panning shots and race cars

Ken Miles. Riverside, Porsche RSK

Story and photos by Allen R. Kuhn

Read Part 1

As we begin Part 2 of Panning for Gold, the above shot defies explanation, from me anyway. I have four other similar shots that look like normal car pictures. Here, it looks like the car is in pan motion with those streaks. And, what about that wheel? I have never seen one like that before. We recently showed this picture to Pete Stout of Excellence magazine. His art director asked me if I did that in Photoshop. I said I hadn’t, but that I had a theory on why this happened.

No, Richie Ginther is not t-boning that massive pylon at Riverside in 1957. Note the nose of Richie’s Ferrari is visible through the pylon, another case for the beauty of panning.

Story and photos by Allen R. Kuhn

To pan or not to pan, aye, that is the question. Whether it is nobler to read the manufacturer’s name on the tire of a Ferrari going 247 kilometers per hour, or to sense the illusion of speed when your camera is set at 1/60 of a second. That is what a pan shot does best, to relish that vision of speed with focus and clarity.