Tag Archives: abstract photography

13-10-08-Autumn-closeup-1.jpg

Autumnal Mount Royal and some abstract experiments

I took the scenic route over Mount Royal yesterday on my way to Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery. Today’s post is mainly a few shots I took while walking from Avenue du Parc up to the escarpment path steps at the chemin Camilien Houde belvédère.

With the high winds of late – yesterday being no exception – a lot of trees are already beginning to look a little naked, while others still have a reasonable covering and in fact there is still much green to be found, so hopefully a bit more time left to get out and shoot the autumn colors.

 

Mount Royal in autumn

Mount Royal in autumn
ISO 100 – 85mm – f4 – 1/80 sec

As expected, there is now a good cover of leaves on the ground, and it is this element that I tended to concentrate shooting. I love the contrast of the golden leaves on the ground with the still relatively green forest.

Mount Royal in autumn

Mount Royal in autumn
ISO 100 – 85mm – f1.8 – 1/400 sec

Mount Royal in autumn

Mount Royal in autumn
ISO 100 – 85mm – f1.8 – 1/125 sec

Autumn closeup

Autumn closeup
ISO 100 – 85mm – f1.8 – 1/125 sec

 

While I’m in a tree hugging mood, I may as well share a couple of experimental shots that I took while up on Mount Royal at the end of September which have been languishing in my image folder.

I’m constantly looking for new photographic techniques to experiment with, and having a love for abstract images, I’m often looking for a way to produce abstract photographs.

One classic technique is to pull the zoom during an exposure. I have attempted this with trees on numerous occasions and do like the effect it has in particular with the light in the tree canopy.

Camera movement experimentation

Camera movement experimentation
ISO 100 – 20mm – f13 – 0.8 sec

But I was looking to go a little further than simply pulling the zoom. You may recall from a recent post of the Sunday Tam Tams that I produced an image by accident where I ended up with a spiral effect.

At the time I wasn’t sure how I got the result, but with a bit of trial and error, I realized that turning the camera while holding the focus or zoom ring gives a similar effect.

The first image was turning the camera while holding the zoom.

Camera movement experimentation

Camera movement experimentation
ISO 100 – 10mm – f13 – 0.8 sec

When holding the focus ring, you end up with an image that looks more like it was shot through the bottom of a glass – which can be fun too, depending on what your drinking 😉

Camera movement experimentation

Camera movement experimentation
ISO 100 – 10mm – f13 – 1 sec

Camera movement experimentation

Camera movement experimentation
ISO 100 – 10mm – f13 – 0.6 sec

Camera movement experimentation

Camera movement experimentation
ISO 100 – 10mm – f13 – 0.6 sec

I think the next image was produced simply by rotating the camera without adjusting either the zoom or focus.

Camera movement experiment

Camera movement experiment
ISO 100 – 20mm – f5.6 – 1/4 sec

 

Another technique is simply moving the camera (without adjusting the focus and/or zoom) producing more of a light painting effect.

Camera movement experiment

Camera movement experiment
ISO 100 – 20mm – f5.6 – 1/4 sec

Hopefully I will have a chance to try perfecting the technique before the autumn colors are all gone. I’m also thinking about other subjects this could work well with and I will be sure to post any new experiments I try.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time.

– Martin

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