On 29th January Keswick Photographic Society members enjoyed an inspirational talk by Bill Pickard on creative photography. His main subject was Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) whereby the camera is moved very slightly while taking an image to produce an artistic image but he went beyond this to describe how he processes his images using other creative techniques. Bill’s talk was illustrated with an extensive selection of his superb images.
Bill photographs a wide range of subjects including street scenes, landscape, wildlife, flowers and sport. One of the most imaginative but simple images he presented was of two pieces of electrical wire, not a subject that many photographers would think of taking.
He explained that he usually carries two cameras, one of which he uses to take straight images and the other for ICM. He showed a number of straight images and then versions of the same subject taken with ICM and used these to illustrate what he referred to as the magic of ICM, the ability to transform something mundane into something special. He described some of the other advantages of ICM as being the opportunity to create impressionistic art, the ability to hide distracting details and its versatility.
In particular this technique works well in low light when normal photography would be difficult. His images were taken in a variety of locations, some as nearby as his own garden, Morecambe and Blackpool and others further afield such as France, Italy and Iceland.
Bill wowed us with his enthusiasm for his subject and his lovely images. He gave members numerous tips on how to achieve a variety of different images. In conclusion he recommended ICM to us as a means of achieving totally unique images. This was a totally absorbing evening especially for those members who particularly enjoy creative photography.
Julie Walker