Get Creative By Blending or Stacking Images
When I was on the California Coast recently, I decided to take numerous exposures of the exact same scene and then blend them in a software program. I also used these jpegs to produce a time lapse video which can be viewed here http://wp.me/p1XNt4-1yi
But I wanted to see what you could produce if you blend 100 images of a moving scene, like moving waves and clouds. It’s similar to a longer exposure but I took an exposure every 20 seconds for about 35 minutes. Below you’ll also see the result and what the scene looked like with a single normal exposure. I actually shot 2 different scenes and present them but I also show one image where I blend both scenes, which is the bottom image.
First scene with 100 images blended
First scene with only one normal exposure. Not quite so dramatic.
The second scene with about 50 images blended. Not quite as dramatic as the first because I used less exposures and the clouds were moving towards the camera. In image one, the clouds were moving from left to right in the frame.
The second scene shot with one normal exposure
Both scenes blended with about 150 exposures.
So, if you want to get creative, try taking multiple exposures and blending them in Lightroom, Photoshop or stack them with a stacking program like StarStax
Remember to use a tripod, a shutter release or better, an intervalometer, which programs the length between exposures for your camera. You can just sit there and watch the waves crashing upon the beach.
love the outcome of this idea so much have added your link to my photo help page to try out another time
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January 29, 2016 at 2:59 AM
Thanks Laura. I do the same thing when I see something interesting to try.
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January 29, 2016 at 9:06 AM
The result is quite interesting ! I bet it requires a lot of memory on your computer to do that.. I’m not sure mine will cooperate
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January 29, 2016 at 5:24 AM
Thanks, shooting in a lower size jpeg will reduce memory requirements but you can delete those files once you produce the final image.
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January 29, 2016 at 9:08 AM
Good to know !
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January 29, 2016 at 12:00 PM
The blends are quite dreamy. I like the idea of sitting back and letting the camera do its work!
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January 29, 2016 at 1:22 PM
Thanks Eliza. I just set up my campground chair next to the camera and relax!
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January 29, 2016 at 1:33 PM
Great post. Thanks for the StarStax link.
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January 30, 2016 at 2:02 PM
Thanks and you’re welcome!
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January 30, 2016 at 2:10 PM
Wow… You are raising the bar again, Michael. Awesome!!!
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February 4, 2016 at 10:45 AM
Thanks Amy!
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February 4, 2016 at 1:31 PM