62
MOUNTAINLIFEBLUEMOUNTAINS
SPRING2016
MARCLANDRY
When I started shooting, I used to try thispan
techniquequiteabit. Thiswasmoreaboutme
struggling to freezeactionwith strobes than
understandingwhatmakesa successful pan shot.
I don’tprofess tobe thepan-master (that’sGary
Perkin) but I have tried tohone this skill over the
years. There isa lot that goes intoa solidpanand
howyou realize theend imagedependsgreatlyon
your settingsaswell as the speedof the subject.
Just becauseyoucanget down to1/4
th
doesn’t
necessarilymake it the right choice to tell the story.
Themotionneeds tohavecontext. Shootingevents
isagreatplace to figure it out. You’ll needasmany
passesand trialsasyoucan to sort out howmuch
motionblur youwant toconvey inyour shot. The
brightnessof your foregroundandbackground is
alsoabigdetermining factor inhow far youcan
push it.
The real storybehind this shot isabout themount Imade that allowedme to strapmy full-frameNikonD4 toTaylorRowlands’ chest and fire it off trailsideviaPocket
Wizard. I am300 feet back in thebush tripping the shutteron this. Itwasexceedinglydark in this forest,withbarelyenoughnatural light tomakeanexposure. I
wanted toconvey somemotionanddragged the shutter as slowas1/30thof a secondon thisone. Evenat that exposure, Iwasat ISO18,102,which isout ofbounds
even formymightyD4. Sometimesyouhave topushyour gearpast the in-spec limit toget the shot. Rider: KyleEasby.
