# Motion Excercise



## jcdeboever

I have dabbled occasionally with trying to create an interesting composition by jerking or moving the camera while pressing the shutter. I'm not sure what this is called, there was a lady who used to frequent here that was very good at it but her name escapes me. Recently I have been inspired by @Frank F. He has posted some of these in his daily photo thread Frank's daily photo 2017 and rekindled my interest.

Anyway, here is an image that I captured in the fall. I like that there is a small box of distant trees in focus in a good spot within the frame. I am looking for ways to try and control it a little more or is it one of those things that is just lucky? In this one, I was the passenger in a moving vehicle and it seemed natural to do it this way. Feel free to critique the image in a way you think could help me improve using this technique (I am not sure what it is called) or things to read up on.


----------



## smoke665

@jcdeboever  you're always trying new things, always learning,  that's what I enjoy most about your posts. I've seen the panning technique used with great results. My personal opinion is that it looks better with a "defined" movement as opposed to "random" if that makes sense. I can't wait to see where you go with this.


----------



## Gary A.

Nice pan, but in reserve to a normal pan where the photog is stationary and the subject is moving.  With a flash, slow shutter and jerking the camera is called Dragging the Shutter.  Dunno if there is a different name for a similar technique sans flash.





Sample of Dragging the Shutter

Slow Shutter, at least for me, is fascinating and hard to control.  You win some and lose some.  But, like most everything else in photography the more you do the better, (more control and learning what works in what situation), you should become.


----------



## gk fotografie

I guess the lady you mean is *PixelRabbit*.
In fact you're talking about 2 different techniques here, the way Frank F. uses is known as "panning"
The other way to suggest motion/movement, as used by PixelRabbit, is what you have done here.


----------



## webestang64

Cool stuff!!!! Reminds me of Ernst Haas bull fighting photos...... ERNST HAAS ESTATE | COLOR: MOTION


----------



## Derrel

You can pan or jerk the camera in the direction the vehicle is moving, or in the opposite direction the vehicle is moving. With a film camera and a focal plane shutter, you need to consider what direction the shutter curtains travel, and what direction the camera or the subject is moving, in relation to the shutter travel direction. Some focal plane shutters in film cameras move horizontally (usually these have slow, top X-synch speed of 1/60 second), but the newer Copal type FP shutters in 35mm cameras move vertically, across the shorter 24mm axis.

Remember the old (early 1900's until about 1940) photos of racing cars, with the elliptical wheels that appeared to be "leaning forward"? That was fairly easy to do with old Graflex-type plate cameras, which had large, slow-travelling focal plane shutters that had to traverse a large piece of emulsion, during which time the car's wheels would actually have "MOVED" forward by the time the shutter imaged part of the wheel.

Jacques Henri Lartigue made a FAMOUS shot this way, I think in 1905 or '08. Took me like 10 minutes to recall his name.

I know you still shoot some film, so some research on focal plane shutters at slower speed will show you that at the slowest speeds, the first shutter curtain will move to OPEN, and then the second curtain will be launched, and will close and thus end the exposure. As the speeds move from slow to faster, the curtains operate more as _a fast-moving slit_, with 1st curtain being "*chased along by*" curtain #2, with the width and speed of the moving slit being determined by the needed shutter speed. Now...if the vehicle is in motion as this process happens, and the camera is turned upside down, or moved the "right" or the "wrong" direction, some things are gonna' happen. Not everything is the same, all the time!

With digital cameras, we can get some weird effects. Have you seen the way aircraft propellors can be rendered? Or windshield wiper blades? The image might not be "imaged" at the same, exact time, over the entire sensor area. I used to have these things fairly clear in my mind, but not this Saturday AM...

You do not have to pan smoothly either; you can "jerk" the camera quite harshly, and get some interesting effects.


----------



## Derrel

Okay...lookie what I found!!!! has motion graphics and everything!

