Ian Cambourne
August 2026 - Kiama Swimmers
About the Image(s)
A bit of photographic fun from me this month. March last year Jenny and I went for a two night stay at the coastal town of Kiama which is a two hour drive south from Sydney. Quite a few "normal" photos were taken that trip, but I also wanted to stretch my creative wings a little so I tried some in camera multiple exposures, combined with a little ICM. The tones in this scene were pleasing to me, so why not?
Details are: Nikon D2x; 105mm lens; ISO 100; F8; 1/250 and hand held. Four multiple exposures taken straight after each other while moving the camera across and down slightly for each one. Very little post processing, why bother with something like this?
5 comments posted
Very creative and artistic image Ian. I like everything about it. Posted: 08/14/2026 15:10:39
Ian,
What a fun and thoughtful experiment. The layered exposures and intentional camera movement give the image a real sense of energy, and I think the result rewards the risk you took.
You mentioned that there was "very little post-processing," and I'd be curious to know what adjustments you did make. To my eye, there may be an opportunity to strengthen the separation between the swimmers and their surroundings. The warm, flesh-like tones in the beach area could be selectively enhanced on the swimmers so they stand out a bit more from the overall palette.
I also wonder whether deepening the blue-green tones in the water would help the white surf feel brighter and more defined. Similarly, in the upper-left area, you might try either slightly darkening the sand or lifting the brightness of the white surf to create a little more tonal contrast there.
Overall, this is a strong and engaging result from your experimentation. I'd definitely encourage you to keep exploring this approach, because the combination of multiple exposures and intentional movement has a lot of expressive potential.
Posted: 08/16/2026 19:37:40
What a fun and thoughtful experiment. The layered exposures and intentional camera movement give the image a real sense of energy, and I think the result rewards the risk you took.
You mentioned that there was "very little post-processing," and I'd be curious to know what adjustments you did make. To my eye, there may be an opportunity to strengthen the separation between the swimmers and their surroundings. The warm, flesh-like tones in the beach area could be selectively enhanced on the swimmers so they stand out a bit more from the overall palette.
I also wonder whether deepening the blue-green tones in the water would help the white surf feel brighter and more defined. Similarly, in the upper-left area, you might try either slightly darkening the sand or lifting the brightness of the white surf to create a little more tonal contrast there.
Overall, this is a strong and engaging result from your experimentation. I'd definitely encourage you to keep exploring this approach, because the combination of multiple exposures and intentional movement has a lot of expressive potential.
Posted: 08/16/2026 19:37:40
Thanks for your comments Trey. From memory, the only real processing I did was a little cropping. Personally, I like the colour palette as it is, nice soft colours working well together with none overpowering the others. But that's just my opinion. Posted: 08/21/2026 08:28:59
A very valid opinion as well!
This conversation PSA offers allows us to see the perspectives others may have and to "see" what we may not have seen. I appreciate this forum for that. It has helped me a lot in trying to shoot at different angles, with different perspectives, to see what may result.
Still, I'm amazed at what my fellow photographers have seen! Posted: 08/21/2026 14:04:02
This conversation PSA offers allows us to see the perspectives others may have and to "see" what we may not have seen. I appreciate this forum for that. It has helped me a lot in trying to shoot at different angles, with different perspectives, to see what may result.
Still, I'm amazed at what my fellow photographers have seen! Posted: 08/21/2026 14:04:02
An ethereal creative image with the swimmers providing just enough of a focal point to hold our interest. A few suggestions to try. Crop a bit from top and bottom - all the interest is across the middle, so a slight crop would emphasis that. Trey suggested bringing out the sea colour - I would agree, but keep it subtle to preserve the pastel tones. Also there is a dark blob top left on the shore-line (sensor spot?) - I would clone it out. Keep up the experiments, I should do more myself. Posted: 08/22/2026 09:36:23