JPG: Stories: How To: Always shoot from the passengers seat !!

How To

Always shoot from the passengers seat !!

By Allen Tunget

29 Jul 2009

While I love to drive, if I know we are heading someplace with plenty of scenery, I often opt for the passenger seat. Why you say?? Because a favorite thing I like to do is take photos while driving in the car. The challenge is to compose, focus and shoot all in a split second, before the opportunity is gone. I have gotten rather good at doing so. One of the tricks I have found is to use a prime lens, usually I use a 50mm (Nifty Fifty) or 85mm lens. This takes zooming in and out, out of the equation. In addition a fast shutter speed also helps. So all you need to worry about is composition and focusing. I sometimes use the auto focus, but lately I have been shooting in manual and setting the lens to infinity. The second trick I use, is to be looking forward so you an see your photo op in advance, then when you are close, shoot it with a very slight panning motion. When I get home, I crop out the motion blurred foreground.

My main photo of the barn was shot at about 70mph while driving down Route 80 westbound in Illinois. The photo turned out great, but what you don't see is the windmill and another small building on the left. I could not fit them in the frame and I only had a few seconds for the shot, so I got just the barn. These are the composition decisions that you have to make on the fly, with only one chance to get it right.

I have found that now while shooting in normal conditions my composition skills and focusing skills are much faster. I have found this to be valuable, because sometimes even when shooting normally you only have seconds to get the shot that you want.

Additionally, I have found when I get home and start looking at the photos, that it opens my mind up to different ideas up how to compose shots. I ask my self , how I would have framed the shot if I was just standing there with all day to compose. And often I like my from the road shot better than what I would have done if I was standing there. Have fun ! Good luck ! And always shoot from the passengers seat !!

Just a side note, the other ten photos attached to this story were all from the same 40 mile road trip.

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Hi there!

thought you might like this submission to JPG Magazine. If you do, vote it up!

http://jpgmag.com/stories/12609

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—The JPG team

8 responses

Charles Hess said (30 Jul 2009):
Good story and fun photos. I hope you take more road trips.
jean-francois gave props (31 Jul 2009):
great job, thanks for sharing !
Karin Burton said (31 Jul 2009):
Awesome idea. Will start putting it to use. Thanks for sharing.
diana anderson gave props (1 Aug 2009):
great essay and photos. i love that barn! i ride alone and have been known to shot while driving. every once in awhile i actually get something good!
K Fizaine said (1 Aug 2009):
Great story. Coincidentally, I just bought in a second hand book store "Drive -By Shooting" (Photographs by a New York Taxi Driver). You might want to get a hand on it.
Allen Tunget said (2 Aug 2009):
Thanks K,

I will look for the book !!
John Linton gave props (19 Aug 2009):
Hell YEAH! Rad!
Jerry Pittman gave props (5 Sep 2009):
Great shots,story, and Idea. Planning a trip to lake George this fall and will check out this method. Thanx