I ran across these photos from Sebring Raceway and, to be sure, the cars are pretty sweet. Still, I was more struck by the photography — I really like the panning that was achieved there. Some background on panning, for those unfamiliar with it:
Panning is a technique where the camera is moved to follow a moving subject, keeping it in the same position in the viewfinder. It is more effective when the subject is moving across the picture than when it is moving towards (or away from) the camera. It produces a relatively sharp subject seen against a blurred background and can be very effective in giving an impression of movement and speed.
In any case, I’ve tried panning myself, with car photography even. The problem I ran into was that my photos were neither here nor there — either the car would be frozen in time, with even the wheels sharp as a tack (ugh), or the entire scene would be blurred (feh).
For what it’s worth, I downloaded a couple of the images and checked their EXIF data which appeared to indicate that the photographer took the shots at 1/160 second. Is it just that my camera is teh sux0rs while the other guy made use of a sweet Canon 20D? Or are there other panning-specific tips of which I should be aware?
Update 2006-03-23: Link to photos fixed.
Alex, any idea what the cause of the red glowing arc is on the wheels of many of those Sebring Raceway photos? I found it distracting.
Mike: That’s not a photographic artifact — what you’re seeing is their glowing-hot brakes :).
The article you mention about panning tells the correct technique. However, there is no standard shutter speed to use when panning. 1/125s and slower is a start but is depends on available light conditions and object direction; that is, objects moving towards you seem to move slower than objects passing paralell to the lens.
What I do is to preselect the lens focal lenght, if using a zoom, and frame the area where you are going to ctually take the picture of the moving car.
Then, follow the car since it starts showing on the racetrack, use continuous focus. This will allow you to “feel” the speed and get in sync with the car. And when it starts to fill the frame, start shooting and follow it even when it passed your preselected spot. Continous shooting mode will help you to get at least one good pic, however, with practice you will only need to shoot one or two frames.
A monopod may help but it’s not necessary if you know how to stand and hold the camera. Just plant your feet on the ground, slightly separated to alloow you to move your torso from, say, right to left. Tug your arms, right hand on the camera/shutter, left hand holding the lens from beneath. You’re now a human pole, the camera should not move up/down, only on the horizontal. Fell the speed of the car, and shoot. If background isn’t blurred, lower your shutter speed one stop. Practice and experiment until you get it.