Panning the Police

This frame it’s a reaction. A physical jolt to flashing blue, shouting, bodies in motion. I panned the camera instinctively, not to follow a subject, but to share the sensory overload of the moment. The result? A hallucination. A retinal echo of tension.

Shot handheld at night, 1/2s exposure, ISO pushed to 3200. The blur is total—no anchor point, no sharp subject. Lines of neon bleed into the dark, and even the static elements—trees, pavement, the van—become fluid. That’s the point. This isn’t about precision; it’s about disruption.

I framed with the van off-centre, allowing room for the bodies in blue and those not in uniform. Movement traces direction. We see light as action, not illumination. A scene where perception fails, overwhelmed by noise, colour, motion. Uncertainty is the image.

From a technical perspective, it violates most photographic norms—focus, clarity, composition. But the context demands it. In documentary work, clarity isn’t always truth. Sometimes it’s the smudge that tells the story better.