Panning tests - first time.

EdinburghGary

EdinburghGary

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Gary
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Comments welcome, I think I got it working, but maybe I have missed something? All shot handheld using the 14 to 24! (Heavy!)

1:
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2:
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3:
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Oh and yeah, I seem to enjoy taking random photos of public transport, dunno why. I really need to invest in a yellow raincoat at somepoint.


Gary.
 
They all look ok to me, I prefer the second one. I think you could crop the first and third to get more taxi while maintaining the sense of speed.
 
2 for me too, nice balance between car size, placement and movement.
Dean:)
 
Gary

I had something like this in mind.

2580110920_0c5533e868_o.jpg


And this

2579282205_4c6c836788_o.jpg


I think having the cab at the left hand side of the shot retains the sense of speed. By the way, is the cabby in the first on his mobile phone? The second may be looking at you and not the road. You're putting me off getting a cab in Edinburgh!
 
rh1944 said:
Gary

I had something like this in mind.

2580110920_0c5533e868_o.jpg


And this

2579282205_4c6c836788_o.jpg


I think having the cab at the left hand side of the shot retains the sense of speed. By the way, is the cabby in the first on his mobile phone? The second may be looking at you and not the road. You're putting me off getting a cab in Edinburgh!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the cropping tips - I always thought items should "MOVE INTO" the shot, but I get what you are saying with regards to the speed element.

I took about 20 panning shots of cabs, buses and other cars. I would say about 12 people clocked me, took there eyes off the road, and watched as I panned!

I spotted 3 or 4 people on mobiles, and cabbies are NEVER off the things.

I hate EDI taxi drivers, think they rule the road - I had one nearly wipe me out, we were doing 40 and he slammed on breaks and did an instant U turn for a fair.

Hate them! (Sure they are nice people but they drive like assholes :D)

Gary.
 
EdinburghGary said:
Thanks for the cropping tips - I always thought items should "MOVE INTO" the shot, but I get what you are saying with regards to the speed element.

I took about 20 panning shots of cabs, buses and other cars. I would say about 12 people clocked me, took there eyes off the road, and watched as I panned!

I spotted 3 or 4 people on mobiles, and cabbies are NEVER off the things.

I hate EDI taxi drivers, think they rule the road - I had one nearly wipe me out, we were doing 40 and he slammed on breaks and did an instant U turn for a fair.

Hate them! (Sure they are nice people but they drive like assholes :D)

Gary.
Click to expand...
You missed out the left turn from the right hand lane without signalling - another in the armoury of any taxi driver. The private hires are worse: one way streets are for going one way in, no matter what the sign says. Then there's let's sit two abreast on a main road while having a chat despite the queue of traffic behind. Also, what does give way because that duffer won't let me push into the stream of traffic from a side street.

All taxi drivers should drive BMWs or Mercs then they can be as inconsiderate as they like and everyone will say its a BMW (or Merc) driver - what do you expect.

As for the Move Into, the experts may well be right - I thought that there was too much move into space and not enough sense of speed. Maybe my brain doesn't work the way it should.
 
rh1944 said:
All taxi drivers should drive BMWs or Mercs then they can be as inconsiderate as they like and everyone will say its a BMW (or Merc) driver - what do you expect.
Click to expand...

Haha so true :D I had yet another BMW driver try and prove he was right the other day by going straight on at a roundabout in the left lane whilst I was in the middle lane. A few pleasantries mouthed through the glass soon put him in his place :LOL:

Good pics Gary, an interesting subject I must say though. Get yourself over to Knockhill next time theres an event on and try some on-track panning.
 
MikeeB said:
Haha so true :D I had yet another BMW driver try and prove he was right the other day by going straight on at a roundabout in the left lane whilst I was in the middle lane. A few pleasantries mouthed through the glass soon put him in his place :LOL:
Click to expand...

On Grumpy Old Men, John Peel reckoned that there was a law that if you overtake a BMW then the BMW driver must overtake you in the next thirty seconds.
 
Now you know you can do it Gary, my advice is stick with your other stuff or move on to more sport type shots.
(Hey what do I know anyway !*@)
 
MikeeB said:
Good pics Gary, an interesting subject I must say though. Get yourself over to Knockhill next time theres an event on and try some on-track panning.
Click to expand...

