September 12, 2014

A Personal Photo Challenge - Movement


It’s time for A Personal Photo Challenge! “Movement” is the theme this month.


A Personal Photo Challenge

I managed to take all new photos for this challenge and not dip into my archives. I usually don’t try to capture movement, so it was a bit of a trial to complete the assignment.

Due to eyesight difficulties, I have been largely unsuccessful in capturing sharp images of hummingbirds this year. But I have managed to capture a few. Because of the location of my staged hummingbird perch, I usually reserve photo shoots during late afternoon hours for some beautiful side lighting. To help capture lightning-fast changes in posture, I set my camera on continuous shooting mode. Then, I ruthlessly cull through and delete unacceptable files. Luckily, I was able to catch a bird sticking out it long tongue, and the tongue has a beautiful motion blur to emphasize the speed. (Click on the photo to see it bigger.)



During my hummingbird photo shoots, I sometimes find that wild rabbits will visit near the edge of our yard to feast on a patch of clover in the adjacent lot. If the hummingbirds aren’t visiting the perch, I point my camera over to the rabbits. After reviewing the various shots of the rabbits, I realized that I had captured sequential movements thanks to the continuous shooting mode set on the camera. It was a light bulb moment. I could create animated gif files for this photo challenge!

I discovered that it was a tedious job to create gif files in Photoshop CC. Perhaps it is a bit easier in Photoshop Elements. I don’t know. I had to post-process each of the photo files before combining, and the editing had to be identical. (I don’t do minor edits. They are always extensive because I shoot in RAW format, not jpeg.) There is a special way to combine the photos too, so that each photo layer lines up perfectly. (My shots were handheld, so they didn’t automatically line up.) However, I was able to break new ground in learning some new techniques and met my personal challenge head on. And, Marty, my irrepressible blog greeter rabbit, was quite pleased and amused by the results.

This rabbit scratch sequence was created with three individual photo files. (If you don't initially see movement, click directly on the image.)



And this rabbit twitch sequence was created with two files.


I hope you enjoyed my photos and descriptions. Please visit A Personal Photo Challenge blog and check out the creative efforts of other participants too!

30 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Donna am so amazed, WOW! I just can't get over how terrific this is. gosh I've always loved photography, but you surely "stepped it up a notch". This is fantastic "movement" photography. Thank you for sharing and thank you for hosting the fun challenge. And thank you for visiting Return to Loblolly, our Buddy is ready for next swim.

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  2. How cool, love the bunny movement.

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  3. That is the coolest thing! I am amazed what you were able to achieve despite the eyes giving you grief.

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  4. You've knocked it out of the park, Donna. Amazing! I tried the continuous burst photography on some daisies blowing in the wind and when I went through my photos quickly in Picasa, I could see the potential for movement such as this, but I have no clue on how to layer them and I don't own any of the Photoshop products. Still, a fun challenge for another time.
    Love the hummingbird. What a capture!

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  5. Oh, I agree with everything above...these are fabulous, Donna! The hummer is exquisite...I have never seen one like that before and well, those of the bunny are just beyond adorable. I need to try to learn that technique! One would NEVER know you have been having issues with your vision, girl! Thanks for hosting what is always such a fun party! Happy Friday!

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  6. Now how did you do that....run it by me again! heehee! That is just amazing! Just like the old cartoons where they linked together multiple drawings. I sure love the hummer....I don't think I've ever seen a tongue out THAT much! I'm glad to know you got Marty's approval before you posted these bunny pics! You are amazing! And thanks so much for the challenges my friend! Hugs, Diane

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  7. Awesome, Donna. It's amazing how much you can do with photo's. You're a pro, that much I know. LOVE the bunnies. Fixing to show Hunter right now.

    xoxo

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  8. She loved it! Said: That's really, really COOL!

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  9. Well this is your best effort for the challenge yet - making those bunnies move! Gosh is that ever neat; not in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd see Marty come to life. LOL
    The hummingbird is amazing; what were the chances of catching the tongue coming out of the beak?
    Thank you hosting Donna.

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  10. Oh these are just beautiful Donna! I have seen hummingbirds with their long tongues out like that and it's so neat to see. The rabbits are just the cutest in this action mode. You do a lot of things with your photos that I don't have a clue how to do (RAW and photoshop etc.). I really should take a course! Thanks so much for hosting with so much going on in your life. Hugs. Pam

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  11. Donna I think I commented in the reply, up at top, sorry I made a "whoops".

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  12. Wow! That hummingbird photo is amazing, Donna. Such pretty light, colours, texture, and then that long tongue.

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  13. Wow these are amazing! And inspiring to try more! Thanks again for hosting and always challenging us would-be photographers (I guess I should speak for myself).

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  14. Hey, that is amazing. I really must learn how to do that. I think you're the winner this month!

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  15. Wow! What a tongue. And the rabbits are really cute, so true to life.

    Diana

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  16. Sheer genius!!!
    You're a trail blazer Donna - these are fantastic - I'm so impressed!
    I'm running late today.
    Thank you for hosting!

    Shane

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  17. OMYGOODness...these are all just perfect for the party today..

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  18. Wow Donna! This is amazing! You definitely are a true professional...

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  19. My goodness! i didn't even know you could do such a thing! Moving still photos...what a wonder! As always, your photos are works of art.

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  20. Ahhh-ma--zing!! I totally love these!!

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  21. I love the hummers, they are so sweet. And your bunny is just adorable.. Awesome images.. Happy weekend!

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  22. The hummingbird picture is amazing. I had no idea they had long tongues like that. simply fascinating. The animated gif's are fun. I like those

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  23. Oh my goodness! A hummingbird tongue! It looks so odd...almost like a giraffe tongue.

    Bunnies are so cute! The twitching nose and ears are adorable! Amazing shots!

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  24. Donna
    I don't think I've ever enjoyed a photo challenge as much as this one!
    I feel like I could reach out and pet the rabbit and I had no idea a hummingbird has such a long tongue...

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  25. Amazing! That poor rabbit must be itching like crazy - every time I look at him, he's scratching. I love the way you capture the rabbit and the hummingbird. Pretty incredible.
    ~Adrienne~

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  26. Donna I'm blown away! First the amazing hummingbird caught sticking his long tongue out is so awesome, and it looks like it's wearing a cozy Autumn scarf - what a beautiful tiny bird.

    Then literally fabulous 'movement' in the two adorable rabbit pics - in the second one you can actually see the bunny breathing - I so love them and you were clever to do this and share more of your knowledge of photography, just wonderful.

    Hope your weekend is going well - we've been surprised with fairly good weather after gloom and doom with continuous rain was expected - glad they were wrong!

    Hugs to you both - Mary

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  27. Wow, these are awesome. I had no idea how this was done, your pictures and editing skills are amazing. Thanks so much for sharing with us.

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Marty, here! Donna loves comments, and I faithfully pass them on to her. Thank you so much for visiting!