What I didn't mention in the video is that the lighter areas generate a stronger signal from the sensor and therefore, perhaps obviously, have the potential to burn out darker sections already recorded, so maybe linger more on the "dark side"....
Yes, that's definitely the best of the shoot. Well, actually, it's not. It's the best ICM, but the best of my time I was there for this video wasn't an ICM. It's a long exposure shot looking out to sea through the railings. You can find it on my FB page here: facebook.com/photo/?fbid=660396942902308&set=a.419852350290103
Andrew, nice video demonstrating how creative ICM is; you never have to worry about finding something interesting to shoot as often the mundane can be transformed into an image that deserves further scrutiny. 'lingering' is a great term to describe the technique to fix an outline of the subject if the intention is not to be too abstract with the shot.
Thanks, John. Never forget either that the mundane is often overlooked as a photographic subject anyway. Last week's video shows that: have a watch if you haven't seen it.
Andrew. Very good comments and observations about ICM. I’m looking forward to you getting 100,000 subscribers, as I know you will. Keep up the good work.
haha. A LONG way off 100,000. Heck after three years, just nudging 2000. Any help you can give me by sharing on your socials would be gratefully received. Thanks for your support.
Hi Andy, some great ideas there for ICM, and you were in one of my favourite east coast seaside towns and it's made me want to go back there before the year is out to get some windy dramatic shots of the sea defences :) enjoyed the vlog mate, take care, Steve.
I'm always experimenting with different ways to wobble. Today I went into the woods, which is always a challenge as you know, and tried something new. With my neutral density filter I set my shutter speed for 5 seconds, then when I found a pleasing composition I hit the shutter and moved my camera with the most minimal movement and I got a very soft image, without the streaky lines that I often have with ICM. I'm always trying for that painterly look, the five second exposure got me closer than I have before. Of course, it was probably mostly luck.
Finding what works for you is important. 5 seconds is VERY slow IMHO. I would not want more than 2 and often am using about 1/4 second. The problem with multiple seconds is the whole process takes too long and the ICM process for me is reactive to the last shot, remembering what I did and adjusting for the next. Perhaps a less dense filter would help you?
Very good, I appreciated it very much! And specially the abstract photos you showed near the end. I have done a lot of ICM but never thinking about total abstract pictures. Bless you and take care. Göran from Latvia
Hello, my friend. I enjoy seeing how deeply you go into that ICM. And I have to be honest, the last three even appealed to me. They turned out nice, especially the one with the counter next to the stairs. I've tried it a few times but I'm doing something wrong. I understand what you said about dark to light; it makes sense when you think about it. You have a very nice place there buddy. I'm sure someone would like to spend a few days there. Even I say that unfortunately, I am no longer able to walk. But I enjoyed watching this video. Put on the desserts, Nicky. Antoine.
Hi, Antoine, Make sure you turn stabilisation off before doing ICM. As you're at home more than you would like, get those LED lights out onto a pot plant and just play with movements that follow the structure of the leaves. Just small movements at 1/2 or 1/4 second. Chimp on every shot so you can see what works and what doesn't and you'll soon be a master of abstract. :-) The dark to light explanation, I realise now, could have been simpler. I really struggled explaining this concept and there more to it even now though the lingering method. As the light side is stronger than the dark side, you can balance things a little by lingering on the dark before moving to the light. The cottage has been doing OK this year, but it's the worst year on record for us selling holidays. We have been doing this for more than 20 years and have never had such a poor year. Our government has just been letting energy companies rake in profit with high charges, not controlling mortgage rates and so on. People just haven't got the money to go on holiday AND pay all the bills. Hoping I can find a few people who would want a break and some workshops over winter or even into next spring. Be well, Antoine. Andy
Loved the mural images and the hut images! There’s something to be said for the beauty of the abstract images ICM creates.I try but it seems I only have luck with trees. You’ve given me some good ideas however. Love the video, glad I found it.
