Camera as Paintbrush, 2019

In the next Portfolio Section, Not Quite B&W, form takes precedence over color. Form carries the message; form is emphasized once color is stripped away. The opposite is attempted in Camera as Paintbrush – colors, sampled from nature with the camera, carry the message sometimes with little of the subjects’ original form. Form is masked or altered in these photographs by a variety of techniques:

“Lavender Starburst” was captured with a zoom lens over about 2 seconds by changing the focal length of the lens during the exposure (camera held steady on a tripod).

“Red and Yellow Roses” by contrast alters form through camera motion, capturing color while the shutter is open for a few seconds.

“Purple and Poppies” was created by “mixing” a sharp image of purple and white flowers with an image of California Poppies captured while the camera was moving. The result is painterly.

“Coral and Fern” preserves the form of the Coral Tree covered in orange blossoms – but there is no visible green in the original image. The intense green in the final image is created by “mixing” the sharp tree image with a motion-blurred image of a green fern. The form of the fern is lost, yet its color becomes dominant in the mixed image.

“Irises” mixes a sharp and a motion-blurred image of the same subject – the result nearly departs the realm of photography.

Camera as Paintbrush. . .

Originals are available in 27” x 36” or 45” x 60” formats printed on saturated color Fuji Flex photo paper and mounted on an aluminum composite material (ACM).