Motion in Stills, 2014

…or was that Stills in Motion …

Before we start, we want to thank all those who joined us during the past 11 weeks and some 11,000 miles on the road. We had great groups, and participants laughed until their cheeks and bellies hurt — and so did ours — while making some wonderful photographs. They learned some of the techniques illustrated below.

Open up most photo magazines these days, and usually all you see is crystal-sharp (and often very boring), same-old, grand landscapes. But how do we evoke motion in a land that is not static?

There are several approaches.

The first, and perhaps most common, is to slow down water to give it that milky effect.

In New England recently, I stood in the stream to get the shot I wanted of the waterfall, and with a slow shutter, I captured the feathery exit of the water.© 2014 Margo Taussig Pinkerton. All Rights Reserved.  For usage and fees, contact us at 310 Lafayette Drive, Hillsborough, NC  27278.  919-643-3036 before 9 pm east coast USA, GMT-5, or by e-mail at TBC (at) BCphotoadventures (dot) com.

On the Outer Banks, where we return in a week, Arnie photographed a lone visitor standing in the surf, the water swirling around her feet.© 2014 Arnold Zann. All Rights Reserved.  For usage and fees, contact us at 310 Lafayette Drive, Hillsborough, NC  27278.  919-643-3036 before 9 pm east coast USA, GMT-5, or by e-mail at Arnie (at) BCphotoadventures (dot) com.

On many a crisp autumn morning in Colorado, the fog rises out of the valleys. The wispy patches of fog, along with the birds, their wings at different angles, created a sense of time passing and changing. Here, it is not a slow shutter speed, rather the choice of subject matter and timing that is critical.© 2014 Margo Taussig Pinkerton. All Rights Reserved.  For usage and fees, contact us at 310 Lafayette Drive, Hillsborough, NC  27278.  919-643-3036 before 9 pm east coast USA, GMT-5, or by e-mail at TBC (at) BCphotoadventures (dot) com.

In the early morning on the coast of Maine, fishermen skull or paddle their dinghies out to the fishing boats. Here, Arnie allowed the oar, wake, and even passenger in the stern to go soft to evoke a sense of motion.© 2012 Arnold Zann. All Rights Reserved.  For usage and fees, contact us at 310 Lafayette Drive, Hillsborough, NC  27278.  919-643-3036 before 9 pm east coast USA, GMT-5, or by e-mail at Arnie (at) BCphotoadventures (dot) com.

Back in New England, it rained one afternoon. I was taken by the various circles formed by the drops. Although shot with a fast shutter speed, I used the the patterns in concert with selective focus as a way of expressing the motion, a lone leaf suspended for a moment on the cross hatch of circles.© 2014 Margo Taussig Pinkerton. All Rights Reserved.  For usage and fees, contact us at 310 Lafayette Drive, Hillsborough, NC  27278.  919-643-3036 before 9 pm east coast USA, GMT-5, or by e-mail at TBC (at) BCphotoadventures (dot) com.

For this take on motion, Arnie stopped almost every droplet of a Charleston fountain, yet captured the young lady in mid-air as she jumped onto the tiles below. He gave a feeling of the energy of the water as well as the carefree spirit of the girl.© 2012 Arnold Zann. All Rights Reserved.  For usage and fees, contact us at 310 Lafayette Drive, Hillsborough, NC  27278.  919-643-3036 before 9 pm east coast USA, GMT-5, or by e-mail at Arnie (at) BCphotoadventures (dot) com.

So, experiment with different ways of presenting motion. See what you can do!

For more information on our workshops, go to Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures.

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4 thoughts on “Motion in Stills, 2014”

  1. Love that motion effect. You and Arnie tried to teach me that technique in the Outer Banks workshops, but being a slow learner I did not get it at first. I did learn how to do it in the rain at Acadia. I love to use it, now that I am comfortable with it. I had a great time shooting the waterfalls along the Columbia River on a recent trip to Oregon.

    1. Jack,

      So glad you are having fun with this technique. And thank you for commenting here!

      Take care,

      TBC

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