(1/3 sec @ f/22; ISO 100; 0 EV; FL 60mm)
If you have been following my blog for the past couple of weeks, I don’t have to tell that I have been spending a bit of time in almost every field session working on in-camera motion blur images. The prevailing wisdom is that motion blurs work best with exposures of 1 to 1 1/2 second and most of the time, I have been working within those parameters. Sometimes I might find myself around 0.8 sec and other times closer to 2.0 sec but most of the time I am right there around 1 to 1 1/2 sec.
Getting exposures that long in daylight is often not easy. I will stop down to f/22 or even f/32. I will drop the ISO to 100. I will add a polarizer which can give an extra stop of two. And often I end up with the Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter which I can adjust to give me the exposure time that I am looking for.
Anyway, yesterday I went out into my local park at lunch and found a scene that I thought just begged for a blur. I stopped down to f/22 and dialed back the ISO to 100. I added a polarizer and still only got the shutter speed down to 1/3 sec. I was about to switch to the Vari-ND when I thought no, let’s work on some faster shutter speed blurs. So I did and got what I would call a more ethereal image blur. I kinda like it… I wouldn’t post it if I didn’t! But waddaya think?
Canon 50D; 24-70mm f/2.8L IS lens; handheld.
Ed… nice. It does look rather ghostly with the depth in the scene. The length of time that the shutter is open and how much movement you employ obviously impacts the result. Longer exposure and less movement can have similar effect to shorter exposure and more movement etc. This is an interesting technique, and I like your results.
I like this very much! I haven’t yet tried in camera motion blur. This is something I’ll have to try. With this ethereal image, I really like the lines and depth. Gorgeous!
I love it too… It’s a funny and the feeling when watching it is funny and strange too! Kind of slow motion movie!
oooh…I like it! I like the way that the larger trunks are so so defined. Great job.
Another very interesting blurred photo, Ed. I would also say rather ghostly than ethereal. I wonder what moves did you do because it seems that you moved your camera verticaly and also horizontaly but I can’t imagine doing it in so short time. Anyway, great work! I really like it.
It’s the colors you caught that makes this great!
I usually try to avoid such small apertures due to diffraction unsharpness. It’s probably not a problem it you want to blur the image, but for waterfall nature shot’s.
Anyways, I really like what you are doing here. Very creative.
I do like the ghostly effect you achieved.
Great colors and a very nice degree of blur, Ed. I never thought to go with a faster ss…very interesting!