Emerald Forest

[Lon_Overacker]

unprocessed:

Ok, ICM’s aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and it could be easily argued they don’t belong here, at least not in Landscape. So this will be the only ICM image I’ll post here from this trip. One of my favorites from the outing to Yosemite this last May. To be sure, I’m a huge fan of ICM’s and I’ve accumulated a large collection of images. I greatly appreciated @Alfredo Mora’s ICM article (although i’ve yet to comment!) and encourage folks to check it out if you haven’t already.)

I’ve never been one to hold much significance to the “this is right out of the camera,” or “this is exactly what was captured on film…”, because as we all know, the modern camera has multitudes of settings, saturation, contrast, sharpness and color space, that saying it came “straight out of the camera,” doesn’t by any stretch mean that’s what was actually experienced. Same with film - was it Provia, KR-64 or Velvia?!?

One of the beauties of ICM is that there are many choices, “no processing required,” OR “process however you want!” There are no rules, no expectations. Only imagination.

Having said all that, the second, unframed version is literally un-processed. Just re-sized for the web. And boy was I glad I had cleaned my sensor prior to this trip and so not even a single dust bunny to clone!

With the ICM, there is of course the motion, the blur, the random and abstract nature of a scene that can be rendered; shapes, lines; patterns, etc. etc. One of the most fun aspects for me is how many colors are revealed and captured. Reminds me very much of Tony Kuyper’s earlier work where he routinely “revealed” colors in scenes that were always there, just never brought out in a typical photograph. ICM does a similar thing.

Yes, agreed that ICM is a random, “have no idea what you’re gonna get” approach to photography… But one can learn, grow and recogize situations, light and patterns that can reveal very pleasing results. There is finess, technique and sometimes even purpose… In the end, we each get to decide and enjoy.

Hope you enjoy this one!

Specific Feedback Requested

Feedback - any and all comments and suggestions. the framed version is only slightly processed with vibrance and contrast. Otherwise, not much difference in the two.

Technical Details

Nikon D800E, 28-300mm @116mm, f/20 1/4s iso 800

[andronik (Andronik f)]

I love the colors.

I’ve dabbled in this genre but never could make anything work to my satisfaction.

This one has an almost wavy 3d feel (hard to explain… Wavy moody psychedelic shower curtain is my best explanation) which is very enticing.

Well done.

Oh yeah, critique!

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Yeah, I got nothing.

[David_Haynes]

Lon, this is one of the best ICM’s I’ve even seen. I love them when they look like this and I’m not so much into them when they don’t. Hard to explain but I know it when I see it and this one is absolutely incredible. This is a wall hanger for sure. The complementary colors really work for me as do the tonal variations. I love the “scratches” (OK, just made that up) that are so 3 dimensional. A lot of ICM’s like this don’t have that 3D look to it and it’s the texture or scratches that give this such depth. No dust bunnies??? You did a great job cleaning the sensor. I don’t think there is any way you can improve upon this image Lon. Spectacular. This may be my favorite of yours. Print it big.

[Ola_Jovall]

Love this one, Lon. It is an exceptional ICM image. Adron and David have already explained why.

[Dan_Kearl]

Really nice!! Terrific colors, just the right blurring.
It am not sure this is Landscape photography but not sure what you call it.
Abstract Photography I guess.
This is very appealing,

[Mark_Muller]

I too love the colors. Dark tones that remind me of a night sky. The soft smoothness is just beautiful.

[David_Wallace]

Hello Lon, this is a really solid ICM image! The two things that stand out to me are the 3D effect and the way the light on the background greenery almost seems to mirror the light on the trees. Most of the trees appear to be lit from the left (lighter on the right, darker on the left) and the background has a very similar lighting. It is amazing how ICM can take a chaotic forest and turn it into shapes and colors.

[Lon_Overacker]

Thank you David for your kind words! Much appreciated!

[Lon_Overacker]

Thank you @andronik , @Ola_Jovall , @Mark_Muller , @Dan_Kearl , @David_Wallace and @David_Haynes ! Always appreciate when folks take the time to leave thoughtful comments!

Still have a few more traditional images to share. And hopefully I can make some new ones soon - heading to the CA coast for some R&R and hopefully I can pull out the camera!

Thanks again!

[Eva_McDermott]

The combination of colors and smooth transitions are wonderful Lon. I think the smooth transitions are key for an appealing ICM’s.

[Ben_van_der_Sande]

Hello Lon, sorry my answers went wrong. I would say . Just have a look at the iCM images of this lady.
neltalen.nl

[David_Bostock]

Lon, this is a stunning example of ICM at its best. You have nailed the movement, the lighting, and the feeling quite well. Congratulations!

I have been doing a lot of ICM lately but have been hesitant to post much since, as you say, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea…

We used to have a category called Photo Art at NPN. I think ICM qualifies as Photo Art.

I love the experimentation and ultimate creativity that ICM inspires. Your image has inspired me to head out to our local city forest and see what I can do.

Cheers,
David

[Matt_Payne]

As far as ICM work goes this looks good. I don’t know if this helps at all, but have you tried blending back in some of the tree trunks (shot normally) towards the bottom of the frame? It might look stupid, or it might look amazing. No idea!

Colors look good to me. Nice image.

[Igor_Doncov]

Love the color palette and the smooth tonal transitions. Great ICM that’s well displayed with that white frame.

[Alfredo_Mora]

Lon, your image is a wonderful example of ICM. The color palette works so well as does the vertical repeating lines of the trees. I do not see any distractions in the image. The even lighting works well with the overall composition.

Thank you for mentioning my ICM article. As far as what category ICM falls under, that is difficult to say. Perhaps it might fit under what I recently discovered as abstract expressionistic photography. Not sure but it’s an interesting question.

[Diane_Miller]

I meant to comment on this when I first saw it and let it get away from me, so now all I need to do is echo all the positive comments above!! I love this!! And for a single frame with minimal adjustments, I think it’s exceptional.

I love to do ICMs and find it great fun to combine two (or more) taken of the same subject.

I also missed Alfredo’s article – heading off to find it now.

[Marylynne_Diggs]

Really beautiful, Lon. I got deeply into ICM after breaking my wrist a couple of years ago. I loved how I could begin to imagine the scene as a palette and paint the exposure across the frame in any way I wanted.

I really love the colors and lines in this image. The emerald hues make it clearly foresty, and the vertical lines reinforce the tree-ness of it all, and the reds and grays are such a wonderful complement. You’ve inspired me to work in this genre again.
ML