Rain had been falling all morning as I passed this old car


along a Saskatchewan back road. The retreating storm created a foreboding sky and helped to saturate the grass and wet metal with rich colors. A wide-angle lens allowed


me to move in close while including the abandoned farm building in the background, enhancing the overall sense of isolation. Lesson learned—don’t give up when the weather is bad. Dramatic weather can lead to dramatic photos.


At this nighttime rodeo in Guadalajara I set my camera’s ISO to 1000 for the low light conditions and began panning, fol- lowing the horses and riders with my tele- photo lens as I shot. A shutter speed of 1/15 blurred the background while keeping my subject relatively sharp, giving a sense of movement and speed to the photo. Panning takes practice and out of 30 shots, only a few were keepers. Try reviewing photos between shots and adjusting shut- ter speed as needed to change background blur and sharpen the subject.


Eric Lindberg (www.ericlindberg.com) is a freelance writer and photographer based in Lakewood, Colo. He is the 2011 Travel Photographer of the Year, Society of American Travel Writers.


34 EnCompass January/February 2011 www.AAA.com


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