Evolving PeonyEvolving Peony

Evolving Peony

The Flourishing Flowers Gallery came about when I was taking the sequel class to Flower Portraits taught by Kathleen Clemons. I had been studying and experimenting with Intentional camera movement a few months previous to Kathleen's class.

There is beauty in seeing the character of a flower and bringing out that uniqueness in a portrait. There is for me an excitement in taking that further by expressing how I feel and interact with what is in front of me through intentional camera movement. It is pulling the colors and light across the sensor, in other words painting with the camera movements. Flowers have a vibrancy and life of their own which I can see and connect to. The ICM shows that vibrancy by the very movements it captures and creates. 

Flourishing OrchidFlourishing Orchid

Flourishing Orchid
 

I was in love with studying flowers especially their brief existence and the changes which occur. Flowers are a metaphor of the human life. I read somewhere that someone was told to photograph an individual flower for 30 days. Imagine planting a seed and nourishing its' growth. The bloom and then the wilting that occurs with the loss of petals. Wabisabi photography follows flourishing flowers or as I titled this blog Flourishing and Fading Flowers. Wabisabi is a Japanese concept which accepts the transience and imperfection found in nature. This beauty is found in the old, imperfect and everyday. Everything is in a state of transition from something to nothing. I ask myself is there actually nothing?

Still a RoseStill a Rose

Still a Rose

Still a RoseStill a Rose

Fading Roses

Still a RoseStill a Rose

Dissipating Roses

Even the prettiest flower will die one day. Its nature's way of teaching us that nothing lasts forever.-unknown

Flowers whisper "Beauty" to the world, even as they fade, wilt, fall.-Dr. Sunwolf

"A flower's appeal is in its contradictions-so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small is size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long on effect"-Terri Guillemets

To view the gallery please click here Flourishing Flowers Gallery. Please feel free to comment and ask any questions.

Strands of Swimming HuesStrands of Swimming Hues

My fine art background is that of art education and photography as my main medium. I’ve been a fine art photographer since the early 70’s and in all that time never practiced or was aware of impressionistic photography or as commonly called ICM or intentional camera movement. There are filters in photoshop which when applied to an image will have it look like a painting as well as a host of plug-ins and software programs which do the same.

Intentional Camera Movement uses just the camera and your delibrate movement of it in specific directions to control how and where the light falls across the sensor. I was a late comer to Instagram and came upon a beautiful image there created by an Australian photographer, Janet Togs which was created using ICM. That was in March of 2020. My exploration started with the iphone and an app called slow shutter. I loved the effect which by the way didn’t happen with every shot. I found it took many shots to get maybe one I liked. I would study the image, then change the direction I moved the iphone if I wanted something different. I was also able to control the length of time for the shutter and blur effect. Not too long after I took out my camera and continued to take pictures using this technique. The control was my movements and of course my exposure which I manually controled through the ISO, F stop and Shutter. I found the brighter the sun the harder to get a longer exposure with a longer shutter so I invested in a neutral density filter which cuts down the light therefore increasing exposure time. Neutral density filters are commonly used to get the soft effect when shooting moving water or shooting clouds on a windy day.

I read everything I could on the technique and watched tons of YouTube videos. Two of the basic moves to start with is for example when photographing trees, move the camera up and down. Experiment with slow movements and quick movements. Landscapes is a right and left movement. Of course there are combining different movements and following the curve of what you are shooting. Mainly HAVE FUN!!! You don’t need a tripod nor cloudy diffused light. You can shoot in any condition and anywhere. You can use any lens too. My favorite is my macro lens. As a trained traditional photographer I found this so freeing. I also found that I was able to control my movements and exposure more to create what I was feeling in the image. 

For me at this time in my life I am drawn to the unpredictability of ICM, much as life can be. At the same time we can learn how to control it and achieve what we want to a certain extent. I also love that there is more in life and in reality then our eyes can see. The flow and movement created with ICM reflects that. It echos a vibration and movement that we can barely detect.

