Cobra replica in full flight

In Melbourne Australia

Now aint that just grand! Could have opend up one stop - looks a little too dark. That fact that the car lights show, probably tells us it was quite dark and lacking contrast when you took the picture.

Very good pan shot. A bit brighter on the car?

An atmospheric shot, Rob - looks like you were shooting in some pretty dismal conditions.

 

I disagree with the previous poster regarding the need to lighten the shot, it works fine as it is IMHO because you get the contrast between the poor light and the illumination from the car's headlights.

 

What lets this photograph down is the fact that it isn't as sharp or as well focused as it could be, though I suspect that might be partly down to the weather. When the light is poor, you have to be more careful with focusing - any mistakes and the results will be slightly out.

Actually, I think it is my panning technique rather than focus. I have many other photos from this session where the image is much more blurry, indicating I have not panned smoothly with the same shutter speed. I am probably being a little too aggressive with the shutter speed, seeking too much blur in the background. I found in the dim light that the leeway for sharpness of subject seemed to be much less. Compare it to the one below which was taken of the same car about 4 months earlier on a bright day.

 

Many thanks for your comments. I will keep trying for that perfect shot.

Cheers, Rob

Rob, you mentioned being aggressive with your shutter speed to get the blur. Out of curiosity, what shutter speed were you using? I find that I can get good blur at 1/200s or even higher with good body rotation - and get less binned shots too. FYI, most pan shots in my portfolio are shot in the 1/200 to 1/320 range, I rarely go much lower than 1/125 for panning.

 

BTW, I'm having trouble seeing the attachement...

Interesting. This photo had shutter speed of 1/125 sec, which is probably too slow based on what you have said. I will try a higher shutter speed next time. (Hope you can see this attachment more easily.)

Cheers, Rob

Cheers Rob - managed to see the second attachment. I see what you mean about the difference.

 

I hope that higher shutter speeds will help - when panning with slow(ish) shutter speeds, if you mis-match your body rotation with the movement of the car, it will make the image soft. A bit like camera shake, if you will. It's all about getting into a smooth rhythm.