to be farther away.

Result is that anything within a few m of the focus point and you will be in focus and most things out to infinity will be in focus, mostly.

Use aperture of F11 or higher, and min shutter speed of ¹/250.

Let the iso do the work of managing exposure.

It takes a bit of practice but once you get used to it, it's way quicker and more accurate than even the most modern autofocus systems. I use a canon r8 and I get more consistent, better shots on manual One focusing than with AI servo.

Practice with it beforehand, don't use it first time at the event.

 

[BuckeyeDr]

I was able to find a CFexpress 128 GB card in Barcelona. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite the great price that Amazon was showing but that’s the price of convenience (Amazon was showing delivery by July 16th in Spain, not real helpful). Certainly makes you appreciate the instant availability and pricing that we enjoy in the US.

I agree with everyone that this event would also benefit from video. My wife will be with me and she is usually charged with capturing video while I capture the stills, as that is my passion. We have a GoPro so likely will have her use that vs the iPhone.

Unfortunately will miss the opening ceremony as we are in San Sebastián for the weekend, but enjoying the amazing food.

I love seeing those great photos from the ground. Unfortunately everything I have read is that it is almost impossible to get any decent photos from the ground since you aren’t allowed to have a camera while running and there is a large gap between spectators and the actual run. I am certainly jealous of having that type of experience.

Someone had asked about our balcony location previously, we are on the 1st floor (second level) for the first run and on the second floor (third level) for the run the next day. Hopefully that elevation will allow me a little extra time without being too far up.

I can’t thank everyone enough for all of your support as I hope to capture some good shots considering all of the effort and money that went into experiencing this great event. We will be there Monday and Tuesday morning and hope I can add some of photos once I get back into the states in the middle of July.

 

[Myles Baker]

I am lucky to be able to attend the San Fermin Festival (Running of the Bulls) in Pamplona next week. I have a balcony to view everything but the race itself only lasts a few minutes and likely just a few seconds from my vantage point.

I own a Canon 70D, but have rented a Canon R5 and the 70-200/2.8 lens for the trip. Since I’m not overly familiar with the camera and I will have such a short window, I was hoping the group may have some suggestions for base settings to optimize and avoid blurry/out of focus photos. I am usually photographing landscapes and aren’t used to fast motion photography so any additional tips would be much appreciated. Thanks!

How did your shoot go?

San Fermin is my favourite festival. I hope you are enjoying it.

--
"Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry."
Terry Pratchett

 

[BuckeyeDr]

I am lucky to be able to attend the San Fermin Festival (Running of the Bulls) in Pamplona next week. I have a balcony to view everything but the race itself only lasts a few minutes and likely just a few seconds from my vantage point.

I own a Canon 70D, but have rented a Canon R5 and the 70-200/2.8 lens for the trip. Since I’m not overly familiar with the camera and I will have such a short window, I was hoping the group may have some suggestions for base settings to optimize and avoid blurry/out of focus photos. I am usually photographing landscapes and aren’t used to fast motion photography so any additional tips would be much appreciated. Thanks!

How did your shoot go?

San Fermin is my favourite festival. I hope you are enjoying it.

We will be there Monday and Tuesday, we are currently in San Sebastián for the weekend.

Was able to practice on my balcony by shooting motorcycles going by and it seemed like the settings worked pretty well.

Fingers crossed everything goes well, will be able to give a update on Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

[R2D2]

I was able to find a CFexpress 128 GB card in Barcelona. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite the great price that Amazon was showing but that’s the price of convenience (Amazon was showing delivery by July 16th in Spain, not real helpful). Certainly makes you appreciate the instant availability and pricing that we enjoy in the US.

I agree with everyone that this event would also benefit from video. My wife will be with me and she is usually charged with capturing video while I capture the stills, as that is my passion. We have a GoPro so likely will have her use that vs the iPhone.

Unfortunately will miss the opening ceremony as we are in San Sebastián for the weekend, but enjoying the amazing food.

I love seeing those great photos from the ground. Unfortunately everything I have read is that it is almost impossible to get any decent photos from the ground since you aren’t allowed to have a camera while running and there is a large gap between spectators and the actual run. I am certainly jealous of having that type of experience.

Someone had asked about our balcony location previously, we are on the 1st floor (second level) for the first run and on the second floor (third level) for the run the next day. Hopefully that elevation will allow me a little extra time without being too far up.

I can’t thank everyone enough for all of your support as I hope to capture some good shots considering all of the effort and money that went into experiencing this great event. We will be there Monday and Tuesday morning and hope I can add some of photos once I get back into the states in the middle of July.

Was able to practice on my balcony by shooting motorcycles going by and it seemed like the settings worked pretty well.

Sounds like a plan! Best of luck to you!

R2

 

[BuckeyeDr]

Just wanted to follow up and thank everyone for their advice. The experience was amazing and I was able to get some pretty good shots. Haven't had a chance to sit down and do any editing yet, but here are a few of my favorites just looking over everything.

Thanks again!