Stephanie Johnson: Discovering Creative Freedom and Connecting to the Landscape Through ICM
In this episode of the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast, Angela Nicholson sits down with Stephanie Johnson, a self-taught photographic artist celebrated for her mastery of Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) and multiple exposure techniques. Stephanie shares her inspiring journey from picking up her first film SLR camera in Okinawa, Japan, to becoming a leading voice in the ICM community, publishing the ICM Photography Magazine and conducting immersive workshops across the UK and US.
Stephanie’s story is one of resilience and transformation. After her 24-year marriage ended in 2015, she rekindled her passion for photography on a 50th birthday trip to Ireland. Captivated by its breathtaking landscapes, she began exploring new ways to express her creativity. After she returned home, this trip led her to discover ICM, a technique that beautifully aligns with her artistic vision and deep connection to nature.
Listen to another episode of the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast
Throughout the episode, Stephanie delves into the intuitive process of ICM, emphasising the importance of experimentation and embracing imperfections. “Start moving the camera and see what happens,” she advises. Her mantra of “do the work” highlights the transformative power of consistent practice, whether you’re shooting grand Irish vistas or the subtle charm of Iowa’s local landscapes.
Stephanie also reflects on the profound impact of ICM on her life. For her, it’s more than a photographic technique; it’s a meditative process that fosters emotional balance and creativity. She discusses the joy of pushing boundaries, from layering ICM images in Photoshop to experimenting with Lensbaby lenses and cyanotypes. Stephanie’s work is a testament to the magic that happens when you embrace the unpredictable and let your creativity flow freely.
In addition to her artistry, Stephanie is a dedicated teacher and community builder. She founded the ICM Photography Magazine in 2020, a digital publication celebrating the diverse talents within the ICM community. With an open submission process, Stephanie welcomes contributions from photographers worldwide, fostering an inclusive and inspiring space for creative growth.
Stephanie’s workshops, offered both online and in-person, are another extension of her commitment to sharing knowledge. Whether teaching at Santa Fe Workshops or collaborating with fellow photographers like Bill Ward, she encourages participants to find their unique voice through ICM and to see beauty in every scene and condition.
For those looking to try ICM, Stephanie’s top tip is simple: don’t overthink it. Explore, play, and allow the process to guide you. Whether it’s the motion of your camera, the dance of light, or the texture of the landscape, there’s always something new to discover.
Listen to Stephanie’s heartfelt insights and practical advice for embracing creativity, both in photography and in life. This episode is a great listen for anyone curious about ICM or seeking inspiration to push their creative boundaries.
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ICM Photography Magazine
Episode Transcript
Stephanie Johnson
Whatever the conditions are, whatever the scene is in front of you, find a way to work with it. Rather than feel like you have to wait for perfect light, or you have to wait for perfect conditions, or you need certain gear, or anything like that, just go out and and try and see what happens. And you know, you may not get anything that you really like, and that's okay.
Angela Nicholson
Welcome to the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast. I'm Angela Nicholson, and I'm the founder of SheClicks, which is a community for female photographers. In these podcasts, I talk with women in the photographic industry to hear about their experiences, what drives them and how they got to where they are now.
This episode is with Stephanie Johnson, a self taught photographic artist specializing in intentional camera movement, ICM, and multiple exposure techniques. Stephanie is the founder and publisher of ICM Photography magazine, and leads immersive workshops in the UK and US.
Hi, Stephanie, thank you so much for joining me today on the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast.
Stephanie Johnson
Well, thank you so much for having me Ange. I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about my journey and my story with the SheClicks network community.
Angela Nicholson
Thank you. That's great. Now I know that your photographic journey started when you bought yourself a film, SLR, about 30 years ago. But what was it that made you to decide to buy that camera?
Stephanie Johnson
I don't know that I've ever even actually thought about the reason for that. I just I've always had an inner need to be creative, and so I've always sought different ways to be creative over over the years, whether I've ever been able to actually dedicate a lot of, you know, time to really honing in on anything, until recently, I you know, I didn't necessarily have that opportunity. So I did try a lot of different things. I did, sewing, quilting. You know, I love to do desktop publishing, and my job, so I was creating a lot of brochures and pamphlets and things like that. And so I've just always had a really strong desire to be creative. And I think that was probably the impetus for buying a camera to get out into the landscape where I was, which was actually in Okinawa, Japan at the time when I bought my first camera and to photograph the landscapes in that location.
Angela Nicholson
Fantastic. Now, like many of us, I think you, you had sort of a sometimes you're really into photography, other times it took was on the bit of a back burner, but in 2015 what made you reconnect with photography and start giving it more of your attention?
