Experimenting with Intentional Camera Movement

Inspired by the work of Olga Karlovac

Photograph by author ~ Sony a6600, 25mm at f/8.0, 1/5 second ISO 100

I saw a podcast yesterday (15 April) that featured the work of Olga Karlovac and learned of a style of photography I was aware of, but the name of it was new to me — Intentional Camera Movement (ICM).

Apparently, it’s a bit controversial.

Some people think that if a photograph isn’t tack-sharp it is a failed attempt. On the other side of the issue is Olga Karlovac, who only makes blurry images. But her photos aren’t just out-of-focus. She introduces camera movement in very intentional ways.

You can see her work here.

The podcast I saw was by a photographer who went out to copy Karlovac’s style — as a means of learning the technique. It’s a lot trickier than it looks. In the past, I’ve done the thing where you turn the camera around the main axis of the lens to create a tunnel effect. If you drag the shutter with a flash, it can be a cool fashion photography effect.

Creating a tunnel effect with intentional camera movement ~ photograph by author with Sony a6600, 25mm at f/8.0, 1/4 second ISO 50

I set out to try the same thing Olga does and hopped on the #15 tram to the main square in Torino — Piazza Castello. I always sit in a window seat…