Photography as Fine Art: Achromat Impressionism

“Impressionism is not a movement, it is a philosophy of life.” - Max Lieberman

What does it mean to capture reality? Does it mean that you represent the world exactly as it appears before your eyes, stoic in its realism? Or does it mean that you have to reach past what your eye can see, grasping for the significance that lies beyond?

For the Impressionists, it meant immortalizing just one beautiful moment—the way the light bounces off the sea as the waves crash on the shore, the shade of the shadows as the sun is about to set. Forsaking the studio to paint en plein air, they used bold, rapid brushstrokes to capture the fleeting, sensory effects of light and color in the landscape around them, abandoning clear outlines in favor of capturing the atmosphere of that one magical moment, never to be repeated.

Trust Your Instincts

“The true impressionism is realism. So many people do not observe. They take the ready-made axioms laid down by others, and walk blindly in a rut without trying to see for themselves.” - Childe Hassam

To capture the transitory is to trust your instincts. Impressionism is deeply personal―it involves ignoring the accepted ideas of representation to reflect the unique way in which you were struck by the moment. It relies on confidence in creative expression and the boldness to bend the rules. In that respect, it fits right in with the Lomographic lifestyle. We’ve never been one for sticking to the rules...

Capture the Transitory

“Impressionism means taking inspiration directly from nature, trusting your senses rather than what you think you know.” - Michael McClure

That’s why we invented the Daguerreotype Achromat 2.9/64 Art Lens. Inspired by the very first photographic optic lens, it brings the dreamy aesthetics of the era of Impressionism to modern-day analogue and digital SLRs. It works with a classic Waterhouse Aperture System and special aperture plates to produce rich bokeh backgrounds with a painterly feel reminiscent of the bold brushstrokes of Impressionist masterpieces. And with a range of filters available, you can balance the colors in your shot to capture the scene exactly as it hits your eye.

Choose to capture the clarity of the moment in razor-sharp focus, or reflect the wash of color and light in beautiful bokeh. Harness the creative freedom to freeze the world exactly as you feel it―get your Daguerreotype Achromat from the Lomography Online Shop or a Gallery Store near you now.

written by Martha Reed on 2018-02-06 #culture #news #art-lens #lomography-art-lens #daguerreotype-achromat