“An object at rest stays at rest, an object in motion stays in motion.”
~ Isaac Newton (1687) ~
I often think of objects in motion as it pertains to people. This wasn’t what Mr. Newton was thinking when he coined his 1st Law of Motion in 1686. My mind gravitates to the non stop, grass doesn’t grow under their feet, boundless energy individuals who never slow down. They’re perpetual motion personified.
Athletes fall into this category. Not only the professional variety, but more the weekend warrior heritage. They ‘Keep on doing what they’re doing’ with amazing tenacity.
Capturing these folks in the proper context often requires some creativity. Sure, most action oriented pictures will suffice, but encapsulating the energy, motion and passion is often a better alternative.
Photographers have to consciously decide the variables of what’s known as the ‘Triangle’… shutter speed, aperture and ISO. The delicate balance of the three will dictate the end result. For our purposes, let’s concentrate on shutter speed and discuss the technique of panning.
If capturing the essence of the action is the goal, combining, speed, energy and passion in one frame may be the ticket. The best panning images are generally taken with the subject passing perpendicular to the lens at a 90 degree angle. A slow shutter speed of 1/4 to 1/60 of a second… depending on the speed of the subject… coupled with moving the camera to follow your subject is required. Athletes moving at roughly 45 degrees to the camera can work as well, but become more of a low probability shot. Using continuous shooting on your camera can prove beneficial. Granted, shooting away at 1/4 or 1/15 of a second isn’t going to add many frames to the sequence, but anything that can increase the odds (%) of getting the picture is worth your time.
As a former photojournalist with Gannet News, I had to tune up my panning skills (or lack thereof) after leaving the newspaper business.
I’ve always enjoyed good sports imagery and love to mix in an artistic expression when I can. The design elements of color, texture & lines can often morph into a magical frame when motion is utilized in the scene.
As I learned during the paper biz years (1986-1996), Editors aren’t big fans of artistic or abstract images. They tend to fall into the cookie cutter camp… clean & simple. Ho-hum. This was always a bit boring for me, so I yawned… oops… rather obliged and gave them what they wanted.
Fast forward to today and anything goes in our social media dominated world. Once you get past what people had for breakfast & politically charged posts, there’s a world of stunning imagery at your fingertips. I’ll leave names out of this blog, but suffice to say, all the folks from Sports Illustrated (SI) who have now moved on to new frontiers post breathtaking work on a daily basis. They are truly masters of their craft and an inspiration. They seem to get better with age. Every now & then, they even post a panned image.