ICM + ME Artistry: Three Voices, Three Visions

Santa Fe Workshops celebrate the delightful world of intentional camera movement (ICM) and multiple exposure (ME) photography. The resulting unique and visually appealing images create a sense of dynamism, convey emotions, and experiment with different visual styles that offer a creative way to present subjects. Over the past two years, we have offered over twenty online and in-person workshops, offering the opportunity to expand your technical skills as well as develop your creative voice in this recently popular art form.

For our next act, we are producing a series of online symposia to further inform and inspire this ever-growing and enthusiastic community of ICM + ME aficionados. Our inaugural symposium is scheduled for Saturday, May 18, and brings together three imagemakers who are assuredly visionaries and thereby trend setters. 

Stephanie Johnson—founder, creator, and publisher of ICM Photography Magazine—is our moderator and is tasked with keeping the trains moving and everyone engaged and stimulated. Leaving us breathless is up to Renee Lynn, nicholas x bent, and Craig Boehman. These three seminal voices and visions use ICM + ME photography in surprising and absorbing ways. Come join us to deepen your passion for this contemporary genre or to simply learn more about the world of ICM + ME if you are intrigued and/or just getting started.  

After opening remarks from Stephanie, we begin the symposium with presentations from Renee, nicholas, and Craig.

In the vibrant artistic hub of Santa Fe, American photographer Renee practices her art surrounded by creative talent and inspiration. Here, she expands her photographic endeavors to explore the visual language of photographic expressionism, depiction beyond the literal. Through imaginative fields of color, line, and form she invites you to experience photography in an unexpected way. Starting with the painterly effects of ICM, she explores multiple exposures and the use of transparent layers. Inspired by her creative experiences in Santa Fe, Renee applies these methods to her photography. She discusses her process of constructing an image highlighting the progression from a traditional photograph to an expressionistic one. She shares the five key factors that contribute to producing her imagery. The result is images that prioritize inner experience by employing bold colors, exaggerated forms, and rich texture and line. Armed with these skills one can uncover hidden realms and embrace boundless opportunities for artistic growth.

nicholas, a Canadian contemporary fine-art photographer, invites you to find your path in visual expression and discover that meaningful place in an image. Immerse yourself into his visual journey, exploring the world of monochrome photography through ICM. Learn the dynamics of crafting monochrome images, and understand the elements of light, structure, and texture. Gain insights on long exposure, ISO, aperture, and the role of camera movement in the process. Explore practical examples as nicholas breaks down several of his images and describes the process involved in its development, helping refine your skills in creating impactful monochrome visuals.

Craig is an American street photographer based in Mumbai, India. His mission is to turn people into art. To pull this off, he incorporates camera movement into his street photography and then produces fine-art, limited-edition prints. Craig’s photography often focuses on anonymous individuals, capturing candid moments on the streets and transforming objects into living figures. The process of how he goes about all of this is the subject of his presentation along with a few tips to create your own ICM images captured through street photography or other portraiture genres. Craig’s subjects become anonymous forms ready for further creative experimentation in programs like Photoshop and Luminar Neo. And then presentation comes into the picture: how do you present your art to the world from a digital file? Instead of ending the story with a high-resolution JPEG, he explains how he uses high-quality archival paper for his images to bring more texture to the scene and how he handles limited editions. What Craig hopes you take away from his presentation is a way forward.

These three unique perspectives offer varied approaches to ICM + ME. Following these presentations, Stephanie leads a roundtable discussion to more deeply explore the creative aspects and meanings of ICM + ME with Renee, Craig, and nicholas. There is also time set aside for Q & A, allowing the audience to contribute to the conversation. 

Let’s dive into the rich spectrum of ICM + ME together!

Even if you can’t make the live event, a recording of it will be available for all those registered.