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Create an Abstract Image Using Intentional Blur – Photo Challenge

Create an Abstract Image Using Intentional Blur – Photo Challenge

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All too often I see new photographers get hung up on taking the perfect image. Making sure it’s 100% sharp, perfectly exposed, technically – perfect. But what sometimes suffers is the creative aspect of photography. This month’s challenge is to push you outside that technical realm into the creative one and do something different.

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New photography challenge – create an abstract image using intentional blur

There are a few ways you can create an abstract image using intentional blur including:

Do a long exposure on a busy street

You may need a Neutral Density filter to cut the light if you try this in the daytime – setup on a tripod and use a low ISO like 100 or 200. Set your shutter speed to be fairly slow (try between 1/8th – 2 seconds). You may find if you go too long all the people and cars disappear completely. Try different shutter speed times to experiment.

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Photo by Wendy

Zoom your lens during a long exposure

See Three Special Effects for Night Photography (scroll to the bottom) to see how to do this one. Basically, setup on a tripod again and set your shutter speed to at least one second or longer. Your aperture will likely have to be small like f/22 and your ISO low, like 100 or 200. Zoom in and focus on your subject (neon lights and light up signs at night work great for this technique) then turn off autofocus. Press your shutter button (or remote if you have one) and using your fingers gently zoom your lens out. It may take some practice to get it smooth and how fast you zoom, how long you pause at the beginning versus the end, and the timing will all give you very different results. Try it!

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ISO 200, f/5.6 for 1.6 seconds zoom of the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC
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ISO 100, f/22 for 3.2 seconds zoom of Planet Hollywood sign in Las Vegas
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Hand held zoom (notice it gets a little bumpy this way) ISO 800, f/14 for 1 second from viewing deck of the Empire State Building in NYC

Swivel your camera or tripod during the exposure

This is the same concept as zooming, but instead you just move your camera or tripod during a long exposure (move it up and down, side to side, or even rotate). Use the appropriate movement for your subject. For example, as in the image of the poplar trees below, it is a tall vertical subject – so moving the camera the same direction will make the trees look elongated like so:

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ISO 250, f/9 for 1/2 second hand held
For this image the tripod head was rotated during the exposure.
For this image the tripod head was rotated during the exposure. ISO 320, f/13, 4 seconds
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Subject before movement added – ISO 100, f/11, 3.2 seconds
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Side to side movement added during the exposure – same settings as last shot.

Move the camera around randomly during a long exposure

This one is purely about having fun and experimenting. Hand hold your camera, set a long exposure, press the button and just start moving it around. You can do this during the day but make sure you set your ISO low and set it on Shutter Priority or you may end up with a blank white image if you make the exposure too long. If it comes out white try again with a slower one, or add a polarizer or neutral density filter to cut down on the light entering the lens.

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Same subject as above, done with random movement – all shot at: ISO 100, f/11 for 2.5 seconds

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Shoot car light trails

See: Guide to Photographing Light Trails at Night for an in-depth tutorial on how to shoot car light trails. Same concept as most of the others. Use a long exposure to capture the car lights.

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ISO 500, f/10 for one second
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ISO 200 f/9 for 1.6 seconds – this is a combination of a few images stacked together to get more light trails in the image.

This technique also works on anything moving that has lights, like this merry-go-round we found in Seattle.

ISO 800, f/14 for 1/4 second (I used the higher ISO to get a shorter exposure time so as not to get as much blur)
ISO 800, f/14 for 1/4 second (I used the higher ISO to get a shorter exposure time so as not to get as much blur and it was very dark inside this place)
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ISO 400, f/20 for 1 second – to get more blur and a more abstract image as a result
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Using my Rokinon 8m fisheye lens I was about 1/2 inch from the brass posts on either side of the shot. ISO 400 1/2 second (not sure aperture, the Rokinon doesn’t register on my Fuji – probably around f/16)

You can also combine a long exposure for light trails AND zooming for even more fun! Look how the lights seems to jump out at you and appear to be coming towards you. Almost reminds me of a music staff (lines musicians write the notes on) – can you hear the carnival music now?

ISO 400, f/20 for 1 second - zoomed during the exposure
ISO 400, f/20 for 1 second – zoomed during the exposure

Shoot completely out of focus – on purpose

Now I’m just talking crazy right?