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah, for sure, it was something that I have always had a real interest in doing ever since that film, SLR camera in the 90s, I did buy a digital camera in 2004 and I started doing, like, some sports photography with my daughter in school and just things like that. So I was always trying to do photography in various different ways, but I just wasn't in a supportive marriage that enabled me to be able to pursue that. And in 2015 my spouse decided he didn't want to be married anymore, so we got divorced, and that was the kind of the the opportunity for me to get back to what I wanted to do, and to really do a real deep dive into my own inner creative self, to see what it is that I I wanted to do with my, you know, with my life and with my creativity, my creative pursuits. And so I traveled to Ireland in 2015 as kind of a birthday present for myself. I was turning 50 that year, and after 24 years of marriage ending, I traveled to Ireland, and I took my camera, and I just fell in love with the landscapes in Ireland, and so I started traveling pretty frequently to Ireland over the next couple of years, just to go shoot the landscapes there, because I loved being immersed in that environment. So that was really kind of the thing that got me back into photography.
Angela Nicholson
It's interesting, isn't it, sometimes a thing as horrible as divorce and everything being thrown up into the air does make you really consider what the most important things to you are, and perhaps take it life in a new direction.
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah, actually, you know, as horrible as it was, like you mentioned, because it was very unexpected, it wasn't something that I could see coming, so it was really a blind side for me. And. And after, you know, the initial shock of it, and just going through the whole process, once I was able to really get back to the core of who I am. And after reading some books, you know, some self help books, one book in particular that I read at that time was called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, which is based on Toltec wisdom. And in that book, he said something that just had a really profound effect on me. And he said that if somebody leaves you because they don't want to be with you, consider it a gift.
Angela Nicholson
Okay.
Stephanie Johnson
And I just thought to myself, you know, what? That is a gift. It is a gift. He has given me a gift. And so I have just looked at it from that perspective ever since that he gave me the gift of myself back of giving me myself back, since then, after 24 years of marriage, you know, you acquiesce. Women acquiesce to a lot of things. And they become people in a lot of cases, you know, maybe not all cases, but I would say in a lot of marriages, women become what the man wants the woman to be. And so they give away the a part of themselves, they give away certain aspects of themselves to that relationship. And certainly that is something that happened in my own relationship. And so I did realize after the divorce that I had not really been the person I'm meant to be for a very long time, and so I've just spent the last nine years trying to get back to who that person is meant to be. And I'm very happy with the journey and who I who I am at this point. So yeah, definitely it was a gift.
Angela Nicholson
Great. Did it take you long to get to that really realization, or was it the moment you read that line in that book that really made you think, okay, I understand.
Stephanie Johnson
Well, I think that helped reading that in the in the book. It did help. But, yeah, it you can't just, you can't shift your mindset overnight. You know, you can't shift all of those things immediately. And so it has been a process. But I think you know, by just tapping in and going deeper into my inner self, there are just truths that I know inherently within my inner self, and so I think just being able to tap back into those and allow those to come through has has really helped. And of course, it's been a journey, but, and you know, I wouldn't say that I'm there yet, because I don't think we ever get there. It's not really a destination. It's It is a journey.
Angela Nicholson
How did you discover intentional camera movement, or ICM, as we tend to call it?
Stephanie Johnson
Well, interestingly, it was because of those trips that I was taking to Ireland. I was going to Ireland to shoot the traditional, magnificent, grand scenic landscapes there. And I live in Iowa, and I would come back to Iowa, and I'd always just have a really hard time getting out with my camera in Iowa, because I just didn't feel like there was enough grandeur in the landscape, you know, to get out with my camera. And so I actually had made a lot of friends with Irish photographers, and a couple of them that I knew at that time in 2017 were posting some ICM. So that was kind of the first time I'd ever seen ICM. And I thought, Oh, this looks really interesting. So I just decided to get out into the Iowa landscape and try playing with that technique to see what I could do with it. And at that time, I also read a book by David duChemin, a Canadian photographer called a beautiful anarchy. And I talk about this a lot in my camera club, talks and things like that. And he says in that book repeatedly, he just drives it home that you can't wait for inspiration to hit. You have to get out and do the work. And so do the work has kind of become my mantra over the years. And I certainly did get out and do a prolific amount of work with ICM in the Iowa landscape over the years. And so, you know, that's really how I've been able to develop my style and my technique, by getting out to do the work on a very regular and dedicated basis. So, you know, it was really because of my love of the Irish. Landscape that propelled me on this direction to play with ICM. But I also grew up in an artistic home, and I, you know, my stepfather was a painter. I've studied literature, I played musical instruments, and so I've always had a very strong influence in art with art in my lifetime. So it was, it wasn't really an unnatural thing for me to gravitate towards this more abstract type of photography. It seemed really intuitive and natural for me.
