Charles Needle releases impressionistic photography book

  •  Book Review  •  
By Joel Shore • April 27, 2014

Opinion: Let me get right to the point: Investing $40 in this book will improve your photography a whole lot more than spending $900 on a new lens.

Story: I'm a big fan of Charles Needle and the techniques he's developed and honed over many years for creative macro and impressionistic photography. In fact, I've taken several of his workshops. And, yes, I've gone so far as to borrow and adapt a couple of his great ideas for my own macro and flower-photography workshops. Charles is out with his second book, and it's a real stunner, even better than his first highly regarded e-book. Follow Needle's detailed step-by-step how-to instructions, and you'll create superb wall-worthy images to exhibit in your own home and sell to friends.

If you’re a photographer seeking to elevate your work beyond literal interpretation, you’ll find Charles Needle’s approach to artistry different from anything else you've ever seen. This 157-page book, Impressionistic Photography: A Field Guide to Using Your Camera as a Paintbrush, is liberally illustrated, featuring dozens of step-by-step instructions, as well as more than 100 image examples. Follow his techniques and Impressionistic Photography will forever change the way you photograph the world.

Soft-glow montage. (Courtesy, Charles Needle)

A significant portion of the book is devoted to four techniques: long exposure, multiple exposure, soft-glow montage, and composite montage. Other portions of the book discuss Needle's philosophy regarding photo impressionism, seven recommended pieces of equipment, recipes for combining different techniques, and even a chapter on impressionistic smartphone photography. Yes, it really can be done.

Needle teaches more than a dozen location workshops per year, including international destinations such as Giverny, France with private, early-morning access to Monet’s Garden, Keukenhof Gardens in Holland, and Butchart Gardens in Canada. You can find Needle's workshop schedule on his website, www.charlesneedlephoto.com.

I highly recommend Charles Needle's book, Impressionistic Photography: A Field Guide to Using Your Camera as a Paintbrush. It's available online at impressionisticphotographybook.com for $40 plus shipping, PayPal accepted.

Here's a page from Impressionistic Photography showing an actual scene (small inset photo) and Needle's results after shooting five exposures to achieve a pointillist effect. And here's the thing: This isn't difficult to do once you've practiced it. If  you're camera isn't capable of in-camera multiple exposures, the same results can be achieved by stacking the separate images in an image-editing application, such as Adobe Photoshop.

When it comes to learning how to make impressionistic photographs that will dazzle your friends and leave them begging to know how you did it, this is the book that should be making an impression on you.