Set up on 5th Ave with the 35mm, hyperfocused at about 1.5m. The only thing razor sharp in the burst is a golden retriever tail that whipped in at 4:52pm while my couple turned to look — anyone else?
Ever try a tiny step stool, @OP? Shooting a bit higher turns wagging hazards into a low-tech ‘tail filter,’ and if you bump MF to around 2.2 m you can keep the couple crisp and crop for framing.
, 5th Ave is a tail conveyor belt — after my own “golden retriever tail at 4:52pm,” I started stepping two paces off the curb line so my 1.5 m slice isn’t where the leashes swing, then I burst. Keeping the 35, a tiny pocket squeaker buys me a half-second of still faces while the tail points away — beats stopping down for me. @LensMarco your height trick helps; do you find human-only detect ignores tails or is that wishful thinking?
I tuck just behind a mailbox or bike rack so the leash swing hits that “tail filter” before my frame; with the 35 I pre-set 1.7 m and angle about 10° toward the storefront so the wag arcs pass behind them — @FilmRaj ever use street furniture as a buffer?
I put a tiny strip of gaff tape on a sidewalk crack at my 35mm zone and use focus trap so the shutter only trips when something hits about 1.5 m, @OP; the “4:52pm” tails skimming the edge don’t trigger it. If your body doesn’t have focus trap, plant the couple’s toes on the tape and time it a half-beat after the leash swing. What body are you on?