I don’t know about you, but I seem to move between “photography genres.” By that I mean that while I love classical/photo-realistic, Eliot Porter- or Charles Cramer-type Intimate Landscape images, and shoot a lot of them, I also love to shoot using creative techniques. More on that below! 

Big Creek Dogwood Right now, I’m continuing to add to my life-long portfolio of water images and went to Big Creek this week to work on that project. (Some of my waterfall images will be seen in a show, Contemplative Art in an Age of Distraction, that I’m curating for the Asheville Area Arts Council. The opening reception will be on July 6^th.) But, even though I went to Big Creek to work on water images, the abstract snuck in as it usually does! An example can be seen in this image of a dogwood off the parking area at Big Creek. (right).

I love abstract art, especially the nineteenth century’s Impressionists. And I love abstract photography, especially Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) and other motion techniques, which can create a beautiful, painterly look in an image. ICM can evoke a sense of the energy in a scene, a tree, or a flower; or perhaps its movement in the breeze. They can range from sunny and vibrant to moody and contemplative. (left)

As images, they are beautifully unique, painterly and, just plain fun to create! The really cool thing is that one can shoot them in overcast (see page two, top right) or sun! Bright sun, in particular, can create some stunning effects. So, it can be an all-day technique in-between the “magic hours.” (left)

And ICM and other motion techniques aren’t limited to just landscape photography—they can transform street scenes into collages of elements and color that challenge the viewer. (right)

My upcoming Photographic Artistry Workshop, The Art of Abstract Photography, June 1-2-3, 2018, will inspire your vision and give you a pallet of tools to expand your creative options. 

We’ll explore camera and lens movement, the effects and control of aperture and shutter speed, the importance of using color and light distribution in composition—and more, including compositing techniques, or the combination of images for yet more creative effects. Click here for details.