The Street Photographer Who Only Takes Blurry Photos

[@biglenslittlelens8162]

The grain is mostly due to the GRII high contrast black and white preset rather than high ISO.

[@jurgenvanhest9913]

I believe it can be done with a very high ISO and a ND-filter, or as you say with post in PS/LR.

[@Dan-jg7zl]

The GR is nothing special. It can be done perfectly easy with any dslr, especially older dslr's with a more limited dynamic range.

[@picat4]

@@jurgenvanhest9913 Who is mentioning postprocessing here?🤔

[@sharpskilz]

shoot with high iso on any small sensor DSLR and convert to black and white, do a little bit of contrast adjustments and get back to me.

[@sharpskilz]

@@picat4 the op. he doesnt phrase it as post processing but the word "preset" is interchangeable with post process, as in, the camera does the post processing, and doesnt just give a flat redout from the sensor, it does a bit of teiddling

[@Muchtoobizy]

This is a great idea - to take the work of a photographer with a specific unusual style, and explain how they achieved the look. However no matter how much you master the technical side, it requires a long term devotion to a particular style to become as good as Olga. I once spent two months photographing Paris deliberately out of focus (not moving) to get an impressionistic style. Even though I took hundreds of such photos deliberately every day during that time, the number of keepers were relatively few. When it works it's beautiful; but just moving the camera or defocusing the lens is just the beginning. The message to anyone who wants to try working "outside the box" is find a style you like and then explore it extensively. I really enjoyed the video. Thank you.

[@robford3211]

I know for a fact that out of 1000 photographs of Cartier Bresson he only chose a few and I would say he has talent so if you take 100k photographs there might be one or two that can be classics

[@incognito3620]

This is truly fine art photography. It is what is lost in today’s ‘ digital’ and quick iPads photos people are using today.

[@pbziegler]

I bought the trilogy. She is quite amazing. We love the books. The thing is, her images are very evocative and emotionally charged. They aren't just ICM photos for the sake of getting blurry photos. Anyone can take blurry photos. If you look at her work you will see creative genius at work.

[@darrengodssonfielding]

Completely agree. We may be able to imitate the style but we would never be able to imitate the creative thought & emotion she pours into her work. But we most certainly can learn from her and apply some degree of her style to our own images.

[@michaelgeaglemeare1585]

Creativity combines many factors of experimentation and freedom from comparison.

[@fotodivision]

Absolutely agree. Every goog photograph has his own eye & Touch. Don't like to talk about settings etc. This is Pure & Unique Art. Congrats Olga!!❤

[@SonChae21]

Definitely one if not the best photography channel

[@laurencegoldman4639]

It's NOT ABOUT HAVING A DISTINCT STYLE! It's about having a honed visual interest (love). The style takes care of itself. Find out what you actually like. See what opens the door.

[@39exposures]

totally agree with that. you can mimic almost anything, but it's not about the certain technique.

[@-The-Darkside]

@@39exposures I found with Guitar, early on you spend your time trying to mimic/learn 'how x plays guitar", then you spend the next load of time trying to shed sounding too much like someone else lol (unless that's your thing of course), otherwise the only feedback you get is "That's cool it sounds like you've been listening to a lot of Jimi Hendrix buddy" and that's not what I want.

[@jamrollz]

'having a style' sounds so yuck and vain, not to mention self limiting.

[@sharpskilz]

spoken like a true skateboarder

[@dance2jam]

I may sound like a replayed answering machine recording, but here goes. When I first started with another artistic endeavor, my teachers always said, don't copy my style, have your own. If you were drawn, as a beginner, to that person in the first place, of course you are going to copy their style. An artist's growth includes many factors and influences, and I agree, follow your passions and your style will find you. The resulting in an interesting paradox. Style, becomes "brand" - which can be important for financial success or even recognition, but it "locks" the artist into a perspective box.

[@shaileshcalib2910]

This is the most underrated photography channel . absolutely amazing content , Keep it up . Subscribed !!

