As I mentioned in the previous post, I have been playing with long exposure shots. Basically, the idea is to hold the shutter open for a longer period of time while focused on a moving object. The movement of the object appears as a blur on the photograph. This conveys a sense of motion in an otherwise still photo. Most hand-held photographs are shot at a shutter speed between 1/60 of a second and 1/1000 of a second. In the case of long exposure they can be 1/8 to longer than a second, depending on the light conditions.
The motion of the swift-moving creek takes a ghostly appearance in this 1/2 second capture.
Of course, shutter speeds this long can’t be done free-hand. They require a decent tripod; or at the very least a very stable rock, table, stump, etc. This is one of the primary reasons that I haven’t done a lot with long exposure until now. The tripod can be an unwieldy and heavy piece of equipment; not very convenient for hiking. Add in the fact that unless I am looking for long-exposure opportunities, the tripod doesn’t get used much and you see why my tripod spends most of its time in the closet or the trunk of the car. Nonetheless, its a tool worth having.
The next long-exposure shots I want to experiment with are night shots of moving cars. Then I’d love to work on really long exposure shots of the stars. I’ve seen some incredible captures of blurred stars that I would love to attempt.
I have also seen some impressive long-exposure shots of small waves on a beach. The water takes on a fog-like appearance resulting in an other-worldly feel to the photo.
One of the lessons I learned is to strike the right balance between blurred objects and stationary objects. Too much blur and the photo becomes an unintelligible mess. Not enough motion and the blur blends into the scene and has minimal, if any effect on the shot.
A smaller amount of water falling from a greater height gives this wispy, bridal veil effect.
Finally, my youngest son and took the short hike to this great, hidden waterfall in Big Cottonwood Canyon. While he climbed everything within reach and marveled at a dead mouse I got immersed in photography.
My little man and the hidden falls.
SteveWa Photos 