Experience will tell you how much and where to move. Just keep at it. There's a bit of ICM in my latest video too where this point is also discussed: ruclips.net/video/YudmmPIolt0/видео.html
Well, if you're ever in this part of the world or want to be. We have two available right now. Garth Cottage (2 bed) (in this vid) and The Old Post Office (3 bed) in Northrepps just 15 minutes north near Cromer.
Excellent video! I never thought about the light over dark or dark over light issue. I recently started experimenting with longer exposure times and moving it like you did to get a double exposure, or should I say double linger. 🙂 . I'd like to experiment a little more with this.
Very cool Andrew, it has given me couple of ideas, I mainly shoot ICM in the bush or what you would call woodland. I have had great success using a tripod in both vert and horiz panning , great video keep them coming.
Thank you. Vertical panning I “get” in woodland. I have never had a pleasing image with horizontal - it’s just mush when i do it. Maybe you can direct me to some instagram or other images so I can see the potential?
Haha, Peter! I had never associated my jitters with the gallon of coffee I drink before 9am. Now you know why a tripod and ibis are so important to me.
HI, I do have canvases in the cottages. The shot of the beach groyne in the bedroom clip was taken about 500 yards from the cottage on a February sunrise in 2022. There's not a lot of wall space in Garth to show them but there's three in the other cottage, one of which is a woodland ICM which I love.
Surely the answer is, as more light falls on a part of the sensor the lighter that part of the image will become? Also you asked what we thought of the white railings over the mural. I liked the ones where the railing was "sharp" and not so much the last one which was pure flowing colour. Thanks for a great video, I'm off to watch the next one :0)
The point I was making, Jeff, is that you can't make a light area darker, so that can impact on how you move and where you start. Moving from Dark to Light is likely to yield more data capture.
Hi, Thomas. Yes, those mural shots are particularly nice. I am sure if you stood there for longer you could get very interesting outcomes with different movements.
Well Andy. I do a fair amount of ICM and have been using “bulb”. I like this because I control the SS based on my movement and the subject. I don’t see this often and would like to hear your thoughts. Thanks for some great ideas.
Of course, any method that works for you is perfectly valid. My wonder with using bulb is more about how you can time it to get a "correct" exposure (whatever correct means here). I guess it's just practice to avoid over exposure? Or are you using deep ND filters so that the difference between a couple of seconds in a Lonnnggg exposure barely makes any odds?
@@AndyBanner Indeed. I have a 6 stop ND on board. In the middle of the day sometimes 10. You are correct, this provides some exposure latitude. All the best and Thanks for responding.
Hi Andy, i've really been enjoying your videos. I find them very inspirational! There is a particular image in this video that i like and i wondered if it would be available as a print? It is the one of the steps up to the car park in Sheringham. Thanks Gareth
Hi, thank you. Yes, we can arrange something. Can you send me an email at hello@andrewbanner.co.uk indicating the rough image size you want and I can get you a price
Really enjoy your channel Andrew. And love ICM and abstract photography. I’m not sure if you mentioned this in another of your videos, but I believe you’re using an Olympus camera that has a built in ND filter effect, why then are you using a separate ND filter? Thanks…
Hi, Jim. Thanks for the support. The ND filter effect was introduced with the Em1 mk3. I am using the em1 mk2. As i understand it, there's only a max of 4 stops of this effect in any case. That's nowhere near enough in bright conditions. But also it i's a computational effect rather than actually reducing the light through the lens. I hear its pretty good, but it's not available to me in my camera anyway. There's another key point though: I don't want the camera to do everything for me. For me, photography is as much about getting out and the process of composing and shooting. Too much camera trickery begins to take the fun out of it.
Thank you so much. It's hard to ask for support every week but these videos take days to put together and it's so nice to read people's comments and receive support like yours. It is much appreciated.
I love your abstracts of the wall mural ❤. I’ve had a dabble with ICM, but have always “wiggled” the camera, I never thought of starting on one subject, then switching to another like you have with the boat and rope, it works really well 👍📷. I’m presuming you switch off ibis? Thanks for creating such thought provoking, inspiring work. Will any workshops be listed on your website?
