I particularly like slowing down and blurring water, it give a surreal feel to an image.
Having human movement slowed down can also be very effective.
The following image is by a Photographer called Sugianto, he's from Indonesia.
Although he has an online portfolio, finding any Bio of him has proved difficult.
I have however included his image in my research because I think it's simplicity illustrates a long exposure photograph perfectly.
There are a number of things that I like about this image......
1. The colours, they are vibrant and sharp.
2. The movement of the Ballerina is captured perfectly.
3. The composition is perfect, your eye is drawn to the ballerina which then leads you onto the trail she has drawn with the long exposure of the movement.
4. Lighting is also spot on in my opinion, well lit and well defined.
Some images, in fact most images will have some improvement's that can be made. Everyone has an opinion on how an image can be improved, whether it be the subject moved farther to the left or right, the lighting could be improved or whatever and I have no doubt that someone will say that this image could be improved.... For me though, I think it is perfect the way it is....
Matthew Pillsbury....
Another photographer that I had a look at when reviewing long exposure photographers was a gentleman by the name of Matthew Pillsbury, a French American born in Neuilly, France in 1973. www.matthewpillsbury.com
He studied at École Alsacienne, Paris, France, gaining a Baccalaureate in History and Economics (with honors) in 1991.
He then studied at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art (Cum laude with distinction) in 1995.
And finally the School of Visual Arts, New York, New York, Master of Fine Arts in 2004.
He lives and works in New York and has exhibited solo since 2004.
He works solely in Black and white which means his images can be quite dramatic.
What I like about Matthews images are the flowing movement that is generated with the long exposure, his images are also quite crisp. They become more dramatic by being mono images too.
There is no mistaking that fact that there is movement within the image and the fact that the balloon is blurred gives the sense of it moving away from you, which in normal photography would just be a split second freeze frame image with no movement.
With there being blurred individuals within the crowd, this also gives these sense of movement.
On a downside, I will say that for me , the large white area is a little distracting, I think the brightness should have been toned down as there is no detail in the area.
It becomes a large white blob.... too overpowering....
Kristina Wilson.
Kristina is from Portland, Oregon, in the USA and take photographs of various locations using predominantly slow shutter speeds.
The image below was taken at a shutter speed of 15 seconds on a Cannon 60d.
I love to take photographs of this type, having foreground interest as well as having flowing water falls, make for a relaxing vibrant image.
In this image for instance, you have foreground interest with the rocks in the water which then leads you onto the water falls, which in turn leads you onto the trees and mist in the background.
A lovely image.....
However, although we have mist in the trees in the background, which adds to the image, I do think that the large expanse of white sky detracts from the image slightly.
I can't help but be drawn to that large white area.
Could Kristina have muted this area in some way? for instance used a graduated filter in this area to reduce the brightness and improve the image? Maybe even a post processing of the area to mute it would aid the image...
I have taken a number of images using the long exposure technique....
This image is entitled "The fairy Pools" and is an image of a small water fall taken from a series of waterfalls.
The original image below was taken using a 1.6 second shutter speed at ISO 100, f/25 to limit the amount of light entering the camera and at a focal length of 63mm
This image has fore ground interest with the rocks and clear, almost green water. It then has the small water fall in the background.
I think the image has enough elements to create interest, however, compositionally I think it can be improved. I think there is too much background and this distracts from the overall image.
I believe that the rock wall adds nothing to the image.
I decided to alter the composition by cropping the image from a portrait style image to a square image.
Compositionally I think this image works. There is still foreground interest with the rocks, this leads onto the pool of clear water and then finally the water fall.
Mirko Rubaltelli
Mirko has a 500px account and has some stunning images of long exposure, available to view or purchase.
Born in Parma in March 1967.
Mirko has had a passion for photography since 2005, when he bought his first camera, a SLR Canon 350D.
Devoting himself mainly to landscape photography, he tries to capture light and color that can be viewed in large spaces.
He uses Cannon camera's and Cannon and Sigma Lenses.
I have picked the image below, as it represents a number of images that I like to take.
The sea's motion has been blurred by the use of a slow shutter speed. And the jetty leads you into the image with definitive lines.
There is central interest with the rock in the centre, which the jetty leads you to.
The background has ships in the distance which adds interest as well as the lovely colours from the sunset.
Can the image be improved?
Well compositionally I think the image is almost perfect, I wouldn't change anything, I would however try and bring out some more detail in the rocks on the right hand side.
These are a little dark for my liking, probably as a result of the length of time the shutter was open and the brightness of the sun.
Leaving it open for much longer would have probably created more burn out, so running the image through Photoshop and adjusting the shadows and highlights may improve the lighting on the rock.
"Off in the Distance"
The image below was my attempt to create a long exposure of the sea, using the beach Groyne as a lead in.
I was very pleased with the outcome of this image. There is a lead in from the Groyne, culminating with the half submerged marker as a final focal point.
There is good detail in the wood from front to back and the horizon isn't on half way which I think would split the image if it was.
I do think however, that when I composed the image, I made the mistake of finishing the Groyne, too centrally in the image and there is too much space on the right hand side.
You can't control the weather, but a better sky, would have also improved the detail.
Clouds give great interest in a sky, but unfortunately, the day I took this image, it was a "dull" day with a grey sky.
Ok, what do you think?
I have removed some of the empty space from the right hand side of the image, ensuring that the Groyne travels farther to the right....
I think this improves the composition and makes for a more pleasing image.
I will be continuing my research into long exposure imagery and looking for more opportunities to improve my skills in this genre.....
But it may take a "Long Time".......
No comments:
Post a Comment