Journal | A genius, so to speak, for sauntering

Panning-Knowing your subject

Tuesday · October 14, 2008 | posted under: Photography Techniques | 0 comments

Steer Roping | Wyoming

If you look for advice on panning techniques for still photography you will find countless images of race cars and cyclists. One of the virtues of cars and bikes when it comes to panning is that they move essentially in one dimension relative to the camera. This is great for panning because it is easy to synchronize the camera's movement with the subject. In the above image I wanted to show the motion of a horse and rider by panning the camera with a slow shutter speed while keeping the rider tack sharp. It quickly becomes apparent that a horse is not a race car. In this roping event the horse leaves the box at a gallop and its motion relative to the camera happens in two dimensions. When the horse's rear legs are under its body it causes the loin to curl up and raises the saddle creating and upward motion which would result in blurry images. If you are riding the horse you feel this as the cantle of the saddle presses against you moving you forward and slightly upward. But an instant later the horse stretches out and propels itself forward with almost no vertical motion. With a little understanding of the subject you can position yourself in the right spot and dramatically improve your chance of getting a photo showing the rider's face and body perfectly sharp against a blurred background.

Details:
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
Focal length: 35mm
Shutter speed: 1/80 sec.