Photo of the Week – April 12, 2013

I’m a big fan of Vélib, Paris’ vast bike share system, but I recently acquired a second hand vélo of my own. For me, nothing beats the rush of riding through the ancient streets of Paris on a beautiful day. Paris is a relatively bike friendly city, but you should be prepared. A secure place to store your bike off the streets at night and a good strong antivol (anti-theft lock) are essential. This photographer captured cyclists in transit one October morning. This photo, taken on the Pont Alexandre III, shows a good example of the panning technique, which is achieved by keeping the subject (in this case, the biker) in the same position of the frame during the exposure. The shutter speed must be slow enough to let the background blur (at least 1/20 of a second).

photo by Jean-François Gornet [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Flickr