I just finished reading the deep, dark, soulful Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy for our book group. There is beautiful, evocative writing, an intriguing plot, some romance and tragedy- all within the framework of the last migration of arctic terns in a time when climate change has wreaked havoc on the animal kingdom. I didn’t set out to create this image in response to what I read, but the subconscious is an amazing thing. And I highly recommend the book!
Just a bit of blue sky was starting to show through the rain clouds on Kachemak Bay- a promise of the beautiful day to come.
Beach memories from our trip to Newport Beach a couple months ago. . .
This was taken during our stay at Between Beaches on the MacDonald Spit on Kachemak Bay in Alaska. We had beaches in front of and behind our cabin- Kachemak Bay in front, Kasitsna Bay behind. Watching the gulls fly low over the dark waters of Kasitsna Bay in the mornings and evenings gave me a perfect opportunity to practice intentional camera movement techniques to create impressionistic images.
I was happy to hear at my camera club’s online meeting last night that this image won second place in this month’s Open Subject competition. It’s always nice to hear when other people like your art.
I have been doing intentional camera movement (ICM) for many years off and on, but I have never enjoyed it as much as I have when photographing birds this summer. The image below is gulls over Alaska’s Kasitsna Bay near the cabin on the MacDonald Spit where we stayed for our fiftieth anniversary.
Here is another almost abstract image created by using intentional camera movement and slow shutter speed. Although it might look like I added a texture, this is almost straight out of camera. I find it so interesting the different effects that can be created this way.
Fireweed had just begun its bloom when we were in Alaska. I used a slow shutter speed with my iPhone to create this impressionist style image.
Intentional camera movement (moving and/or wiggling the camera while taking a photo) created this photo which I took from Photoshop into Topaz Studio to add a painterly layer at low opacity.
Blast from the past- the sun going down in Alaska.
Just a couple more winter images before it’s springtime!
This one is another intentional camera movement shot from Eklutna Lake in Alaska- with a bit of Photoshop magic:
The image below is a composite of a few iPhone shots from icy Alaska- and snowy Prescott- edited with iPhone apps:
Intentional camera movement
Icy Eklutna Lake with some intentional camera movement:
An ICM photo taken from our daughter’s deck in Alaska
The other morning I woke up early and looked out the window to see blue stripes of clouds in the pre-dawn sky. I threw on some gym pants and slippers, grabbed my camera, and headed out to the driveway to shoot some pictures before the sun came up. I ended up crossing the street to get this view of the peaks and hills in the distance. I took multiple exposures as well as intentional camera movement shots and had a great time- until I realized that the sun had come up and I was across the street in my nightclothes, with a wild bedhead- and was waving my camera around like a madwoman. This is how I am earning my reputation as the neighborhood crazy person!
Below is what looks like a multiple exposure- and I guess it is- but it was shot by moving the camera around during a long exposure (intentional camera movement).