Jacques Henri Lartigue and his camera


----------



## Derrel

Jerking the camera briskly allowed me to make this image of colorful glass champagne flutes, back in 2004. I titled this shot "Whimsical Glass", so people would at least have an idea of what the subject is. The champagne flutes were stationary, and were back-lighted, sitting in my kitchen window.

This is the uncropped frame.


----------



## webestang64

Was going to take a nice pic of my cat but he yawned when I click the shutter......LOL


----------



## jcdeboever

smoke665 said:


> @jcdeboever  you're always trying new things, always learning,  that's what I enjoy most about your posts. I've seen the panning technique used with great results. My personal opinion is that it looks better with a "defined" movement as opposed to "random" if that makes sense. I can't wait to see where you go with this.



Thanks @smoke665 . It may be a while, I have a few projects ahead of me, hence the reason posting this. Gather more information in order to pursue further.


----------



## smoke665

Derrel said:


> Okay...lookie what I found!!!! has motion graphics and everything!



Derrel you are a never ending well of information. Followed the link fascinating read.

@jcdeboever I know what you mean. Gathering information, materials, staging, etc. takes a lot more time than just stumbling on a shot.


----------



## jcdeboever

Gary A. said:


> Nice pan, but in reserve to a normal pan where the photog is stationary and the subject is moving.  With a flash, slow shutter and jerking the camera is called Dragging the Shutter.  Dunno if there is a different name for a similar technique sans flash.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sample of Dragging the Shutter
> 
> Slow Shutter, at least for me, is fascinating and hard to control.  You win some and lose some.  But, like most everything else in photography the more you do the better, (more control and learning what works in what situation), you should become.



Wow Gary, what a fantastic image. Very informative post to help me.


----------



## jcdeboever

gk fotografie said:


> I guess the lady you mean is *PixelRabbit*.
> In fact you're talking about 2 different techniques here, the way Frank F. uses is known as "panning"
> The other way to suggest motion/movement, as used by PixelRabbit, is what you have done here.



That's her! Thanks, it was driving me insane....


----------



## jcdeboever

Derrel said:


> You can pan or jerk the camera in the direction the vehicle is moving, or in the opposite direction the vehicle is moving. With a film camera and a focal plane shutter, you need to consider what direction the shutter curtains travel, and what direction the camera or the subject is moving, in relation to the shutter travel direction. Some focal plane shutters in film cameras move horizontally (usually these have slow, top X-synch speed of 1/60 second), but the newer Copal type FP shutters in 35mm cameras move vertically, across the shorter 24mm axis.
> 
> Remember the old (early 1900's until about 1940) photos of racing cars, with the elliptical wheels that appeared to be "leaning forward"? That was fairly easy to do with old Graflex-type plate cameras, which had large, slow-travelling focal plane shutters that had to traverse a large piece of emulsion, during which time the car's wheels would actually have "MOVED" forward by the time the shutter imaged part of the wheel.
> 
> Jacques Henri Lartigue made a FAMOUS shot this way, I think in 1905 or '08. Took me like 10 minutes to recall his name.
> 
> I know you still shoot some film, so some research on focal plane shutters at slower speed will show you that at the slowest speeds, the first shutter curtain will move to OPEN, and then the second curatain will be launched, and will be launched, and will close the shutter. As the speeds move from slow to faster, the curtains operate more as a fast-moving slit, with 1st curtain being "chased along by" curtain #2, with the width and speed of the moving slit being determined by the needed shutter speed. Now...if the vehicle is in motion as this process happens, and the camera is turned upside down, or moved the "right" or the "wrong" direction, some things are gonna happen. Not everything is the same, all the time!
> 
> With digital cameras, we can get some weird effects. Have you seen the way aircraft propellors can be rendered? Or windshield wiper blades? The image might not be "imaged" at the same, exact time, over the entire sensor area. I used to have these things fairly clear in my mind, but not this Saturday AM...
> 
> You do not have to pan smoothly either; you can "jerk" the camera quite harshly, and get some interesting effects.





