Panning for that speedy look

Panning is a technique you can use to create a blurred background – depicting movement – while keeping your subject sharp. This works for a moving car, person, animal or other object. Here’s how to go about it:

• Pre-focus on a spot directly in front of you where your subject will be when you start the exposure. You could have someone stand there, or place an object there, so your camera can focus on that spot.
• Stand firmly with the camera to your eye and twist the upper part of your body slightly in the direction from which the subject will come.
• Begin following the subject as soon as it appears in your camera’s viewfinder.
• When the subject reaches the spot you focused on, trip the shutter and continue following the subject in one smooth movement.
• The background should be of uneven tones and the path of motion should be as parallel as possible.
• Use the slowest possible shutter speed at the highest possible f-stop. A shutter speed around 1/15 to 1/30 of a second may work best.

Try some shots of a jogger, a cyclist and a car. Which turned out best?

Sharp night shots without a tripod

You just can't get a sharp photo at night without something to support the camera. Photos become blurry or streaked when the shutter stays open long enough to ensure sufficient light enters the camera to make a picture. While the shutter is open, your hands move a little. You may tremble or the wind may blow the camera. Pictures made under such unsteady conditions turn out jittery or blurry. The hand movement causes streaks of light and fuzzy images.

Your long-exposure pictures will turn out better if you take the camera out of your hands and use some kind of support to steady it. A tripod is ideal, but what if you don't have one? Here are some substitutes:

• a ledge
• a step
• a windowsill
• a car roof
• a car fender
• a car window frame
• a curb
• a chair back
• a wall
• a sandbag
• an extra firm pillow
• a book bag
• a camera bag

Once the camera is supported firmly, you need to find a a way to trigger the shutter without pushing down on the release button. Your pressing finger could cause the camera to wiggle.

An easy answer is to use the camera's self-timer. Fire it and the camera will stop jiggling during the ten seconds it waits to shoot.

Some cameras also will accept a remote shutter release cable or a radio-controlled shutter release.

If all else fails, import your undesirably jittery or blurry photos into Photoshop or Photoshop Elements or similar software and slightly increase clarity by applying an unsharp mask or sharpen filter.

Tracking the wild huckleberry

Spring is about here. Now is the time to begin to follow the return to life of a plant, shrub or tree in a series of photos recording new growth over time. Find a dogwood, redbud, azalea, rhododendron, forsythia, magnolia, barberry, hawthorn, huckleberry, viburnum, or any other plant, shrub or tree that buds and flowers, and shoot it everyday from bare to blossom. Place your photo sequence in a PowerPoint slide show that will run like a time-lapse movie. Or use Photoshop Elements or other image editing software to display your plant's progress in a grid of photos.

Love those overcast days

Bright sunlight can make a landscape look good, but you'll have better luck on an overcast day when you want to shoot portraits outdoors. The light is diffused and will flatter your subject. Also, the light won't change much from minute to minute so the camera won't have to be changed a lot.