Photo-Impressionism: From Seed...

For images please click on here!

It starts with a seed, this one planted almost two years ago. It was a photograph that I put into my very first post on this blog. This image. There was something there, tickling me, making me giddy, but I couldn’t quite grasp it. I went back to it numerous times. Why was this blurred photograph so intriguing? It was a riddle to ponder, because in modern photography, the new technology enables us to create images so in-focus and crisp — you can see the grain and the colors so vividly — that it’s like you’re standing right up against the subject. It looks almost “hyperreal,” but many photographers do it.

It is my nature to go against the tide, so I asked myself: What can I do in the opposite direction? What could I do with modern photography tools, but keeping strictly in the realm of photography? Over the next year or so, I hit the streets, testing lenses, locations, indoors and outdoors, levels of “blur,” etc. but the results didn’t speak to me. It was frustrating, this itch that kept returning and I couldn’t scratch.

I went back to the lens that I originally used, a forty year old M42 screw mount, andEureka! A breakthrough! It was a photograph of The Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza with a passing cyclist. It reminded me of an Edward Hopper painting and the elements of Impressionism that influenced him: The themes of architecture and nature, a brighter palette, the play of light, but also in that it wasn’t about the detail, fine lines or exacting of color — the subjects were people, locations and activities that are recognized as Iconic to daily life.

I now had a concept to explore. I coined it “Photo-Impressionism.” The goal was not to mimic impressionist painting, but to consider the elements while creating something original with my camera.

While honing my technique, the results sometimes took on some social relevance, as portraiture of the workers that keep the city humming along. As Landscape — or Cityscape — Photography, they can define iconic buildings, locations or views. As Street Photography I’m able to capture candid moments. They often even take on an illustrative quality.

They’re pretty, colorful and meant to be printed large. I’m currently waiting on my first test prints. I’m confident they’ll look great, so I’ll soon be looking for galleries and exhibitions to show them.

Here are some samples. I hope you like them. As always, click on for a larger view.

Be Well,

Keith