My friend Adam had an idea.
Lady Elizabeth IV with the throttle open
I am not suggesting that this is unusual, he has lots of ideas. This particular idea was to make images of him on his motorbike using panning techniques. I am up for most challenges that don’t involve cucumber, heights or black and white photography, so we agreed that Port Road, Seaview would be a suitable venue with relatively light traffic over the weekend. As I usually do, I arrived ahead of time, and began practicing. The Wellington Police Launch, Lady Elizabeth IV was crossing the harbour with a much greater than usual application of throttle. She was too far away to generate any panning blur, but it was nice to see her opened up.
Indoor Karting
Then I heard the sound of a million bees. Or perhaps it was just the kart racing in the nearby facility. They allowed me to come inside to take more shots. Unfortunately, customers pay by the ride, so when the ride is ended, it all goes quiet. I got to see a few laps anyway.
Adam at (modest) speed
Adam arrived and after some discussions about technique and strategy (he is no mean photographer in his own right), he did a few runs at a steady 50 km/h. I really must read the manual about the clever autofocus features but a few shots came out the way I imagined.
Round the bend … hmmmm
We also used the ninety degree corner at the end of the road to catch some banking shots. Being road-legal at all times and not on a race track we didn’t get too dramatic.
Thanks Adam, it was fun.
Yep – I liked the photos that came from the experience. But who’d have thought Port Rd would have been so busy on a Saturday morning?! But the motorcycle was just a practice. Your next challenge is birds on the wing. Suggest something that flies in a straight line, like ducks, rather than (Say) seagulls, which flit about all over the place. If you can pan a pair of Paradise ducks flying over, you have an award-winning shot!