Exploring Frozen Motion and Motion Blur

Hello! And welcome back to the Mickelson Photography Blog. Today, we will be looking at frozen motion and motion blur.

Frozen Motion

“Mac DeMarco on a Turntable” – 9/30/20, 12:21pm, Idaho – 32mm – f/5.6 – 3/10 – Nikon D7000 (flash used)

Here we have a record spinning on a turntable. By focusing on the rod in the center, the motion of the vinyl record is slowed (almost frozen). The grooves don’t appear to be moving, and it appears as if time itself has decided to stand completely still.

“Making a Splash” – 9/30/20, 3:43pm, Idaho – 32mm – f/5.0 – 1/60 – Nikon D/7000 (flash used, tripod used)

Here’s another example of frozen motion. This image was created by filling up an empty milk jug only part of the ways up, and then sloshing the jug’s contents into the wall of a shower. Captured at just the right time, the camera was able to produce an effect that makes the water appear frozen as it splashes out of the plastic milk jug.

Motion Blur

*“Traveling On” – 9/30/20, 4:15pm, Idaho – 95mm – f/9.0 – 1/250 – Nikon D/7000 (flash used*)

The differences between frozen motion and motion blur can be striking. It’s obvious that this pickup truck is moving down the highway. But when the camera focuses on another object (whether it be in motion or not in motion) such as the metal pole on the roadside, the shape of the larger object can be easily blurred.

*“Skate Park Kid” – 9/30/20, 4:32pm, Idaho – 170mm – f/5.6 – 1/500 – Nikon D/7000 (flash used*, tripod used)

Now notice this distinctly different example of motion blur. Here, the boy in the red shirt is getting ready to do a bike trick. He is more in focus than the sidewalk and the vehicles behind the fence, which are not so focused up. But, this indeed still counts as motion blur.

Thanks for checking out this entry of the Mickelson Photography Blog!

Examples of Wide and Narrow Apertures, Slow and Fast Shutter Speeds, and Motion Blur

By Omar Mickelson

In my blog post today, I will be providing some examples of apertures and shutter speeds as used in photography. I will also be examining them, and if we have time towards the end, I will also explain a little about motion blur, and why I feel that is an important topic to convey as a photographer and editor.

First up, we will be looking at an example of a wide aperture. A wide aperture would have its settings ranging in between the values of f/1.4 and f/2.8. I found this picture of a large white house on pexels.com. It would appear that the person who captured this shot took the picture in the front yard.

Take note of how the entire exterior of the property is visible. From the edge of the east wall to the west wall, all windows and plants decorating the front of the home’s exterior can be easily seen. This can be an ambitious shot to photograph, but with a wide aperture lens, it’s not too difficult to do.

This next photo is an example of a narrow aperture. A narrow aperture is captured usually in small spaces, and is customarily measured at f/32. These photographs traditionally rely on natural lighting, and are boxed-in by walls or other surrounding objects to give the viewer a somewhat claustrophobic feeling as to the depth of field utilized here.

With this photo, a fast shutter was used to capture the chemtrails left in the wake of an airplane. Fast shutter is a term which describes the high shutter speed that is fast enough to freeze the action in a still image. So while the plane is more than likely traveling at speeds of over 100 miles an hour, it is now reduced to a motionless shape thanks to the camera’s high shutter speed.

The photo we will be looking at here actually teases our next and last topic of “motion blur”, which we will be discussing very soon. Here we have an example of a slow shutter, which refers to only a fraction of a second (such as 1/2 or 1/4). It would appear that the headlights of vehicles whizzing past are reduced only to suspended beams of color and light, which is an effect caused by the camera’s low shutter speed.

To conclude, we will be discussing motion blur. Motion blur is defined as the streaking of moving objects in a photograph or multiple sequential frames.

Here we see a taxi cab passing through an urban intersection. The shot distinguishes the yellow cab easily, not only through the vehicle’s vibrant colors, but because of the emphasized focus placed on this object. In contrast, the rest of the photo is unfocused, not necessarily because the other objects are not in motion. Maybe some of them are. However, the motion blur used in this image sets the taxi cab apart from its surroundings—with any other image, a different object could be used. I have seen various examples of motion blur made to look really good in a still image. And that is definitely something I would like to try and master with my photography.

Welcome Back to My Blog!

Here is where I will be posting updates on my time spent in Comm 300-02! It isn’t much so far, but I will add more as we go along!

Analyzing Design: Three Books Shared

Posted Oct. 1, 2018

By Omar Mickelson

Introduction

In this blog, we will be identifying how the title page of an article in the New Era magazine utilizes the four main design principles, as well as color.

This article, titled “Three Books Shared” by Kevin Ludlow, is featured in the October 2018 issue of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ magazine for Young Men and Young Women, while the picture on the cover was designed by Ukrainian illustrator Yev Haidamaka.

Link: https://www.lds.org/new-era/2018/10/three-books-shared?lang=eng

Analysis

Contrast

With this image, I’ve pointed out just a handful of the different ways that the cover page’s illustration has depicted the “people” interacting with others. To the far right, the three young men standing next to the copy of The Book of Mormon that towers over them, are standing, and it looks as if two of them are sharing a message with the other (I think it’s safe to say that they are made out to be Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Meanwhile, there are two other groups of two individuals each, who seem to be spreading a similar message about the books they appear to be situated upon; one striped shirt-wearing individual is conversing with a person dressed in brown, while walking on top of the pages of A Marvelous Work and Wonder, as opposed to two additional figures, donning similar clothes as the other two, seated in chairs on top of the pages of James E. Talmage’s book, Jesus the Christ.

Repetition

In this image, I found a few instances where certain aspects of the front cover’s illustration were repeated. There are two books in the image where the name of Jesus Christ is used, which is necessary in reinforcing that the magazine’s article (as well as the whole of the magazine, for the most part) is heavily focused on religion, most especially with the religious organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Also, the “people” depicted in the illustration have notably similar clothing patterns, from the two suit jacket-wearing men (presumably Missionaries for the church) off the middle right side to the two similar striped shirts that I have gone and circled in red here.

Alignment

With this image, the alignment of the text is pretty off. There are quite a few points where text from the illustration literally rides the line of alignment, as they are almost perfectly sanctioned off into a respective corner, save for a little bit that bleeds over into another quadrant of the image. Still though, the actual title itself, shown to the top left of the page, showcases some creativity, in the way that a small part of the “S” in “shared” is hidden by some clouds.

Proximity

The image’s primary text is placed effectively into the environment that the illustration creates, situated at the top left of the article’s cover page in a reasonably safe manner, and in a location where there isn’t anything but clouds to share the area with. Had it been placed pretty much anywhere else on the cover, it would obscure and detract from the colorful and unique imagery created by the book-shaped buildings, and the people peppered throughout.

Color

Lastly, the final thing we’re going to analyze on this image here, is the color patterns. Several of the “book-shaped” buildings are the same color as another; the most notable are the two mustard-colored buildings, the two pink buildings, and the two beige ones. But, the main elements of this illustration is most arguably, the three books that display actual titles (hence the title, “Three Books Shared”. The illustration intends for these books to be the focal point for people who flip to this page, which is why they all display different colors than the other “books” included in the image.

Final Thoughts

Through the use of the four main principles of design, the title page of “Three Books Shared” uses bright colors, creative patterns of repetition and contrast, and a great attention to detail to convey a simple message to readers of the New Era, and to provide a unique visual treat to the eye. Here, the cover photo utilizes those four principles and more in an imaginative and effective way.