Zoom Abstracts

One of the types of images I enjoy making are zoom abstracts. These are actually fairly easy to do. I lock my camera down on a tripod and, during the exposure, zoom the lens. There are four major variables that affect the result: 1) the length of the exposure, as the longer the shutter is open the more time there is for zooming, 2) the speed at which you zoom the lens during the exposure, 3) which focal lengths you decide to zoom through, and 4) whether you decide to zoom short to long, long to short, or both within a single exposure. Similar to intentional camera movement, one can (and likely needs to) make many different exposures changing all the variables in order to find a few shots that seem aesthetically appealing. It really is a fun process.

One thing that should be noted is that, unlike intentional camera movement, where the motion effect is applied equally to all parts of the image, the degree of the apparent zoom effect changes over the surface of the image. The greatest effect is at the periphery of the photograph, while the center of the image is not affected as much. For example, in the sunflower field zoom photo below, the flower in the center shows much less zoom effect than the flowers at the periphery of the image. The photo is a single in-camera image and not a composite.

If you haven’t tried this effect it is certainly fun to play around with and see what you get!

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© Howard Grill

© Howard Grill

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