jblazar Loc: Sunnyvale, CA

Since I had 4 photography workshops canceled this spring and summer due to the Coronavirus, I have been doing photography at or close to home. To make it more interesting, I have been trying new techniques and subjects. One technique I have been experimenting with for the past 2 months is Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) photography. For those who don't know, ICM is a technique using camera movement to create abstract or impressionistic images. You can either stop down the lens to f/32, for example, and/or add a neutral density filter, to allow slow shutters speeds of from about 1/5" to 1" or so. You vary your movements (vertical, horizontal, diagonal, twisting, arcing, etc.) and the speed and extent of your movement. It works best when there are areas of differing colors or contrasts. You can do them handheld, or use a tripod with a somewhat loose ball head (a gimbal would probably work great for some of these).

You experiment and check your LCD after every shot to see what you get. If you get something that looks like it has potential, then you try to refine the shot, adjusting your camera movement and/or settings. With experience, you get a feel for what might work, or what adjustments to make to improve an image. I took over 900 shots one afternoon in my backyard over the course of 1.5-2 hours, so, as you might expect, most were duds or uninteresting. But the fun in making these is you really don't know what to expect. And when you get something good popping up on your LCD screen, it is just a joy!

I have done a lot of landscape photography on quite a few workshops in various locations around the world, but it is very hard for me to get something unique, not to mention expensive to get to exotic locations. ICM can be done almost anywhere, and it is easy to get something unique.

Here are some examples of my favorites. I hope you enjoy them. I sure enjoyed making them.

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Forest scene on a hike up in the local Santa Cruz Mountains (vertical movement)

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Flower bed at the Filoli Estate (rotating the lens/camera on a tripod collar).

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Bird of Paradise in my backyard

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California golden poppies on a local hike (vertical movement)

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Another of a bird of paradise blossom in my back yard (up-facing C-shaped movement)

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Shorter poppies and taller white flowers on a hike in the local mountains. It was made using (almost) vertical camera movement, while using a slow enough shutter speed (1", f/16, ND filter) to allow the taller white flowers to move in the gusty wind.

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I just found this one in my LR library. Don't remember what the subject was.

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PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Your images are creative and give me an inspiration to try something different.Excellent selection. Thanks for sharing

jblazar Loc: Sunnyvale, CA

Glad you enjoyed them. It is hard not being able to travel, so this gives me something fun to do close to home.

MoT Loc: Barrington, IL

Great creative images, kind of like photographic impressionism. Am very fond of images 1,3 & 5. Print them and hang them on the wall. If galleries where open, the images could well be displayed. Keep on it.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Wonderful!! I have done a little, but nothing as appealing and unique as these. Also, your tips are very well written. Congrats and thank you!

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jblazar Loc: Sunnyvale, CA

Thanks for your kind words, MoT and Linda.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

These are really good! I do most of mine handheld with a 10X ND on the lens, rotating the camera through a 45 deg arc for a long exposure.

jblazar Loc: Sunnyvale, CA

Thanks, rgrenaderphoto. A 10X ND will give you a lot of time!

L-Fox

Excellent 👍

Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.

That just like the dream I had last night.

couch coyote Loc: northern Illinois

These are wonderful, very creative! I can't wait to try something similar!

jblazar Loc: Sunnyvale, CA

Thanks very much, Couch Coyote. You will have a great time!

hoola

To add more interest to foto you can also incorporate flash . Flash would freeze subject while rest of exposure would give movement effect . Another twist is that most cameras allow you to set flash to go off at either beginning or at end of exposure . Lets not forget using HDR during a longish exposure . Neat effect /look .

hoola

To add more interest to foto you can also incorporate flash . Flash would freeze subject while rest of exposure would give movement effect . Another twist is that most cameras allow you to set flash to go off at either beginning or at end of exposure . Lets not forget using HDR during a longish exposure . Neat effect /look .

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Freeman Patterson, the famous Canadian photographer used and taught this technique to his students a lot during the film era. He called this type of photography surreal.
With him I learned the vertical, slow motion of the shutter to make the images.

Yours are excellent.