One of my favorite ways to create impressions of flowers is to use long exposures with long lenses and hand-hold the camera. This means my slight movements during the exposure create a painterly feeling. I purposely turn off any anti-shake features on the lens or in the camera, such as Image Stabilizer (Canon) or VR (Nikon).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUOX-ez-VvK5jil3fvdhQHnae6shY5e0Nfz6QP2IvZQEU-Rfpt7P-gkpXfKhwfUFc4kbubsgfUoOYObzVNSIE7DCq4izBZpax_28GlJ3dpN4L8a4RWbUWcviw9x2Oz7-MmsZh/s640/KEyster-6230.jpg) |
3 seconds, f/8, ISO 100, 70mm |
A variation on this technique is to intentionally move the camera slightly, following the "shape" of the flowers. This creates streaks along the lines of the plant to mimic a painter's brush strokes. In the photograph below I made a small downward movement, following the stems of the lavender.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2CFEiBdNqalXBnM4OgTWaCEBeMfdxKYnAIpLrELdbKfPrGc4zy3cMzC8TWthZznRlamQ7f1cXOi71KkEJZ5Y432iMK3vKyJHqUe09RZIXldyILgHuDO7cYNDbkWO-ok4Qd1b/s640/KEyster-6175.jpg) |
2 seconds, f/11, ISO 100, 55mm |
If you'd like to learn more fun ways to
create flower impressions, join my class at the Lifelong Learning Center in Missoula, Montana, beginning
April 4, 2019.
Click here to register.