Warp Factor Tree

I originally called this photo my "exploding tree" because it looked like energy was being violently emitted away from our Christmas tree's core.

"Warp speed" sounds friendlier, given the time of year.

I can't remember what year I took this photo, but it must have been in the mid to late 1980s. I was experimenting with zoom exposures, where you change the zoom factor of the lens while the shutter is open. My Minolta X-700 was mounted on a tripod and I used a cable release for the shutter, which was set to Bulb, which meant that it would stay open for as long as I had decided (that is, counting the seconds in my head).

Keeping as steady a hand as possible, I carefully and steadily twisted the lens to move into the tree, making the lights seemingly move at the speed of... um... light.

Of course, I wouldn't have learned whether the shot worked or not until about a week or so later, when I received the processed slides from the lab.

I found this 35mm slide among others, and remembered the night that I shot my parent's living room, on the last Christmas where my younger sister and I carried out our year-long tradition, Operation: Christmas.

I'll share that story, as I do every year, this Friday.

The image in this post was digitally scanned from a slide and enhanced with Corel PaintShop Pro 2021, with the contrast increased and the colour saturation boosted just a bit, to make up for the loss that occurs with scanning.