Lens–Artists Challenge #319: Setting a Mood

Lens–Artists Challenge #319: Setting a Mood

I wasn't sure if I would be able to make an entry for the Lens-Artists Challenge this week (or next week for that matter), but fortunately I found myself in the nearby town of Oliveira do Bairro on a dull and rainy day and it's the perfect recipe for the Lens-Artists Challenge. This time it was the turn of Ann-Christine (Leya) from To See a World in a Grain of Sand … to host the Challenge, and she chose as her theme, 'Setting a Mood' (https://lagottocattleya.com/2024/10/05/lens-artists-challenge-319-setting-a-mood/). 'Atmospheric is the character, feeling, or mood of a place or situation', she says. 'It might be the mood of the mist, the collusion of clouds, or just a stunning structure. In her post, Ann-Christine presents some lovely examples of mood in photography, flowers, sunsets, and mist covered landscapes, of parties or events like Carnaval, or the mood produced by musicians at a concert or a festival. 

Then Ann-Christine raised another aspect of mood; the feelings generated in the viewer by the intent of the photographer. What might they want to evoke in their photographs, and that got me thinking about my own work and the mood in which I approach my photography and what I'm trying to achieve. 

I really like intentional camera movement, there's no denying it. I've been out many times in the woods near our house with various cameras, playing with the zoom or slow shutter speeds, and it's great fun and always puts me in a good mood. But one thing I've always wanted to try is urban ICM. Taking a camera into town and photographing blurred buildings and ghostly people. My inspiration here is the work of the Croatian photographer, Olga Karlovac, who uses low light and slow shutter speeds to produce some lovely urban abstracts. 

Sometimes (unfairly) described as 'blurry' street photography, Olga Karlovac's work is more than that. She creates a mood within the architecture and people of Zagreb using motion blur and high contrast. There are plenty of examples of her work on her Instagram, not just street photography but portraiture too, and as it was a miserable day; sometimes raining but constantly grey and dull, I thought it would be ideal to try this technique.

I took my trusty Canon Powershot G12 with me, a 10MP CCD sensor camera released by Canon in 2010. Described as a premium compact it is part of the prestigious G-series of Canon digital cameras, compared to the regular consumer A-series. This particular camera was in the 'Not Passed' category on the Kamerastore website and the description was that 'The sensor is failing' and 'it randomly draws horizontal lines and distorts the colors (sic)'. I was really  excited  by that prospect, but so far it's shown none of these glitches and is currently my favourite 'take anywhere' camera. 

To get a good amount of Intentional Camera Movement a shutter speed between 1/15s and 1s is generally recommended. For this one can fit a neutral density filter over the lens, and a 6-stop filter is the ideal. I don't have a 6-stop filter, but I do have a Neewer ND2-400 variable ND filter and that certainly does the trick. With the camera set to program mode and the ISO at the minimum level (80) I'm getting a shutter speed of about 1/4s-1s depending on the subject.

So for an hour or so this morning I managed to have a wander around Oliveira do Bairro with the Canon Powershot G12. Avoiding the rain I found some interesting people and places to wave the camera around at and I hope that you will find these interesting.

Next week Sofia will host the Challenge, and I'm hoping that I can take part, although it might be difficult. Themes for the Lens-Artists Challenge are posted each Saturday at 12:00 noon EST (which is 4pm, GMT) and anyone who wants to take part can post their images during the week. If you want to know more about the Challenge, details can be found here (https://photobyjohnbo.com/about-lens-artists/), and entries can be found on the WordPress reader using the tag 'Lens-Artists'.

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#SettingAMood, #LensArtists, Lens-Artists, #ICM, #IntentionalCameraMovement, #Exposure, #Creative, #Artistic, #Effect, #Motion, #Blur, #Image, #Abstract, #Urban,