- December
- 14th
- 2007
Pictorialism is a style of photography that flourished around the turn of the 20th century which attempted to place photography within the context of the great artistic movements of the time–symbolism, impressionism, etc. It focused mainly on alternative processes and “painterly” themes, and indeed much of the work looked very much like the impressionist painting of the time. The movement was short-lived, as the Modernists took over and the next great wave of photographers embraced a more realistic and journalistic use of the camera, but even so, the Pictorialists, in their time, with their classical aesthetic and anti-modern sentimentality, produced some truly beautiful work.
I’ve lately been enjoying several books on Pictorialism, and looking at some of the interesting techniques the photographers used to achieve their effects: gum bichromate printing, photogravure, oil prints, etc. Not being a darkroom photographer myself, I have mainly been interested in the “look” they achieved and thinking about how to create similar looks in the digital darkroom. Rather than trying to recreate any literal approximation of the processes, I’ve just been thinking about the aesthetic itself, and playing around in Photoshop to create a similar feel.
Anyway, this little house in Currituck, which is one of my favorite houses in the area, has been the subject of my first experiment. I think I like the look, and hopefully will develop a little project around it. Kind of a nostalgic, Old South, Old Outer Banks, kind of thing. More to come later.
- This post was created on December, 14th 2007.
- Category Listing: TRAVELOGUE
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