Action!

hey, im fairly new to the Dslr world and want to get the best out of my camera, iv been using my kit mainly for taking pictures of fellow windsurfers but all the pics seem really static, i want to get a great blurred action background with the subject in focus like the one below.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/197/489971182_70d6a11bd5.jpg

All iv been able to find in the internet about attaining this is panning the camera allong as i shoot? is this righthttp://farm1.static.flickr.com/197/489971182_70d6a11bd5.jpg

Fraser,
Yes, panning is required (which takes some practice!)
You'll also need a slooooow shutter speed (probably somewhere between 1/30s). The slower the shutter speed, the harder it is to pan, and the more blur you get.

If you set the camera to "Tv" mode (shutter priority) and select a slow speed that'll get you started (but you'll be limited as to how slow you can go, depending on the ISO rating of the CCD and the ambient light).

Here's a technique (on the sister site, ePhotozine):
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Camera-panning

Hope that helps!
Matt

ok great ill get out soon as possible and hopefully get some pics of my own up

Fraser,
Camera panning is a great technique to master and can get some superb results, but there is another way - the way which I think may have been used to make the image to which you posted a link. With an all over sharp, non blurred photo (such as the ones you're wishing you could get away from), photoshop can be used to 'motion blur' selected parts of the image, leaving the main subject sharp. If you have photoshop, (or I think even elements) you would be able to do this. Have a look at http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Add-motion-blur.

without overdoing it, this technique is easier and less hit-and-miss than panning, as you can decide exactly whats blurred when you're back at home in the armchair. Which technique you use depends on what your morals are concerning postprocessing...

Well I looked at this, and all it looks like to me is a parked Mini Cooper, taken with the camera at an angle, a bit out of focus, with a lot of chromatic aberration in the background.

I don't think it looks like it's moving AT ALL.

I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that a lot of this so-called "Post production" is a huge con, and a poor substitute for actual photography.

There's a lot of "Emperor's new clothes" about in the art world, and I'm starting to think it's true in the photographic world too.

The wheels are a dead giveaway, they are frozen as with a high shutter speed but the image is blurred as if it was panned a bit. The quality of that post processing isn't particularly good, if you wanted a real effect, you'd select the object, do a dragging blur (but quite soft) and then apply rotational blur to the wheels.

Here's a kitty blurred with photoshop, and a couple blurred with flash/slow shutter/panning.
both can work.

"Kitty"? Accurate, yet understated - I like your style.