I finally did it

I made the switch.

For those of you who don't know I've been a photographer for 19 years. What you may not know is that I only picked up a camera because I was not able to draw or paint. Regardless, I was fortunate to find success; I shot sports and worked for a local college for years, I worked for small and large papers in the Northeast and as many of you know, I developed Open shutter techniques that allowed me to do a lot of stuff in camera that most people do with Photoshop.

My main influences have been painters, like Caravaggio, Vermeer and MJ Heade, so it's not a surprise that my style is considered painterly. A lot of that painterly style comes from the Open shutter technique I use, which is often difficult and laborious. Many times over the last 5 years I have sat down and thought to myself, "it might be easier to learn how to paint."

Combined with the facts that I find the cost of framing a photography show to be prohibitive, that the bigger galleries in Las Vegas are no longer accepting digital art of any kind and that I am so tired of being asked if my work is photoshopped, I have made the switch to painting.

The double-edged sword of being good with a camera means that we can get better and better shots by using good old-fashioned photographic technique. My hummingbirds are an example of such work. No photoshop with the exception of contrast, saturation and slight exposure changes. But the vast majority of people who look at my work assume it is photoshopped. I'm tired of explaining.

No one ever asks if a painting is photoshopped. Moreover, since I have started painting I have found that paintings, as opposed to photos, have a more visceral presence.

I still love photography as much as I ever have, but I'm no longer willing to fight the fight. I am not completely through with photography by any means, but painting has replaced it as my main form of expression.

Mainly now I use the camera for reference photos for painting and for photos of my finished works. Below is a reference photo for my next painting, taken with a Fuji xt-2.