I captured this image of a running wildebeest in the heart of the Masai Mara, Kenya. I was leading a 1-to-1 workshop and we set out to practice some panning whilst waiting for the herds of wildebeest to cross the river. This technique gives the photograph a sense of dynamic motion, capturing the frenzied energy and sheer power of the wildebeest migration. Wildebeest are good subjects for practicing panning for a number of reasons. Firstly, there are many of them in one place when they are grouping up to cross the river. Often some kind of commotion is stirred up and they start running which gives us plenty of chances for practice. Also, they have a very distinctive shape which helps with this kind of photography.
In my opinion, when you do this type of photography, you need to get something reasonably sharp. 99% of the images will just be a blur and goes straight in the bin. There is a huge element of luck but the more you practice the more keepers you get. In general, I shoot these images from the side so that you get the profile of the subject. The sense of speed is also greater when shooting from the side.
The overall feeling of this image with the motion blur etc is done in the camera with a slow shutter speed plus panning. You need to find a balance of how slow the shutter needs to be for the speed of the subject and the amount of blur you want. It is sometimes a delicate balance. In the processing, I have converted the image to monochrome and adjusted the tones to my taste. I have also done some dodging and burning on the animal itself to highlight certain features. Finally, I have done a relatively heavy silhouette to draw attention to the running animal.
Generally, you can say that these type of images requires a lot of patience, a lot of failed attempts, and a bit of luck to get it right in the end. But practicing makes it easier.
