2015 CHALLENGE WEEK 39: PANNING

Since the November 25, 2015 Challenge will involve a great deal of work, I decided to be nice and base this week’s Challenge on an easy but seldom practiced technique called PANNING. Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with the above cover image by Apionid 😉

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.jsPanning usually involves moving your camera along an horizontal axis while following a moving subject. It can be anything in movement such as a bird in flight, cyclist or a jeep as in the above image. A slower shutter speed is used to accentuate the movement in the background while following the subject to keep it relatively sharp. If you have multiple subjects moving at different speeds then you will only have one subject showing up clearly on your image. In the above image the Squirrel is moving faster than the Red Fox. I was panning and focused on the Fox’s head in addition to the reduced depth of field of my Telephoto Lens. //embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

A slower moving subject will be easier to manage as it will more easily remain in sharper focus. Although I’ve done panning at Formula One Races with fast moving cars, I always practiced ahead of time with Cyclists using the track outside event schedules. In this case the B&W look adds to the overall artistic feeling of the image.

A few tips you may find useful:

Shoot handheld for freedom of movement. A monopod to remove vertical movement may be useful but not a Tripod unless the scene is really rehearsed.
If your subject is close enough you can use a Flash to help make your subject sharper. The strobe will freeze motion at 1/1000th of a second or faster.
Use a 50mm Full Frame equivalent or wider to maintain stability and depth of field. The wider the lens the easier to control.
Experiment with different shutter speeds (I.E. 1/15, 1/30, 1/60…) depending on your subject’s speed and ambient light.
Keep your camera in continuous focus mode in order to better track your subject.
A smaller apperture to increase depth of field will help keep the subject in focus as well.
ALWAYS REMAIN AWARE OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT. YOU DON’T WANT TO GET HIT BY YOUR SUBJECT OR ANY OTHER MOVING OBJECT.

HEADS UP:

As I previously mentioned my next challenge is a Spooky Infrared Challenge for the entire week preceding Halloween. An Infrared filter will be necessary. You don’t need a modified camera but keep in mind that all camera/lens combinations will give different results. Image quality won’t be the primary factor so you can procure yourself a lesser quality filter for the challenge. It should be a 720nm Infrared Filter similar to the HOYA R72. You can even make your own as in this DIY Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CveDYDieaFg

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

The rules are pretty simple:

Post one original photograph (Your Image) shot each week per theme posted on this blog to Google+, Facebook, or Flickr (or all three). Tag the photo #photochallenge.org or #photochallenge2015.
The shot should be a new shot you took for the current weekly theme, not something from your back catalog or someone else’s image.
The posted image should be a photograph, not a video.
Don’t leave home without your camera. Participating in the 2015 Photo Challenge is fun and easy.