Exercise 5: Panning with different shutter speeds

I used my cyclist volunteer for this exercise too.  This is the first time I had given panning a try and I was surprised with the results escpecially when I compared them to those taken with different shutter speeds.

I took my camera off the tripod for this series of shots.  I used my 18-105mm lens.

1/320s f7.1 40mm

The background is still sharp at this shutter speed

1/125s f11 40mm

The background is slightly blurry

1/80s f13 40mm

The background is getting more blurred and the feet are slightly out of focus

1/50s f18 40mm

I like the background in this shot it gives a sense of movement to the subject

1/30s f22 40mm

There's a greater sense of movement in this image and the feet are also very blurred

1/15s f29 40mm

The subject in this image is not so sharp - the legs look like they are moving very fast. The subject looks like he's cycling at great speed when there is no change to his pace.

1/5s f29 40mm

The subject is very out of focus in this shot but it increases the sense of speed he cycling at.

Panning is a good way to show movement by keeping the subject in focus and making the background blurred.  It gives a better sense of movement and speed than slowing the shutter speed and keeping the camera still. 

Having the subject out of focus can add to the image and the movement however I think you have to be careful to get the focus and lack of sharpness just right.