Spiritual Photo Tip 19: Motion

Welcome to the last of my Spiritual Photo Tips – #19 Motion. 

I truly hope this series has opened you to new ways of seeing and being in the world.

There are many ways to capture and even create motion with your camera. 

The most common is to photograph something that’s moving at a high shutter speed.

This is also the daylight default on smart phones.

It’s like a moment suspended in time. 

The alternative is to shoot it at a slow shutter speed so that the photo is being created while the subject keeps on moving.

If you’re on a tripod, the surrounding will be in clear focus while the subject in movement becomes blurry.

Take this example of running water. The image on the left is a freeze frame and the one on the right was shot at a slower speed using a tripod.

Which do you prefer?

I’d say 90% of my students over the years have preferred the freeze frame. Perhaps its’ because that’s what they’re used to seeing. I prefer the silky smooth water.

I’m not sure if most smartphones  allow you to do this, but with newer iPhones, take a photo in Live (shooting a wider frame than you want) and once it’s taken, swipe up on the screen and choose the Long Exposure mode to the right. It won’t be as sharp as with an SLR on tripod, but great for social media.

Traditional panning is used a lot in action photography like sports and wildlife.

Imagine the photographer following a race car as it crosses his vision from left to right. His camera is also panning from left to right at the same speed, keeping the car at relatively the same spot in the frame. When he takes the picture, the car is in perfect focus but the background is all blurry. You need a very fast lens to be able to do this right.

I’m terrible with this technique. Looking through a lot of my albums, the best examples I could find (and they’re not great) are the shot of the puffin in flight and the show jumper at the Vienna Masters in 2013.

Non-traditional panning, however, is one of my favourite ways to play with my camera. This, to me, is art!

The opening image to this post is a perfect example (one of my favourite photos of all time).

The subject doesn’t have to be moving. You are. You’re dancing while moving the camera around.

You can pan in a straight line – from up to down, down to up, sideways or at a diagonal. See how some of the trees below lose their features, becoming more painterly?

You need to use a slower shutter speed. Play with speeds on your SLR until you get the effect that you want.

You can also dance by making tiny circles or wide arcs with your lens while you shoot.  Dance away!

Click through this collection one at a time, using the arrow to navigate between full-screen shots to detect the direction and shape of my movements.

If you look closely, you’ll notice the pattern in the colours or light.

I’ve accidentally done a few of these with my smartphone while accidentally clicking the shutter while putting it away in my pocket. But I haven’t explored the possibilities, saving this technique for my SLR.

You can also zoom with your SLR lens on a slower shutter speed to create streaks of motion.

The subject may have been perfectly still, but the effect isn’t.

Usually, the subject ends up dead centre in the image. I’ll sometimes crop after the fact for better composition.

Zooming can be used for visual effect or for storytelling.

For example, the graffiti artist below asked that I not show his face in my photo. So using this technique created a bit of mystery and camouflage for his illegal activity.

Your thoughts and emotions create momentum in your life. What you focus on expands.

You’re creating momentum with every choice to focus on one thing or another. The Law of Attraction is at the heart of momentum.

It’s important to learn how to build momentum the right way, and to know what to do when momentum is going in the opposite direction of your desires.

One of my favourite teachers on this topic is Abraham, channeled through Esther Hicks. 

“One day’s focus is enough momentum for you to allow anything you want to flow into your experience.”

Here’s a 10-minute coaching session on being the conscious creator you were meant to be.

If you want more, just type in the keywords “Abraham Hicks” and “Momentum” in YouTube and you’ll be inspired for hours.

As you capture or create motion with your camera, reflect on the power of momentum.

No matter if you’re allowing your positive momentum to sweep you faster towards your desires or starting positive momentum from scratch first thing in the morning, may your beliefs, thoughts, and emotions move you forward on your Path to your Highest Good.

Thank you for accompanying me over the past 38 weeks as we explored & expressed our love of beauty and the beauty of love through my 19 Spiritual Photo Tips. You can access them all via the INDEX in my Free Resources.

Happy shooting! Happy living!

Namaste