I still remember the first time I ever really noticed a long exposure photograph. I was in high school and a friend of mine had a poster of Multnomah Falls. The falls had the soft flowing look of moving water that only a long exposure can make. I wondered aloud, "How did they do that?' My friend tried to explain it to me, but I don't think I believed him.
Having only ever shot with a 35mm point and shoot (with which I had no idea what I was doing), I had never even considered that a picture could capture more than a short moment. I think I even assumed that the shutter was just repeating the same motion for the same length of time with each click of the button.
Once I got into photography myself, I got wise and started to experiment a bit with long exposures. It still seems foreign to be able to visualize motion in a still frame. I get mesmerized by the movement even now.
This shot of Downtown Portland during the Rose Festival has several different types of movement, some obvious and some less so. The motion makes the picture feel dynamic and brings the city to life. I love the colors and the lines of motion that give shape to the intangible and help us see what our eyes cannot.