But why not try give this a try?

Abstract art is about color, shapes, light and dark. Turn your lens way out of focus and see how the world looks. Want bokeh? Use a large aperture (f/1.8 on your nifty 50 if you have one) and focus as close as the lens will go.

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In focus – meh!
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Completely out of focus – hmm! Interesting colors and abstract shape. Almost like a heat map.
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Bokeh of the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens

Winner of the last challenge

Selected randomly from everyone who completed the last challenge – Street Corner Exercise, as well as shared your images and what you learned – the winner is:

Crystal Bloom: who watched fisherman on a pier for over two hours and learned,  “If I would have not stopped to watch for over 2 hours and just took photos like I always do, I would have missed this moment.”

Congratulations Crystal you’ve won a set of our Lightroom Presets. We’ll be in touch by email to get those to you.

Tips for this challenge

  1. Don’t over think it
  2. Try one of the techniques above
  3. Try them all
  4. Play
  5. Experiment
  6. Have fun!

This Month’s Challenge, Contest and Prize:

So you can’t do this challenge wrong. All you have to do is actually do it. Try something you haven’t done before and see what you can come up with. Find some other ways to do abstract blurs I haven’t mentioned here – show me something new!

This time of year you may find lots of cool things that will work as a great subject: Christmas tree lights, decorations, lights out on the street, etc.

Here are the requirements to be eligible for the prize:

  1. Take a photo with intentional blur to make an abstract photo.
  2. Upload your photo in the comments section below.
  3. Please tell us how you created it (technique used) and the exposure info (ISO, shutter speed and aperture).

Deadline for entry is: January 13, 2016, 10pm MST (-6 UTC) that gives you six weeks.
Contest is now closed and a winner has been chosen. See the next photography challenge for details.

Banner: 4 weeks to better photography bThe Prize:

This month’s winner (selected randomly from all eligible entries) will receive our 4 Weeks to Better Photography course (retail value: $49 USD).

Cheers,
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Comments

  1. Red and Yellow Abstract
    Panned a piece of red wrapping paper with yellow polka-dots and rotated the camera as I was panning. Iso 200,f/14 and a 1 sec. ss

  3. Darlene, These are not for the competition since I’ve already taken your wonderful course but I wanted to share some images. I had to do this same technique for my local camera club and your article got me started, so thanks for that. I was looking for something with intense colors to shoot, these are both pictures of watercolor paintings I did and I love how it made them into abstracts. Hope you like them.
    Street scene picture shot at ISO 100, f/11, 1/4 sec.
    Other one is a botanical scene with a branch and some berries shot at ISO 100, f/10, 1/4 sec.
    I moved the camera in different ways until I got something I liked. It took me about 200 shots!

  4. STREET DANCERS. This photo was taken during a town fiesta (feast) in the northern part of the Philippines. No unusual technique was done. I used a Nikon D7000 handheld + Tokina 50-135mm lens. Exposure information: f/ 14.0 for 1/10s- ISO 100.

  5. I had so much fun, I had to do another photo…super close up, completely out of focus, handheld photo of Christmas tree lights. Taken with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-F27, ISO 200, f 3.3, 1/5 sec. 🙂

  6. Super close up, out of focus, handheld photo of an acorn shell. Taken with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-F27, ISO 200, f 2.8, 1/4 sec…Happy Holidays!

  7. Today I tried setting my camera up on a tripod and panning upwards while taking a photo of a small group of aspens covered in snow. I don’t own any external filters, but my electronic ND filter made it possible for me to use a slower shutter speed. It took some experimenting with speed of panning to get an image I was happy with. This was so much fun! I’ve been researching other abstract/impressionist techniques to try. f/4.0, 0.4s, ISO 80 https://www.flickr.com/photos/135745353@N03/23952764946/in/dateposted-public/

  8. One more from today, Canon Rebel EOS SL1, ISO 100, 1/2 second F/29, 52mm – Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

  9. This picture hangs in my backyard year round, and is one of my favorites! I appreciate the website and all the great suggestions you provide. If you have any comments or suggestions on this photo please share. Canon Rebel EOS SL1, ISO 100, 1/2 Second, F22, 26mm – Greetings from Winkler Manitoba!

