I have been looking for a new creative outlet to my photography. I guess you can say that I have been in a “rut” for the past few months. Stagnated. Stuck. Frustrated. This happens to all artists at some point. It was time to find something new and challenging to move my photography forward.
Instagram has changed the Photography Industry forever. I can’t say whether the change is positive or negative…probably both. On the positive side, it has become so easy to share your work with the world, and to see what other artists are doing and creating. In the “old days”, we only had magazines to see other photographer’s work…or art galleries. Back then, if you didn’t have the connections, your work would never be seen or discovered. Instagram has opened the market to EVERYONE…and there are some incredible photographers out there!!
On the negative side, some of my favorite destinations and before unknown locations have become exploited by the “instagramers” and “influencers” turning many of these locations into tourist traps. For example, in the mid-90’s, a photo of sunrise at Angkor Wat would have been a totally unique photograph and praised world-wide. Fast forward to today, and there are probably hundreds of thousands of photos of the sunrise at Angkor Wat. To get YOUR sunrise photo at Angkor Wat to stand out amongst the thousands of others, what can you do that has not already been done? Maybe a UFO abducting humans above Angkor Wat? Instead, I find myself just ignoring those spots and move onto something else. Sad, though, as these spots used to be so serene and void of people. The bar has risen so high, it is almost impossible to stand out from the crowd.
This is the situation I find myself in now. How do I create a photograph that is different and stands out from the rest of the crowd? I may have found something. ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) could be my answer to my search for something different. Shooting at slow shutter speeds and moving the camera up and down or side to side can create some amazing effects that are near impossible to duplicate. It is very challenging, though, and takes lots of practice. The possibilities are limitless. What I love about it is that I can now return to Angkor Wat at sunrise, and be able to take a photograph that would be totally different from the millions of others. How cool is that??
Last week, I was in Singapore for some medical appointments (hadn’t seen my doctors since 2019 because of you know what). At night, I went to some of the most iconic locations in Singapore to shoot some photos. Marina Bay Sands, Clark Quay, Gardens by the Bay, etc.. There are literally millions of photos of these iconic spots. So instead of taking the same photos I have taken in the past or the same photos that have been on Instagram, I tried doing some ICM. I can guarantee you that no one else on Instagram has a photo anything like the photos I took. They might not be great photos, but they are certainly unique and can’t be duplicated. I like that.
I have lots to learn about this genre of photography, but that is the fun part, and one of the reasons I just love photography. Photography is something that can never be mastered…the learning curve is never ending.