Breakout

September 18, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 29
Abstract / California / ICM / Impressionism / Photo Log / Photography / Seascapes

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August 14, 2020 — Sonoma County Coast, California; September 17, 2020 — My Office

This was another “nothing” photoshoot. I was playing with Intentional Camera Motion while waiting for the sun to go down and the Belt of Venus to appear for the shot I had in mind. That shot met expectations.

The ICMs — not so much. Not on first look. Or second. Or third.

Today I wondered if there was anything there after all. Turned out there was — if I rotated one frame about 45 degrees counterclockwise and cropped to the lower right-hand corner. And dropped the exposure two and a half stops. And shifted the color balance. And selectively sharpened and blurred it a bit. Suddenly I’m in a maelstrom with Turner.

This past week has been a breakout for me creatively. This picture symbolizes it. More to come. I may even catch up on my blog reading too.

I want to direct your attention to an inspirational e-zine on ICM, appropriately called ICM Photography Magazine. This has been a bit of what’s behind the breakout, but most of the liberation has come from just changing my mind and deciding I don’t have to be so damned careful.

(Nikon D850, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G VR. RAW processing and initial editing in DxO PhotoLab 3.3; Final editing in Adobe Photoshop.)

The Author

California based fine-art photographer featuring abstract, impressionist, and minimalist seascapes — near and distant — and floral-based images. Fine-art photography can be seen at www.amagaphoto.com All original images on this blog are copyright 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Michael Scandling. All rights reserved. No images on this site may be copied, duplicated, reused, published, or re-purposed in any way without express permission from the copyright owner, Michael Scandling.

29 Comments

  3. marina kanavaki says

    Oh, I’m really loving this process! By the way, believe it or not, the moto ‘stop being so damned careful’ was what I got from all my art teachers! I’ve been practicing it ever since. 😉 It really is liberating. What a hearbeat this image has! 🙏

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  7. Robert Parker says

    I can see the stormy mountain pass, as Steve G. suggests, and curving streams of sparks in the maelstrom. Or a storm at sea, a Turner steamship blazing through would be right at home. Just a knockout, Michael.

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  10. shoreacres says

    When you first posted this, I thought it could be titled “Into the Trough.” I’ve seen scenes like this offshore and believe me — viewing your photo is far more pleasurable. Somewhat ironically, this is what our coast looks like just now, as Beta stirs the waters.

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