The sky is overcast and there are no wildlife subjects in sight… What to do? It might seem like one of those times you wished you had stayed warm inside (or cool if you live in Florida!). Not so fast! When there is nothing to do, I try to think outside the box and look for artistic blurs. During our last Polar Bear safari in the Churchill area, one afternoon did not leverage many photographic opportunities. The sky was overcast, it was very windy and there were no bears in sight…
Artistic blur of Mastodon flowers in the wind in the Churchill area, Seal River, Hudson Bay, Canada.
ISO 50 | f/36 | 1/2 sec. | Tv mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review) coupled with the 1.4x extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III handheld.
A good technique to achieve pleasing blurs is to work on Tv mode, where you set the shutter speed! I knew that 1/2 second was what I needed with the heavy wind blowing the tall Mastodon flowers (which can be used to make delicious salads by the way). I lowered the ISO to 50 and the camera figure out the aperture. Abracadabra and boom!! After a few try outs I obtained a few creations which pleased me.
Artistic blur of Mastodon flowers in the wind in the Churchill area, Seal River, Hudson Bay, Canada.
ISO 50 | f/36 | 1/2 sec. | Tv mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review) coupled with the 1.4x extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III handheld.
The creation above is a vertical capture. I added a slight side to side panning movement to give the effect I wanted.
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Steven