NIGHT STREETS OF HANOI
November 27, 2007 by Jan Shim
Two days to go before the Asia Inc Forum National Business Conference 2008 event, I’m reminded of my shoot in Hanoi at the ASEAN 100 FORUM and the interesting Streets of Hanoi bustling with more motorcycles and bicycles than you can ever imagine. You have to have crossed not one but several busy street junctions unscathed before you can claim you’ve survived Hanoi. Below are two slow-shutter panned images I took at an extremely busy intersection right across from Restaurant Bobby Chinn.
© Jan Shim Photography
see u at NBC my fren, looking forward to it
Love the effects of panning! I’ve been trying but I think my sense of timing is off. Any tips on mastering the art?
Hi Tina,
Panning isn’t a technique that I can say I’ve mastered and unlikely I will unless I’m doing it for a living such as Andy Biggs who uses panning in his African wildlife shoots. He describes the technique better and while he uses and recommends the 100-400mm lens and has valid reasons for doing so, I used an ultra-wide 10-22mm to get the photos above. This would also mean I was very close to the subject standing at the very edge of the pavement when the motorists sped by.
To quote Andy Biggs, make sure your horizons are level and tripods are recommended to ensure this. “The longer your shutter speed, the more obvious the off-axis horizon will be.”
These photos were shot hand-held as I had only intended to take streets photos. The streets of Hanoi is packed with motorists and too compelling not to give it a shot regardless of the outcome. I shot in Manual mode with a slow shutter speed.
I don’t think setting up a tripod on the streets of Hanoi would be possible! I’ve tried panning w/o a tripod but I think my main problem is that the camera’s too heavy for me/my arms aren’t strong enough so it wobbles…oh well back to the gym or maybe it’s just time to steal the hubby’s tripod :p
Perhaps a monopod would be a more practical alternative provided you have a telephoto lens that has a tripod collar. Mounting the camera body to monopod may help alleviate the weight issues but getting the horizon level can be challenging. Kee me posted on your progress.