Pantheon, Rome - with Intentional Camera Movement
Fujifilm GFX100S II, 20-35mm, f22 @ 1/4 second, ISO 40

There's no doubt I must have looked odd when I was taking my ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) photos, jerking my camera quickly up and down, often while standing in a crowd of people. Mind you, I'm over 50 years of age and so officially I am invisible, so probably nobody noticed! Anyway, I ran an article in the magazine about ICM a little while ago, but following a recent newsletter when I referred to shooting trees with ICM, I thought I should follow up.

Except I wasn't really happy with my ICMs of trees! Not the ones I took in Italy, at any rate. No problem, I'm going back this October on our photo tour, so I'll give it another go and, in the meantime, suggest what it is that we like about ICM.

A pure ICM photo, for me, is simply a wash of colour, tone and shape that doesn't need to represent anything. It can be completely abstract, leaving the viewers to read into the photo what they will - and this is possibly why they are so popular. It's their very abstract nature that allows us to involve ourselves in the photograph. A sharp, correctly exposed photograph often leaves nothing to our imagination because it spells everything out. As viewers, we have no choice but to accept what the photographer has presented to us. Compare this with an ICM where it's not clear what the photograph depicts and now we can be more involved in reading and interpreting the image.

There's also another place to explore, a place that sits between the perfectly executed record shot and the purely abstract nature of ICM. The photo of the Pantheon here is an example of what I am suggesting. The abstract nature of ICM comes through with the wash of colour and tones and lack of resolution, but there is sufficient clarity in the shape of the Pantheon itself to make the subject recognisable. Rather than a Kandinsky where nothing is recognisable, it's a Braque where there are elements that definitely are.

And walking the busy streets of Italy, loving the crush of people and the energy of the country, ICM is a great way to concentrate on the landmarks without scaring the viewer with all the tourists taking selfies! I found that a vertical movement of the camera produced the best results for my subjects, but there are so many different ways of using ICM, there's plenty left to explore!

Why not join Tony Hewitt and I? We have one spot left for our Italian tour this October (10-22nd). It's great value with just four photographers and two leaders! If you're interested, check out the brochure on the website and get in touch! You can find the details here.