7 Photos That Show Motion By Stopping It

Written by Eric Reagan on July 19th, 2009 | 3 Comments

Take the plunge by The artist (formerly) known as Gene

Shot with a Canon EOS 30D at 1/250th of second.

Last week, I touched on using motion blur to give a sense of speed and movement in a photo. This week, we’re going to look at some examples where no motion blur (or very little) is present; however, these images still manage to effectively convey a sense of motion.

In each image, there is some element that helps convey motion. In some images, it may be the primary subject that should be moving. In others, it may be an element surrounding the subject – such as water. By freezing what should be moving, these images give your mind a moment that you know and can sense requires motion.

Depending on the subject and its speed, the corresponding shutter speed may need to be slower or faster. The photographers of these images used a wide range of shutter speeds to stop the motion. From 1/30th of second (rather slow) to freeze a falling leaf, to 1/1000th of a second to freeze a wake boarder in mid-air along with the spectacular water trail that follows him, these images cover the spectrum.

I have listed the camera model and shutter speed for each of the images in order to give you a taste of the setup. You can see additional EXIF data by clicking on the image titles and selecting the “More properties” link on the right side of the photo’s flickr page.