Angela Nicholson
And why is it so significant to you that you do it so much now?
Stephanie Johnson
It just became really clear to me early on that this was how I see the world. This is how I feel in the world. It, it, it revealed to me the interconnectedness of all things. You know, it just, it made me feel like, this is what I'm meant to do. This is what I've I feel comfortable doing. It makes me happy. I feel joy when I go out with my camera into the landscape and just get into this creative flow of moving and sort of dancing, you know, with my camera. And so I try, even now sometimes, to take sharp images, and I just don't even like them. I love looking at sharp images by other photographers, but when I do it myself, it just doesn't even feel right. So it just, I think was an intuitive process that just unfolded naturally and organically for me.
Angela Nicholson
Does it make you as happy to photograph in Iowa now as it did in Ireland? Or would you go back to Ireland if you could?
Stephanie Johnson
Well, I have been back to Ireland. Actually. I went last year, 2023 in the summer, and I did go and only do ICM while I was there, so yeah, even when I travel now, I do go with the full intention that I'm going to create using this technique, because this is who I am. But yes, I absolutely was able to make much more meaningful and deeper connections with the Iowa landscape. Because, you know, I'm going to many of the same places over and over and over and over again. And from, you know, 2017 until now, I've shot over 250,000 frames of ICM, and probably 80% of those are within 30 to 50 miles radius of where I live. So yes, I do feel that ICM helped me connect more locally to my local landscape. And I do love it. I do love going out and just being immersed, whether it's, you know, 90 degrees and 100% humidity during the summer, Fahrenheit, of course, or whether it's, you know, a foot of snow on the ground in the winter time and sub freezing temperatures, I go out in all conditions, and I just go out and play and have fun.
Angela Nicholson
That's fantastic. I think it's absolutely brilliant that photography and a specific genre of photography, can bring you so much joy and contentment in life.
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah, absolutely. There's a bit of therapy, I think, involved in it as well. So, you know, it happened in the midst of going through a divorce, not the ICM, but just getting back to the photography and the creative aspect of that, but, yeah, absolutely, it does help me stay emotionally stable.
Angela Nicholson
I think for me, one of the pleasures of techniques like intentional camera movement is that there's generally something that's a little bit out of your control, or even if it is in your control, actually, the speed at which you move the camera, it's hard to be very precise with that. Well, I find it quite hard anyway. And so each image, even if it's the same scene take within a few seconds of each other, looks different, and that makes me want to take more and more pictures, because you sort there, oh, if I just do this, or if that happens, and before you know it, you know, the afternoon's gone, which is a really lovely thing.
Stephanie Johnson
Exactly, yeah. And that's why, when I go out with my camera, I can shoot anywhere from 300, 500, 800 exposures in any given outing, because of that exact thing that you just said, you know, every every frame is going to be different. It's not no two frames are going to be exactly alike. And you'll be doing something, and then you'll see something happen on the back of the camera that you're just like, wow. Let me see if I can do that again. And then you try it about 100 more times, and you can't, but. You might do something that pushes it even further than that, to create something really magical. So it's a very magical process. I feel, yeah, and I like to say a lot that ICM has the ability to surprise and delight us. And I do honestly feel that all the time when I go out with my camera.
Angela Nicholson
Okay, do you have a point where you think, right, I have created the image I really wanted to create today, or an image I'm very happy with, and therefore you finish? Or do you keep shooting until your stomach is rumbling or it's got dark?
Stephanie Johnson
Oh, I always keep going. And I don't go out with any pre visualized ideas, or with any kind of expectation of creating anything in particular. I really work very intuitively, and so if I feel the need to be creative, I just go out and I start moving the camera and see what happens wherever I'm at. You know, I pick a location. I might say, oh, today I want to go to this place, and I'll go to that location, and I just start moving the camera to see what happens. And then I make adjustments from there. But I never stop, you know, I never stop when I see, oh, that's it. I love that, you know, I keep going. I will stay out until my hands become so frozen I can't move them anymore, you know. Or I'm drenched in sweat, or it becomes too dark to see my hand in front of my face, you know. I just keep at it. I don't I don't stop.
Angela Nicholson
Do you think you can create successful ICM images, whatever you feel successful is of any subjects. Or have you discovered anything you think? No, that doesn't work.
