The Colorful Art Of Camera Tossing

This article is courtesy ColourLovers.com.

Who exactly threw the first camera is hard to know for sure, but the viral spread of awareness and popularity of the photographic technique known as Camera Tossing has been attributed to the Camera Toss flickr group and its creator, Ryan Gallagher (known as “clickykbd” on flickr). Currently, the original flickr group has 6,569 members with nearly 6,000 submitted photos. There are some 17,000 photos tagged “cameratoss” on flickr.
With the spread of its popularity around the Internet, the technique has quickly gained acceptance and legitimacy, with subsequent articles, gallery showings, and image licensing from companies such as Adobe, who used camera tossing images for some of its past Acrobat packaging.
This article will give you information on how to start, show you examples, and point you to places where you can learn even more.

Photos by clickykbd + clickykbd
Camera Tossing Basics
It is exactly what it sounds like. To achieve the proper results, first realize there are no proper results and just throw your camera in the air. Try to remember to push the shutter first and, of course, to catch the camera.
For more information on camera tossing and the camera tossing community, a good place to start is Camera Toss (The Blog).

Photo by daddy0h
Ryan Gallagher created Camera Toss interest group on flickr after doing throwing his camera and enjoying the process and results. “Essentially,” Gallagher says, “I thought others might enjoy doing it or looking at the results so I shared them as I went. It also embodied some very core ideas about art that I find fascinating.”

Photo by davespilbrow
“How it went from there to getting linked everywhere, having a blog that at times attracts thousands of visitors a day, getting covered by the print media, and needing a how-to is another story,” he continues. “Regardless of everyone’s individual reasons for viewing or participating, it apparently had all the right ingredients to capture imagination and continue spreading.”

Photo by blmurch
Throw and Motion Styles
In his camera-tossing how-to, Gallagher notes that the object of tossing is not necessarily height, “although some people attempting daytime aerial photography have found that an interesting challenge. Camera Toss is about applying motion to the camera that is otherwise impossible if you keep it in your hands. A short, wildly spinning throw is one good example. Experiment with as many types of throws as your camera allows.”
Some common methods:
* Toss the camera up and down toss with as little rotation as possible
* Flip the camera end over end so the lens sweeps a full 360 degrees or more
* Spin the camera on the lens axis facing the subject
* Mix the above methods

Photo by clickykbd
Gallagher continues, “Also consider that lateral motion plays a part, simple up and down throws are a good starting point, but other results are possible if the camera and lens are traversing a scene/subject while spinning. For serious traversal throws a partner might be needed for catching, or a very soft landing zone so that you don’t have to chase the flying camera, a very difficult situation to effectively catch anything. A little bit of traversal goes a long way when working very close to a subject (macro style camera tossing).”
Camera Tossing Links:
Camera Toss flickr Group
Camera Toss (The Blog)
Tagged Photos
lightxposed.blogspot.com
Camera Tossing Color Inspiration

Photo by clickykbd


Photo by greentea


Photo by grahamdoig


Photo by frenkieb


Photo by cobalt

More Images

Photo by donovan1969

Photo by clickykbd

Photo by clickykbd

Photo by clickykbd
 

  • Anonymous says:

    The only time I’ve ever tossed a camera is entirely by accident, but these photos are really neat! I’ll have to see if I’m brave enough to toss mine around…

  • Anonymous says:

    Looks like fun. Can I borrow your camera?

  • Anonymous says:

    Just wondering if there’s a camera graveyard somewhere? If so it would be a great place to snag spare camera parts.

  • bobbyfozz says:

    I can tell you from personal experience as I am sure many others can… even a little drop of a few inches, to the floor can damage a camera and be expensive in the repair dept. I wouldn’t really recommend doing this unless you are willing to lose a camera.
    Wild and different effects that are so brief they barely defy description or use.

  • Anonymous says:

    Very cool information. Thanks!

  • Anonymous says:

    There must be some rich blokes/blokesses out there if you can afford to risk dropping your cameras. Try sitting on a swing, going on fairground rides (waltzers are good) and see what your results are…

  • Anonymous says:

    This is really neat!
    I dont know how you get the wild colors?
    We had a tiny disposible camera in a rocket that we set off in a local ball park for our grandson, and we triggered it to go off when the rocket was in the air.
    The pictures didnt come out well, but with a digital camera, it would be fun to try again.
    You sure have come up with a fun idea, I will perhaps get something set up for my grandsons for a school project with this.
    Thanks.

  • Anonymous says:

    There are some very funny comments posted, really enjoyable.
    To state the obvious:
    Bright lights can be achieved working with neon, etc.
    Similar but more controlled effects are achieved by setting the shutter on a low speed and moving the camera and/or zooming a zoom lens while the shutter is open. It takes lots of experimenting and repetitions but won’t make you appear stupid when you express remorse at the loss of an old friend.

  • Anonymous says:

    Indeed you need to be brave, or rich…

  • petergold says:

    Around 1976 or so, when Ralph Gibson was teaching a photography one-week master class for my workshop, Lightworks, in Minneapolis, he told us that when he had worked as a printer for Robert Frank, during a critique of his work, Frank said something like “Your work’s too controlled. Loosen up. Photography is this simple!” and he threw his Leica up in the air, as the self-timer exposed a frame.

    It’s certain that wasn’t the first time that Ralph told the story, nor the last. As to what that exposure captured: it’s about the idea of letting-go in discovering one’s personal path, not about the particular picture.

    Regards,
    ___________________
    Peter Gold
    KnowHow ProServices

  • Link7881 says:

    Wow! These are nice images. I’ve done it once, my boyfriend used his cellphone to create lights but it was really not this great! Thanks for sharing.

    Najala Greene
    Scottsdale security systems

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