Shutter Zoom!

A very fun & easy technique I had always wondered about and luckily stumbled upon by chance just before my easter weekend trip to Belgium. I read about it on DPS  and here is the link to the technique! DSLR's work well with this technique, but the great news is even digital point-shoot users can try this technique. Follow the instructions and have some fun!

I spent some time playing around with it... and need to work on perfecting it a bit more. My best shot (below) came after many attempts. For me what worked best was to find a good location with a line of trees on both sides, I set my ISO as low as possible which worked out at 100, dialed in a small aperture f22  in order to achieve a long exposure, and then I completely zoom onto my subject, release the shutter, and to slowly zoom out half way (not all the way on my 18-55mm lens). I did not use a tripod, but kept my hands as still as possible. Low lighting situation will help as the shutter will remain open for a longer period, and you will be able to zoom in or out much easier. In my case the light was very bright, so I had a very small window of opportunity to quickly apply this technique. Looking forward to trying this with light at night!

Hope you all enjoy experimenting with shutter zoom too :)

Brussels, Belgium ~ By Mattu