Intentional Camera Movement (ICM)

Intentional camera movement is, of course, hardly a new technique. It really is quite enjoyable because you never really know quite what you’ve gotten until you get home, download the images, and look at them large on your computer screen. Invariably, it is worth taking many photos, moving the camera to varying degrees during the exposure as well as varying the length of the exposure by changing apertures, changing ISO, or even adding a neutral density filter to allow the shutter to stay open longer (while taking care not to overexpose the image). This particular photo was made at ISO 100 and f11, resulting in an exposure of 1 second while moving the camera vertically. It transformed the scene into a panoply of warm fall colors.

Fall Colors © Howard Grill

In addition to making these types of images by purposefully moving the camera during the exposure, they can also be made by setting the camera up for a long exposure and trying to hold the camera still in your hands. Invariably, if the exposure is long enough, you will get some interesting and hopefully appealing blur because you simply can’t hold the camera perfectly still for a period of seconds.

If you’ve never tried these techniques you should definitely give them a whirl. You can come up with many different and beautiful variations at a single location.

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