ICM Challenge - November 2023 - Autumn colour- Charlotte Bellamy Photography

Welcome to the eleventh – and last monthly results publication of the 2023 ICM challenge publications. There will be a year’s roundup and announcement of the winner’s challenge publication to come. 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.

Autumn colour The ‘Autumn colour challenge is now complete. One close to my own heart and my love of getting out in the woods in the autumn inspired this one. A slightly more straight forward one to interpret….I thought! But as always, there are a couple of curve balls who have interpreted autumn colour in their own way, which is just super to see the bravery to step outside of the box and I salute those who did that.

Our judge for the last challenge of the year is the world-renowned Erik Malm. Erik is one very busy man and when I asked him to join the judging in January he said he would love to, but it was not 100% guaranteed, so I am delighted that he was around with some time to spare when I sent through the images from the ‘Autumn colour’ Challenge. Erik’s work intrigues me, and I know I am not the only one to wonder exactly how he manages to create the unique images which he shares. Travelling the world over, he brings a small element of sharpness into every image, but veiling the overall scene in a feeling of mystery or emotion that he wishes to portray about the making of the image. Featuring animals and land structures in his image to create strong focus points his images draw your eye to a specific point before they explore the rest of the image. Thank you so much Erik for judging this challenge for me.

Erik has returned his top ten, and top three with some comments and said "To work with ICM is challenging, but also very funny and there are lot, lot of possibilities as long you have the curiosity and the will to develop the technique. The technique is of course not the goal, but with good technique you have lot more of tools to create the artistic results you can have in mind.

Somewhere we have to start when we start to explore the ICM world. Most common is to

pan vertically, horizontally or just shake and twist the camera. I started here too, be sure!!

From the images I now have watched, I can see the ambitions, which make me happy, but I can also see that most of you are in the beginning of the ICM journey. This is good because then you have so lot to looking forward too.

To choose the images to ”Top 10”, I have just followed the spontaneous impressions the images have made to me. Everything is subjective, so take it for what it is.

The way to be successful in ICM is to never give up! AND to practice a lot, lot, lot…GOOD LUCK everyone!”

I would love you to go and explore Erik’s work and see how inspiring it is. As a thank you for judging this challenge. Go and be inspired!

Web: www.erikmalm.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ErikMalmPhotography Instagram: erik_malm_photography

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.

Winner – Barbara Kato McKenzie Judge’s comment Fastened directly for this image. Very nice feeling and atmosphere created with good technique. Congratulations!

Runner up - Camilla Rutayisire Gore Judges comment I like the more dark atmosphere here, as well as the structure and colors.

3rd place

Scottee Cantrell Judges comment A more abstract image, but with colors and structure that catch my eyes. Nice feeling.

4th Place

Angie Robertson Also this image with a nice atmosphere, where the leaves hidden in the colors give an extra dimension.

5th Place

Margaret Stapper What first catch my eyes is the composition, followed by the atmosphere, structure and colors.

6th Place

Marion Woodman ICM combined with double/multiple exposure in a good way.

7th Place

Birgitta Larsson A ”basic” ICM, but with a nice, soft ICM feeling.

8th Place

Michelle Jackson Also a ”basic” ICM, nice colors and structure, But the ”moving lines”, do they add something extra or are they distracting? A general question to always ask in ICM….

9th Place

Lou Sayers I feel the wind in this image!

10th place

Mary Seddon The idea is good, the feeling also, but maybe to unsharp?

The other entries

Reiner Heisel

Trsih Hanna

Lorraine Grey

Morina Reece

Jaana Kotoneva

Janne Ruud Ostby

Gina Rayment

Christine Griffiths

Joy Tracey

Annabel Foot

Valerie Huggins

Miriam Manners

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 not 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.

Steve Knight I have chosen this image of Steve’s because of the rich colour, the energy and the feeling of being deep in a woodland with the wind blowing the leaves and branches. I feel the composition and ICM movement draws you in through the image.

Anne Kleff This is a very delicate ICM and one that looks like a pastel piece of art. I love the shallow depth of field that has completely blurred the background, and the ICM movement which has accentuated the shapes of the leaves.

Federica Morgan The colours in this image, and most importantly the contrast between the water and the leaves struck me most about this image. The ICM adds a feeling of movement, but I love the boldness of the image.

Malcolm Brown I love Malcolm’s image for the rich colours and quite abstract nature that it portrays. The ICM movement has created areas rather than objects of colour. We all know what they are, but when you look closer there is no real structure, almost just brush strokes of a painter.