An impresiionistic maple tree: an example of the photo impressionism technique in the round

Fall Colours In The Round: A Gallery

Trees have always been an important subject in art. For me they bring to mind the power of an Emily Carr or the drama of Ansel Adams. They are grounded. They reach for the sky.  A natural subject for impressionist photography.

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This photograph of a tree in fall colours is from a series shot right in front of the Legislative Building Queen’s Park, Toronto. It is composed of about 50 images merged together using an opacity blend. This photograph appeared on Flickr’s Explore page on October 23, 2014.  https://flic.kr/p/oQiuYg © Stephen D’Agostino

When I started experimenting with in the round photography I first turned to trees. Visually trees are roughly symmetrical which lends themselves to the technique because fundamentally in the round photography relies on pixel averaging.  When similarly placed  pixels are roughly the same it is more likely that a strong image will emerge after the opacity blend.  As a result the  trunk is a natural anchor for the image. The leaves feather towards the sky. The background details wash away leaving the subject alone in the frame.

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A flaming red maple tree in front of  Ontario Veteran’s War Memorial on the grounds of the Legislative Building Queen’s Park, Toronto.  This photograph is composed of 40 images taken around the tree then brought together using an opacity blend. © Stephen D’Agostino

The genesis of this series was an unexpected opportunity. Early on a gloomy Saturday I set up  on the South apex of Queen’s Park Cres to photograph the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.  As the light improved I noticed the trees behind me, along the street edge, had started to turn colour  and with the road closed for the marathon it was possible to photograph around the trees.

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A Maple tree just starting to turn photographed in the round. This photograph is composed of about 50 images brought together with an opacity blend. It appeared on Flickr’s Explore page on October 27, 2014. © Stephen D’Agostino

What I love about these photographs is the way the technique captures the form and colour of the trees while just hinting at the detail.  Trees have always been an important subject in art. For me they bring to mind the power of an Emily Carr or the drama of Ansel Adams. They are grounded. They reach for the sky.  A natural subject for impressionist photography and one I keep coming back to.

The other thing I love about this technique is the way the foregrounds seem to twist, circle or band. The result is always unexpected. I can pre-visualize the tree itself but the foreground is always a surprise.

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A maple tree in front of Queens Park, Toronto photographed in the round. This image is composed of about 40 images photographed around the tree then brought together using an opacity blend. It appeared on Flickr’s Explore page on October 25, 2014 and generated 22,000 views that day. © Stephen D’Agostino

These in the round impressionistic photographs have been well received on Flickr.  Four of them appeared on Flickr’s Explore page. One generated 22,000 views in a single day.  That is a stark contrast to the way my photo impressionism was received a couple of years ago when I often receive comments asking if I had a neurodegenerative disease or hadn’t learned to use auto focus.

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This image is my favourite in this series. A maple tree photographed in the round, Queen’s Park, Toronto. This photograph is composed of about 40 images brought together using an opacity blend. © Stephen D’Agostino

 

For more information on the technique see my post What I Have Learned: In The Round Images.

To view the gallery just click on one of the images.

 

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