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I manually focused on the bike in the other lane and then panned with a follow through. The bike in the foreground crossed in front of the subject bike and gave...
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I manually focused on the bike in the other lane and then panned with a follow through. The bike in the foreground crossed in front of the subject bike and gave me this result - one I really like
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Dec, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
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Although I have been a sports photographer for over forty four years the one thing that I have always been lousy at has been panning. Some of my peers can pan at a quarter of a second and be pin sharp - not me. In an effort to become better at panning I sat on a small stool next to the drag strip wall with my camera on a mono-pod (what ever it takes I reckon) looking across track. Basically I started panning cars and bikes in the far lane at a 1/125th and as I became more confident I dropped the shutter speed to 1/100th then 1/80th which is what I took this photo at. In this case a second bike crossed in front of the subject and partly obscured it when I snapped the shutter and in the end it added a dynamic sense of speed to the shot.Time
This was taken in the middle of the day.Lighting
At this track at that time of year the sun goes from behind the subject to in front of it over the course of the day - here it was basically above it. When shot from the front or the back at this time of day it can give a very contrasty result but in this case a side shot reduces that contrast dramatically.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon 40D and 28-70mm f2.8L lens on a monopodInspiration
The simple fact that I wanted to improve my panning technique and I think I didEditing
I did process this through Snapseed improving the contrast and refined the final exposureIn my camera bag
In the days of film I always had the very best camera bodies and lenses (Canon F1, F1n bodies,300mm f2.8L, 400mm f2.8L etc) when I earned enough to pay for the lease on these but with the change to digital everyone now has the ability to take a pro level photograph for a fraction of the cost. As such I have had to forego Canon 1dx Mk 1 & 2 for a 7D and 7DMk 2 - these are still incredible cameras for a sports photographer. I recently sold my 300mm f2.8L Mk 1 lens and purchased a Canon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM and Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lenses as the optics have improved so much, especially where the second zoom is concerned . I also have a Canon EF 8-15mm f/4.0L USM Fisheye Zoom Lens and a Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM Wide Angle Lens (that is super sharp) as well as a Mk 1 version of a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 lens. I also have a Canon Mk 2 versions of 1.4X and 2X converters. I also do a lot of concert photography and have an EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and an EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lenses for low light photography as well as 2 x tripods and a carbon fibre mono pod. For lighting I have 2 x Canon 580 EX flashes and four Yongnuo YN600EX-RT II Speedlite Flashes and a YN-E3-RT transmitter (ideal for race car side lighting)Feedback
To be truthful it has never been easier to take great action photographs than with the amateur - semi pro cameras currently available. A drag strip is a great place to take such photos (though any motor racing facility is good really). Using say a Canon 80D and 70-200mm f4L (with its 1.6 crop factor) the longest you can reach is 320mm (more than enough for side on photography).The camera a has seven frames a second motor drive and Digix 6 processing. So start your engines
