Kiss Off Photoshop

In this photo (above), taken at New York’s Grand Central Terminal, a 5-sec exposure made rushing commuters vanish (far left) and slower-moving ones semi-transparent. Only those in line to buy tickets stood still long enough to be sharply imaged. Tripod-mounted Nikon 8008S; exposure, 5 sec at f/16; film, Kodak Ektachrome 400.

Special effects were invented by film-shooters. OK, today, almost all in-camera gee whiz can be replicated with image-editing software. Even so, it’s easy and fun to use time-honored techniques to make some offbeat, great-looking film images. Here are three to try.

1. Make People Vanish
One way to empty a crowded area is to shoot with a very long exposure. Fast-moving subjects will not stay in one place long enough to register on film. Mount your camera on a tripod and set the shutter speed to five or 10 seconds, depending on how fast the people or vehicles are moving. If your meter indicates overexposure, use a neutral-density filter to reduce the amount of light. Also, choose a slow-speed film and stop down the lens.

2. Just Say No To Your Projector Screen
Instead of a screen, project images onto light-colored objects—including people’s faces—and rephotograph them. The projected image conforms to the object’s contours, so you can get wonderful shapes and distortions as a result. Try casting an image with patterns, textures, words, or color. Place your object in front of a matte-black background such as velvet, then take a meter reading close to your illuminated subject so it won’t be influenced by the background. For accurate color, use either tungsten-balanced film or daylight film with an 80A color-correction filter.

3. Draw Light Patterns
Transform nighttime lights into unexpected shapes. Focus on a distant object that has many lights, and, using a one-second exposure, move your camera as if you were writing the letter “O,” “S,” “V,” or other shape. Bracket your shots, using several large apertures.

This flower (above) was actually white, with an out-of-focus multicolored slide projected onto it. Nikon 8008S; exposure, 1/2 sec at f/8; film, tungsten Kodak Ektachrome 160.

The lights on this bridge (seen in the photo above) became spirals by moving the camera in a small circle. Nikon N80; exposure, 1 sec at f/8; film, Kodak Ektachrome 100 Professional.