Week 37 – #31. Panning

April 9, 2015 by tnwaltz 17 Comments

For those not familiar with the term “panning,” it is a photography technique performed through capturing an object in motion while moving the camera in parallel to the object. By moving the camera together with the object, the object remains sharp and the background becomes blurred.

This is not my favorite technique and although I had two willing participants, a/k/a Mike and Molly, it turned out to be somewhat of a comedy show early this morning in my neighborhood. Mike agreed to drive the car up and down our street and Molly eagerly agreed to ride in the back seat while I practiced panning. Along comes the garbage collectors … drive up the street again, Mike. Out comes the neighbor with a cup of coffee … drive up the street again, Mike. Along comes the recycle collectors … drive up the street again, Mike. Molly is not looking out the window … drive up the street again, Mike. My shutter speed is not slow enough … drive up the street again, Mike. I need to go inside to make sure the bacon is not burning … drive up the street again, Mike. Molly was more than happy for me to continue practicing, but Mike gets grouchy when he is hungry.