Sunset Windmill Photo

Photographer’s Note

Windmill K near Schermerhorn.

There was a full moon so I decided to attempt a 2s high iso moonscape, and to my fortune there were still some windmills turning. With the moonlight on the sails it might help to create a round blur. The 2s exposure had the advantage that you get a start/stop kind of blur instead of a continous round blur.
The effect of the wings is not like a propellor in a video, altough it loos the same. A propellor in a video with this effect is a result of the filmspeed (frame to frame) in relation to the propellorspeed.
The wings of this windmill were not rotating fast, they were actually rather slow. The effect is a result of turning trough the dead point of the wings. The rotation is not a continous speed, it slows down when a wing comes near the top and speeds up when it falls down.
You can only see this with middle-long shutterspeeds like 2 seconds. In 15 and 30 seconds exposures the wings have passed so many times that they become one perfect circular blur.
Near full moon behind me, parly cloudy and the sun sets in the background of the windmill. Despite the look of the photo it was very dark (night dark, with moon fill light) and there was no sun to be seen anymore (surprised me what turned up in the background). Couldn't read the markings on the camera or lens and despite my f/1.4 lens (bright for me and the focus system) it just wouldn't focus.
To focus it I did 30s ISO 200 long exposures with trial and error focussing. When it finally looked ok I set the 2s exposure and fired away. Did this from various angles.

delkoo, SampraS, TheG1, nostromo47, MeAT, kclai, Cuba-Junky, arnoud1976, JonteW, sjofre, ilghiz, wautersw has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

MiKa2000 (2426) 2006-03-29 16:05

Waow... very nice effect, like in a dream.
Bravo !

delkoo (35014) 2006-03-29 16:09

hi sander
you made a success with this photo, nice soft colors,
your mill looks like fan !!
congratulations
didier

Keitht (1116) 2006-03-29 16:13

Very unusual effect on the windmill sails, but for me an effect that doesn't work very well. The amount of movement has given the effect of an aircraft propeller rather than slow moving windmill sails.
I do like the composition and the colours. I also think the movement in the grasses on the right hand side is very effective.

Davidwh (3654) 2006-03-29 16:15

Hi Sander,
An interesting experiment that created an extraordinay image.It almost looks as if the windmill is about to take off.Like the reflection and dimmed light.
Regards, David

TheG1 (1461) 2006-03-29 16:18

Wow!
This is the most original windmills i ever seen. Youre techinc is good, the water moves, but to the minimum possible to let the rotation effect.
It looks almost like a painting.

Well done

Amir

nostromo47 (737) 2006-03-29 16:22

this pic is amazing, pure poetry... one of the finest i've seen in the last days. Just perfect!! I love it!! :)

razanoor (466) 2006-03-29 16:27

Hi Sander,

Wonderful capture. The reflection in the water creates a nice effect. Nice work.

regards, Raza

MeAT (1174) 2006-03-29 21:06

Well chosen with the exposition. It does give a nice touch to it to see the blur broken down.

MeAT!

kclai (2267) 2006-03-29 22:12

Hi Sander
I have seen many windmill in TE but yours is special because it is blowing. That's the point, man.
The color are so peaceful and the reflection added the atmosphere here.
Well done, Sander.
Cheers and good day.
Eric Lai

Cuba-Junky (2795) 2006-03-30 1:32

Buiten het feit dat het een prachtige foto is, is het effect van de wieken een soort van grappig omdat de snelheid overdreven wordt door de manier waarop je de foto hebt genomen.
Heel bijzondere foto.

An

Pablosammy (17) 2006-03-30 2:56

That's one productive windmill!

I love the colours in this photo, very subtle and soft. The long exposure was definitely the right way to go.

Well done.

Framboisilla (5402) 2006-03-30 3:48

Hello Sander,

Belle image, j'aime beaucoup le mouvement que l'on aperçoit, ça donne un côté irréel ! Et puis la couleur du ciel est très belle, c'est une composition réussie.

Bonne journée,
Stéphanie.

Albrecht (11265) 2006-03-31 4:50

Hoi Sander
Eindelijk een aparte molen;in werking en apart in beeld gebracht. Prima werk.
groeten Albrecht

arnoud1976 (1191) 2006-06-07 5:22

Hai Sander, leuke en mooie plaat! weer eens wat anders en mooi uitgevoerd! dergelijke foto's geven weer inspiratie. DANK. mvg arnoud

srgabreu (763) 2006-06-26 19:50

Hi Sander! Beautifull image, I like the colors and long exposure effect on the windmill
Thanks, Sérgio

JonteW (182) 2007-01-22 8:19

I find this shot very humoristic! To me it looks like the wings are rotating at a tremenouds speed! Very nice composition, but I might have tried cropping off the bottom and left as the refection is not adding much to what I find interesting in this shot.

[workshop] [compare]

sjofre (107) 2007-01-22 9:26

Great photo

ilghiz (476) 2008-01-15 12:59

Crazy!
But for your note I would have thought it was an evening shot.
The nice pastelle colours produced by the moon light - that's incredible.
The scenery is calm, peaceful, serene thanks to the colours and the subject itself. The mill provides an impression of a dynamic compo...
By the way, the long exposer makes one feel the wings rotate fast and makes the water look calm. As if there were not a breath of wind.

wautersw (3615) 2008-08-03 7:49

Dag Sander,

alsof ie dadelijk gaat opstijgen ;-). Een heel originele manier om de windmolen in beeld te brengen en een heel geslaagd experiment. Heel mooie kleuren. TFS

Wolf