The other day, whilst wandering aimlessly about, camera in hand, wondering what to do with myself, as I often am, I stumbled across this row of trees with a rather fetching sky behind them. The sun was fast disappearing and it seemed somewhat churlish not to get a photo, what with the sky going to all that trouble and everything.
So I did.
As you can see, the upper atmosphere does indeed have a somewhat impetuous élan to it, and I’m sure you'll concur that it would have been wholly wrong of me to ignore such a vital display of vim and vigour on the sky's part. In fact I suspect the sky would held it against me for quite some time if I hadn't shown it the approval I did, what with it being the monumental diva it so blatantly is.
But having said all that, once I’d taken a couple of shots, there wasn't a great deal else I could do with the scene, I didn't let on to the sky of course, that affectatious prima donna would have made my life a living hell, and the last thing I wanted was another argument. The last time that happened I got in such a state I ended up roaring repeatedly at the top of my voice for it to leave me the hell alone.
Let me tell you, it certainly raised a few eyebrows at the weekly Stow-on-the-Wold farmers market. The way all those people acted, you'd think they'd never seen a fully grown man on his knees, dressed in tattered jodhpurs and a sweat stained beret, bellowing at the sky with tears of ruinous frustration streaming down his face, whilst frantically stabbing at the air with an ancient African artefact. Namely a Zulu Butchering Spear of Suppression.
Yes, I had a Zulu Butchering Spear of Suppression, don't ask me why I had it, I just did.
So needless to say I didn't want a repeat of that eventful day, and the 'difficult' months that followed. Although thinking back, the 'difficulties' might have been mitigated somewhat if I hadn't continually attempted to mutilate my genitals every time I was let outside.
Anyway, I was now able to freely mingle amongst conventional society again without a harness, and I wasn't about to jeopardise that.
So quietly and without fuss I decided to spice up the scene before me with a spot of zoom blur.
Zoom blur is a bit of in-camera tomfoolery where you take a picture with a longish shutter speed and simultaneously use the zoom function of the lens to, well, blur the image. It's as simple as that.
But having said all that, once I’d taken a couple of shots, there wasn't a great deal else I could do with the scene, I didn't let on to the sky of course, that affectatious prima donna would have made my life a living hell, and the last thing I wanted was another argument. The last time that happened I got in such a state I ended up roaring repeatedly at the top of my voice for it to leave me the hell alone.
Let me tell you, it certainly raised a few eyebrows at the weekly Stow-on-the-Wold farmers market. The way all those people acted, you'd think they'd never seen a fully grown man on his knees, dressed in tattered jodhpurs and a sweat stained beret, bellowing at the sky with tears of ruinous frustration streaming down his face, whilst frantically stabbing at the air with an ancient African artefact. Namely a Zulu Butchering Spear of Suppression.
Yes, I had a Zulu Butchering Spear of Suppression, don't ask me why I had it, I just did.
So needless to say I didn't want a repeat of that eventful day, and the 'difficult' months that followed. Although thinking back, the 'difficulties' might have been mitigated somewhat if I hadn't continually attempted to mutilate my genitals every time I was let outside.
Anyway, I was now able to freely mingle amongst conventional society again without a harness, and I wasn't about to jeopardise that.
So quietly and without fuss I decided to spice up the scene before me with a spot of zoom blur.
Zoom blur is a bit of in-camera tomfoolery where you take a picture with a longish shutter speed and simultaneously use the zoom function of the lens to, well, blur the image. It's as simple as that.
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| f/13, Exposure 1/5 sec, ISO 100 |
As demonstrated here, the lens was zoomed in to start with and then, while the shutter was open, I briskly zoomed back so giving the effect you can see. It's a technique that requires a bit of experimentation, as different shutter speeds and quickness of zoom will affect how the image turns out. Here it is a bit ragged, the edges of the trees are scrappy and it kind of looks a mess.
This was probably due to the camera moving its position as I zoomed, as I was doing it handheld, it's very easy to nudge the camera with the act of turning the lens, especially if doing it quickly.
This was probably due to the camera moving its position as I zoomed, as I was doing it handheld, it's very easy to nudge the camera with the act of turning the lens, especially if doing it quickly.
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| f/13, Exposure 1/6 sec, ISO 100 |
This one works better as I made the effort to keep the camera as still as possible and not zoom out quite as wildly as I had before. This results in a more structured look to the stand of trees, plus keeping the trails within the image frame has resulted in better finish to the effect.
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| f/13, Exposure 1/2 sec, ISO 100 |
This one had a longer shutter speed, so allowed more time for the form of the trees to be captured by the camera, which makes for a less abstract image as the zoom effect is less pronounced. You can also see that the clouds have kept their composition a lot more, it almost looks as if they are from a standard capture, which gives the ghostly trails emanating from the trees a strange quality.
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| f/13, Exposure 1/5 sec, ISO 100 |
And to finish off, this is probably my favourite of the bunch. The shutter speed was back to being faster, relatively, but I zoomed out much quicker and selected only the tops of the trees, so as a consequence it has produced a very smooth abstract image. Which, while not having as much recognisable detail in it, does have a certain appealing minimalist quality that I like.
So there you go, a couple of top tips for you; it isn't necessary to use Photoshop to get interesting effects in your images, just a bit of experimentation and imagination will do the trick. And never, ever take out your resentment (however just it may be) on your relationship with the natural elements in a communal location. It will only lead to unpleasant misunderstandings and possible genital carnage.
So there you go, a couple of top tips for you; it isn't necessary to use Photoshop to get interesting effects in your images, just a bit of experimentation and imagination will do the trick. And never, ever take out your resentment (however just it may be) on your relationship with the natural elements in a communal location. It will only lead to unpleasant misunderstandings and possible genital carnage.
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