Derrel said:


> Okay...lookie what I found!!!! has motion graphics and everything!
> 
> Jacques Henri Lartigue and his camera



Thanks @Derrel , super useful information as always, I'm on it.


----------



## jcdeboever

Derrel said:


> Jerking the camera briskly allowed me to make this image of colorful glass champagne flutes, back in 2004. I titled this shot "Whimsical Glass", so people would at least have an idea of what the subject is. The champagne flutes were stationary, and were back-lighted, sitting in my kitchen window.View attachment 134945
> 
> This is the uncropped frame.



I remember being fascinated by that image on your website.


----------



## terri

Another TPF member who dabbled in this is Dagwood56.   She refers to it as "in-camera motion" or ICM, I believe.    ??     She does them with a zoom lens sometimes, too - all interesting effects.


----------



## jcdeboever

terri said:


> Another TPF member who dabbled in this is Dagwood56.   She refers to it as "in-camera motion" or ICM, I believe.    ??     She does them with a zoom lens sometimes, too - all interesting effects.


Ahhh, that was the name I was looking for ....ICM


----------



## Derrel

intentional camera movement...


----------



## jcdeboever

Derrel said:


> intentional camera movement...


That was a cool link. There was one within that post to a site "build and use slow focal plane shutters". Crap, it's a broken link. Man, you got my mind churning....


----------



## webestang64

Driving down the road at night with my Pentax MV w/50mm focus infinity F11 Fuji 400 print film shutter open for about 2-3 minutes?? I love how the street lights "pulsate" light and leave ribbon.


----------



## jcdeboever

Derrel said:


> Okay...lookie what I found!!!! has motion graphics and everything!
> 
> Jacques Henri Lartigue and his camera


My Nikon FM has a vertical-travel focal plane shutter.


----------



## jcdeboever

webestang64 said:


> Driving down the road at night with my Pentax MV w/50mm focus infinity F11 Fuji 400 print film shutter open for about 2-3 minutes?? I love how the street lights "pulsate" light and leave ribbon.


Flipping awesome


----------



## webestang64

jcdeboever said:


> Flipping awesome



Thanks!
The trick I have found to this "paint with light" is not to have too little or too much. Or mix a few in PS. I've shot entire rolls of 36 exp just to get one that I like. I'll sometimes use a 28mm as well.

Orientation plays into the look as well. This shot was vertical, to me it looks better as a horizontal. Or does it...???





As shot.


----------



## SquarePeg

I've dabbled in this technique with flowers.  It's fun but frustrating.  Difficult to control your results.  I like to use a nd and a long shutter speed then start and stop movement.  A twist instead of a pan can be interesting as well.  Here are a couple of my favorites.


----------



## Gary A.




----------



## astroNikon

Yes, PixelRabbit used to take images when her husband was driving and she was taking photos.

You can do a variety of things.  Such as using a longer exposure and rotating, and zooming in/out all at the same time.  I did examples of these at a campfire and fireworks for some interesting results.  I also did some with flowers and other objects.



20150704_Fireworks-24
..



CampfireAbstracts-30


----------



## jcdeboever

SquarePeg said:


> I've dabbled in this technique with flowers.  It's fun but frustrating.  Difficult to control your results.  I like to use a nd and a long shutter speed then start and stop movement.  A twist instead of a pan can be interesting as well.  Here are a couple of my favorites.
> 
> View attachment 134985 View attachment 134986


These are very delicate and beautiful.


----------



## Dean_Gretsch

This looks like something that would either drive you nuts or make your head swell with pride! Thank you JC for originating the post and your input. Thank you to everyone else for your examples and info. Nicely done to all!


----------



## compur

This is one I did decades ago when I lived in an apartment on a hill overlooking Santa Monica Blvd in LA.






Kodachrome, Nikon FM, long Schneider lens.


----------

