Pictorialist style image captured at Wolli Creek

Tasked with attempting to capture my own example of a pictorialist style image I stopped by the waters at Wolli Creek and captured this image. This was achieved by using a zoom lens at a focal length of 200mm, an aperture of f/29 and a slow shutter speed of 1/25 sec.

The reason this image passes as a pictorialist style is the use of a photo capturing technique to make what is appear to be something slightly different.

The Pictorialist and Secessionist movement

Not clearly defined, pictorialism is a style that peaked between the years of 1885 and 1915, dominating the photography realm by allowing photographers to manipulate a scene or image to "create" an image (as opposed to simply recording it). Its popularity waned by the 1920s (when modernism was in fashion) but again saw some success in the 1940s.

The photo-secession movement of the early 20th century assisted in the promotion of photography as a fine art, especially in the area of photographic pictorialism. In Australia this movement was instrumental for getting photography recognised as an art form.

My Photographic Journey ... in words

From a young age I would avoid being immortalised by the click of a camera, hiding/refusing/dodging the ever imminent click. Instead I preferred to do the clicking; to capture the memories of those around me. At age 8 I faced the world, ok, my family, with my first camera. The rest is history, as they say.