[@juuubart]

Found your channel while looking around for photography ideas. I've been a hobbyist for 5 years now and only just found out about ICM photography. Olga's work is incredible, wow. Thanks for covering it!

[@dreamscuba]

I really enjoyed this. I love photographs that give me a feel like a painting. I have experimented with some long exposure/blurry photography in the past, but this artist and her work really captured me... I love it. It speaks to me so much more than the ever so sharp and accurate photographs we see and take every where. Thank you for sharing this.

[@TigerPaw193]

@dreamscuba, I don't know if I "like" her work or not; this is the first I've known of her. But looking at her work, I AM sure it deserves more of my time and thought to form an intelligent response to it. Meanwhile, I agree about liking a photograph that gives me a feeling like a painting. The great painters of the past have much to teach the digital photographers of today. Rembrandt and his exquisite use of light and shadow take the viewer's eye where Rembrandt wants it to go. The impressionists. Etc. In our personal libraries, to inspire and instruct us, it may well be that we should give as much shelf space to books showing the works of great painters and sculptors as of great photographers. Just a thought.

[@jigggro]

Love it. After my camera got stolen in an armed burglary, I had totally left learning. Now I feel like starting again. Thank you.

[@ImitativePhotography]

Sorry to hear about your camera.

[@jigggro]

@@ImitativePhotography very kind of you to respond and say sorry. I watched your video and went out the next day to a historical site. Got some ok/respectable stuff. Anyway I can send it to you, since your channel has inspired it ?

[@ImitativePhotography]

@@jigggro if you're on Instagram you can send it to me there, same name as the channel.

[@GabrielMelges]

Thats an unique look, both hers and yours photos got incredible. I tried it. Mine just look blurred. I'll get there!

[@KevinG-159]

Just when I think I've seen the best videos for my photo journey, one like this comes along and re-sets my thinking! AND with a GR8... Love it! Go go Olga!

[@CapnBlackJackHonour]

I live for the blur. And I’m glad to have found this video. “Tack Sharp” is a burden photographers need to throw off.

[@-grey]

This is cool, and shows that often the difference between art and just doing a thing is scale. If you can commit to a style or aesthetic large enough, or long enough, it shows your intentionality. The method becomes the art rather than the images themselves.

[@ImitativePhotography]

Well said!

[@TrapPhoneLoveMelodiesss]

Excellent observation

[@xavidub]

This is the best photography channel on KZbin. Thank you

[@CarmineGroe]

Great video! Olga's work is beautiful. Such an underrated effect and wonderfully refreshing when you consider how so much of this gear centric industry is focussed on "sharpness" as a predominant factor for quality photography. Thanks for posting!

[@ImitativePhotography]

Thanks for watching and well said!

[@vincentgaliano]

She is amazing, I never heard of her before, thank you for the discovery. Now i need to find money to buy her books !!

[@reusedisland1904]

WOW! What a great teaching ‘finding your style and committing to it’. A fascinating story, and excellent video. Olga’s work is very appealing, and your practical demo is very engaging. Thank you very much 👍.

[@dance2jam]

Thanks for introducing me to photographers and photographic styles I knew nothing about. Persistence and vision paid off. I agree that the body of work helps sell the style even though each photo has interest in its own right.

[@gadzbeer3840]

6:49 was probably my favourite shot, great job!

[@johnhearn5644]

Excellent video. Thank you for bringing Olga Karlovac's work to my attention. I love it. It's amazing what can be achieved with a point and shoot camera and controlled ICM.

[@almostgreen9498]

Can you explain a little bit what you are doing with the bag? This was great!!

[@normapadro420]

I like photography. You get what you get. I'm also a photographer. I enjoy blurs as well.

[@Noctem0wl]

Oh, I was thinking on doing this but only with people's faces because I can't picture them in my head. I want my photography to represent how I see life. So this makes me more confident about it 💚

[@DavidDacaro]

Those monochrome works would look amazing if converted back to film on one of the Rose film recorders and printed in silver gelatin on point light. Great images, nice work.

