Sharpness Series #7 – Panning

You’re standing in Tampa Bay, the warm spring air makes it wading very enjoyable. The light is just getting right, the birds are starting to comeback to their night roost….life is good!

You have your tripod set up in the water, though you slowly sink in the mud and have to change your footing every so often, the 600mm is on a stable platform.

Then the Roseatte Spoonbills start to fly in. In these conditions, in any conditions, how do you get a tack sharp image of a moving subject. There is only one answer, Panning!

The three images above are from a single sequence taken in Tampa Bay last spring. The scenario is just as I described above. They are a prime example of what is demoed in the video, perfected panning technique. You can do it too!

Photos captured by D3, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film