How to work with Topaz Studio 2 to create impressionist painterly effects
Art writer Waldemar Januszczak series on BBC 4 ‘The Impressionists Painting and Revolution’ has been a visual feast. Whilst gorging myself on Van Gogh and Monet. I was thinking about how I could get similar painterly effects in photography.
Impressionist photography, uses Pep Ventosa’s techniques, multiple exposures. and ICM (Intentional Camera Movement), to create blur and emotion.
One of the masters of the genre is Eva Polak:
I become enchanted with the beautiful images created by this style of photography. Impressionist photography is a perfect tool which allows me to communicate with the world and share my vision. It results from the need to express my feelings through images. It is a way to connect my creative vision with the world.
Capturing the Ephameral
For myself, it is about capturing the ephemeral.
Roxanne Bouche’ Overton describes it best in her book ‘Catching My Peripheral Vision: Finding Clarity in Blur’
lurking there in my peripheral vision, I see more. Sometimes I see snippets of the whole – abstracts, shapes and shadows. Other times I see motion – that fourth dimension.
Roxanne Bouche’ Overton
One of the reasons the Impressionist Movement started, was that in 1874 the camera could already capture realistic images. Impressionism was a move away from trying to reproduce reality.
It is asking a lot of the camera not to capture the world as it is. The camera is designed to capture sharp detail and lifelike colours. However, post processing can deconstruct the image the camera captures.
Impressionist Photography Using Topaz Studio 2
Recently, I have been experimenting with Topaz Studio 2.
Editing images in Topaz Studio 2 is much like Lightroom or Photoshop. There are useful filters and presets which are an excellent place to start, and then sliders that change the look.
The master of the effect using Topaz Studio 2 is Dave Kelly.
Future Workflow
I will not be using Topaz Studio 2 in isolation. I think I will be using this technique with others to create that dreamy, painterly, impressionistic look I am always striving to achieve, but never quite realise.