There is SO MUCH you can do with ICM that I have barely scratched the surface in this video. Check out my ICM playlist for more ideas. ruclips.net/p/PLxn5w9x-lcs9kZ8Gnr3rNeBrMo_vx6PKy
That other video you mentioned at the end of the video you should also put a link in the description box and a pinned comment. Those video links in the video don't work with mobile browsers only the RUclips app.
Thank you. Good idea. I never realised that mobile browsers didn't show these. I shall take a look. Gonna have to watch it now to see what video I mentioned! :-)
You would quickly regret continuous firing in ICM. You really need to chimp like a money to understand how successful you last movement was and then adapt based on your assessment of the last image. Just filling the buffer might yield pleasing results, but you would have no idea how you got any particular image and thus no ability to hone the move. That and the fact you would very quickly end up with way too many images to sort. Take a look at the more recent icm video to see how these can be put together in post.
Virtually all icm will benefit from a degree of post processing. The layering effect can be done in any image editing program that allows stacked layering of images such as photoshop which is what I would have used here. It’s not an “advanced” technique as such but definitely a lot more work than just dancing around with the shutter open. I admire anybody who’s good enough to get virtually finished ICM images without lots of post processing. :-)
Hahah. Yes. Getting something good can take a LOT of frames and it can be easy to be disheartened if you're looking for a quick win. But, when you get it right, boy is it worth it.
Very cool I'll definitely give that a spin. The only thing I've done along those lines is zoom with a central object at night .(last image in this vid ruclips.net/video/IFN6zVspvkg/видео.htmlsi=AfE3_Rh_sNcpsylI) cheers from NZ
Hi Chris. That's a good effect on all those lights. People are often too heavy with the zoom effect and put the pedal to the metal rushing from one extreme to the other. Less is more.
@@AndyBanner thanks , I was really taken with those images of yours and forwarded a link to you video to a close friend of mine in Canada who spent a couple of years studying photography here in NZ , I thought the abstract nature of those images would really appeal to her. 😀
Cheers, Paul. ICM, I know, isn't for everyone but one tip I would share with someone like you who's not convinced is this. Next time you go out and aren't feeling it or light isn't right or you can't find a shot, point the camera at something with structure, turn off stabilisation, drag the shutter and just wobble the camera. I guarantee after a few attempts (with full on chimping), you'll find something pleasing. It's a mood changer (if you ever get into those moods).
You don't like ICM? I am sure you would enjoy some of it - we can make very impressionistic images with ICM techniques at the heart of it. It's all just ART and as such, very subjective.
Start in the dark area of the photo - got it! Very helpful advice.
What I didn't mention in the video is that the lighter areas generate a stronger signal from the sensor and therefore, perhaps obviously, have the potential to burn out darker sections already recorded, so maybe linger more on the "dark side"....
All the shots were keepers especially the last composite beach huts and the ropes photo. Loved the video
Glad you liked it!
Excellent. I learned more technically in 12minutes than I have in hours of other ICM videos.
Great stuff. Thanks for taking the time to tell me. Hope some of my other ICM videos have useful info for you too.
Loved the photo at minute 11:53 ! 💛💚❤
Yes, that's definitely the best of the shoot. Well, actually, it's not. It's the best ICM, but the best of my time I was there for this video wasn't an ICM. It's a long exposure shot looking out to sea through the railings. You can find it on my FB page here: facebook.com/photo/?fbid=660396942902308&set=a.419852350290103
Andrew, this is one of your best ICM vids. So much useful info and inspirational images, thanks very much ✌️❤️🇦🇺
Thank you. So pleased you enjoyed it.
Great tips and great images in ICM as usual. Keep coming back to your videos, lots of depth and advice.
Much appreciated!
You explain the process very well. I never knew there was a technique to achieve a particular outcome. Thank you for that.
Glad it was helpful! But I have barely scratched the surface yet. There's so much more to discover and learn.
Great video, Andy. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for your continued support. It's much appreciated.
Great tips Andrew. Thanks for taking the time...
