Station slowdown

James Artaius controls time with a slow shutter and stabilisation

1 Time and place

If you’re planning to speed up or slow down motion, you need the appropriate subjects. Doing a long exposure of a snail, for instance, will take a very long time! For this technique, I needed a crowded spot at a busy time – and a heaving carriage on the London Underground was an absolutely perfect opportunity.

2 Find your spot

Whether you’re shooting in the middle of a train platform or the middle of Times Square, finding the best vantage point is crucial. You want the viewer to feel at the centre of the action – but at the same time, you don’t want to be so much in the middle of a crowd that you cause disruption, or get crushed!

3 IBIS vs tripod

This shot was taken handheld, made possible by the stellar 7.5-stop in-body image stabilisation of the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III. Working handheld enabled me to stay nimble and shoot where I needed to; a tripod in a crowded place is guaranteed to get in the way.

4 Spot a static subject

The key to this kind of shot is to isolate a stationary subject amid the chaos of movement. This is easier said than done, especially here, as most people are rushing to get off the train – but children, senior citizens and even pets have a habit of stopping and looking around.

5 Shooting settings

I shot some handheld 10-second exposures, but nobody stood still long enough to register! A four-second shutter speed captured plenty of motion, with an aperture of f/14 creating a subtle sunstar effect on the train carriage lights. As ever, keep your ISO as low as possible.