Stephanie Johnson
No, I think it's possible, and I do to create with any subject. I think it is absolutely possible to do successful artistic, you know, creative work with ICM of any subject, and so I do like to talk about that in the classes that I teach and the camera club talks that I give, I do encourage people to just find a way to work with whatever's in front of you, because you Absolutely can create something from any situation or any scene and so and that's another reason why I don't necessarily feel like I like to pre visualize, and I don't, I like to encourage people to be open to just going out, start moving the camera, see what happens, and then go From there without any expectations, because sometimes, when we have this idea of a thing, we think we want to create, and we go out with our camera, and that's not happening, you become tense and frustrated. You bring up a lot of resistance within your body and in your mindset, and then you might walk away frustrated without ever creating something that you do like, because you've stopped too soon, you know. And sometimes it really is the case that you don't even know what it is you can create until you start to see it happening on the camera, and that will lead you in different directions. Oh, I did this, and this happened. So what if I do a little something different? What will that do? You know, so it's, it's kind of a leading process, I think, as well, if you can approach it from that perspective of letting it, allowing it lead you into and through the creative process. I think it's absolutely possible to create with any subject.
Angela Nicholson
And whilst ICM is possible with any form of camera that can allow sufficiently long exposure, it's much easier, or more satisfactory with a digital camera than it is with film. I guess if you get a great image on film with ICM, then that must be extremely satisfying, but it's so much harder to know what you've done. And when you take a shot and you look on the back of the camera and you can say, Oh, I'm getting there, and I, you know, do something else, and you progress.
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah, I've never done ICM with a film camera, so I can only imagine what the frustration would be in trying to do it. Because, like, you know, we just talked about going out and shooting hundreds and and, you know, dozens and hundreds of exposures. Well, obviously, if you're using a film camera, you've you're limited to a role of what 36 exposures, and you don't know what you've gotten until you get that film developed. And half of it, or all of it, might not be worth anything, you know, but I never like to say that anything is a failure or that it's not worth it, because I truly believe that all of it is part of the creative process. It all helps you learn. It all helps you grow. It All. Helps move you forward down the creative path. And so, you know, people do often say things like, what's your success to failure rate? And I don't really look at it from that perspective, because for me, it's all a success because it all helped move me forward. It all was part of the creative process. And without all of those images, without all of those attempts to create, you know, I probably wouldn't be where I am today with my technique and my style and so I just really think it's all part of the process.
Angela Nicholson
Yeah, I think that's a very healthy outlook. Do you have a preferred time of day for photography?
Stephanie Johnson
I go out all times of the day, and I even do I see him with the moon at night time. So, you know, I always like to encourage people also to just go out when you feel like you need or want to be creative, go out, and sometimes, most of the time, I would say, for me, that comes at two or three o'clock in the afternoon on a very bright, sunny day, and I just go out and find a way to work in that in those conditions. The first three or four years I did ICM, I didn't even use any ND filters. I only relied on the fact that I could go up to the F/32 on my 70-to-200 millimeter lens, and I just found a way to work in whatever scene or situation I happen to be in. So that's what I like to encourage people, is to just find a way to work whatever the conditions are, whatever the scene is in front of you, find a way to work with it. Rather than feel like you have to wait for perfect light, or you have to wait for perfect conditions, or you need certain gear, or anything like that, just go out and and try and see what happens. And you know you may not get anything that you really like, and that's okay. It's okay to go out and not get anything that you like. That happens with me even still, you know. So I just don't put pressure on myself to create my masterpiece every single time I go out. And I think that's just a really important thing, you know, for people to look at it more as part of the creative process. Go out, have fun, play, experiment, explore, and you've already won. If you've if you've done that, you have already won, and you've already created something beautiful, whether the results show in the physical images or not. You know, go out tomorrow and try again.
Angela Nicholson
Do you do much post capture processing of your images?
Stephanie Johnson
Uh, you know, I don't do a lot. And especially when I was doing my single exposures, I would take them into Lightroom, because I do shoot in raw so I take them into Lightroom and I'm just making adjustments to, you know, exposure highlights, contrast, things like that. The most amount of time I spend in post processing generally happens in the spot removal process, because I am generally shooting at, you know, 200 millimeters, and sometimes a lot of times at F/32 and all of those spots are magnified. So I do spend a lot of time doing Spot Removal, but as I've started doing more multiple exposure ICMs, I do find that I I spend a little bit more time because I'm working with radio gradients, sometimes in Lightroom, to add texture and clarity maybe to certain aspects of the images. Those are things I didn't ever really do when I was only shooting single exposures, but with my multiple exposures, I do spend a little bit more time in the processing not to change anything materially or to alter anything, because I really do have a passion for trying to create everything in camera as much as possible. But something I've started doing this year is taking all some of the camera work that I do into Photoshop and playing with it there to layer images on top of each other and flip and rotate and use brushes and things like that. So I'm starting to push some of the creative post processing quite a bit more than I ever have before. But as far as trying to get something in in camera, that's still where I find a lot of the joy is getting it right in the camera and doing that work in the moment, in the field, in the camera, is really important to me.
