Olly Wilkins aka @Odub_23 started a social media trend a while back called, “#panshotfriday”, as every other day of the week seemed to have some attributed theme. It’s caught on with strong showings from the various MTB Photo Squids, and each Friday, Instagram users have been treated to blurred-yet-sharp(ish) photos from the various accounts they follow.
I have shared a few in the past, but I’m pretty sure I have yet to actually partake in the sanctioned hashtag party. Being someone known for shooting too many of these types of photos (call it “beginners interest”), I have an absurd amount of pan shots in my Lightroom files. Jumping in head first, as they say, I decided to create a compilation of some of my favorite pans from this past season.
The Pan Shot is easy to try, but ridiculously hard to master. Among Squids, a true Pan Shot has to have a shutter speed of 1/25 or less. Sometimes, when bored or feeling extra steady, a fun challenge is to see just how slow one can go…a warning label, results may vary. Some of the shots below are sharper than others, but a lot of the time the idea behind a pan gives the shooter a little more “artistic license” for what can be deemed “sharp”. In summation, these are just fun shots that are a little different than most. There are 25 photos in honor of the 1/25 shutter speed required to have a “legit” pan shot. Within this gallery, a strong percentage of the pans could be considered “Happy Accidents”, as the Late Bob Ross used to say (and who’s birthday was yesterday – fun fact). Enjoy!
