A few months ago, I was out photographing and the wind was blowing too hard to make the photographs I wanted to make; the photographs were blurry from camera shake. So, I decided to really exaggerate the camera movement and panned the camera from right to left, and left to right, and up and down and came away with some very pleasing results. Ever since then, I’ve made more of these “motion studies” whenever I’ve gone out to photograph. I’m thinking there are some real possibilities for a strong portfolio in this process.
These next few images were made by rotating the camera during exposure, rather than panning, and the last two were made while panning and rotating the camera.
I love how serendipitous this process is. Serendipity is the main reason why I’m so passionate about the lumen process. I discovered that particular process towards the end of my education at BYU Idaho, and it was a nice and needed change from the exactness of working with the Zone System.
I’m really drawn to the way these photographs in motion erase the details of the landscape and reduce it down to its most basic elements. Deep shadows are erased and colors become more pastel in some cases, and even more saturated in others. Shapes emerge that are only revealed, or that are plainly created by the camera’s movement.
This is a process that I’ll surely be pursuing.