Thanks for your time. I wouldn't make them if nobody watched :-)
Andrew, nice video demonstrating how creative ICM is; you never have to worry about finding something interesting to shoot as often the mundane can be transformed into an image that deserves further scrutiny. 'lingering' is a great term to describe the technique to fix an outline of the subject if the intention is not to be too abstract with the shot.
Thanks, John. Never forget either that the mundane is often overlooked as a photographic subject anyway. Last week's video shows that: have a watch if you haven't seen it.
There are some very useful tips there, thanks, Andrew.
My pleasure!
Fantastic tips & tricks - thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Thanks for watching!
I love your vídeos. Please keep posting them.
Thank you, I will
Thanks for the reply. Been experimenting with ICM.
Let's see your best work.
Andrew. Very good comments and observations about ICM. I’m looking forward to you getting 100,000 subscribers, as I know you will. Keep up the good work.
haha. A LONG way off 100,000. Heck after three years, just nudging 2000. Any help you can give me by sharing on your socials would be gratefully received. Thanks for your support.
Hi Andy, some great ideas there for ICM, and you were in one of my favourite east coast seaside towns and it's made me want to go back there before the year is out to get some windy dramatic shots of the sea defences :) enjoyed the vlog mate, take care, Steve.
Hiya, Steve. I like Sheringham. The old town is a very pretty place to walk around. Thanks for your support. Be well
I'm always experimenting with different ways to wobble. Today I went into the woods, which is always a challenge as you know, and tried something new. With my neutral density filter I set my shutter speed for 5 seconds, then when I found a pleasing composition I hit the shutter and moved my camera with the most minimal movement and I got a very soft image, without the streaky lines that I often have with ICM. I'm always trying for that painterly look, the five second exposure got me closer than I have before. Of course, it was probably mostly luck.
Finding what works for you is important. 5 seconds is VERY slow IMHO. I would not want more than 2 and often am using about 1/4 second. The problem with multiple seconds is the whole process takes too long and the ICM process for me is reactive to the last shot, remembering what I did and adjusting for the next. Perhaps a less dense filter would help you?
Very good, I appreciated it very much! And specially the abstract photos you showed near the end. I have done a lot of ICM but never thinking about total abstract pictures. Bless you and take care. Göran from Latvia
Awesome, thank you!
Hello, my friend.
I enjoy seeing how deeply you go into that ICM.
And I have to be honest, the last three even appealed to me.
They turned out nice, especially the one with the counter next to the stairs. I've tried it a few times but I'm doing something wrong.
I understand what you said about dark to light; it makes sense when you think about it.
You have a very nice place there buddy.
I'm sure someone would like to spend a few days there.
Even I say that unfortunately, I am no longer able to walk.
But I enjoyed watching this video.
Put on the desserts, Nicky.
Antoine.
Hi, Antoine,
Make sure you turn stabilisation off before doing ICM. As you're at home more than you would like, get those LED lights out onto a pot plant and just play with movements that follow the structure of the leaves. Just small movements at 1/2 or 1/4 second. Chimp on every shot so you can see what works and what doesn't and you'll soon be a master of abstract. :-)
The dark to light explanation, I realise now, could have been simpler. I really struggled explaining this concept and there more to it even now though the lingering method. As the light side is stronger than the dark side, you can balance things a little by lingering on the dark before moving to the light.
The cottage has been doing OK this year, but it's the worst year on record for us selling holidays. We have been doing this for more than 20 years and have never had such a poor year. Our government has just been letting energy companies rake in profit with high charges, not controlling mortgage rates and so on. People just haven't got the money to go on holiday AND pay all the bills. Hoping I can find a few people who would want a break and some workshops over winter or even into next spring.
Be well, Antoine.
Andy
Loved the mural images and the hut images! There’s something to be said for the beauty of the abstract images ICM creates.I try but it seems I only have luck with trees. You’ve given me some good ideas however. Love the video, glad I found it.
Experience will tell you how much and where to move. Just keep at it. There's a bit of ICM in my latest video too where this point is also discussed: ruclips.net/video/YudmmPIolt0/видео.html
Love the cottage! I'd stay there.