That's the plan, I just thought I would get some feedback on my technique first!

KH....Togging versus Racing...

:thinking:

Gary.
 
I prefer your other material to these panning shots. I could happily live without almost all the motor sport shots I have seen.

The best sporting shots I have seen on this forum were from the three day event - something that leaves me cold as a sport.
 
I just thought I would get some feedback on my technique first!
Click to expand...

Needs work dude. None of them are money shots and I know you like to get it right. I doubt you're doing anything wrong but it does take practice to nail these and obviously, the slower you go with the shutter, the more bang on you need to be.

Just keep taking them until you can go as slow as you like and still read the markings on the tyres. :)

A good follow though is always helpful in getting a smooth, well timed pan.
 
EdinburghGary said:
I took about 20 panning shots of cabs, buses and other cars. I would say about 12 people clocked me, took there eyes off the road, and watched as I panned!
Click to expand...


If you like a bit of mischief, do what I do..... wear a hi-viz jacket whilst taking panning shots of the traffic with an 80-200 lens on the D300 on a monopod,on the busiest road you can find and watch everyone do 30mph :LOL:
 
rh1944 said:
On Grumpy Old Men, John Peel reckoned that there was a law that if you overtake a BMW then the BMW driver must overtake you in the next thirty seconds.
Click to expand...

Haha sounds about right. Saw a female driver in a blue M3 today just pull into traffic without looking :LOL: oblivious to the honking perhaps?
 
rh1944 said:
I prefer your other material to these panning shots. I could happily live without almost all the motor sport shots I have seen.

The best sporting shots I have seen on this forum were from the three day event - something that leaves me cold as a sport.
Click to expand...


Cheers for the honest crit, I like to try everything a few times :) I enjoyed taking these and was impressed with what I got, but I would LOVE to know what to change and how to get them better :)

Gary.
 
dazzajl said:
Needs work dude. None of them are money shots and I know you like to get it right. I doubt you're doing anything wrong but it does take practice to nail these and obviously, the slower you go with the shutter, the more bang on you need to be.

Just keep taking them until you can go as slow as you like and still read the markings on the tyres. :)

A good follow though is always helpful in getting a smooth, well timed pan.
Click to expand...

Any more tips appreciated!! Do you feel the cars a little soft in this??

Gary.
 
Quick tips to use for panning shots

Frame up your subject, what I mean is, try to frame you subject at the earliest opportunity and keep it in frame, trying to follow it smoothly. Important "make sure that continuous autofocus has been selected" as this will keep the subject sharp

Mid-Pan, Release the shutter, glenty press the shutter...

Finish, take the shot but remember to keep panning after you have taken the shot, by doing this you'll achieve a much smoother action shot.

Generally, the slower the subject the longer the shutter speed needed.

Walking subjects 1/2 - 1/15 secs
Running subjects 1/8 - 1/60 secs
Fast animals 1/15 - 1/125 secs
Cycling or fast moving sports 1/15 - 1/125 secs
Cars 1/30 - 1/250 secs
Motor racing 1/60 - 1/250 secs
Prop aircraft 1/250 - 1/400 secs
jets 1/400 - 1/1000 secs

Experiment with slower shutter speeds, but get the technique right first.

IMG_4750_edited-1.jpg


Peter
 
There's something on at Knockhill every weekend, with the Melville Club Bike Racing this Sat & Sun from 9am.

2558228161_29b565d93b.jpg
 
This weekend it's £8 per day or £15 (!) for both days. For the bikes you need at least something like a 70-200 or ideally 300mm or more....
 
Flash In The Pan said:
This weekend it's £8 per day or £15 (!) for both days. For the bikes you need at least something like a 70-200 or ideally 300mm or more....
Click to expand...

Got my Bigma at the weekend which will cover 50 to 500, and have a Nikkor 70 to 300 VR.

Gary.
 
EdinburghGary said:
Got my Bigma at the weekend which will cover 50 to 500, and have a Nikkor 70 to 300 VR.

Gary.
Click to expand...

