ICM Photography in Khao Lak, Thailand

Happy Boxing Day. My family and I are spending this week in Khao Lak, Thailand for a bit of rest and relaxation. Today is a day of remembrance as it is the 9th anniversary of the horrific 2004 tsunami. Khao Lak was one of the hardest hit areas. After a bit of googling this afternoon, I realized the resort next to ours is where the family that was featured in the movie "The Impossible" stayed - Khao Lak Orchid Beach Resort. I can't imagine the scene here 9 years ago. It is a definite reminder to cherish all the days you are given.

On our first night here, I finally read an ebook that I bought a few months ago - Slow by Andrew S. Gibson. The timing of reading this ebook couldn't have been any better. In it, Andrew talks about ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) Photography and gives examples of his ICM work along the beaches of New Zealand. It inspired me to try ICM during our walks along the beach over the past couple days. I feel lucky to have stumbled upon this Ebook as I wouldn't have thought to create these photos otherwise. If you haven't heard of ICM, there are some great examples in this ICM Flickr group.

I've throughly enjoyed using a camera to make abstract art instead of what I usually use it for - portraits and documentary work. I have felt a lot more creative over the past couple days, which has been very exciting and rewarding. Next week we will be in Kuala Lumpur and a few days later, Bangkok, so I am excited to see what ICM photos will come from those places!

The majority of these photos were taken with the Fuji X100s. A couple were taken with the Fuji X Pro-1 with the 18-55mm lens. These were photographed within a half an hour after sunset when light levels were low enough and less contrasty to allow for longer exposures. I used the handy built in 3 stop neutral density filter on the X100s for a few of these longer exposures. I found shooting Aperture Priority mode most efficient. All but the last image were edited in Lightroom using VSCO's Agfa Scala 200 preset. The last image used VSCO's Astia 100 preset.

Please let me know what you think or if you have any tips or advice about ICM photography. Thanks