I hope this blog has inspired you to try something new and to have fun with photography! Check out on Facebook ICMPhotoMag which is a large supportive community on ICM and the ICM magazine which is a wonderful publication featuring many diversified ICM artists and articles. I leave you with the thought to Create an image instead of taking one.

The same applies to pilers, wrenches, tape measures and the list goes on. We choose the right tool for a specific job and one that we can control and feel comfortable using. 

The tools that photographers use are cameras.  The right tool can make a difference in getting the job done, but what is almost as important or more so is the person holding the tool.

Years ago I used two nikon film cameras, a host of prime lens, tripod and photoflood lights with reflectors and stands. I carried all of that (except the lights unless I needed them) with me. Fast forward to someone no longer a teenager nor in their twenties and the gear has changed. 

I have the necessary TTL flash, stands, backgrounds, reflectors tripods and cameras. My lens are no longer prime as technology has improved and some of the fast (wide aperture such as 1.4 or 2.8) zoom lens are great.

What do I typically carry? A micro 4/3 camera with about four fast zoom lens and a macro lens. I might only take two lens with me and a tripod. In addition I have a smaller point and shoot as a back up camera. The important attribute of a camera for me is a screen which tilts so I don’t have to be on the ground for the low angle shots and a view finder. No way can I see what is on the LCD screen in bright sunlight. I might also have a flash and bounce card.

In undergraduate school we had to get a Diana camera and shoot with that. That is the plastic film camera. Instead of getting hung up on a manual camera we were taught how to see. I saw a stunning exhibit in New Zealand in the 70’s in a gallery all shot with a Diana camera. 

So putting all the gear aside it is the person behind the camera. Whatever you shoot with learn to see and have fun!

copyright_Terri_Pakula

My Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I don't have to tell you how devastating it is and how a person mourns at each stage the patient reaches. For the first two years of his illness my parents still kept their home which was five minutes from me and continued to go to Florida for seven months out of the year. The decision was finally made to sell their house in New York and be in Florida full time. So now I was faced with traveling down there at least three times a year if not more around my full time job. I took my nikon D70 which was converted to infrared and took pictures every time I was in Florida. For some reason when I looked at the images I had a visceral reaction and wrote down words to the images. I was connected on an emotional level and for me the pictures represented the turmoil I was going through and perhaps that of my Dad's now confused world. By themselves the images stand alone as mostly false color images of Florida; however with the visual poetry they are powerful pieces which depicted my journey and maybe some of his.

Part of life is not having control and learning how to respond (not react) to the unpredictable and challenges we face. Certainly Alzheimer's was totally out of anyone's control. Our only control at the time was to prepare for what we thought was to come and to make arrangements for his care. I like to compare it to hearing that a hurricane is coming so you might stock up on food, evacuate or make sure everything is secure. That is all you can do. I think of Alzheimer's as a train which you are trapped on. In the beginning it takes you to different places and stops once in awhile. Soon after, it becomes a runaway train in which there is no slowing down or stopping it.

The idea came to me to self publish a book of the images and poetry. To exhibit the images and sell the book with the sole purpose of raising money and awareness.You can preview the book at

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/793781

Whether you are challenged with an illness, transition in your life such as divorce, empty nest, being a caretaker for someone who is ill or grieving the loss of a loved one; finding a medium to express your feelings and thoughts can help you go through the process. You don't have to have a "challenge" in life to do this, rather you can use photography (or any medium) to connect to life.

A popular exercise many people do is A Photo A Day or as is commonly known on the internet PAD.

A man who had a terminal illness took a Polariod a day and wrote on them. They were then posted on the internet so people could follow it. So a published book doesn't have to be a goal. Images can be posted on a website. Whether you use your struggle to help others in their's or just use it to help your own journey without sharing it, the process can be very powerful and transforming.

Feel free to share your comments and experiences in using photography as a therapeutic tool.