It's been quite sunny at Knockhill lately so you might get away with the Bigma with a wee iso boost, the af will still be quite slow, but with a bit of luck there would be some cracking shots to be had with a nice long lens like that :)

If you don't have a monopod I can give you a shot of mine if you want, unless you're trying to save the cost of a Charles Atlas course by lugging that Bigma around :LOL:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
It's been quite sunny at Knockhill lately so you might get away with the Bigma with a wee iso boost, the af will still be quite slow, but with a bit of luck there would be some cracking shots to be had with a nice long lens like that :)

If you don't have a monopod I can give you a shot of mine if you want, unless you're trying to save the cost of a Charles Atlas course by lugging that Bigma around :LOL:
Click to expand...

I might invest in a monopod. Been hand holding since I got it mind you :)
 
Also, pricey, but I like my toys :)
Manfrotto 685B Neotec Pro Monopod with Safety Lock ?

Gary.
 
It's a sturdy set up,you might prefer to mount the lens straight to the 'pod which would be even stronger but not as flexible.

Alternatively you could get a Jessops one for about 20 quid but it'll end up :banana: shaped if you put the Bigma on it :bang:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
It's a sturdy set up,you might prefer to mount the lens straight to the 'pod which would be even stronger but not as flexible.

Alternatively you could get a Jessops one for about 20 quid but it'll end up :banana: shaped if you put the Bigma on it :bang:
Click to expand...

:)

Well thanks for the help, I might make it knockhill and see you there!

Gary.
 
pete.rush said:
Quick tips to use for panning shots

Frame up your subject, what I mean is, try to frame you subject at the earliest opportunity and keep it in frame, trying to follow it smoothly. Important "make sure that continuous autofocus has been selected" as this will keep the subject sharp Mid-Pan, Release the shutter, glenty press the shutter... Finish, take the shot but remember to keep panning after you have taken the shot, by doing this you'll achieve a much smoother action shot. Generally, the slower the subject the longer the shutter speed needed.

Walking subjects 1/2 - 1/15 secs
Running subjects 1/8 - 1/60 secs
Fast animals 1/15 - 1/125 secs
Cycling or fast moving sports 1/15 - 1/125 secs
Cars 1/30 - 1/250 secs
Motor racing 1/60 - 1/250 secs
Prop aircraft 1/250 - 1/400 secs
jets 1/400 - 1/1000 secs

Experiment with slower shutter speeds, but get the technique right first.

Peter
Click to expand...

Many thanks for the excellent advice on panning. Looking at your suggested shutter speeds, it seems to me that you can summarise the rules as follows:
1) if your shutter speed is about half the speed of the object e.g. for 40 mph have a shutter speed of 1/20 then the object will move about 3 feet
2) if your shutter speed is about four times faster than the speed of the object e.g. for 40 mph have a shutter speed of 1/150 then the object will move about 4 inches.

Given that Gary was photographing taxis which never do more than 40 mph in Edinburgh then his maximum zoom should have been about 150mm. Given he was using the 500mm, there's little chance that he would get a sharp image at 500mm.

Please let me know if I am wrong.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
It's a sturdy set up,you might prefer to mount the lens straight to the 'pod which would be even stronger but not as flexible.

Alternatively you could get a Jessops one for about 20 quid but it'll end up :banana: shaped if you put the Bigma on it :bang:
Click to expand...

I opted for the Neotec from Calumet. I also got a Grip Shift head, all feels very good.

Thanks,

Gary.
 
rh1944 said:
Many thanks for the excellent advice on panning. Looking at your suggested shutter speeds, it seems to me that you can summarise the rules as follows:
1) if your shutter speed is about half the speed of the object e.g. for 40 mph have a shutter speed of 1/20 then the object will move about 3 feet
2) if your shutter speed is about four times faster than the speed of the object e.g. for 40 mph have a shutter speed of 1/150 then the object will move about 4 inches.

Given that Gary was photographing taxis which never do more than 40 mph in Edinburgh then his maximum zoom should have been about 150mm. Given he was using the 500mm, there's little chance that he would get a sharp image at 500mm.

Please let me know if I am wrong.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I used the 14mm to 24mm on all these shots :)

Gary.
 
EdinburghGary said:
Hi,

I used the 14mm to 24mm on all these shots :)

Gary.
Click to expand...

Which means the taxis would have moved some three or four feet if your shutter speed had matched the zoom available. So what shutter speeds were you using?
 
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