FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

in Lightroom and then blended and reduced the opacity of each layer in Photoshop. Whilst I was inspired by the more painterly results, I was still spending far too much time staring into my monitor.

I began to research and try out incamera techniques. I experimented with both Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) and Multiple Exposures (MEs). My results were still not inspiring me. Finally, I attended a course run by Valda Bailey and doug Chinnery. With their help, I began to see an experimental route I could embark upon. I have now practically given up all other methods of photography to concentrate and practise these techniques.

ICM and MEs require endless patience and a necessity to re-frame each failure as a learning point. There is no set process to either technique. ICM requires the camera to be moved around in different ways – what works one day will not necessarily be successful the next.

MEs can be even more frustrating as they require the photographer to sit in one place, with one subject, for a long time. In-camera blend modes and various white balance settings need to be manipulated for each exposure until a final image emerges. Whilst I can sometimes make an image that only requires basic RAW processing, like ‘Framed’ or ‘Sunlit Reeds’, I will also blend ICM or ME images together in Photoshop without cutting or pasting. Much of my work is inspired by the nature around me, or by colours, shapes, and textures. Wicken Fen, in Cambridgeshire, is a favourite haunt of mine. I have spent many hours waving my camera around trying to capture the ‘essence’ of the reeds and other foliage beside the waterway.

Captivated by the sensuous curves, the gritty textures and fabulous colours of Henry Moore’s sculptures, and with the permission of the Foundation in Hertfordshire, a friend and I began an absorbing project to re-imagine the sculptures. Each one of the collection, entitled ‘Colours, Curves and Textures’, began as in-camera MEs, or as ICMs, or both. Some have been combined in www.lynneblount.com

Photoshop, others are RAW processed only. They are reproduced here, with the kind permission of the Henry Moore Foundation.

There is an element of serendipity in these techniques that I really enjoy. I am constantly experimenting with the settings and exploring a large range of subject matter, from fast flowing rivers to tree bark. I spend less time using postprocessing software and more time out and about with my camera. I am limited now only by my imagination.