Impressionism

Did I mention I like water? That I like blurry things? Just like there is a time and place for tack sharp detail, there is also a time and place for blurry, moving stuff. Of all the painters throughout history, Monet is without a doubt the one that really affects me.

For me, Monet’s work can be moody or happy, colorful or not, personal or general. But what it isn’t about, is details…it’s more about shape. Let the viewer fill in the details. We really don’t need them. Art is about impressions.

While hiking Oregon’s Eagle Creek trail I stopped at a wide spot to rest and dip my feet in the coolness of the creek…a reprieve from the 100+ Summer day. As I sat on a rock I relaxed and allowed myself to be engulfed and mesmerized by the sound of the rushing water. Sitting there, I wondered if I could capture what I was feeling in a photo. I’ve said before that water gives movement to light and that’s what I was looking for. I wanted the water to carry the light from one detail into another, to move across elemental boundaries. So I chose an area with small rapids where the white water could introduce tones to the greens and blues reflected from the surrounding trees, canyon walls and the sky.

Honestly, I don’t remember what my shutter speed was for this but I’m thinking it was between 1/2 and 1 second. This was purely an experimental photo and I tried numerous times to get just the right blur. I wanted the look of brushstrokes in the water; something that rose above the level of a simple photograph and approached a different medium. The resulting image is all about color, shape and direction. As I look at this photo again it makes me want to seek out more opportunities to create impressionistic images. I hope you appreciate it as much as I do.