Before we introduce our new theme, we'd like to take a moment to thank everyone for taking part in last month's theme. We loved looking at your entries and have picked six finalists, which you can review below. (You can also check out all of April's Seasonal theme entries here.)
This time of year we love checking out the local waterfalls! With the winter snow caps melting, it creates a paradise for long-exposure photography. And so, let us introduce May's theme: "Long Exposure"
Even if you're not planning on chasing waterfalls anytime soon, there are loads of other cool shots you can master, with or without water!
Below, we've recycled tips for our favourite types of long-exposure photography, all of which are far easier to achieve with a few shutterbug accessories:
- A Tripod - essential for capturing crisp lines around the area of movement.
- A Natural Density Filter - highly recommended for daytime use as it limits the amount of light entering the camera lens
- Shutter Release - another tip for minimizing any movement
For specific tips and guidance to help nail shots like our highlights below, check out these super handy blog posts from our archives:
1. Soft and Silky Waterfalls
One of the best ways to capture the beauty of a waterfall is to use long exposure shots to get that stunning effect of silky, cloud-like water cascading over the crisp lines of rocks and in-focus foliage.
We especially like this example by @yorkshirekiwi.
2. Real Life Ghosts
Create ghostly images of people moving or wandering through a long-exposure shot, or get your subject to stand still and capture the movement in their hair and clothes caused by the wind.
We love this cool example by @northy!
3. Deserted Scenes
The beauty of a long exposure is that if you keep the shutter open for long
enough, everything that moves will eventually disappear, leaving you with a
deserted scene – particularly effective in places where we are used to seeing
lots of people such as:
- Train Stations
- Main Roads
- Shopping Malls
- A Theme Park or Attraction
We can't stop looking at this awesome shot of the typical Dutch yellow/blue train on Rotterdam central station by @matsvanesphotography.
4. Night Time Light Trails
As well as focusing on the flows of water or people during the day, setting up in busy urban spots at night is a really accessible way to experiment with long exposure photography.
This shot by @caterina is so fun! The bold light trails add a sense of speed, cascading through the pristine, quiet snowscape.
5. Luminous Light Paintings
Using bright, fine lights - like sparklers, glow sticks, neon lights or the torches on our phones - we can use long exposure to have fun writing or 'painting' with light on a black night-sky canvas.
This shot by @elza is the perfect example of how to have five minutes of fun with sparklers!
6. Star Trails
Something like a star trail can require exposure for at least a couple of hours, so when experimenting with long exposure, remember to keep an open mind (and diary)!
This shot by @lesip is simply gorgeous, we love the framing of the quiet cottage by the glowing lake, being framed the spinning stars!
7. Smooth and Smouldering Skies
Looking up and focusing on the skies during the day can have it's advantages too! We love the serenity long exposure can bring to even the stormiest of skies. Teamed with a coastline and the smoothing effect on both the sky and water, the juxtaposition against rocks, cliffs and people can make for a spectacular shot!
We think these photographs by @cdcook48 and @jgpittenger are stunning examples!
8. Lucky Lightning Strikes
If you are lucky (or unlucky!) to have a stormy evening this month, long-exposure photography (and a good dose of luck) could be the key to capturing a striking bolt of lightening!
This epic shot by @pasttheirprime is one to be proud of!
As always, we hope you all have loads of fun experimenting with this month's theme, we can’t wait to see what you get up to!
How to enter the May theme
When uploading your photos use the tag section (on the edit/organise screen) and insert this week's theme tag: theme-longexposure (all one word).
Entry Guidelines: Photos must be your own and must have been taken and uploaded between Sunday, May 1st and Tuesday, May 31st. 6 finalists will be chosen in the first couple of days of June, then you'll get to vote for the winner!
p.s. Don't worry if you spot tagged photos from a previous theme, when choosing our six finalists we'll use a filter to only view images from May 2022.
Vote for a Winner of April's "Seasonal" Theme
We had so much fun viewing all of your entries for the “Seasonal” theme!
With so many amazing photos to choose from, it was hard to pick just 6 finalists, but now it's over to you to vote for the winner of April's Seasonal theme.
To cast your vote, just reply to this blog post with the number (in digit form) of the photo you would like to see win, before May 14th. We’ll announce the winner in a separate post shortly after!
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Thrilled to be a finalist!
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@kjarn @homeschoolmom @yorkshirekiwi @cdcook48 @rjb71 @30pics4jackiesdiamond @salza @stevejacob @rensala @wendyfrost @parisouailleurs @cocokinetic @farmreporter @joemuli @cristinaledesma33 @mittens @summerfield @dutchothotmailcom @novab @ankers70 @merrelyn