Haystack - van Gogh
Photography is often described as ‘painting with light’. Ever wonder why some of your photographs turn out as if you were a professional and others look terrible? It’s all about how the subject was lit. Those of us that seriously study photography, become students of light. The great artists of the world had to become masters of light before they could become masters of painting, drawing, etc.
Nut Gatherers - Bouguereau
I never go to an art museum but what I study the light in my favorite paintings. I love art but not every artist or every painting, so I study those that move me more than others. More times than not, I find that the paintings that truly move me do so mostly because of the way the subject is lit rather than other specific techniques. I study where the light must have been placed and even where it must have been hidden. I am absolutely confident that many of the darker areas of famous paintings were not dark in reality, but were darkened by the artist to highlight the subject. If you do not have total control over the light, today with digital photo retouching software, one can achieve some of what the artist accomplished with the brush. However, if the subject is in shadow or poorly lit, a great photograph is not possible, and all the editing in the world will not make great.
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Yellowstone Falls Rainbow - Photo by William Cowger
With this in mind, quality travel photography becomes not just about being in the right place, but rather being in the right place at the right time. The sun hits Yellowstone Falls in the morning, and there is a rainbow on the falls only from Lookout Point between 8:45AM and 10AM (depending on the time of year). If you are staying near Old Faithful, it’s a 4 hour drive (without seeing bears), to Yellowstone Falls. So if you get there in the afternoon when the falls are in shadow, you can not hope to get a great photograph. Coming back in the morning is not always possible. The rainbow only lasts for 10 minutes and it’s a 45 minute drive from the one rim to the rim of Lookout Point, so unless you go with an expert or do a lot of research ahead of time, you will not get the shots with the best light.
Why did many of the great impressionists leave Paris to move to the south of France?... Because the light is better for longer each day. In 2010 you can join a photography workshop in the footsteps of Cézanne and van Gogh. These trips (June 5 & October 22) in conjunction with an art history professor and a professional photographer will be an art centered photographic, cultural and epicurean journey through the south of France. Photographers will not only be in the right places to capture the same scenes that the impressionists painted, they will be there at the right time for the best available light. Workshops will be conducted to teach how to shoot in an impressionistic style in addition to basically improve your travel photography quality.
van Gogh and Cezanne self portraits
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