[@joseph1172]

This is photography poetry. This is just sublime....

[@ImperiousImages]

Great video. I hadn’t heard of Olga, so thank you for sharing. You did an excellent job with explaining the technique.

[@joskal1965]

Great! Tnx for info, I just sensed request at FB for friendship to Ms. Olga. As a Leica man I can verify theory that there is no bad and good photography gear, just expensive and affordable ones but a lott of good and bad ayes.

[@jarlsoars1150]

I really like her work. I'll have to see if I can get her trilogy of works. I discovered the strength of out of focus imagery when I took up photography a few years after high school in the late 90s. I was looking over some piles of 'bad' pictures and found a blurry photo of myself and was intrigued by it. The focus must have been way out of zone from a previous picture and sometimes I'd accidentally hit the shutter while looking down at the camera to adjust it. So I started to do a few deliberate out-of-focus images in a more controlled, artist manner. That was all film but since then I have had some success using digital as well. I'll have to get those together so I can share them at some point.

[@butch4111]

Thank you! Very inspiring video. I have a GR IIIx and live in small coastal tourist town. I'll be out on the street tomorrow!!

[@ImitativePhotography]

Fantastic!

[@HogbergPhotography]

It took me 15 years to even start getting over the stupid concept of "sharpness". Its just so stupid! It does not matter how sharp an image is if it is not an interesting photograph! These days I focus on taking interesting images instead. I see so many young photographers hung up on sharpness, this just stops them from developing a good eye for photography. Its just sad.

[@noyo1444]

Photography is about variations and sharpness is just one of them.

[@lvngraw]

agreed

[@ohroonoko]

It doesn’t matter how blurry it is either.

[@petermoons9568]

Never looked at it this way. It’s an eyeopener.

[@ondrejpavelka2179]

Im guilty as well and i promise i will think about it in my future progress

[@judithkes7004]

Great Video. I did not know of her. I love her style. It shows that sometimes we should step out of the box we put ourselves in listening to everyone telling us only sharp images are right. I will definitely experiment with this. Thank you for your video.

[@smoothgilla3203]

I love the video game esque overlay you put over your photo walk. Especially with the diffracted sides it reminds me a lot of MGS

[@coachtomas]

Sharpness is the last thing I think of when I take a photo. It seems the higher than megapixel count goes the more people forget the art of photography itself. I draw more than take photos and even in that media it is more about the work as a whole rather than just making it "clean" or "neat". I want to have fun in the process and show a little of myself in my work.

[@oneeyedphotographer]

I like high megapixels for the opportunity to crop. Sometimes it's an alternative to a zoom lens, sometimes it's essential to get the artistically correct aspect ratio, sometimes for alternative compositions. Almost never a bigger print.

[@marianodemiguel3442]

another great video: almost like a delightful lecture I can not get enough of. Thankyou

[@Iesous27]

Wow, I don't even have a proper camera yet, but I'm looking into getting one soon, so I'm obsessing over photography lately. After seeing these photos from Karla, all I feel is a sense of ominous horror and emptiness. I quite like it. So very cool in a world of photography where everyone wants to get that crystal clear shot.

[@thethreeislands]

Great video, your narration and thought process explained and then executed well with the graphics in the video showing the settings and ICM direction(s). I would like to see one of these done for the ICM photos I see of surfers riding waves with a horizontal pan. The surfer is mostly frozen still but the surrounding waves/water are nicely blurred from the ICM

[@KevinG-159]

Excellent! Great explanation of how it's done and photos to match, thank you!

[@michaelk8152]

Late to the game but I would still add my two cents. Excellent video; especially the inclusion of the camera settings and the direction of movement. Temperature was an added bonus. Your photos were quite good.

[@miguelangelromero2130]

Muy bueno. Una tremenda fotógrafa Olga K. Gracias por compartir. Voy a probar esa técnica. Saludos desde Argentina

[@millymucci]

such enjoyable images you took, and well explained! Can't wait to try. Thank you to you and thank you to Olga 📷📷😎

[@藤井愉三]

ありがとうございます！

[@ImitativePhotography]

どうもありがとうございます!

