I am so glad to participate in the monthly challenge finally! In the past few weeks since I moved into college, I have hardly had a chance to shoot anything of my own. I have done lots of sports, but those photos generally don't belong here. This photo I have was one I took tonight as I wandered around campus on a photo walk. I went through several versions of this shot as I experimented with the motion and exposure length. I started handheld and eventually went with a tripod to get a smoother motion. This particular shot was done at 1.3 seconds.
I would love to hear some thoughts on this piece! Feel free to be as critical or supportive as you wish; honest perception is the only thing that matters here.
That works for me Matthew and certainly fits nicely into the challenge.
It's great to see you getting out and experimenting, only good things can come of this. As for the image itself I think it's simple but effective. I could see this being used by university media in a variety of ways ('Time well spent', 'Time to move forward with Indiana Wesleyan.....' for example).
As for your sports activities, I think that would provide a great opportunity to experiment if you can put time to one side to do so. I am all for capturing bodies in motion and presenting just a sense of the action through gestures.
A tough ask and one that would result in a LOT of failures, but I think you might enjoy the attempt and gain some experience. I adore the work of Ernst Haas in this respect (see below), definitely way ahead of his time.
Agree with you about Haas, Alan! Thought this was one of yours, but then I thought it looked familiar...
It amazes me how few Fstoppers, obviously interested in photography, ever mention any famous photographers. Sadly, I get the impression that most are unaware of them, only the current online gurus and FS staffers (no disrespect to them).
As if photography came into being with Instagram.
Yeah, I raise my hat to those that were crazy enough to even attempt LE photography such as this using film.
I can take 100 images and still get nothing worthwhile - these warriors were faced with the task of processing and printing just to see if that had anything even vaguely worthwhile.
Thank you for your response, Alan! I have done some minor experimentation with some longer exposures in sports work, but haven't had much opportunity this past shooting season.
Good work Matthew, you've captured this one nicely.
I am becoming to understand that there needs to be a balance when taking LE shots of a moving population. If some parts (eg arms/legs) are moving faster than the body core they (and their movement) either get lost if exposure is too long, too short and it could just look like a badly taken shot.
I like this a lot, Matthew - minimalistic, beautiful flow, and really interesting subject idea. There's something about the words that I really like too and adds to everthing, but I can't put my finger on it. Is the clock on a wall or is it a street clock? Great photo idea, Matthew!
Thank you, Jennifer! This clock is actually one of two identical street clocks on campus. At night they are illuminated from within, which is how I was able to capture the glowing effect against the darkness.
Great! Thanks for posting this. It helps me understand more of how you got your shot!
Excellent. Love it.