I have been shown one of two different abstract effects recently that I you can take in camera, so this weekend I headed off to visit the bluebells with a prop, and some ideas to try something different.
These are the results of my experiments.
This is the same wood that I visited recently … but there are lots more bluebells out and it is a lot harder to just choose that one perfect flower as there are now so many … but my 28-300 mm lens really helps to bring them all together… and showcase the depth of colour available.
I wanted to experiment with abstract effects – here I chose a really wide aperture focused on something really close and deliberately chose to throw the background out of focus … the paint effect is idea for a design background or as a textured stock layer when combining images.
Here I tried panning sideways – I discovered my tripod did not have a panning head … so it was not an easy but with a narrow aperture I was able to make the shutter speed last a little longer and by using the shutter timer I was able to ensure the camera was moving as the shutter was pressed. The sideways blur makes a great background and almost a painted effect.
Panning upwards was hard, and I have increased the pan effect here with a blur in photoshop – it almost looks like some curtains. To create this fall effect in camera I would have needed to add a Neutral density filter onto my lens to increase the shutter time.
I also knew today that I wanted to introduce my own props – this is a prop that I had for my birthday and I thought it would look great located in the wood -however it was really hard to find the perfect location where the light achieved the effect that I wanted, the sign was level and I did not have too much unwanted distractions in the background – I am sure my #Photobuddy thought it was a stick to chase … he was waiting for me to toss it!
Balanced on a log it was time to try another blur idea – zoom blur, you zoom in or out whilst the shutter is open … using the word love as a focal point you get the idea that it is exploding out of the woodland!
With the best spot chosen I ended up with this shot, I added my home town in photoshop as I wanted to use the end image to help promote Love for my home town… I am so lucky to live in such a wonderful pot and I so pleased with how well the prop blends into the natural landscape – making an image that is just mine …
“Love Lymington”, “Love Bluebells woods” or even “with Love” – the perfect greeting card image …
Helen's Photo Challenge 
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