[@daveexplore3856]

Love this womans work. Will start working with it in my Style. 😎📷

[@ce2513]

i've see three of your videos so far. and every time your'e in a different city. respect. (also i looooove berlin)

[@abchappell01]

That was an awesome presentation! It also made me think of the work of Saul Leiter and Monaris. I appreciate your discussion and analysis of Olga Karlovac’s photographic style. I am definitely subscribing to your channel :)

[@Neil-Aspinall]

I will never forget when I stumbled upon on a Saul Leiter exhibition in Munich Germany a few years ago.

[@zoltanszabo7795]

It's really great and helpful what you are doing! Thanks very much! And continue!

[@fufu1405]

2:51 Why do you assume she just uses high ISO? It's also fairly possible she just adds grain in post.

[@ImitativePhotography]

Well I watched a few interviews with her and she mentions she barely does any editing, just some minor contrast adjustments, so that's why I assumed it was ISO. But now thanks to some commenters I found out there's a actually a high grain black and white preset with the Ricoh GR which might be what she uses.

[@theinvisiblelandscape4282]

Love this kind of artistic flow

[@AngelLopez-ef6zt]

Very creative idea and excellent photography congratulations!

[@geeyouwhy72]

Cool vid. Love the bag shooting technique! I like shooting without people knowing that you're taking pictures, way more candid. Will try it.

[@BenjeevRendhava]

Fantastic video, well done. Also, love that the comments here are super thoughtful and nuanced.

[@jasonrohatyn1804]

I found this edit very informative. Interesting edit to watch.

[@donrafaeli]

It’s awesome finding out about photographers who are working in your home town ❤️ Ps: pleeeease do an episode on Elizaveta Porodina, i have no idea how she makes images like those

[@ImitativePhotography]

Thanks, I'll look into it!

[@rembrandx]

I love this work but I wholeheartedly disagree that this is the lesson here. Sure, having a 'style' and sticking to it, is a great way to learn your tools and getting to know a subject through limitations. Some people thrive by getting down to 1 thing and doing it well, even exploring to the bottom what they can do with it. Some painters are classic examples of this. I could look at variations of Magritte's paintings forever and never get bored of it, for example. But there are so many more people out there for who working like this is just a means for alienation and stagnation. Lots of art people (especially 'educators' and critics), focus too much on this 'do 1 thing right' bit or a 'main theme', while some of the greatest artists did the total opposite. I mean, look at David Bowie. You can build a body of work through doing a million different things for decades and themes will automatically emerge. It's far more important to just start doing something (pick a subject to start) than to 'stick with something'. Listen to that inner creative voice/urge, try something and see where it leads. That's the great lesson. For some it leads to something like Karlovac's type of work for others it leads to a very different ever changing tapestry.

[@ImitativePhotography]

Thanks for sharing. I guess what I was trying to say is that as an aspiring artist you're more likely to stand out and be recognized if you have a signature style. Of course, this tends to benefit the audience/curators more than the artist, because it's easier for them to identify/remember a narrative if there is a consistent theme. It's kind of a personal branding thing. I don't think Olga's work would make as much of an impact if her photobooks were split into colored/B&W, focused/blurry. Part of what makes it interesting and unique is that she sticks to that style for that length of time. Now, is sticking to one style long term what's best for the artist? Well that's up to the individual, and for some it can definitely lead to stagnation and frustration. Different strokes for different folks and all that...

[@chesslover8829]

​@@ImitativePhotographyStagnation is an issue for artists. Personally, I like the freedom to evolve.

[@oneeyedphotographer]

@@ImitativePhotography I think I have always had a style. It just took a while to find it.

[@stefanmorgenstern7132]

That's how I see it, too. Sometimes a story has been told, i.e. a topic has been dealt with exhaustively. If everything then becomes repetitive, stagnation sets in or you keep copying yourself, you should get off the dead horse and start something new.