Angela Nicholson
Do you enjoy the post-capture processing?
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah. Ah, it depends. When I'm just doing my basic edits, it can be a little tedious, you know, but when you're playing to push it creatively, that can be exciting, because you're seeing things happening that you couldn't even imagine by duplicating the layers and flipping them and rotating them and using different blending modes, so that can be quite fun and exciting. Yeah.
Angela Nicholson
Yeah. I don't suppose anyone would claim that they enjoy cloning out dust marks or anything like that. But like you say, the more creative side is fun as well, especially, you know, on a cold winter's evening.
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah, yeah.
Angela Nicholson
So what led you to leading workshops and offering tuition?
Stephanie Johnson
Well, I started the ICM photography magazine in 2020 and I had always had this, even for probably a couple of years before the magazine. Before I started the magazine, I had had an idea to build a larger community around ICM photography. So the magazine in 2020, became the way for me to really do that, and so I built a Facebook group that it comes out of the magazine. You know, it's a an extension of the magazine, and it has grown to about 26,000 members since 2020 and I had known Kaiser Saran, I don't know if you know kaisa Saran from Finland. I had known her for a few years already, and I became familiar with Morag Patterson, which I think you probably do know Morag, and we started talking amongst ourselves about offering online workshops, the three of us to offer a workshop to teach people how to use ICM to build a project, a body of work for a project. So we started offering the New Beginnings workshops in early 2021 and out of that came the ICM photo mag network community, which is a private membership community. And so it was. It was in that process I had started thinking about doing other kinds of workshops, and actually there was a lady in one of our new beginnings workshops. Her name is Shelly Vandegrift, and she lives in Santa Fe she works for Santa Fe workshops, and she was in our in our new beginnings workshop, and she was talking about working for Santa Fe workshops. And I have known about Santa Fe workshops for a long time and but I'd never really thought about what could I teach for them? And so I started looking at their website more in depth. And then I reached out to Shelly, and I said, you know, what do you think about this? And she said, Yeah, go for it. You know, send, send the the director an email, and I'll also send an email to him to introduce him to you, so he knows you know who you are. And so I did that, and I actually was just starting to do the multiple exposure ICMS at that particular time in 2022 and when I reached out to him, I had no intention of teaching a multiple exposure ICM class, but that's what he wanted from me. And I was like, Well, I can't hardly say no, no, you know. So it was kind of, that was kind of it, you know, those were some of the first workshops I did outside of the ones that I was doing with Kaiser and Morag. And that led to them inviting me to teach in person workshops with Santa Fe workshops. And then over the that those you know, couple of years. I also had been talking with the owner of out of Chicago, and he invited me to do some teaching for out of Chicago. And then Bill Ward, you know, Bill Ward, I'm sure, yeah, he's been a part of the magazine ever since the beginning, really. And he and I decided to put some workshops together. So, you know, it all just kind of happened organically, you know, just see whatever seemed like the next logical step. Yeah, so that's kind of how I like to live my life is just whatever the next logical step is I try to just take it.
Angela Nicholson
Yeah, sounds good. Now, ICM photography magazine, that's a digital magazine, isn't it?
Stephanie Johnson
It is, yes, it's not. It's not a print magazine. It's almost 300 pages every single issue. So to print that and on the kind. You know, quality paper that I would expect for it, and the binding, quality binding, and all of that, it would cost over $100 you know, yeah, to sell. And who's going to spend that for a magazine? There's also no advertising in the magazine. I probably could go out and look for sponsors or have paid advertising, but it's always been really important to me not to have that, to have it just be a celebration of the creative work and not filled with a bunch of advertising and sponsored pages and things like that. So, you know, it is 300 pages of content without advertising. And it's so I think it's a good value for the for the price, but I couldn't print it and make make it worthwhile to do that?
Angela Nicholson
No, that would be very difficult, I think. And How frequently does it come out?
Stephanie Johnson
Well, right now it's coming out every quarter. It started in June. So the issues were June, September, December and March, in June of this next year, which will be the fifth anniversary, I am going to change the publication dates and only issue it three times a year. So because right now I'm I'm essentially giving away one issue for free with all subscriptions, I'm offering it for you know, force four issues for the price of three. And I still have people who started subscribing at the very beginning, who are essentially getting two issues for free every year, right? So I and my daughter is the only other person that helps me with this, so it's just the two of us working on this, and she does work a regular job too. So just to kind of ease some of the burden, yeah, especially since I've become more busy with workshops and things like that. Issuing it three times a year feels like a good move.