  12. This was a fun technique to try. On the right is a jar filled with decorative silver and aqua balls and a silver Christmas sprig in a silver jar on the left.
    Sony a5100, f1/18, ISO 200, 50 mm, 1/20s

  13. Newbie here. Fun with Christmas tree lights. Sony a5100, f/2.0, ISO 200, 50 mm, 1/50s, handheld with movement

  15. Moon Movement – Olympus C770UZ f/3.2, iso 67, 4 sec, 46mm – With a full moon and a slow movement of a hand held camera , light painting with the moon.

  16. The Light Dancer. Olympus EM-1 f/4.1, iso 100, 3.2 sec, 16 mm.
    Lights on the end of ropes swinging in circular motion.

  18. Abstract water front, hand held, ISO 200, motion blur vertical movement, Shutter 15 sec, aperture f10

  19. Taken from a moving boat in Botswana, in the evening, focused on building but moving left to right as we travelled around corner. Nikon D90. aperture Priority – 1/5 sec, f8, ISO 1000 –

  22. Brisbane Flyover by Night
    Time exposure on tripod, Nikon D5100, f18, ISO-100, exposure time 6 sec.

  23. Brisbane Night Markets
    Time exposure on tripod, Nikon D5100, f/16, ISO-100, exposure time 3 sec.

  24. The Lights of Alice Springs
    Panning camera in waves, left to right, Nikon D5100, f/25, ISO-400, exposure time 2 sec.

  25. Morning Stroll
    Panning camera left to right, Nikon D5100, f/22, ISO-200, exposure time 1/10 sec.

  26. Girl Running
    Panning camera left to right, Nikon D5100, f/22, ISO-400, exposure time 1/10 sec.

  28. Ladysmith BC, a quick rotate of the Olympus EM 10 of some of the Christmas lights.
    1/13 sec. f 1.7, 20mm, ISO 200

  30. Bellingrath Gardens (Alabama). Gorilla tripod attached to stakes that held the rope protecting flowers. I gently pushed the camera down towards the end of the shot. Olympus E-PL5 14-42mm at f/18 for 25sec – ISO 200

  31. I took this photo in Southern California using a neutral density filter with a 15 second exposure at F16 and ISO 100.

  32. In an L.A neighborhood. Car passing by. Taken with a Nikon D7000 – ISO 100 / f5.6 at 55mm / 6 sec.

  33. Fairy Godmother. Used sparklers, taken with a Nikon D7000 – ISO 100 / f3.5 at 18 mm / 30 sec

  34. Electric! Bunch of lights on a stick spinning in different directions. Taken with a Nikon D7000 – ISO 100 / f9 at 22mm / 30 sec.

  35. This was shot on a Canon 6D at f36, TV at 2.5 sec, zoomed in at 300mm and zoomed back to 28mm while the shutter was open.

  36. I captured this Nativity scene at a Christmas display at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY the other night. I have titled this image: “The true meaning of Christmas – coming at you.”

  37. Ghosting – Subject stands with flashlight on him for a few seconds, turn off the flashlight then move him and shine it again for a few seconds. Taken with a Nikon D7000 – ISO 100 / f8 / 30 sec

    • Love it, great idea. As a side note, if you had him leave the flashlight on the whole time even as he moved, you’d get a streak of him in the middle too. Just another idea.

      • Great idea! I’ll try that next time I’m playing with it! I love that there are so many creative ways to take pictures!

  38. This is my first time trying out intentional blur. I used Christmas lights on my tree, in a dark room. Needed to play with my settings quite a bit to figure out how to get the look I wanted. This was handheld, aperture 4.0 shutter speed 1 second, ISO 80 using the Canon Powershot G16. I bumped up the temperature and saturation in Lightroom. I like the movement in this one, reminds me a little of fire. Thanks for the challenge! I’m hoping to try more of the ideas in this lesson. Great opportunity to push my limits and learn something new 🙂 https://www.flickr.com/photos/135745353@N03/23053243914/in/dateposted-public/

  39. Was hoping to get closer to the cars on this one but it is a freeway. Shot on a canon 70d at 18mm, f/8, iso 800 15 sec.

