Impressionist Photography

Impressionist Photography
By Ken Parks, December 4, 2011

The magic of photography produces the subject matter of light in variations of colors, forms, space and time. And the relationship of all these elements expresses the photographer’s feelings and beliefs.

I can recall the first time I was introduced to impressionist photography. I saw it as a style that seeks to capture a feeling or experience rather than the achievement of an accurate representation. I’m still a realist (not so much surreal) and I found that Impressionist photography was a difficult concept to grasp. I viewed the art gallery of Impressionists, and the dreamy effect of light similar to a painting fascinated me. The images were simply evocative of a surreal world.

Enchanted by those early images, I found it difficult to convey or create such images. But over time, I came to appreciate this form of art. For some who are pure realist, trying to achieve the blending of forms and light becomes a herculean task, which leads to stubbornness and avoidance.

I found this form of art as a means to experiment, cast out some of the so-called “rules” and have fun with the camera. This is where one can make attempts to emulate Gustave Caillebotte and Louis Sahuc. Within my own confines, I realized there were no rules to obey, no mistakes or failures, and no concepts of traditional photography. It has become an outlet of serenity, an art form to relinquish new possibilities and explore new discoveries.

The Botanical Gardens Christmas tree was taken by setting the camera to 1/16 of a second and quickly moving the camera from bottom to top. The result was very similar to an impressionist photography effect.

The top Impressionist Photo was accomplished through the magic of Photoshop and NIK software. Variations can be made through the blur filters and Color Efex Pro filters.