Well, if you're ever in this part of the world or want to be. We have two available right now. Garth Cottage (2 bed) (in this vid) and The Old Post Office (3 bed) in Northrepps just 15 minutes north near Cromer.
Thank you! Very good tips. ❤
You are so welcome!
Excellent video! I never thought about the light over dark or dark over light issue. I recently started experimenting with longer exposure times and moving it like you did to get a double exposure, or should I say double linger. 🙂 . I'd like to experiment a little more with this.
I would love to see your images.
Very cool Andrew, it has given me couple of ideas, I mainly shoot ICM in the bush or what you would call woodland. I have had great success using a tripod in both vert and horiz panning , great video keep them coming.
Thank you. Vertical panning I “get” in woodland. I have never had a pleasing image with horizontal - it’s just mush when i do it. Maybe you can direct me to some instagram or other images so I can see the potential?
@@AndyBanner I will send you an email with a couple of examples , but you are right most of the horz woodland shots turn out to be mush
Very timely thanks Andrew as I have a FB Group challenge on ICM this month! Off to Mersea to try the beach huts shot!
Hope you get a banger.
Super helpful, Andrew. I also preload a lot of caffeine...
Haha, Peter! I had never associated my jitters with the gallon of coffee I drink before 9am. Now you know why a tripod and ibis are so important to me.
I felt like i was watching Roy Kinear !
Excellent tutorial buddy. Liked and subscribed.
Thanks for the sub!
Great tips as usual, love the cottage. You should have your wonderful prints of the local area for sale in your cottages. 👌🏽
HI, I do have canvases in the cottages. The shot of the beach groyne in the bedroom clip was taken about 500 yards from the cottage on a February sunrise in 2022. There's not a lot of wall space in Garth to show them but there's three in the other cottage, one of which is a woodland ICM which I love.
Thanks for the value😊
My pleasure!
This is helpful. I definitely think I haven't been lingering enough.
Don't confuse lingering with loitering..... :-)
Damn it.
Thanks!!
No problem!
Surely the answer is, as more light falls on a part of the sensor the lighter that part of the image will become? Also you asked what we thought of the white railings over the mural. I liked the ones where the railing was "sharp" and not so much the last one which was pure flowing colour. Thanks for a great video, I'm off to watch the next one :0)
The point I was making, Jeff, is that you can't make a light area darker, so that can impact on how you move and where you start. Moving from Dark to Light is likely to yield more data capture.
Great video Andy. Its not a technique ive ever tried. I like the really abstract shots you got from the mural, they look like watercolours.
Hi, Thomas. Yes, those mural shots are particularly nice. I am sure if you stood there for longer you could get very interesting outcomes with different movements.
Well Andy. I do a fair amount of ICM and have been using “bulb”. I like this because I control the SS based on my movement and the subject. I don’t see this often and would like to hear your thoughts. Thanks for some great ideas.
Of course, any method that works for you is perfectly valid. My wonder with using bulb is more about how you can time it to get a "correct" exposure (whatever correct means here). I guess it's just practice to avoid over exposure? Or are you using deep ND filters so that the difference between a couple of seconds in a Lonnnggg exposure barely makes any odds?
@@AndyBanner Indeed. I have a 6 stop ND on board. In the middle of the day sometimes 10. You are correct, this provides some exposure latitude. All the best and Thanks for responding.
Hi Andy, i've really been enjoying your videos. I find them very inspirational! There is a particular image in this video that i like and i wondered if it would be available as a print? It is the one of the steps up to the car park in Sheringham. Thanks Gareth
Hi, thank you. Yes, we can arrange something. Can you send me an email at hello@andrewbanner.co.uk indicating the rough image size you want and I can get you a price
Really enjoy your channel Andrew. And love ICM and abstract photography. I’m not sure if you mentioned this in another of your videos, but I believe you’re using an Olympus camera that has a built in ND filter effect, why then are you using a separate ND filter? Thanks…
Hi, Jim. Thanks for the support. The ND filter effect was introduced with the Em1 mk3. I am using the em1 mk2. As i understand it, there's only a max of 4 stops of this effect in any case. That's nowhere near enough in bright conditions. But also it i's a computational effect rather than actually reducing the light through the lens. I hear its pretty good, but it's not available to me in my camera anyway. There's another key point though: I don't want the camera to do everything for me. For me, photography is as much about getting out and the process of composing and shooting. Too much camera trickery begins to take the fun out of it.