  40. motion blur the digital way:
    move fast – wait a second – move fast – wait a second ….. 😉

    Camera on a tripod
    exposure time 15 seconds,
    aperture f/11
    Iso 100

    I used a manual speedlight reflected from the ceiling to get a little bit of light on the housing.
    To make the stainless steel look a bit more “nighttime” I used a blue gel in front of the speedlight.

      • You’re right, the second hand moves too fast, there is no motion blur, only the “afterglow” during exercise breaks.

        But perhaps this corresponds better of the task – a pretty toy, which I had a lot of fun with buzzing around for a while in my flat.

        • There you go! So that’s a good lesson to take away from it though – some things if there is too much motion, or the exposure is too long – they literally just disappear. That is why you can do painting with light and get into the scene yourself, but not appear in the image.

  41. The red, pink and white poinsettias at Brandon City Hall took on a new look when I gave them a twirl by rotating my camera slightly through the 0.6 sec exposure. Aperture was set at f16 and ISO was 100. Nikon D5300 with Sigma 18-250 lens.

  43. This was shot on the streets of Istanbul using a Tamron 28-300mm zoomed all the way in to 300mm. Using shutter priority I set the time for 2.5 secs as that is how long it takes for me to zoom the lens back to 28mm. Tripod of course, ISO was 200. I find this type of photography the most fun at night and often teach this technique when on photo expeditions.

  44. Canon EOS 600D, f/5.6; 3,2 sec; ISO 200. I was trying to capture an image I saw on Pinterest, with the dad and baby’s faces close, but these two just could hold a pose, and this is what I ended up with. And I loved it from the moment I saw it.

    • Fun! If you do want to get it sharp for the look you were going for – use an area with more light, or crank up your ISO way up! As you can see people can’t hold still for much more than 1/8th, babies and kids even less than that. Ideally you want 1/60th or faster.

    • CONGRATULATIONS Tania Jacobs, for winning this months photography challenge. I’ll be in touch shortly by email with information about your prize.

  46. CN Rail Christmas Train @ St Alberta, Alberta. D810, 24mm, 25.0 sec. @ F8, ISO 125. And this is what you get for changing the size of the file to fit this program, a blurry image. In the original the sign and the environment are tack sharp. Next time I guess!

      • HI Darlene. On export from Lightroom I resized the photo so this program would accept it. The photo was also cropped slightly to remove footprints and a person just on the right edge of the photo. The rest is largely right out of camera. I used Lightroom to process the photo. I do not sharpen as it’s not required with my D810 Nikon. Cheers Rob

        • When you size from LR on export you can have it apply sharpening. You also need to check the details panel and apply some there. If it’s coming from a raw original file it hasn’t had any applied yet. Hope that helps.

    • I like it! Since it is an abstract I don’t see the blurred sign as a problem,. If it was my shot I may have even cropped out the sign and gone with just that great light trail.

      • Thank you Lee. If the program hand’t blurred the sign, I wouldn’t have had an issue either. But, the sign has relevance to the train station seen on the other side of the tracks from the sign through the lights of the train. Everything is tack sharp with my exported file from Lightroom.
        Cheers, Rob

  49. Zooming plus mixing lighting technique. In another words: street lights, tail car plus flash. Handhel with a Canon 60D 18-135mm lens at f/7.1 for 1/6s – ISO 160…Greetings from Brasil

  52. I was practicing ghosting, however I captured this wonderful effect. I didn’t move the camera and had it on self timer with slow shutter speed. This is my granddaughter twirling Christmas lights, the first one looks a little too blurry but the second one I really like

  53. Taken with a borrowed Fujifilm Finepix HS30 EXR, 1/17th second at F4, focal length 13mm.
    Leaning out of a safari vehicle in Kruger National Park, South Africa, at dusk as a troop of African wild dogs trotted past, on a mission.

  54. Lady Dragon in long exposure in corner at Santiago Chile
    Nikon D7000, f/11,6seg,ISO 100, 20 mm, flash

  55. Sparks from a campfire….. Nikon D90, ISO 2.50, F/5.6. exposure time 30 seconds….. slight movement

  56. Sea Oats at the Beach in South Carolina……on a breezy day…….Nikon D7100, ISO 100, F/2.8, 1/2 sec

  58. Captured by complete mistake as someone slightly bumped my arm as I was taking the shot…. slight movement and I really like the effect! Native American Concert. ISO 200, f/22,