Monthly Theme - Motion (July 2021)

Wow! How are we halfway through 2021 already?! We'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who's a part of this amazing community! Every month we look forward to setting up a new theme and one of our favourite parts of reviewing your entries is to see the lovely comments and the way you all support each other.

Well done to everyone who entered the “Plant Power” theme in June, there were lots of incredible photos. It was tough to choose just six! Scroll down or jump to view this month's shortlist and vote for a winner.

Now, it's time to introduce our July theme...."Motion".

This month we've chosen a theme with endless opportunities. Whether you feel like tackling new techniques, or choose to take it easy and find a spot to watch the world go by, your biggest advantage will be to use your imagination!

In years past we've enjoyed checking out everything from whizzy speed demons, like care racing by, to softer serene movements, like bubbles floating in the air - and everything in between.

To help you get started, we've pulled together a few tips and techniques to help you sharpen up those reflexes and nail both a fast-paced freeze-frame and long exposure shots - all with the aim of capturing all forms of life on the move!

1. Fast-Paced Freeze Frames

We're jumping straight in with the type of movement that most of us think of first - sports photography. From cars racing around a track, to photo finishes in athletic races, to tennis players leaping mid-air to make a hit - capturing those crucial moments makes for impressive work!

With most digital cameras, using fast shutter speeds, multiple (burst) shots and great timing, will have you off to a good start! For more insights check out this blog post from a while back, which runs through some tips about timing, shutter speed, depth of field and lens choice.

Remember, you don't need to be into sports to play with this type of shot. Passing traffic or people and pets playing are also fantastic subjects!

@kiwichick has LOADS of amazing shots from slalom skiers hurtling downhill!

2. Long Exposure Magic

Some of our favourite photography effects are thanks to long exposure shots, with the help of a trusty tripod! Classic subjects for these beautiful images include waterfalls, lights glowing from traffic moving at nighttime, playing with sparklers in the dark and even a moving night sky!

We also have some handy blog posts to talk you through the process, for both day time long exposures and night time long exposures!

We love this cool example by @nova, who was also crowned the winner of May's Long Exposure theme!

3. Subtle and Serene

Even when objects are in more gentle motion, it can still pay to use fast-motion settings. To get crisp lines that make an impact against a still background you'll still want to make sure you're lighting, tripod (ideally) and camera settings are all ready before nailing your shot.

Playing indoors with water crowns or smoke from an incense stick is a convenient, low hassle way to experiment and improve your techniques!

We love these shots, by @lynne5477 and @northy.

4. Moving the Camera - Panning and Zooming

When researching motion techniques a while back we found this cool post by digital-photography-school.com which explains some handy tips around panning when trying to nail sporty shots, as well as cool effects that can be achieved by moving the camera, or zooming, towards something still! If you're looking for new ideas, it's definitely worth a read!

This shot from their post was achieved by photographing some hanging lights in a building lobby, by using a long exposure setting and carefully zooming in while the camera was processing.

Whatever you decide to focus on, we hope you have fun experimenting with new ideas and techniques. We can’t wait to check out your entries!

How to enter this month’s theme

When uploading your photos use the tag section (on the edit/organise screen) and insert this week's theme tag: theme-motion.

Entry Guidelines: Photos must be your own and must have been taken and uploaded between Thursday, July 1st and Saturday, July 31st. 6 finalists will be chosen in the first couple of days in August, then you'll get to vote for the winner!

p.s. Don't worry if you spot some tagged photos from a previous theme, when choosing our six finalists we'll use a special algorithm to only filter the images from July 2021.

Vote for a Winner of June's "Plant Power" Theme

We love floral themes for good reason! You submitted SO many amazing entries, we spent a while perusing and enjoying all of your Plant Power entries! It took a while to select just 6 finalists, but now it's over to you to vote for the winner of the “Plant Power” theme.

To cast your vote, simply reply to this blog post with the number (in digit form) of the photo you would like to see win, before July 14th. We’ll announce the winner in a separate post shortly after!