Zoom Blur Experiment

[Peeb]

Before we take down O tannenbaum, I thought I would take a stab at zoom blur. This is my 24/85 nikon 'kit' lens, but on my crop D7200. The exposure was 1/8 second. Processed in both Photoshop and DXO Photolab.


Christmas Tree Zoom Blur by Peeb OK, on Flickr

 

[SquarePeg]

I like it.

 

[Jeff G]

Cool, it's like Christmas as seen through the window of the millennium falcon. nicely done you nerf herder!

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

Looks like Christmas fireworks!

 

[Peeb]

A bit of a tree explosion.

 

[smoke665]

Nice! These are fun kinda of shots, where no two are alike, and you never know what you'll get. Next time add a little ICM while zooming. IE: rotating while zooming can give a neat spiral efect.

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

Does an autofocus work best or does focus matter?

 

[smoke665]

Does an autofocus work best or does focus matter?

I've done it with both manual and auto, couldn't really tell much difference.

 

[Derrel]

You do want to be in-focus when you shoot point light sources, unless you want OOF or blurred/large circles/bokeh balls, in which case you could start with the lens de-focused to taste.

Most people start with the lens set to tele, then zoom to shorter focal lengths as the exposure is progressing. Practice is helpful. I like to start zooming shorter right before I press the shutter release button. It takes timing, and practice, and repetition is helpful. I like to use VR to stabilize the lens, but a tripod is also very much an option. Adding flash during a slow-speed shot is also an option on some subjects/scenes. Zoom + slow exposure shots are the type of shots where shooting 20 or 30 images _might_ just yield that one,lovely image, with loads of duds. Unless you have all the variables "just so", the chances of getting good photos goes way down.

Keep in mind, a Christmas tree is a two-exposure shot! The lights themselves, and the rest if the tree! While a person can post-process to lighten things up, there is also a relationship, a relative exposure level, that the various parts of the scene are given at the time of the shot. So,do not absolutely count on post-processing to rescue exposures that are wildly "off".

Whatever is in the center of the frame tends NOT to "move" nor "zoom" much, so keep that in mind. The center of the frame might be too high for too low for a final-crop type image, so keep in mind that it might be better to frame more-loosely on some subjects.

No two frames are exactly alike, and neither are any two scenes. Silhouetted trees at sunrise and sunset can be fascinating with the zoom + slow exposure method. How slow the exposure is and the f/stop and the ISO level, all these things can play a factor, especially if flash is added, since flash "carries" a long way at f/4, but at f/11, flash does not "carry" very far behind the camera, at any given ISO level. If the exposure tends toward "generous", one can get a fair amount of ghost-y, zoom-y image, whereas if the exposure being used tends toward a "skimpy" exposure level, then the effect will favor only bright things, like lights, and will make dark areas look very...not-exposed,shall we say.

A Christmas tree is a tricky exposure: bright point-source lights, and dark, un-lit green,shadowy boughs. A slooooooow shutter and a moderate aperture (say, f/5.6), and a decent ISO level of 200 to 800, will generally make the tree look good. However, one might find that a tiny flash pop will help light the dark areas of the tree that are not lighted by the Christmas tree's lights. Once you add the zooming to the mix, rather than a one-focal length, static shot, then you have some decisions to make, such as ADDING continuous lighting to the room, to illuminate the darker parts of the tree. Keep in mind that white balance for the bulbs might look best at a Tungsten setting, so daylight coming into the room might tend toward blue-ish in appearance.

 

[snowbear]

Nicely done.

I've only been able to do this once; a push-pull zoom would suit me better.

 

[Rahb]

Looks like fireworks

 

[CherylL]

Great shot! Creative.

 

[Braineack]

You do want to be in-focus when you shoot point light sources, unless you want OOF or blurred/large circles/bokeh balls, in which case you could start with the lens de-focused to taste.

light streaks 058-3 by Braineack, on Flickr


focus and zoom twists.