These are the result of too much free time.
#1 is a combination of a dozen or so frames shot while walking directly toward this tree. I merged them as layers in Photoshop and had Photoshop auto-align the layers. It appears to me that the software adjusted the frame size so the tree is almost the same size in each layer. In effect, this is a single image approximation of Hitchcock's much-imitated "dolly shot" from "Vertigo."
#2 is more conventional. Again, a dozen or so images were merged as layers and auto-aligned. This time the camera was (more or less) still and the tree branch was blowing around. I did not crop off the edges, so you can see this process keyed on the horizontal branch and the edges are not congruent.
Thank you for explaining your procedure.
I write things down so I remember how I did things for more than a few hours.
Hi Andrew! It looks like your Bradford Pears are blooming like ours here except the ones in our neighborhood seem to be blighted with something. I'm planning on trying this same technique sometime this week. I loved the idea in the second one of just standing still and allowing the breeze to do the work. Thank you for posting with details. I appreciated it.
I see you're in Lancaster so your "here" is practically my "here" in Collegeville. Before Covid, we got to your "here" fairly often.
Yes, ground zero of good ole PA Dutch country! Lol!
Hi Andrew. Thanks for getting outside of that box and come up with such a unique process.
What do you think of these photos personally, did they come out as hoped?
I love your creative thinking behind these and think there is definitely room for the technique. I am wondering - did you try to layer these images manually, rather than allow PS to align?
I'm just wondering how the effects may have changed, and whether you would have further options to experiment with the blending.
It's great to see that you are inspiring others so additional kudos for leading this charge! This is something I'll have to try myself!
I don't think much of #1 and consider it mostly as a "proof of concept" image. Now that I've seen what it looks like, I'm going to try it with a person instead of a tree. We're visiting our daughter on Friday (her Birthday is Thursday, but since she has a real job we'll celebrate a day later.) Maybe I'll try this with her in her backyard or maybe in the street in front of her house where there is more room.
I like #2 more. The uneven overlapping makes it a bit more interesting than my first result, which cropped all that away. If I get a chance tomorrow I'' try again so the overlapping is more evenly surrounding the central image.
Photoshop did the alignment. I left the bottom layer at 100% opacity and reduced all the others until it felt right.
Hey, if you want to try something fun with your daughter - I experimented with the 'in the round' technique on my kids, having them move with me as I rotated (trying to keep facial features/position consistent).
I have an example on my website if interested in exploring. - Scroll down to what I have termed the 'Global Portrait'.
https://www.alanbrownphotography.com/an-overview-of-humanessence-techniques