Angela Nicholson
Yeah. I mean, I've worked on magazines both monthly and weekly, and it's a heck of a lot of work, so I completely understand that.
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah, when I first started it, I had the idea to do it monthly, and I am so glad I didn't, because there's no way I could have kept it up.
Angela Nicholson
No, that would have been a lot of work. Gosh, yeah, that's incredible. Oh, well, congratulations on turning five years old next year.
Stephanie Johnson
Oh, thank you.
Angela Nicholson
So I think it's a really good time to go to Six from SheClicks. I've got 10 questions from SheClickers, and I would like you to answer six questions please by picking numbers from one to 10. So if you could give me your first number please,
Stephanie Johnson
Okay, I will pick number eight.
Angela Nicholson
Number eight, right. Well, this jumps in straight at the heart of everything, because several people ask this, what are your top tips for ICM photography? Now, I know you lead workshops on this, so we're going to have to condense it down quite a bit well.
Stephanie Johnson
You know, I think the top tip, the very top tip I could ever give anybody is just to start moving the camera and see what happens, because there's no right or wrong way to do ICM, and you don't know what's possible until you start moving the camera, and you can think about it, you can internalize it, you can analyze settings and all of those things, but you don't know if it's gonna work for you until you just start moving the camera. And so, you know, I do give all of my settings when I talk about ICN when I give presentations and when I teach, but you know, every situation is going to be different, and you can't base your starting point on the same exact settings that I might use, because your situation might dictate something different. And so the only way to ever really get to grips with all of that is just to start playing. You know, when I first started doing ICM, I started out at about 1/13th of a second. I don't really worry too much about what the aperture is. I just know that I want to control the shutter speed. And so at 1/13 of a second, I was moving the camera really, really fast. And even on workshops, in person workshops, I sometimes have people come over to me and say, I can't get this to do what I want to do. I want it to look like this thing that you did. And so I will demonstrate. Okay, I'm moving the camera like this, do this, and then they move the camera half of that. We're not a fraction of that. And so it's like sometimes, if you want to achieve a very flowing state or very smooth lines, you're going to need to move the camera really, really quickly, depending on your shutter speed, you know. So. So it's just practice, practice, practice, practice, play, play, play. I think that's probably the most important thing that you could ever tell someone about ICM, because there's no formulaic approach to it, you know. And every person has to figure out what works best for them as an individual. So I and I know that's not the answer that most people want to have, but it honestly is. You know, there were no tutorials in 2017 I mean, I seems been around a long time. It's not like it was new in 2017 but I had found it only in 2017 and at that time, there weren't YouTube videos on it. There weren't a lot of resources. So what did I do? I just got out there and started moving and doing any in everything I could possibly think of, and that's how I taught myself. So I think that's there's a you have to do in order to learn. Doing is the best way to learn, in my opinion.
Angela Nicholson
Definitely. So basically, if you're not getting enough blur, have a longer exposure time or move the camera faster. And if there's too much, do the opposite.
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah, exactly.
Angela Nicholson
Okay, right. Could I have your second number, please?
Stephanie Johnson
Five.
Angela Nicholson
Number five, if in the future, you could only own one camera and one lens for your ICM photography, what would you choose? That question is from Tanya.
Stephanie Johnson
I would say that my personal preference for the work that I do is my Canon 5D Mark IV or Mark III. They're both essentially the same thing. And a 70 to 200 millimeter lens, I do. I would say the bulk of my work is with that camera and that lens, 70 to 200 millimeter lens, you know, I'm starting to play around like with the lens baby and macro lenses and things like that. But I would say, you know, over the course of time, the bulk of my work has been done with my Canon 5d, mark four, three and four and the 70 to 200 millimeter lens. I do some mobile ICMS, but I still prefer what I create with my DSLR. I haven't used a mirrorless, and I know that a lot of people are into mirrorless, but I just really am comfortable with how I work, how I'm able to work with my DSLR, and how it responds for me. And I have, you know, on workshops, I have tried to help people who have mirrorless and it seems to respond differently than the DSLR, and that would be something that would take some time to get used to for me, I think, which I could do, you know, if I dedicated time to do it. But I just, I, I've shot with the 5d mark three for a very long time, and it started to get up there on the actuation count. It's still going strong. But because I didn't want to go to mirrorless, I bought a 5d mark four just to make sure I have that longevity in time to be able to continue working with the DSLR, but that's that would be my preference.
Angela Nicholson
Okay, could I have your third number, please?
Stephanie Johnson
One.
