Blog, Tips and Techniques

Creative Motion Blur

Posted on by Mark
15
Jan

Sometimes ‘happy accidents’ or ‘random acts of creativity’ in our photographic endeavours can give us great pleasure. The image above was captured on my way to work (through the train window) the morning after I purchased a 10 Stop ND filter. The filter was attached to the 16mm prime lens I was using for my Sony Alpha APS-C ILCE (SEL16F28). I had intended to capture one of those very long exposures to render the water misty, (but I was miles from the sea) so I just tried a random 2-second exposure through the train window of suburbia. I named the image ‘2-seconds in Suburbia’. The months that followed saw me try to re-create the magic as I would capture images from moving vehicles, escalators or just while walking. I called the series ‘Timescapes’. Most of the images captured in this fashion were consigned to the trash, but every now and again, one was a keeper. These images required a lot of contrast, clarity and vibrance to be added in post production to prevent the images from looking washed out (that’s what happens when you mix all the colours of light together).

Every now and again try breaking the rules of minimum shutter speed, tripods, OSS and just go with the flow. Remember there are no rules to photography even though some would have us think otherwise 🙂

An exploration of the unfrozen moment. This image is from a series of timescapes where I make a conscious decision to not stop, freeze or break the flow of my movement through my surroundings. The images reflect my constantly shifting gaze and my uninterrupted momentum.
An exploration of the unfrozen moment. This image is from a series of timescapes where I make a conscious decision to not stop, freeze or break the flow of my movement through my surroundings. The images reflect my constantly shifting gaze and my uninterrupted momentum.
Timescape: Burj Khalifa. An exploration of the unfrozen moment. This image is from a series of timescapes where I make a conscious decision to not stop, freeze or break the flow of my movement through my surroundings. The images reflect my constantly shifting gaze and my uninterrupted momentum.
Timescape: Burj Khalifa. An exploration of the unfrozen moment. This image is from a series of timescapes where I make a conscious decision to not stop, freeze or break the flow of my movement through my surroundings. The images reflect my constantly shifting gaze and my uninterrupted momentum.
An exploration of the unfrozen moment. This image is from a series of timescapes where I make a conscious decision to not stop, freeze or break the flow of my movement through my surroundings. The images reflect my constantly shifting gaze and my uninterrupted momentum.
An exploration of the unfrozen moment. This image is from a series of timescapes where I make a conscious decision to not stop, freeze or break the flow of my movement through my surroundings. The images reflect my constantly shifting gaze and my uninterrupted momentum.

One of the tasks during my one-on-one training sessions and workshops is how to take control of the settings of your camera to maximise your creative potential.