Sharing with Photo Art Fridays and Mandarin Orange Mondays
Lately, I have been lucky enough to discover and start corresponding with some photographers I really admire. I asked one if she had any tips to offer me to improve my photography. Her basic advice was to always try new things with my camera — different subjects, different focal lengths, different settings — and not to be afraid of mistakes.
I love this counsel because it’s so easy to stay in the old comfort zone, shooting in the same way over and over, especially when the results of your experiments don’t turn out the way you want.
In the last little while, I have been making an effort to branch out, and here is a recent effort to play with ICM, intentional camera movement. ICM is a photographic effect in which the camera is rotated or moved in a horizontal, diagonal, or vertical direction while photographing a static object.
I think I first saw some examples on flickr (there are several groups devoted to the technique) and I became quite fascinated with the dreamy, abstract images that resulted. So I did some googling for tutorials and found out more about the technique.
The technique works well with trees, so I tried it over Thanksgiving at the cottage. I won’t lie, my first shots were complete failures. But I kept at it, altering my movement and settings and checking to see what happened. But it was hard to know if anything was working until I was able to download my images to my computer and inspect them more closely. The image above spoke to me and made me happy. I’m definitely going to be doing more of this!
I love discovering new ways to make images that express my vision. There are so many sources of inspiration to stay out of a shooting rut and expand our photographic consciousness. What new techniques have you discovered lately?
Addendum: You know how sometimes you have to look at an image many times before you see something obvious but meaningful? I just realized that I should really call this image “The Road Less Travelled”…
Sherrygaley.com 
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Great post. Thanks for the inspiration.
Came over from SS – this is lovely!
This looks like a painting, so dreamy and moving! I, too, would like to give this technique a try! I’m new to photography…my icamera (iphone..!) and instagram has awakened a beast in me and I want to learn and play with photography day in and day out now! Pretty soon I’ll buy that big girl camera and learn, learn, learn! I have a Cannon Powershot that I play with for now…!
What a gorgeous effect. So wonderfully creative. Love..love..love what you’ve done here!
Nice of you to say so. Thanks for having a look!
Thanks. You too!
Many thanks.
Thank you and do give it a try!
I appreciated the other contributions to Mandarin Orange Monday. Thank you for hosting.
It is certainly different from anything I’ve done before, thanks!
I love your suggestions and will definitely give them a try! There’s nothing like experimenting and trying new things to keep life juicy…
Awesome!
There is so much we can create in interaction with nature and the camera! I love your photos in the posts below also!
Beautiful! Visiting late for MOM. Have a fabulous week.
Liz @ MLC
Liz @ YACB
Lovely shot @!
Unseen India
Wonderful soft image! The colors are gorgeous!
This is really quite lovely. So different. I think I will give this a try too. I love to learn new things. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you so much for sharing your image on Mandarin Orange Monday. It really is a memorable image.
you have really achieved some thing different in this photograph and without photograph,well done
I love your resulting image — see, it’s like a painting and it was created entirely by you!
I’ve done this as well and had a couple excellent ones of trees. Try also doing this with water reflections and evening street lights. There’s another version of this using the zoom and it too creates some real fun results. I love that you’re experimenting — I know a fellow who is in his mid 70’s and he has picked up a camera in recent years and it experimenting like crazy. We’re never too old to try new and different things. Enjoy.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with Bonnie. I’m sure it would work well with your lovely textures.
Would love to, Lori. Thank you so much for your kind comments.
Thanks so much. Someone else said it reminded them of Monet…I do love that look…
It’s such a shame that we learn not to experiment for fear of failure. Your students are lucky to have you!
I’m sure you’ll see all sorts of things to inspire you…thanks for dropping by…
Thanks, Deanna. Give it a go!
Thanks so much. It’s fun to try new things…
Hope you try it and show us the results!
I was kind of surprised that it worked to include the road. Proves you never know until you try!
utterly stunning and so fun to learn from you, too!! that is one of the best parts of visiting everyone each week. I learn like a sponge absorbing anything wet!!
I’ve never heard of this and so I will explore it, too.
by the way, I think failure is the #1 best way to learn. and then look what happens!!!
I am DOing a project with my 4th & 5th graders at the museum this year with finding things by turning an image and seeing what you see. no right no wrong just fun and curious imaginations running wild!!
Beautiful! Very Monet-like in its watery essence. It shimmers with the very essence of life.
I’ve never heard of ICM in the 50 years I’ve used a camera. 😉 Now I’m going to Google it! Your image is beautiful…so much like a wonderful painting.
Thank you so much for explaining your techniques here. The result is truly beautiful – the blending of those rich colours, the vertical movement, the composition. I would love you to join in on Mandarin Orange Monday 🙂
Really a lovely image…thanks for your thoughtfulness in linking us to the tutorial!!
This is beautiful and thanks for sharing this technique…
I loved this on FB and also love it here. Thank you so much for the link to a tutorial. I love trying new things also and so want to try this. Great and beautiful image.
I love it! I’ve done trees with ICM, but never with a road included – the effect you’ve created is very good, it’s like going on a fall trip that has a kind of dreamy, magical quality.
It does take courage, persistence and a willingness to fail to develop new skills. So glad you have all three and were able to show us your first success. It’s beautiful. I’ve seen this technique before and you’ve encouraged me to try it. Thank you for sharing with Photo Art Friday.