Panning + Zoom Combo Effect in 4x4 Challenge Photography

Camera: Olympus E-1 + 12-60mm

The technique "panning + zoom combo" is a method to add blurred motion (simultaneously panning and zoom) effect to the action. This method is useful especially when confronting a moving vehicle or subject from the front position of the photographer. It can be done with zoom in or zoom out while panning to the moving subject facing front or slightly to the either side of the subject. 

How to do it:

1. Prefocus to the location of the subject you want to capture

2. Zoom in (or out) the lens and get ready to shoot in burst mode

3. Press the shutter while panning and zoom in (or out) in the same time following the moving subject facing front.

This method is indeed hard to implement and sometime will trash all shoots, but practice makes perfect. Although you can simulate the similar effect in post-photo editing, but doing that on location is more interesting than spending time to edit the similar effect on computer. You have the choice.  

Here are some examples of my experiment on this method. 

This is exactly from the front of the vehicle with panning + zoom combo.