Impressionistic

I like to get creative with my photography at times, especially when I’m taking the shot. There’s a lot of software programs that can take an ordinary photo and turn it into something completely unique. For me, the challenge is to make something happen during exposure. You can try long exposures using neutral density filters or use a wide aperture to get low depth of field for the Bokeh effect.

I like to manipulate the camera on the tripod by moving it slightly during exposure. I’ve also taken photos in a moving vehicle (not driving)which can show motion blur. Use your imagination and understanding of camera exposures. The images below were taken at a beautiful aspen tree forest during fall foliage. The vertical lines of the white bark aspen tree trunks surrounded by a kaleidoscope of color can produce an Impressionistic look. Like a Monet? I then had these images printed on stretched canvas, a surface similar to what Monet probably painted on.

Check your LCD to see if exposure adjustments are necessary. But take a lot of exposures. You may need to use a neutral density or polarizing filter to darken the subject. These trees were already in shadows which enabled me to take a longer exposure. On these shots, the exposure was 1/4 second at F11 and an ISO of 100. You could take a 1 second exposure at F16. I moved the camera vertically, in line with the prevailing features of the trees.

Fall foliage has arrived in an Aspen grove in the Southern Utah landscape

I then send these images out to be printed on canvas. From my 20 years experience in the printing industry, I know that colors will change depending on the surface you’re printing on. Printing on a Premium Glossy Paper will yield high color and detail. A canvas printing surface will absorb the ink some and your colors and detail will be muted. So, I will pump up the saturation in Photoshop by about 20 points in order to maintain the original color. These canvas prints will produce something simulating a Monet. I like to call this end product a paintograph, a photograph that resembles a painting. These two images are currently on my wall at home.

Canvas Photo_9889 — These 40 x 30 canvas prints have a depth of 1 1/2 inches.

I’m thinking of painting some more orange directly onto the surface plus a signature.

You don’t have to be Monet to achieve an impressionistic look to your photos. Just some imagination and skill with your camera. The following pics shot yesterday are of aspen trees during fall foliage. To achieve this effect, prop your camera on your tripod and set a relatively low shutter speed but that depends on the lighting conditions. It was pretty light when I took these so my F stop was at 18, my ISO at 100, and speed at 1/25 of a second. Later on when it got darker, my shutter speed was 1/4 of a second. The longer the exposure, the more creative you can get with this. I also had a polarizing filter on my lens. When the shutter releases, have your camera moving slightly up or down or parallel with the dominant lines of your subject. You have to experiment and use your LCD to get some feedback in order to make necessary adjustments. You want to shoot in manual when doing trying this. The “normal” photos from this shoot will follow in a day or two.