Azalea Blur — Buck Gardens, NJ © jj raia
It was in May of 2009 that I created my first intentionally blurred image in camera; of course there were plenty of others that were unintentional. I used a simple point and shoot digital camera (my first), and it proved difficult to create what I was after because there were few ways to alter the exposure the camera decided was correct. To get enough blur, I had to move the camera very quickly while I tripped the shutter. But when I finally did get the image correct, the fun was being able to wildly vary the colors in a prehistoric version of Photoshop. The image above was one created from the original in 2009, but with some obvious variations in the color, which were almost limitless themselves.
Ten years would pass before I discovered this type of image had an official name rather than the simple monicker “Blurs” as I had described them. I learned it was called Intentional Camera Movement (ICM). Not much was done along those lines until around 2014 when I spent four weeks out west, with quite a bit of that time in Colorado during the autumn spectacular! I became almost obsessive taking blurred photos of the aspens and their golden foliage at that time of year. Eventually, blurred images became a technique I used more frequently when what was in front of me called for it.
Click Here to view Intimate Encounters — Blurs
To view some of the previous videos in the series, click on the links below
j.j. raia | photo 