Panned Cedars and Luminous Light

Posted by Don Smith (California, United States) on 8 March 2008 in Landscape & Rural.

I have been experimenting with in-camera motion pans for the past month. Inspired by the work of William Neill, I tend to look for strong verticals, diagonals or horizontals while in the field and this image of cedars near Lower Yosemite Falls lent itself perfectly for some experimentation. The first thing that caught my eye was how the warm tones of the cedars seemed to glow in the late-afternoon diffused light. My technique is to extend my arms away from my body and begin panning the vertical lines of the trees. I close my eyes so I can better feel the movement of the camera. When I feel the rhythm is smooth, I slowly press the shutter (somewhere in the range of 0.5 to 2 seconds works best). Many photographers shoot a straight image then apply the movement through Photoshop filters. Images created in-camera, in my opinion, have a more natural feel. http://donsmithphotography.com