Thoroughbred in motion

Panning shot of a thoroughbred striding to the line.

Had a day out at the races in Victoria and wanted to shoot them differently than the normal. Decided on a blurred panning shot try show the motion and speed these guy carry to the finish line. The only part I though was missing was the sound of thumping hoofs and snapping whips as they cruised by.

technical notes:

I have a few different techniques I have used when doing panning shots. Typically I will shoot in a shutter priority mode, as I want a repeatable shutter speed induced blur. If I set my shutter speed to say 1/60, then I can pan away without too much concern for the passing scene and allow the cameras metering to handle the rest. I will shoot manual for the same reason, but it’s normally in much more controlled environments where the surrounding lighting is understood and taken into account with determining correct exposure.

For the random unplanned event, Its one of the few time shutter priority is used on my camera. So I like to set the mode in a suitable panning type speed, say 1/60 and spot metering. Then if the situation quickly presents itself, like a nice ferrari passing in the streets, I can quickly toggle to shutter priority and see if I can capture something. rather than miss any opportunity. I really do enjoy doing panning shots. There is something special about the implied motion.

Heres another one I did of my 2 daughters on their scooters. This was a shot from our local groups monthly challenge motion. To me it didn’t matter that they were not sharp as the streaking speckled highlight created a dramatic motion feel, which worked well with the girls white clothing and extended poses.