Blur-Pan Shots: What's the secret?

[Joseph Cermak]

Hi all,
I have been attempting a pan shot fro some time, but they all seem to be rejected for being blurry. They seem to me to have the cab in focus which would be the point to me. Am I missing something here? Any tips for how to get these shots? Thanks.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewreje...49&key=9138618
http://www.railpictures.net/viewreje...35&key=9001739

[RobJor]

Originally Posted by Joseph Cermak

Hi all,
I have been attempting a pan shot fro some time, but they all seem to be rejected for being blurry. They seem to me to have the cab in focus which would be the point to me. Am I missing something here? Any tips for how to get these shots? Thanks.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewreje...49&key=9138618
http://www.railpictures.net/viewreje...35&key=9001739

I don't even try but I think there was a prior thread with fair comments. Looking at yours, and what I Usually see I think you are better off if the subject is square to your camera position and directly in front of you. From a photo point of view I think you need more than ballast to convey a sense of motion and good if train is on track nearest you. When I was going to try pan shots I found some tutorials online.
Bob

[miningcamper1]

Originally Posted by Joseph Cermak

Hi all,
I have been attempting a pan shot fro some time, but they all seem to be rejected for being blurry. They seem to me to have the cab in focus which would be the point to me. Am I missing something here? Any tips for how to get these shots? Thanks.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewreje...49&key=9138618
http://www.railpictures.net/viewreje...35&key=9001739

Both need more sharpening IMO. The first has some distortion making the radiator end look too large relative to the cab end. It's unlevel as well. The shadow in the second one- will the screener like or dislike?

The secret to success with these? Lots of practice, and even then there will probably be many to be deleted. I only shot a few- maybe I'll try this one here someday with a new scan.

[bigbassloyd]

Distance is the key. By no means am I a good panner, but the farther away you are, the better. IF you're attempting to do a pan at the wide end of a wide angle lens, you're already setup for failure due to the lens characteristics (i.e. distortion, blur, etc.).

PhotoID: 578873 Photograph © Loyd Lowry

This one was at 47mm using my 24-105.

Loyd L.

[miningcamper1]

Originally Posted by bigbassloyd

Distance is the key. By no means am I a good panner, but the farther away you are, the better. IF you're attempting to do a pan at the wide end of a wide angle lens, you're already setup for failure due to the lens characteristics (i.e. distortion, blur, etc.).



This one was at 47mm using my 24-105.

Loyd L.

Quite good, but why so dark?

[bigbassloyd]

Originally Posted by miningcamper1

Quite good, but why so dark?

Looks good hanging on my wall.

Loyd L.

[Joseph Cermak]

Definitely a good point about being further away. Any recommendations on what is a good shutter speed to have a good amount of blur but still be able to hold the camera freehand?

[miningcamper1]

Originally Posted by Joseph Cermak

Definitely a good point about being further away. Any recommendations on what is a good shutter speed to have a good amount of blur but still be able to hold the camera freehand?

The rule of thumb I always heard was to use 1/xx, xx being the focal length of the (full frame) lens. Some people are better at hand-holding a camera than others.

1/15 will give you nice blur, but probably a lot of failures.

[bigbassloyd]

Originally Posted by Joseph Cermak

Definitely a good point about being further away. Any recommendations on what is a good shutter speed to have a good amount of blur but still be able to hold the camera freehand?

1/15th to 1/25th is about all I'm good for. The masters can pull off 1/10th and slower though.

Loyd L.

[miningcamper1]

Kenyon KS 4x4 Gyro Stabilizer- just $3460.00 and you're good to go!