[@Moodboard39]

​@@stefanmorgenstern7132 Stick to one ... people like change ...not everyone thinks the same ..

[@ianharper6015]

Thank you for a really interesting and useful video. I found the technical camera data really helpful.

[@MattyDavski]

Nice work bro, nice shots of yours also! Interesting video, thumbs up!

[@Marcello1b]

Perfect example of "searching/finding our goal/fight/challenge and define our achievement/success/next-coming-goal/fight/challenge" => "the Art is built trough challenge/techniques and destroyed throughout freedom (technique-free)"

[@tatarhead]

Love this… She does amazing work. Was great seeing you showing her technique. Nice commentary too…

[@alx7157]

Fantastic vid, fam. I love her outlook...plus, the HCB quote is timeless. Subbed.

[@mindyourownbusiness5589]

I love this technique, I have tried ICM and have got some very satisfying photos from it but this video has inspired me to try some more, thank you for sharing

[@Neil-Aspinall]

I think she is one of the most exciting Fine Art Photographers I've seen in a very long time? One thing I didn't understand is, how does she get that almost photocopy B&W look exactly? By the way your channel also is great discovery!

[@a.l.alexander3668]

I think Olga is amazing

[@ephraimchama4756]

Wow I’m happy I found this video I studied photography in 2021 and we had to make photography books so I chose to do a book with blurry pictures I found it fun and relaxing because I would get supper upset if it wasn’t sharp enough and sometimes it’s good to experiment and try new things

[@ImitativePhotography]

That's fantastic! It does feel very liberating to not have to worry about steady hands or sharpness.

[@Moodboard39]

Good

[@thebirdchroniclesradio9141]

great explaination of how ICM works

[@Betterworldforyou.]

Your work gives me purpose to take photographs . Totally agreed with sharpness and colour photography are overrated . Love your channel.

[@PCcardboard1354]

This video was a treat to watch!!! and having no music it was calming for the soul!!!

[@ImitativePhotography]

I forgot to add the lofi beats 🤣

[@PCcardboard1354]

@@ImitativePhotography OH NO!! I hope I didn't remind you!!! Please don't...

[@ImitativePhotography]

@@PCcardboard1354 don't worry I try to be purposeful when picking music and not using it just to fill the background.

[@PCcardboard1354]

@@ImitativePhotography I trust your skills sir!

[@theslowwalkers]

Just found your site and this video. It's great that you show her work and then the recreations, which were very good. Subscribed.

[@cameronwheatley7065]

love your work! one of the best YT channels

[@Stuart365]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. This video is amazingly important. I love it and needed it. 📷📷📷

[@fellowcitizen]

Very useful channel, thank you! The two other (quite different) photographers that I think of with slow shutter are Paolo Roversi and Ellen von Unwerth . Both of whom had a different focus, and then entered fashion.

[@danlightened]

Kudos for introducing this artist to us and try to break down and emulate her style. But I would like to tell this to beginner photographers. Emulating a successful style won't necessarily make you successful. It has to come from within. You have to be enamored by the theme. She seems to be capturing the mood/vibe of the people/street. You could try observing the movements of trees in slight breeze to a straight up storm. It could be the variation in the 4-5 seconds when a sea recedes before the next wave crashes. Or it could be just waves at various shutter speeds.

[@ImitativePhotography]

Well said!

[@kennyj604]

This is so cool. I've taken a few photos like this unintentionally. Yet i love them. The ones I like the most were actually taken with the tiny Pentax Q. In camera high contrast monochrome filter. And they all happened during a holiday in Lyon France.

[@smartwave9]

you can use ND filter to use high ISO if you want to.

[@pennymercer4158]

I am going to have to..I tried this, but it was just too much light to have a slow shutter speed at the highest aperture (16 is the highest on my 35mm 1.4)..I was getting completely whiteout..I have an ND1000 bet that's too much..arg

[@chryseass.5143]

That was commitment,going out to shoot in that weather in Toronto! I was shivering just watching it.

[@stevensakic4342]

Very Interesting. It leaves you to think and your imagination of what is happening in that moment., and surrounding.

