Welcome to the third of the 2023 ICM challenge publications. After last year’s massive success, I have decided to organise once again, an annual ICM challenge for my creative group.
I created this ICM challenge, to offer a friendly competition within the creative group I run for all previous course attendees and mentee students. It is to encourage interaction in the group and to offer a reason to share or make photos in reaction to a prompt. Each month in 2023, a new challenge subject will be set in the group. It may be interpreted however an individual wishes, but the ICM technique must be the overriding element in the image. I have chosen an outside judge for each challenge to offer a wide variety of feedback and varying outlooks on ICM photography.
This is a cumulative competition:
• Points 1- 10 are awarded for the top 10 placings each challenge. (1st place gaining 10 and 10th place 1)
• A point is awarded to every entrant to say thank you for submitting. In December there will be an online awards evening, with some small prizes, and to celebrate everyone’s achievements.
The Light and dark
The Light and dark is now complete. Once again, I was delighted with the number of individuals submitting to the challenge. Congratulations and a massive thank you to all who submitted and got involved. It is amazing to see so many different ways of interpreting a trigger word – This time I was encouraging the use of contrast between light and dark. Some super creative images resulted.
This challenge the entries were judged by Valda Bailey I have followed Valda’s work for many years, and absolutely love the creative and artistic way she blends multiple exposures and ICM within her work. Valda is a great believer that images you create should evoke a feeling and emotion, and that although any process’s may be employed, the resultin g image should not be over taken by the process its self.
Valda works closely with Doug Chinnery (the judge of our last challenge) and together they have created a wonderful creative community.
https://fyv.art - our online community site where you can enjoy a two-week free trial with full access to all of the teaching, forums and other things we have in there. Please do check out the other websites as well as a thank you to Valda for judging this challenge.
www.baileychinnery.com and https://www.valdabailey.com/
If you are interested in online or in person courses, please check out my website for more info www.charlottebellamy.com
I also have a You tube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/CharlotteBellamycreativephotography/videos
Please email with any questions or comments Charlotte@charlottebellamy.com
Copyright remains with each of the photographers, please do not save in anyway the images from this document.
Without further ado – I would like to introduce you to your winners. Congratulations to the top 10.
Judge’s comments
This is a perfect example of ICM in my opinion. The movement is not the first thing you notice about the image – the soft blur has been used to create atmosphere and emotional. A perfect balance of blur and detail.
Ania’s comment with her submission
This has been a difficult challenge in terms of interpreting the theme and choosing an image. Any image could qualify as photography literally means painting with light and there is no light without darkness. I went for an image from my recent series ‘Holding Space’ taken in my favourite country park on a March day when I could finally get a sense of the spring in the air; shafts of golden evening light penetrating the canopy of pine trees. Trees are close to my heartfrequently witnessing and validating my experiences, holding the space in a way (hence the title). This is an in-camera double ICM exposure with another ICM exposure added in Photoshop to add a little bit of colour
Winner – Ania RolinskaRunner up – Jaana Kotoneva
Judges comment
This is all about the rich golden light for me. Strongly abstract and vibrant, again, the technique doesn’t speak too loudly. I get a sense of late evening sun streaming through the trees, yet the strong abstraction allows my imagination to wander in many directions.
Judges comment
Margaret StapperAn image with a story – the narrative interests me. Who are the figures? What is their relationship to each other? Again – the soft movement adds to the mystery.
Margaret’s comment with her submission
Single ICM image taken on a wet Canberra evening. People waiting for take-away and others riding home in and out of the light and dark.
4th Place
Sue Woodbridge
5th Place
Tommy Cronholm
The other entries
Reiner Heisel
Barbara Kato McKenzie
Malcolm Brown
Mirriam Manners
Janet Casey
Lola Makowa
Janet Richardson
Lorraine Grey
Camilla Rutayisire Gore
Colin Smith
Marion Woodman
Joy Tracey
Mandy Fraser
Dawn Westwood
Nicky Wearmouth
Valerie Huggins
Moy Calverley
Debbie Christie
Anne Kleff
Annabel Foot
Charlie’s picks
This year I am going to pick a selection of images out of the challenge after the judging is complete – so these images will never be the same as the top 10. I just wanted to have the opportunity to recognise even more of the beautiful images. There is no t a set number each month, so some months you may see more in this section than others, especially if I agree with the judge on all their choices! These images all achieve a bonus 2 points.
Just to say this challenge was insanely difficult to pick my extras as every single one in the challenge hit the brief of ‘bleak or wild’ beautifully. So, these that I have chosen this challenge for me gave me the greatest feeling of wild or bleak.
This month’s images are:
Michelle JacksonI love the way the challenge title has been interpreted here. You certainly get light and dark, and a beautiful ICM movement creating a feeling of movement within the image. The colour is rich and adds to the challenge brief.
I love the way the light plays between the tree trunks in this image, almost like it is on fire within the woodland. Wonderful colour, ICM movement and interpretation of the challenge brief.
I love this for its interpretation of the brief. That patch of light falling on the purple flowers highlights a place within the image to draw they eye, adding contrast and interest.
Federica Morgan
Birgitta Larsson
An ICM technique I’m sure we have all tried (when not driving but as the passenger I hope) I love the lines, light and dark and colour. A very simple but fun and dynamic image.
Maureen Stuart
