Daisy Swirl

Description: dI see @Ed_McGuirk has posted a similar picture, so great minds think alike I guess :grinning:

I want to add another point to ponder. Nine times out of ten, if you want to try this technique, you’ll have to handhold. It’s been so long since I’ve done it, but I seem to remember a tripod will only work if your lens has a collar and you want the pivot point to be right in the center of the frame.

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Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Is this a composite? Yes. 10 exposures

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Really awesome ICM image! I love it! I want to try this technique!

Thanks, Vanessa. If you want some more detailed instructions, let me know. I think I can rustle up some memories on how to do it.

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That would be great! Thanks so much!

Dueling banjos. I love it. Your composition is better but Ed has done better with the colors.

Don’t make me choose! Both are wonderful!!

If you’re forced to have the center of rotation in the middle, you can always compose wide and crop.

Really nice work Mike. I like the effect of using a tripod in conjunction with this technique. It adds even more to the pointillism effect. I also like @Diane_Miller suggestion about composing even wider to be able to place the “sharp” rotation point more off-center. Doing what she suggests would require having a very large bed of flowers, to prevent dirt or bare patches from entering too much into the image. That’s often the trick with these, finding big enough flower beds.

Definitely want to give this a go, @Michael_Lowe, if you’d like to share what you’ve done that would be great.

Michael, this is a lovely image as well. I don’t want to start a “family feud” so I won’t even try to compare them. Both @Ed_McGuirk and yours are wonderful. A technique I need to remember ever I get out to shoot.

I like this image very much, as I also did like the similar image posted by @Ed_McGuirk. Great work!

This image is 10 years old so hope I can remember everything. This was 10 in camera exposures with a 18mm lens. I used a fairly large aperture around 6.7 because of the hand holding and you don’t need much depth of field. I look for a fairly large bed of flowers with minimal bare spots. Also having a variety of colors works best. I didn’t have too much in this image. I look for a larger or different color flower for the center of the swirl. An off center comp usually works best.
I use single point auto focus. Move your focus point around until you have it on the flower you want. Take an exposure. Turn your camera a little making sure you keep your focus point on the flower, zoom in a little, take that shot. Fo;llow that sequence for how many exposures you want to get the effect you want. It will be trial and error until you get the hang of it. You can go CW or CCW doesn’t matter. If that doesn’t work for you, shoot me a message and we’ll try to work it out.
Also some flowers work better than others, Daisies are great, tulips not so much as this image shows.

2 Likes

See my reply to @Vanessa_Hill

This is very well done! I do agree that the tulips aren’t as successful as the pink ones. Maybe because there are too many saturated colors, making for too much busyness.

Thanks @Igor_Doncov , @Bonnie_Lampley , @Ola_Jovall , @Shirley_Freeman , @Vanessa_Hill , @Diane_Miller , @Ed_McGuirk , @linda_mellor for the comments.

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Thanks Michael! As I was reading the instructions I was realizing that in addition to in camera this is also a composite? So I would need to be able to put all those exposures together in post right? Before I saw this I actually today was trying to do something like this in the camera, I’ll post it in the next day or two. I don’t think I have the tools to make a composite but I can do some kind of ICM like that, just not with the points…

It all depends on the multiple exposure capability of your camera. This was done on an antique Nikon D200 that could do 10 frame multiple exposures so no blending in post was required.

Beautiful!

I like to see people playing with cameras. That’s not a criticism, so please don’t read it that way. My sense of playing is when that voice on the right side of your brain says “what if _____________”. You add your own experiments. This usually comes after doing our regular methods of expression and the left brain is satisfied. That’s when it’s time to play, and fun it is. And fun for the rest of us to get to see.

Namaste

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This is very nice Michael,
a nice composition and color contrast.

Very creative use of ICM Michael. The daisy look better than the tulips probably because of their outstretched petals. Thanks for detailed instructions.

@Michael_Lowe , I’ve been doing multiple exposures for a long time as well. First of all, great shot, the flower swirls are always fun to do and the results liked by many. I’m surprised you say the D200 had the option of 10 multiple exposures? When I bought the D300 in 2009, there were only 2 or 3 if I remember well. In Belgium I had never seen it used before, so I got straight into it and have loved multiple exposures ever since. Wouldn’ buy a camera that hasn’t got the option!