Photographer Syncs Camera With Fan and Freezes the Blades
A YouTuber’s playful photography experiment has already racked up over one million views in just a few days.
Pavel Mamontov, aka Lensevision, tried to perfectly synchronize a fan with his video camera.
The theory, known as the stroboscopic effect, holds that if a camera is recording at 30 frames per second, a fan with three blades rotating at 10 revolutions per second should appear completely stationary, as each blade occupies the position of the previous one in successive frames. The phenomenon also works with helicopters.
Mamontov drew symbols on each of the three blades of his fan, then turned it on to find the right speed when the fan appears motionless and the symbols are clearly visible.
“I’m using a potentiometer to control the speed,” Mamontov explains. “So the RPM keeps fluctuating, and I have to find just the right moment.”
Initially, he manages to freeze the blades, but not the symbols. He explains that the symbols keep changing because, between two frames of video, “the fan rotates just enough for the next blade to take the place of the previous one.” This is why the fan appears to be standing still on camera even though it is actually spinning. Since each blade carries a different symbol, however, we can see them changing from frame to frame.
Interestingly, as Mamontov alters the speed of the fan, the blades appear to start turning counterclockwise instead of clockwise. This is due to slightly faster synchronization.
“By slightly adjusting the speed, you can even make the blade appear to move back and forth,” he adds.
Mamontov doesn’t reveal which shutter speed he’s using, but the effect can be made even more convincing by using a faster shutter speed, which reduces motion blur and makes the blades and symbols appear sharper.
Eventually, Mamontov nails the shot and captures the blades and their symbols remaining in the same positions from frame to frame.
“There can be a whole lot of different speeds where the fan appears completely still,” adds Mamontov.
More of his camera experiments can be found on Instagram and YouTube.
Image creditsPhotographs by Pavel Mamontov
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