Category Archives: the lab

Multiple exposure, photo impressionism, photography, technique, the lab

How I made this: Photo Impressionist Waves

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There is a balance in impressionist photography between the moment you remember and the  precise instant of the photograph. My exploration has focussed on finding approaches that expand time to become that moment. Opacity Blend Image Stacking produces a result that comes close to that balance. This is what I do.

1. create the stack using Lightroom

 

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The images are selected for the stack. © Stephen D’Agostino
  •  The images for this photo impressionistic wave were shot at 60 fps using Nikon’s N1 V3. I shoot hand held being careful to maintain a constant point on the subject even though the camera is panning. The images are then imported into Lightroom.
  • The images are then selected for the stack. The more images you use, the more impressionistic the effect.
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Open as layers in Photoshop. © Stephen D’Agostino
  • Right click to reveal the menu then select +   .
  • Since I often use Starcircleacademy’s Advanced Stacker app to create additional texture I also export the images to a separate folder at this point.

2. digital darkroom in Photoshop

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Opacity blend to create the photo impressionistic effect. © Stephen D’Agostino
  • In Photoshop the stack has to be blended to produce the base image. A good blend can be achieved by starting at the bottom of the stack and then reducing the opacity of the layer above it by about 50% until you reach 3-5%. Don’t be mechanistic with this step. Creativity with opacity significantly impacts on the finished result.
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At this step you have a good base image. © Stephen D’Agostino
  • I merge the stack after balancing the opacity to produce a manageable file size. Note the blend results in a flat image. I address that later in my workflow.
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The Advanced Stacker App creates some nice textures. © Stephen D’Agostino
  • If I am going to use the Advanced Stacker App I run it here and then drag the layer over to my stacked image for blending. Note that the App is really just another opacity blend using the lighten mode. In doing so I find it often emphasises movement.
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Create the base image using an opacity blend. © Stephen D’Agostino
  • Again I opacity blend until I am happy with the image.
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This white point/black point was achieved using Vincent Versace’s action. © Stephen D’Agostino

 

 

 

  • The more traditional darkroom work begins at this point. I colour balance using the black point/white point/midpoint  technique.
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Balance the white point/black point layers. © Stephen D’Agostino

 

 

  • Often the black point/white point layers have to be balanced.
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Add contrast. © Stephen D’Agostino

 

 

  • The process to this point has produced a flat lifeless image as a result the image averaging that has taken place. I add dimensionality to my photo impressionistic images using Nik’s Pro Contrast filter.
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Nik’s Tonal Contrast Filter. © Stephen D’Agostino
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Midtone Contouring. © Stephen D’Agostino
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I lie to crop at the end of my process. © Stephen D’Agostino
  • While many photographers crop at the beginning of their darkroom process to reduce the file size, I like to see what emerges and crop based on the results.

3. the final image

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Waves breaking on a St Lucian beach. © Stephen D’Agostino

 

icm, photo impressionism, photo impressionistic artists, photography, technique, the lab

Vanda Ralevska: Light in the Dark of the Forest

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Guest post by Vanda Ralevska.

Over the years photography for me became much more than recording where I have been. Conveying the impression that the scene in front of me leaves on my mind became more important than a purely literal representation.

In my photographs I strive to capture the atmosphere and emotions that the surrounding world evokes in me, and hopefully pass on the feeling to the viewers. Photo impressionism is one of the techniques that allows to simplify the subject down to its essence, and reveal the sense that it creates. Similarly to when you glance at a scene without focusing on detail. The impression it leaves is that of colours, shapes and textures.

Therefore I dedicated a part of my work to experimenting with the intentional camera movement (ICM) and multiple exposure techniques commonly used in photo impressionism.

This image is a result of using these techniques. I was standing at the edge of a woodland, when I spotted the regular pattern created by the tree trunks, interspersed by the autumnal colours of the leaves on the forest floor. The colours were gradually merging into the darkness of the thick forest with no distracting highlights. A perfect combination of colours and shapes to paint with the camera.

Light In The Dark Of The Forest
Light In The Dark Of The Forest © Vanda Ralevska

 

I experimented with ICM, however I was not very happy with the results, which were simply streaks of colours.  I wanted to preserve a little bit of texture in the leaves and tree trunks. Therefore I decided to use the double exposure functionality of my camera. The first exposure was a straight image with f5.6 aperture, focused on the trees closest to the camera. For the second exposure I chose a smaller aperture f16 to increase the shutter speed and to be able to capture the camera movement.

I post-processed the image in Adobe Lightroom 5, where I increased the contrast and clarity. I used the radial tool to darken the edges. Then I brought the image into Adobe Photoshop CS6 to further enhance the contrast and colours using the curves and NikSoftware ColorPro plugin.

The result is just enough detail to portray a late autumnal day in a forest, but without all the distractions that our minds tend to dwell on when observing the real world.

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Sunset Wave. © Vanda Ralevska

Editors Note:  This is the first image of Vanda’s to catch my attention. I found it on  Flickr where Vanda regularly exhibits her photo impressionistic vision. You can also find her on Facebook. Her website can be found at http://www.mylenscapes.co.uk/ Vanda’s work is definately worth checking out. Thanks for sharing your technique.

photo impressionism, technique, the lab

How I did this: “In The Round Images”

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I am expanding the scope of the Photo Impressionism Project to include a discussion concerning photo impressionistic techniques. The project is called “The Lab” and am opening it up to all photo impressionists who are interested in sharing “how I did this”. The idea is to create a discussion; what works and what you might say… not so much.

interested?  Drop me a line at https://photoimpressionism.ca/contact/

Till then you might enjoy my blog post explaining how I create in the round images.

What I Have Learned: “In The Round Images” – Stephen D’Agostino Photography.