Thanks
Thank you so much. It's hard to ask for support every week but these videos take days to put together and it's so nice to read people's comments and receive support like yours. It is much appreciated.
I love your abstracts of the wall mural ❤. I’ve had a dabble with ICM, but have always “wiggled” the camera, I never thought of starting on one subject, then switching to another like you have with the boat and rope, it works really well 👍📷. I’m presuming you switch off ibis? Thanks for creating such thought provoking, inspiring work. Will any workshops be listed on your website?
There is SO MUCH you can do with ICM that I have barely scratched the surface in this video. Check out my ICM playlist for more ideas. ruclips.net/p/PLxn5w9x-lcs9kZ8Gnr3rNeBrMo_vx6PKy
That other video you mentioned at the end of the video you should also put a link in the description box and a pinned comment. Those video links in the video don't work with mobile browsers only the RUclips app.
Thank you. Good idea. I never realised that mobile browsers didn't show these. I shall take a look. Gonna have to watch it now to see what video I mentioned! :-)
Wonder how this would work with focus stacking 15 images. Just keep movement as it fires
You would quickly regret continuous firing in ICM. You really need to chimp like a money to understand how successful you last movement was and then adapt based on your assessment of the last image. Just filling the buffer might yield pleasing results, but you would have no idea how you got any particular image and thus no ability to hone the move. That and the fact you would very quickly end up with way too many images to sort. Take a look at the more recent icm video to see how these can be put together in post.
The last photo where you combined three images looks great, but not clear how to achieve the final result. Thanks
Virtually all icm will benefit from a degree of post processing. The layering effect can be done in any image editing program that allows stacked layering of images such as photoshop which is what I would have used here. It’s not an “advanced” technique as such but definitely a lot more work than just dancing around with the shutter open. I admire anybody who’s good enough to get virtually finished ICM images without lots of post processing. :-)
Never been so frustrated taking pic.s 😂😂!!
Hahah. Yes. Getting something good can take a LOT of frames and it can be easy to be disheartened if you're looking for a quick win.
But, when you get it right, boy is it worth it.
Beautiful work and quite imaginative. It’s good to get those f/64 folks rolling over in their graves.
Thanks. I am not sure I understand the f/64 comment. I have reached out to them in the past but have been ignored.
@@AndyBanner 🤣🤣🤣 I got the same treatment.
Very cool I'll definitely give that a spin. The only thing I've done along those lines is zoom with a central object at night .(last image in this vid ruclips.net/video/IFN6zVspvkg/видео.htmlsi=AfE3_Rh_sNcpsylI) cheers from NZ
Hi Chris. That's a good effect on all those lights. People are often too heavy with the zoom effect and put the pedal to the metal rushing from one extreme to the other. Less is more.
@@AndyBanner thanks , I was really taken with those images of yours and forwarded a link to you video to a close friend of mine in Canada who spent a couple of years studying photography here in NZ , I thought the abstract nature of those images would really appeal to her. 😀
Great tips but ICM isn’t for me at all. Enjoyable as always. Thanks
Cheers, Paul. ICM, I know, isn't for everyone but one tip I would share with someone like you who's not convinced is this. Next time you go out and aren't feeling it or light isn't right or you can't find a shot, point the camera at something with structure, turn off stabilisation, drag the shutter and just wobble the camera. I guarantee after a few attempts (with full on chimping), you'll find something pleasing. It's a mood changer (if you ever get into those moods).
@@AndyBanner thanks pal
If you like it, me no.
You don't like ICM? I am sure you would enjoy some of it - we can make very impressionistic images with ICM techniques at the heart of it. It's all just ART and as such, very subjective.
Thanks!
So very kind. Thank you, Richard.
Have you seen the email I sent via your website?
We absolutely love your work ❤