I enjoyed a little shooting time this past weekend in Yellowstone and some other forest areas around town. Holiday crowds, junk weather and a lot of drab spring conditions made photography challenging ... but I used the time to experiment a bit. One of the techniques I played around with is panning blur - in order to isolate interesting elements in the landscape. One of my favorite images was actually created at home, after experimenting with Photoshop to duplicate the effect of panning blue in the field (after forgetting to try it while shooting a favorite scene). What I've done is really nothing more than abstracting an image with motion blur in PS. Your comments are welcome.
Spring invades a skeleton forest in Yellowstone NP ...
It's a beautiful image and I love the color combinations; however I think it would drive me crazy if it were hanging on my wall. Perhaps because I can't focus on it, yet my mind knows that it's a landscape that I should be able to focus on.
I'm usually not big on that blurred abstracts in landscapes, but this does have an interesting quality to it. I agree with Jack though....I could never hang it on my wall as it would drive my eyes crazy!
Dave, the 2nd one is another "Photoshop pan" - although this version features some selective masking on the blur layer to reduce the negative effect on the eyes.
Above is a sample of in-camera panning. I used a 4 second exposure, and shot about 20 versions until I found an effect I liked. But I think I prefer the selectively blurred/sharp combo that PS is allowing me.
Fun stuff - especially during the doldrums of spring in the mountains. For those who aren't aware, William Neill writes about this technique in a recent Outdoor Photographer. http://www.williamneill.com/
Iam amazed with this technique, the 2nd photo is just awesome. How do you achieve that result? Last weekend I was give a try to pan in camera, but the results were not so good. Do you mind to share your technique in PS or do you have any article to share.
Pedro, it's quite simple - and I don't mind sharing the basics at all. (After all, I think the key to success is with the original capture, not the PS process.) I haven't refined or even recorded the exact details of my process. I need some more time for refinement. For example, what looks great at web resolution looks totally different at 100%.
But the basic process is this ... I use a PS Motion Blur and a Gaussian Blur - both of which seem to duplicate the effect of camera panning. I then experiment with the layer opacity and masking to creatively blend the layers. The process is very image dependent, and varies greatly with the few images I've tried so far. A knowledge of working with layers and masking would be required.
Like I said, I think the key to success is an appropriate original capture. And I don't know how to vocalize the process of finding the right image. Still experimenting myself. It is a very unidirectional technique. Not as fluid as in-camera panning.
If you want to play around, that should give you a clue. I'm already planning a subject-oriented series using this specific technique, so I'm sure I can provide more details down the road.
Discussion
25 repliesSpring invades a skeleton forest in Yellowstone NP ...
Great job in PS.
Harold
RichieV
Here's another one from the same day ... still playing around with my process ...
Above is a sample of in-camera panning. I used a 4 second exposure, and shot about 20 versions until I found an effect I liked. But I think I prefer the selectively blurred/sharp combo that PS is allowing me.
Fun stuff - especially during the doldrums of spring in the mountains. For those who aren't aware, William Neill writes about this technique in a recent Outdoor Photographer. http://www.williamneill.com/
Doldrums of spring??!!!! Blasphemy!!!!
Thanks in advance
Pedro, it's quite simple - and I don't mind sharing the basics at all. (After all, I think the key to success is with the original capture, not the PS process.) I haven't refined or even recorded the exact details of my process. I need some more time for refinement. For example, what looks great at web resolution looks totally different at 100%.
But the basic process is this ... I use a PS Motion Blur and a Gaussian Blur - both of which seem to duplicate the effect of camera panning. I then experiment with the layer opacity and masking to creatively blend the layers. The process is very image dependent, and varies greatly with the few images I've tried so far. A knowledge of working with layers and masking would be required.
Like I said, I think the key to success is an appropriate original capture. And I don't know how to vocalize the process of finding the right image. Still experimenting myself. It is a very unidirectional technique. Not as fluid as in-camera panning.
If you want to play around, that should give you a clue. I'm already planning a subject-oriented series using this specific technique, so I'm sure I can provide more details down the road.