Photo Stories

A selection of photo essays from readers and professional photographers

I’m a great admirer of J.M.W. Turner’s paintings, so when happy accidents happen and one of my photographs turned out to emulate Turner’s trademark textures and colour palette, I didn’t complain.

J.M.W. Turner, ‘the painter of light’, was an English romanticist landscape artist, regarded as one of the most controversial figures in his day. He used oils and watercolour to achieve an almost transparent effect, and depicted pure evanescent light by his use of shimmering colour. His objects are often barely recognizable, the paint marks dynamic, the colours warm, often of an earthy ochre tone with a blue or green highlight.

I took the first photograph of the series whilst waiting for a friend at King’s Cross St. Pancras station. Looking down from the first floor,

I was captivated by the

Just as I pressed the button, the thought of camera drag suddenly came to me and I gave it a go

movement of the crowd and its anonymity. I set my shutter speed at a few seconds, with the simple intention of capturing some movement blur. Just as I pressed the button, the thought of camera drag suddenly came to me and I gave it a go.

‘Camera drag’ is a technique that adds motion blur to photographs by moving the camera during exposure time to achieve an abstract palette of colours. You can drag the camera horizontally or, in my case, vertically. The tricks are to find the right colours, and keep the dragging action smooth and steady.

As soon as I looked at the picture on the back screen, I thought ‘this is a Turner!’ because of the yellow/orange hues and the blue accent. Since then, I’ve been experimenting at different locations, always keeping in mind the ‘paint-mark’ textures and something that gives a bit of green/blue colour.

I’ve learnt a lot of things while working on this project – including photographing at shopping malls isn’t actually allowed. I also discovered that layering a few images in Photoshop when the light is too bright for a long exposure isn’t a bad idea, and you don’t need to be able to paint to express your creativity. After all, photography is an art form, and if you can create art using your camera as a paintbrush, why not?

03 In a BOX Is that a person entrapped in the box? Lens Canon ef 50mm f/1.4 USM Exposure 1 sec, f/22, iso100

01 KING’S CROSS ST. PANCRAS This shot was reminiscent of Turner’s signature yellow/orange hues and blue accent, and marked the beginning of my quest Lens Canon ef 50mm f/1.4 USM Exposure 2.5 secs, f/2.5, iso100 02 MARKET Square The ‘ghostly’ people in an urban context Lens Canon ef 50mm f/1.4 USM Exposure 1/2 sec, f/22, iso100