Angela Nicholson
Do you find that your mood influences your ICM images, thinking about maybe colour, tone, speed and direction of the camera movement for example? That question is from Marie-Ange,
Stephanie Johnson
You know, I am a pretty upbeat person, so I don't tend to be moody. I guess I wouldn't say, although I have been in a bit of an existential bunk this year, I think,
Angela Nicholson
Okay.
Stephanie Johnson
a little bit. But I mean, certainly when I go out with my camera, I think it, it does always lift my mood. But I wouldn't say that it affects necessarily what and how I create, because I feel pretty consistent in just when I go out to create, I go out and create in the same way. And I'm not going out to try to get certain colors or trying to get certain effects or trying to get certain moods. I just go out to create and let it all unfold kind of naturally. But that's not to say that, you know allowing your mood to influence your creative process isn't a valid thing, because it could certainly be that you've had a really hard day and you're just feeling like the word the weight of the world is on your shoulders, and you go out to create. And you might initially start off creating images that feel dark and depressed, but as you go on, hopefully just being immersed in that creative process, it will start to lift all of that and open things up and free you from that in a way that then allows the light, lighter mood to come through. So, you know, I think it's, I think that's a really personal kind of thing that would be very individual. But for me, I don't, I don't think I feel like I'm pretty consistent in my mood.
Angela Nicholson
Oh that's good.
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah.
Angela Nicholson
I guess if you were feeling really tense and, you know, your muscles are all tightened up, then it might affect the way the camera moves, but as you got into it, it would probably start to flow a bit better.
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah, I do think if you're tense or, you know, upset or angry or depressed or whatever, that's gonna have an effect on your on your body and how freely your body flows, for sure.
Angela Nicholson
Could I have your fourth number, please?
Stephanie Johnson
Nine.
Angela Nicholson
How do you find and select the contributors for your magazine? And several people asked that.
Stephanie Johnson
Oh, interesting question that you know, when I first started out with the magazine, I would just went out and I knew several IC and photographers that I wanted to have in the first issue, but then to fill the pages, I just went out and started looking on Instagram and Facebook for work that that resonated with me. And so I do have an open submission process. Ever since then, I've always had an open submission process so that people can make submissions any time they want to, and then I will, you know, review them to see if they're up to the quality of work. Or, you know, the the word count is, is what I ask for and things like that, but I would say that still, in a lot of cases, I have to go out and look, I don't know why. It seems like people are a bit shy about making submissions, and so a lot of times I have to actually still just go out and look for people that I haven't had in the magazine before, and then send them an email or a message and say, How would you like to be a part of the magazine? And I pay everybody for their content, so hopefully that's another incentive for them.
Angela Nicholson
Yeah.
Stephanie Johnson
But also, I've started to feature workshop participants in the magazine, so if we do a workshop like Bill and I have done, you know, a Cornwall workshop, and we did a Northumberland workshop, and so I've dedicated a section of the magazine to those participants that want to participate from those workshops. And same with my Santa Fe workshops. So in and then our new beginnings workshops, even we do feature them, anybody that wants to be in the magazine. So that's also another way to that I get features for the magazine.
Angela Nicholson
I think that's a nice thing to do. But if anyone is out there thinking, oh, oh, maybe, maybe my stuff would be okay, how would they reach out to you?
Stephanie Johnson
Well, there's a contact form on my on the magazine website. But there's also a link on under the Submissions tab where they can make submissions. And then, you know, my own website stephjohnphoto.com I have a contact form there. The magazine website is icmphotomag.com I actually prefer if they just would make the submission rather than ask me to analyze their work first, because I just feel like it's, it's a better process. It's, it works better for me if they would just make a submission. People who have seen the magazine and have read the articles, they should know pretty much what, what the content looks like, and what it feels like from from the magazine. So it's always important. And you being, you know, working in magazines and things, I'm sure you would suggest that people always become familiar with publication they want to submit to, because, you know, that's going to go a long way if you are submitting, because I have people submit work to the magazine. That's absolutely not even ICM, and I'm thinking, Did you even read any of the stuff about what this was about?
Angela Nicholson
Yes, okay, so your penultimate number then, please?
Stephanie Johnson
Ten.
Angela Nicholson
Number 10, do you feel constrained by your reputation for shooting ICM, that question is from Paula. Do you sometimes feel it'd be nice to break out and do something else?
Stephanie Johnson
You know that really is a very interesting question, because I have actually felt that way a little bit in this past year, I mentioned I've kind of been in a bit of an existential funk.
Angela Nicholson
Yeah.
