Hi Justan, Always nice to hear from someone either " outside of box" or looking for a path to get there. When I received my first camera as a gift at age 34, my first influences , along with the prominent photographers at the time , were the local artists where I live. I attended their club meetings and began making simply out of focus images in an attempt to produce "watercolour like " images. Then I saw a technique using pen and ink and watercolours which was very popular within this art group. I was already making the "watercolour component and realized the "pen and ink" component could be created by overexposing my slide film enough to wash out the colour but leave the detail. Put the two together in one slide holder and you have it. Both images are overexposed , and so I would commonly bracket somewhat to get the best " match". I thank these ladies ( most in their late years) whenever I see them! Once Upon an Island is a local book (Vanc Isl) and has my first "Ortons " in it. Creative landscapes is about finding your own creative path and is not what I would call a technical "how to" book . It contains some insights into my own experience , and creative direction that some will connect with while some may not. I believe creative potential is within anyone with the desire to explore it. Constant questioning and curiousity will take you places you may never have realized you could go. It sounds to me like you are ready for this journey. Michael
Thank you for sharing the story of the origins of the Orton effect! It’s amazing what timing and the willingness to try can do for someone. I've had a few occasions where someone made a suggestion at the right time, and that, and some non-trivial efforts has lead to some realllllly good success stories.
Both the books sound interesting. I noted that “Once Upon and Island” is out of print. Any suggestions where a copy may be found??
In the not too distant past, I've followed a couple of guides I've found on doing Orton or “dreamy” effect as it’s sometimes called, but haven’t been happy with the results. Typically if I can get a handle on something by way of illustration I can take the concepts a long way, but this one has eluded me so far.
By the way, there are 2 talented practitioners of your techniques on this site. One goes by the name of John R (he posted on this thread). Here’s a recent example of his
awesome work. And another is Dwayne Oaks. Here is an example of his
wonderful work. I mention these to show the amount of influence you’ve had, (as if you needed a reminder).
The 6th of September will go down a good day for me. Not only did I have the opportunity to exchange with you, but learned that some of my panos will be in 2 local galleries (Seattle) in the near future and some other galleries in fairly high volume tourist areas have expressed a strong interest. Thanks for your contribution to my good day!