January challenge - something new!
With 2026 on our doorstep I feel the obvious choice for our next challenge is something NEW.
This topic is very broad, it can be you showing off that new camera gear that Santa left under the tree, a discussion on new images or techniques to you, or simply discussing something new to the group.
Once again, the hope of this challenge is that we continue to engage in discussions and raise each other.
For my part I am providing two offerings;
Firstly, most should be aware that I spent time in NYC exploring the boundaries of the Bluristic mobile app. As traveling throughout the city involved a lot of subway travel I set myself a little challenge to see what wild and creative images I might be able to capture during those trips.
Attached are a quick sample (spoiler alert - this may be the subject of my next blog post!)
Secondly, a bit of New(s) by way of an announcement. I have been asked to discuss my experiences of ICM photography via Zoom presentation to a camera club in the UK. This will be on Feb 3rd, at 8pm BST.
There is a plan to allow non-members to participate in the event if anyone is interested (note BST time difference!).
Otherwise, I wish ALL readers happy, healthy and fulfilling 2026
Happy New Year everyone!
12 Comments
Hello Mr. Brown, et alia.
Nothing under the tree this year... the advantages of a very long marriage: I get what I want, when I want it. Why wait?
I will be getting "Bluristic" now that it has been updated for newer Android OS's. But I am horrible at ICM, so it *could* be a serious challenge.
Re: NEWS Alert. That make it Noon PST Feb 3rd.
I should be awake by then.
Same with me mate - comes to a point where Christmas really belongs to our younger ones.
Like anything else pursuing, ICM requires an amount of perseverance and a willingness to fail. The main thing is to start with lower expectations, learn from each mistake and above all else, keep it FUN!
I enjoy purposeful In Camera Movement when it's attached to the right image. In my early years I photographed NCAA football and basketball. I experimented with ICM, as it is being referred to here, and I really liked a lot of the images. Bear in mind that this was in the mid to late 70's. We used cameras that were very limited and color slide or black and white films that were very limited. I made the mistake of submitting some of them to a photography forum for critique and was hammered for this technically imperfect method. Unfortunately I paid attention to the critics, which is never a great idea, so I stopped. That was a huge mistake.
Funny you should say that Nathan. In my early 20’s I used to take images at richk concerts, and with ISO 200 film motion blur was inevitable, Like you I liked the dynamics blur introduced, and also like you was hammered by the ‘experts’ who failed to see past technical perfection.
Once again, like you I assumed that my own (emotionally driven) opinion was wrong, and attempted to comply.
No more - now I never fear of being judged for enjoying whatever appeals to my taste and make no apologies for having my own opinion.
IMHO, one of the greatest blessings of knowing other photographers is valuing valid critiques. That is also one of the greatest drawbacks. Wisdom is learning to know when to follow their critiques and when to ignore what they say. So many times a person doing a critique tries to make us like them, when perhaps they should be more like you.
After almost 54 years of being married Christmas kind of comes down to new socks and underpants. A new case for my i-Pad and new running shoes - not the old man ones though! Stylish ones like the young folk. And an electric blanket.
Happy new year to you folks!
Nothing new under the tree here as well. My wife & me decided to take the money and zse it for some days iff at a beautiful location. (Where I will take some photos). Later we have something to remember instead of worn out things to trash.
ICM.. still not my favourite thing. Looking like having drunk too much coffee before photographing...
Trying sth new, not really new, as I am diving in since ~1.5 years is deep sky. 16 h darkness offer a good opportunity. And cold night trapping me with blurred results: lens cools down while the system takes the shots. And over 1h a sharp image becomes blurred as stuff shrinks at -5 Celsius. Learning,: let the cam + lens adapt 1.5h before starting... Then the cam reveals jaw dropping sights.
Hey, it’s fine not to appreciate ICM Dg9 - it requires a different mindset and is not for everyone.
It looks like your capture resulted in a few challenges- sometimes the most rewarding images are those that are the most difficult to achieve.
I think my "something new" is going to be continuing to experiment with this kind of editing style.
I posted a couple of these not too long ago. I went a little bit in a different direction with this one. Instead of long exposure sky I wanted something a little more simple. My wife thought the clouds looked "too perfect" but I like them. That was kind of the point honestly. A scene that almost looks too good to be true but not unrealistic at the same time.
I don't when the next time I will get to take some new photos of lighthouses, but luckily I have plenty of older photos to experiment on.
Great image Kyle. Your work reminds me of the work of Juliaanna Gospodarou - are you familiar with her work?
https://www.juliaannagospodarou.com/fine-art-architecture-photography/
Thanks Alan! I was not but I am now. She has some incredible work. Thanks for linking her work, definitely going to draw some inspiration from it.
That a superb photograph! Strong symmetry and contrast. The 2 clouds are just too cute, especially being on different heights.