Shutter Drag

My Favorite Shtick As Of Late

This summer I had the pleasure of photographing a few weddings, where I became enchanted with an old trick that I never really took to previously. It works well for parties - which the first Google result when you search “shutter drag” will tell you - but I’m curious now how I might use it in other situations.

Last year I got to assist Suzanne Saroff on a New Yorker shoot, where she made subtle use of the technique to photograph bonsai trees. Alexander - a photographer I follow on Instagram whose last name remains a mystery - uses shutter drag in addition to a slew of other physical distortions and digital edits to transform street scenes into something more suggestive of half-mixed paint colors. Thomas Prior uses it more as tool than style, employing the technique recently to emphasize the brutal impact of a boxing blow. Bobby Doherty - fashion? Simple, undefined art? I didn’t think this was AI at first but the longer I stare at it the less I’m sure. Either way, I’m a fan.

Anyways, please enjoy this collection of my own shutter drag experiments. Playing with my camera in this way is where I’ve felt closest to the child version of myself lately, who delighted in interpreting the world through accident and play, and who could have spent hours photographing a single flower without once looking up.

Love,

Jordan :)