OUR UNPHOTOGRAPHIC VISION

Now only a memory – Summer at Rigonis – 60x60cm oil on board

Our Unphotographic Vision (Blog by Mike Barr)

“Have you ever noticed that the photos we took at a special place often don’t convey what we saw?

There is something about being there in real life that seems to be missed out in photography. This is why many artists paint on location in order to gather visual information and atmosphere that may be missed in a photo.

One of the main differences is how we see things.

People have focussed stereoscopic vision and this is hard to convert through the one-eyed lens of a camera.

The everything-in-focus snapshot is certainly not how we see things in real life. One thing is in our focus and the everything else rests in our peripheral vision. We are so used to it that we don’t give it a second thought and then we may recognise this when photos don’t match our recollection of the day.

Photography with depth-of-field is the closest to how we see things and it can be quite spectacular when done properly.

The challenge for artists is trying to grasp the wonder of eyesight in paint. Some try to mimic the photographic depth-of-field, but often it looks like a photo and not a painting. The main problem being that such effects are a little to harsh to feel convincing.

Peripheral vision is something we take for granted, but when we try and paint things in this way, it doesn’t look right at all. Such effects in paint look drastic and not visually comfortable.

A painter has the choice of painting everything in focus or using subtle changes in focus and colour to achieve that which is convincing. It may seem like a simple thing to do, but I would say most artists don’t think about it much.

If the focus is on something in the middle distance, just take the edge off the focus on things in the far distance and if its sunny, blue them off too. Also, don’t overdo the foreground as it can stop the eye from roving into the painting.

Focus can also be helped by colour as well as sharpness and it can also be helped by putting less emphasis on things that would normally be in our peripheral vision, particularly on the sides. It’s a challenge that can easily be ignored by going down the all-in-focus way.

The photographic method ultimately leads to one comment – “wow, it looks just like a photo” – and this seems to be the hallmark of a great painting in the eyes of the general public - but when I hear those words I know I have failed!

The believability of a painting has nothing at all to do with photographic exactness – so few artists and many non-artists ever understand this.”

Happy painting!