[@alancollins6171]

Thank you for this video, love Olga's work

[@antonywilliams5416]

Great vid, really love the concept

[@ballhockey10]

I've heard the Magnum photographers refer to something called 'authorship'. They say you need to find 'authorship' in your work. It isn't quite style, or technique, or subject. It's kind of that elusive thing that makes your work 'art' and identifiable as being from you as an 'artist'. And, I think you are correct that the challenge in achieving this 'authorship' is commitment.

[@ImitativePhotography]

Well put.

[@LuciaHewitt]

Thank you so much for this! I've been trying to figure out how to do ICR but you've given me a great starting point!

[@ImitativePhotography]

Fantastic, glad I could help!

[@Twitexter]

I live in Zagreb. Thanks for making this video! ❤

[@morenofranco9235]

Excellent. I am an realistic illustrator. I caint paint anything to be sharp. But i sometimes introduce blur to increase the "reality" effect.

[@MacKintoshPhoto]

Nice idea to breakdown and try re-create the style of a photographer you admire. A great learning tool more people should use!

[@ImitativePhotography]

Definitely!

[@gregblackmon2]

Excellent video. Well done! Thank you for sharing. I’ve been fascinated by motion of late. Her work is stunning.

[@ImitativePhotography]

Thanks for watching!

[@Tyrell_Corp2019]

I'm still editing a huge street photography project and as I go through the photos, I'm finding shots that I intentionally blurred. It just felt right for the situation. But now my dilemma is mixing in those shots with the clean ones. Will people even know I did it on purpose? Does it matter? I say no. I like them. But I'm still torn.

[@nonolescargot7386]

What a great vidéo, very inspiring

[@Poupoulou]

Excellent video, once more! Comparing your attempts at emulating Olga's style, I think there might be one thing you overlooked: focus. Your photos are blurred but still too sharp, maybe Olga zone focuses (which can be very easliy done on the GR series) in order to take an out of focus picture? Looking at her photos, most of them have very few parts in focus. What do you think?

[@ImitativePhotography]

That's a good point.

[@jensfriedrich3269]

Amazing information. Thanks so much for your inspiration. I tried to go out and take some shots like Olga and you. I got a lot of usless pictures but some good ones but its hard to find the right movement or tiliting. My question would be if you left IBIS on or off? I found that for me IBIS Off works much better (Olympus EM10 M2 / 17mm 1.8) but I still dont know if it is really better or just random. What is your experience with the IBIS + Panning? Thanks a lot for your answer Jens

[@ImitativePhotography]

Probably better to leave it off. The camera I used did not have an IBIS feature.

[@carl3622-u4z]

Awesome work

[@CallMeOpia]

i like how you take pictures of people without them noticing, always wondered how to do that

[@andrewcroft2570]

That's cool as a complete newbie to photography I'm happy to get an in-focus shot at the correct exposure. I have a few pictures like this, I just need to move the camera more 😄

[@captureallen8632]

I like this form. I'm gonna have to try it.

[@Hannemanneke]

Thanks for this great and inspiring video 😃👍🙏

[@silvestersze9968]

This video inspires me a lot. It takes me to another dimension in photography. Many thanks! 🎉

[@pitmanra]

Very nice video. Good concept, well-narrated, and interesting content. Technically excellent.

[@ImitativePhotography]

Thank you for watching!

[@marthamidon.9292]

Thank u very much for sharing ! She s great, i love blurry photos. Good work !

[@Jim-ot9sd]

Fascinating video

[@wwjjss33]

So glad to have stumbled on your channel! You are really helping me past a photographic doldrum by this content I get to see photography re-imagined. Than You🙏🏼

[@ImitativePhotography]

Great to hear!

[@paulhanson6008]

Enjoyable and interesting video. Thank you👍

[@kevingoza]

Well you’ve gotten my attention! Thank you!

[@JH_Productions]

This really cool too see, you imitate a Photographer's style. I subscribed and am looking forward to seeing what other Photography Style's you explore.