Stephanie Johnson
Part of that is because I, I am one that likes to push myself creatively, to always be evolving, always be growing, always be moving forward, and never staying comfortable in the same spot. And it's I've I've kind of felt this year that it's time to do something new, to push my creativity forward in ways that I haven't done in the past. And I have been finding it a little bit difficult to do that with my camera and the crew and the ICM and the multiple exposures, which is partly why I started doing the creative processing with my ICM images, and it's also one of the reasons why I decided I wanted to try doing ICM and multiple exposures with the Lensbaby, because it works much differently, even than just a regular macro lens, you know? And so I, I'm I'm trying to find ways to do new and different things, but I do feel like I am moving in a direction that is going to still include some ICM and multiple exposure ICMS, but it may not only be ICM, and it may not only be multiple in camera and multiple exposure ICM and so, yeah, I have thought, you know, I teach for these different entities, and if I move In a direction, and they have asked me to teach because of this specific technique that I use, that you know, is not like everyone else's. If I start doing different things, are they still going to want me to teach for them? Or so? Yeah, it can be a little daunting to think about breaking free and moving forward in different directions, but I think you have to be true to yourself, and I am one of those people that feels like all things happen for a reason, and that the universe is going to provide for me no matter What I do is, if I'm true to myself and I just always follow my inner being, my inner instinct, my inner intuition, it'll all be okay, but it still can be scary to the mind.
Angela Nicholson
Yeah, I know a friend of mine was complaining that their Instagram engagement had dropped, and when I looked I thought, well, you've completely changed the type of content you're posting. So suddenly, the people who'd signed up saying, Yeah, I love this stuff, are seeing something else and they're not engaging with it. So, you know, either start something fresh, you know, a new Instagram account or something, or take people with you in a sort of gradual process, or explain what you're doing?
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah, I think that's a great point, because I have been trying to post some different things. Like, I've also started doing cyanotypes this year, and so I have been posting, I mean, I haven't just made a complete drastic shift that I'm on. I'm I went from ICM to now I'm posting this kind of stuff. I feel like it is, but it's all interconnected for me also. So I might do some straight cyanotypes and post those, but then I am finding I really enjoy layering them with my ICMS in post processing. And so then I will post something like that, and then I'll post some more ICMS or some more, you know, different multiple exposure ICM so I'm trying to make it as far as Instagram is concerned, all flow together in a way that makes sense, because that's how it's kind of unfolding for me. Anyway.
Angela Nicholson
Yeah, it's your process. You mentioned Lensbaby in connection with macro. Do I did you stand that you're using a Velvet?
Stephanie Johnson
I did buy a Velvet 85 Yes, and that's the lens that I've been playing around with for the last few weeks. Yeah.
Angela Nicholson
Okay, right. So it's time for your last question.
Stephanie Johnson
Six, seven. No, seven,
Angela Nicholson
Sure?
Stephanie Johnson
Yes, number seven.
Angela Nicholson
Okay, right. This is a key question. You mentioned neutral density filters earlier. Which neutrals density filters do you use? Can you give a brand orsuggest a brand or strength?
Stephanie Johnson
Yeah, I use the Nisi 3-stop ND filter, and it's the screw on type. When I first started doing ICM, I had the whole Lee Filter kit, you know, from doing traditional landscapes, and I just never felt like that was conducive to doing ICM, I was always afraid that thing was gonna fly off, yeah, so that's why I didn't use filters for the first three or four years, because I That's all. Those were the only filters that I had, and I started using the nisi screw on filters more, I think, because I wondered if it would help me get more enhanced colors. And so I started using the three stop. And I did like that. It did feel like I was getting, you know, some deeper colors, or more enhanced colors in my ICM and so I don't particularly use the ND filter to control the light. I just feel like it helps enhance the colors. And I have a 3-stop, a 6-stop, a 10-stop and a 15-stop. I bought the kit, you know, the whole shebang, and never even use anything but the three stops. So for me, that works. That works for me.
Angela Nicholson
What about polarizers? Do you ever use those?
Stephanie Johnson
I don't. I have not ever used any polarizers. I do have a Lee polarizer, but even when I was doing traditional landscapes, I never did use it.
Angela Nicholson
Well. Stephanie, thank you so much for answering those questions. It's been really lovely chatting with you.
Oh, it's been lovely chatting with you as well. Thank you so much for having me, and hopefully I didn't ramble on too much.
Not at all. You're very welcome.
Stephanie Johnson
Thank you.
Angela Nicholson
Thanks for listening to this episode of the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast. I hope you enjoyed it. Special thanks to everybody who sent in a question, you'll find links to Stephanie's website and social media channels in the show notes. I'll be back with another episode soon, so please subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform and tell all your friends and followers about it. You'll also find SheClicks on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, if you search for SheClicks net so until next time, enjoy your photography.
