dbANDREWS fine art photography

Welcome!

I am pleased to present this site containing some of my favorite work.  I have been engaged in photography virtually all my life.  I find photography, and art in general, a perfect way to communicate my vision of the world around us.  It also informs my own thinking as to our responsibility to be good stewards of that which has been given us as our home.

I style myself as a photo-artist because while I mostly stay true to what I see in the camera viewfinder I find more satisfaction these days in "painting" my photographs.  I also enjoy making composites.  Some photographers think they have to remain absolutely true to what they saw; good luck with that.  I am not one of those.  Photography is art, just like painting or drawing.  No one takes a landscape painter to task for putting in or taking out an element here and there.  Why should a photographer be held to a different standard?  I am simply interested in creating a work of art that is pleasing to the eye and not necessarily rigidly conforming to reality. The exception to that rule are wildlife images where I do make an effort to stay true to realism.  

My style has evolved the past few years.  Because I am physically limited and unable to tramp the countryside as I once did I have been forced to reinvent myself.  That led to the painting of my photos.  I don't paint them freehand, but I do use what is called a "mixer brush" in Photoshop which enables me to paint over my photos using the photo itself as a guide.  That has forced me to slow down considerably.  Where once I might have spent a few minutes editing a photo I may now take hours.  It also creates great flexibility in how the final image looks depending on the type of brush used and the stroking.  I find the  process very relaxing. creative, and rewarding.  

I have just added two new portfolios of images entitled Hunter Liggett and Backyard Florals.  The first are landscapes photographed over several years at Hunter Liggett Military Reservation on California's Central Coast.  I have photographed there off and on for many years, although most of these are of recent vintage.  The second are photos taken outside my back door, mostly with an iPhone.  If you spend any time in my website you will understand that I like flower photography.  Why?  Because I find that flowers offer me a great deal of artistic flexibility.  No one worries if the final product looked exactly like the original.  I can do whatever I please to create the image.  Both these new portfolios consist fully of "painted" images.  

Thanks for visiting...and come back again soon!