Sennen Surfers ICM/Multiple Exposures

Hi all... right... as threatened... a series of icm/multiple exposure images I took of the surfers (and one - very good - body boarder) down at Sennen whilst I was down there over Easter... I'd been wanting to do a project on them for a while, but had never been down there whilst there was a decent enough swell running... I've used ICM to get a sense of movement... traditionally I suppose you'd generally be using super fast shutter speeds to freeze the action, but I was interested in what might happen if you went the other way... shot using the K1 and PLM 55-300 with polariser to slow the shutter speed down... and additive and average blend modes on the Multiple Expsoure front to get the sense of higgledypiggledy-ness (new word) in the line up...

1.



2.



3.



4.



5.



6.



7.



8.



9.



10.



11.



12.



Thoughts, comments, observations etc very welcome as ever...

Best

Now you're getting interesting!
They are as ever all good. The ones that really perk my interest are Nos 4 through to 9. Love the tighter crop, shapes and forms described in No.8.
The whole set is right up my street so to speak.
I'll send you out into the wilderness again.

No 4 is great as well with the two unbroken waves, just the surfer creating the disturbance/white stuff.

Agree with Nigel...very interesting concept well executed.

I too prefer 4-9 where you have something more recognisable as a human shape in there together with great looking ICM waves.

Nice colours as well.

Regards

Karlo

As someone who routinely rejects my own surfer photos if there isn’t pin sharpness on the body I like the fresh approach in the closer action shots, probably because they have motion blur rather than just being out of focus and they work rather well. Inspiration for my next Cornwall trip!

Not sure how I feel about these overall

No.1 is excellent, as is No.12 but those in between don't do it for me this time But I have to admit I like your willingness to experiment so much - keep it up

I think the problem is that the surfer ones look like the results we might expect from a photographer who was inept, and unable to focus or understand shutter speeds ..... We know that's not the case, but we are still stuck with the actual images, what they look like and the impression that conveys. So that overides the appreciation of them as an ICM creative result.

I guess this means it's sort of one extreme or the other that will have the real impact, not a halfway house approach.

Of course 10 and 11 are really lovely!

This set just doesn't do owt for me !! I must be too darn thick to understand them...!! Sorry for not being cultured enough Bill...

Great set.

7 & 8........

for the pure excitement!

Roger.

Great. I loved that you applied different shades to the waves. But #3 is good.

What is the point?

What's the point of what? I'm not sure what you're asking.
Perhaps think of your own photograph "Fly the Flag" I think it was called. Consider your photograph then come back to these and look afresh maybe.

Great that this set has sparked a little discussion.

Excellent... always enjoy seeing how these land... and, as Nigel says, the discussion around them that can often arise...

Thanks all for thoughts and comments re these...

John L, Nigel, Stu, and John W... thanks for your honesty and saying what you see... I learnt a long time ago with this that it tends to polarise (no pun intended) opinion pretty strongly either way... something I welcome, so good to have your thoughts...

John W... you ask an interesting question (What’s the Point?)... and by asking it, I’d argue you’ve possibly already answered it... the point for me is, in this particular case (as with many - though not all - branches of photography), to ask the viewer to consider, or look at, a subject in a way they might not have considered it before... that’s not to say I’m necessarily expecting, or even wanting, you to like it... far from it... beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, and your taste will be very personal to you... but if you’ve even momentarily stopped long enough to consider what it is (or indeed the value of what) you’re looking at, then for me in many ways that is already job done... anything else that you may take away from it above and beyond that is a bonus for me...

Nigel K, Rob, Karlo, Roger, DSP... thanks for your thoughts and positive feedback re these... my own favourites are also in the range that you’ve described (Four to Eight), which is interesting... Nigel, thank you for the commission! I will be heading out again...

FWIW, my intention with these, and specifically the reason to use ICM (and the Multiple Exposures in the opening shots) in this specific instance, was to embrace and explore the movement of the surfers, rather than deny it, and to see what came as a result... and I chose these ones (from the 800 or so that I shot - ICM is very hit and miss) as they were the best balance between the form of the surfers, and their movement through the water, which was the story I was seeking to tell... not perfect for sure, but pretty pleased with them all in all...

Thanks again all...

Best

The multi-exposure ones haven't worked for me on this occasion; however I really like no 5 (the surfer) and also the waves of no 8 both of which I guess are just ICM. Also no 11 - super composition and colour capture. Thanks for sharing your work Bill.

I'm in the "problem" camp with these, albeit probably not the same problem as others - I just feel my computer screen cannot do justice to these images, in which I sense great potential. I would really like to see these (even more than with "regular" images) in print. Not necessarily very large, but large enough to accomodate the immersion I feel they command.

Some seem to tend towards impressionism (1, 3, 10), some towards minimalism/abstraction (2, 11, 12), others towards some kind of alternate dimension of movement (4-9, the most promising set to my taste).

Something about viewing them on screen just hits me wrong for some reason - but oh how I can imagine the results on a smooth coton rag...


Yes, absolutely...


4-9 definitely hit that nail... and much more!