October and Colour!

The month of October, here in Canada at least, you think of colour. The trees are turning, it gets darker earlier so we see beautiful sunsets more, added to the sunrises and sunsets the seasons are changing which creates more dramatic cloud formations, the crisp nights yet the beautiful days...all in all October is an amazing month! One thing I have been noticing is: in the morning you have a beautiful layer of blueish frost on the lush green grass and the warm orange hue of the sunrise and sunbeams; you have a striking contrast in "white balance" (as we photographers like calling the hue of light) yet there is perfect beauty and harmony in all the colours! (Sorry, I don't yet have a photo to capture what I just described...maybe in the future.)

Well, October's photography project was on the subject of capturing colour by using rules. (e.g. rule of thirds, leading lines, etc.) I tried to put these into practice, but like always, I'm sure I could have improved! So below are my five shots of the month. Enjoy. Comment. Critique.

The Technique of Panning...

September's project was based on a photography technique called "panning". The object is to keep the moving subject in the same position in the frame for the duration of the exposure. The length of the exposure must be long enough to blur the background movement while aptly freezing the subject. This is a technique that takes practice to perfect just like the movements of a golfer. Each scenario is unique and requires different settings in relation to the speed the subject is moving. With faster moving subjects the faster the shutter speed you can use to produce a smoothly panned shot, which is so much easier than slower moving subjects using slower shutter speeds to achieve the desired blurred background. To help with consistent even blur it does help to use a tripod or monopod to give stability while standing or resting your elbow, of the hand holding the camera, on your knee. 

So here are my two attempts at panning. If you have any comments, suggestions, or anything please feel free to share!

With subjects that are moving it is virtually impossible to freeze them while still blaring the background. I'm sure it could be perfected with more practice.

This one was a bit more tough as the subject was moving slower and therefore took a slower shutter speed. Again it could be improved with more practice.