Blog_250504_PanningHorse
Panning Running Horses
Shallow Depth of Field and Slow Shutter Speeds
Date: May 4, 2025
By Steve Glass
Do you ever feel like your creativity has plateaued; that you are making the same photo over and over - like millions of times; that you set out to create, and push forward, yet to no avail? How do we push through these plateaus? Can they be pushed through? Or do we just trudge for days, months, years – hoping that we’ll emerge on the other side?
Sometimes, new gear opens the window of opportunity for creative exploration and rejuvenates the creative juices. Recently, I’ve been exploring the added creativity that Maven filters have afforded me. While photographing running horses during my most recent Cowboys in Colorado Photography workshop (https://glassphotography.com/Workshops-2025/Cowboys-in-Colorado/1 ), I wanted to try something new. We had the classic, sharp-as-a-tack, horses running through a field. It’s a nice shot; it’s a clean shot, but I wanted something different. . .
Settings: 1/1600 at f/2.8, ISO 1600
Yet, how can I make it different? What if I panned in the middle of the day with close to a wide-open aperture. I thought, “What the heck, let’s try”. Using the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L series, I popped the 10 stop Maven Neutral Density (ND Filter) with a simple magnetic snap. I opened up the shutter speed to 1/13, dropped the ISO to 50, and increased the depth of field from f/2.8 to a f/5.6 - not fully open, but still open.
The experiment worked; I like the following photo much more. I think in today’s image-overload culture, it’s a more interesting image that will require the viewer to pause and consider. I like the motion blur. What about you?
Settings: 1/13 at f/5.6 ISO 50
By the way, the reason I stopped down to f/5.6 was, in the moment I wanted to ensure my focal plane had enough of the cowgirl. Now that I’m writing this, I realize it was a silly mistake, and I know I would have had plenty of depth of field to ensure the focal planes sharpness at f/2.8. So next time I go out, I’m going to try a side-by-side. Same shutter speed with a large depth of field (say f/22) and one fully open f/2.8.
And, yeah, I know the ranch dog was gumming up the horses legs a bit . . . but the dog was having such a great time – who was I to tell it to stay home?
Gear used in Creation of this image:
Camera Body: Canon R6, version 1
Auto Focus Mode: Auto Server, Zone focus (placed zone focus box where I wanted the rider positioned in the frame)
Frame Rate: High Plus
Lens: Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 L version I (Stabilizer Mode 2 for panning)
Filters: Maven 10 stop ND Filter, 82mm with a step up ring for the 77mm threads on the front of the lens.
Tripod Head: Real Right Stuff (RRS) 55-Ballhead – loosed the pan so I could easily pan the horse and rider
Tripod: Older than dirt Manfrotto Aluminum Tripod (still going strong)
---End Post ---