[LRflex] Re: Swishy Pan

At 12/07/2006, you wrote:

>Nice "swishy pan" shot. How is that different from the traditional
>panning technique?
>Roberta



G'Monrin' Roberta!

I doubt that a "swishy pan" shot is much different from the 
traditional pan.  It's a name that fellow LRflex member, Ted Grant, 
(http://www.tedgrantphoto.com/) has used to describe the panning 
technique, for years, and I rather like it!

If there is any difference at all, it is in the use of *very* slow 
shutter speeds, to increase the amount of background blur.  This 
invariably results in the subject being somewhat blurred, as 
well.  The goal then becomes getting the subject sharp enough so as 
to be clearly discernable and understood by the viewer, without 
worrying too much about absolute sharpness.

In a more traditional pan, the goal is to get the subject sharp (as 
possible) whilst letting the background blur to convey the speed. My 
first attempt, last January, at regular panning  (see 
http://www3.telus.net/~telyt/Pan.htm) didn't work that well, but it 
got me interested in the technique.

If I'm wrong on any of this, I'm sure Ted will chime in.

Certainly, either panning technique works to convey speed in a still 
photo... much more successfully, I think, than a crisp background 
with a blurred, moving subject.

On another list, Don Dory, pointed out that any panning technique is 
easier with a camera which permits viewing during the exposure, such 
as with a rangefinder or an SLR with pellicle mirror.   While that 
may be true, I found with the horse racers, the trick was to get the 
camera moving with the horse, and then fire. If you can maintain the 
same panning rate during the exposure, it doesn't seem to matter if 
the mirror blacks out.

Certainly, the success rate for any panning is very low and, for all 
but a professional, the cost of doing this with film quickly becomes 
prohibitive. But with digital, the temptation to try becomes large, 
as the cost is small.  You simply delete the (many) shots that don't 
work!   Of course, you still need  a large supply of moving 
subjects!  Rodeos are good for that!

FWIW: The swishy pan (http://www3.telus.net/~telyt/Lil_Britches.htm) 
was shot, hand held, at 200mm, 1/24th second with the horse and rider 
at full gallop.

The Merrit Pro-Rodeo is on the September long-weekend, and I'll be 
there... trying more 'swishy pans', on the next group of barrel racers. :-)

Watch this space!

Cheers!
---

David Young,
Logan Lake, CANADA

Personal Web-site at: http://www3.telus.net/~telyt
Limited Edition Prints at: http://www3.telus.net/~telyt/prints.htm
Leica Reflex Forum web-page:  http://www3.telus.net/~telyt/lrflex.htm




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