Is this photography, or is it something else? From the very first time I owned a digital camera, somewhere in the last millennium, I thought digital images have the potential to be more, to be raw materials for something else, whatever that might turn out to be. Somewhere along the way I got sidetracked, caught by fascination with lots of pixels and the resultant high detail. And with it came a fetish for sharpness, eliminating bugs like distortion, chromatic aberration, digital noise -- and all that.

Then recently I discovered the wonderful work of Eva Polak and a handful of other brave souls who were doing something they called "photo impressionism." And I knew I had to have a go at it. I've only started. There'll be more to come as I find my way into this new expressive medium. There are (at least?) two ways of doing this kind of work: in-camera, or Photoshopping. There are examples in this gallery of both kinds.

If you're interested, search for "impressionism" on PBase, and you'll find a variety of styles. I particularly like the work of Uri Mahlev on this site. Then you can google up Eva Polak; have a look at the inspiring book Photo Impressionism, and the Subjective Image by Freeman Patterson & Andre Gallant; and just google "Photo Impressionism" where, once again, you'll find a raft of different styles. Have fun, give it a try!