I know the name is from Jamiroquais third album way back in 1996 – the band is still going – and they originally took their name from a portmanteau of the word’s "jam" and the name of a Native American confederacy, the Iroquois. Just a bit trivia there for you. When the band was formed back in 1992, I lived in England, these days I live in Canada, and as it happens - right across the road from Iroquois Shoreline Wood, where I have shot so many photographs. I like the band very much and have taken the name of the album and track for the heading of this post – it sounds great and for the purpose of this post, I’m going to write about Intentional Camera Movement, ICM, or travelling without moving.
I don’t think everyone’s a fan of ICM, and that’s fine – to each his own. I do like ICM and have been practicing ICM for many years. The trick is to make images that have impact and visual appeal, not staid and boring – something that looks like you just weren’t able to hold the camera still. There are those who just don’t get it – it’s just camera blur to them, an image that’s gone wrong!
I know of some people that use ICM as their defining style and from what I can see, that’s all they do – and if that suits them, that’s fine. ICM is just a part of photography that I enjoy, it’s not something people associate with me, however, I do incorporate it into my photography, when appropriate and into projects when the right opportunity presents itself and on rare occasions, it might be a project on its own.
Through the years I have tried ICM with film cameras, both manual and auto focus (better when you switch focus to manual), and all sorts of digital cameras from compacts to high resolution medium format. The results vary and you should be ready to experiment. It wouldn’t be unusual to find me standing still in a single spot for 10 – 20 minutes experimenting.
There are no magic formulas, the camera and lens combination can play a big part, as does your exposure triangle (also ignoring it or playing around with it) and the environment you find yourself in, time of day, there are a few other factors as well. Be prepared to experiment. Camera movement can take many forms – panning, either left or right, up and down, turning your camera, moving forward or backwards, shrug your shoulder. Try it from a moving vehicle, on a rollercoaster – it can be scary – I’ve tried it, make sure you have a good grip on your camera! Needless to say, the possibilities are many and varied and can make for some dramatic and unusual images. Try a double or multiple exposure moving in different directions, a shoulder shrug, using flash during the exposure – there are no rules! There are no boundaries!
In a world where so many photographers are obsessed with sharp images (and there’s nothing wrong with having sharp images!), this is a world where the photographic artist in you can capture something unique, not seen by the naked eye. This not playing by the rules, it’s going off at a tangent, breaking the rules, making your own set. This is a world where many people, family, friends, even other photographers, may not “see” your images, it will seem weird perhaps even wrong to them. You are now in another realm of photography. In this place your work takes on a different meaning, more impressionist, surreal, abstract. I love it here, it’s a fantastic place to explore.
You are both now capturing and creating at the same time, be prepared to take a lot of images and you’ll find that there will be many that just don’t work. This is a process and it takes time, patience and a lot of work and experimentation, but stick with it. The results can be both un-intended and surprising. However, you will be able to exercise some degree of control of situations and your images if you experiment enough, perhaps in a single place with the same subject is a good place to start.
Granted when I started shooting film, I had seen a few examples in magazines and books, but there was no internet to readily “look” stuff up instantly, as we do these days. I had played around a little, and I use that word rather than experimented, with ICM - if any of my earliest efforts worked, they were probably through sheer luck than anything else. It takes practice and patience.
With the internet and so much information on almost anything you can think of available today, there are plenty of articles on ICM and perhaps you have tried it yourself. Although I over the years I have used ICM, I am by no means an exponent of the art, I use it now and then and as I have said, I do enjoy it. There is plenty to explore here and the many articles on the internet which explore the subject in far greater detail and more articulately than I have done so here. The images in this post are just a few examples of my efforts with ICM, and it is an area I hope to explore more as my own journey in photography progresses. Lastly, I will remind you once again, any thing worth doing requires patience and practice and I encourage you also to look on the internet at photographers who have specialized in this field for inspiration and ideas.
Well, perhaps I took a small liberty with the title as there is a tiny amount of travelling in the movement, however, remember the only limitation is your own imagination and creativity, it is the most important factor here, free yourself from convention and uniformity, here is a chance to embrace creativity. Something I hope you will think about…enjoy the freedom and the music.