One of my trademark techniques was originally referred to as “Orton Imagery” by Photo Life magazine (Darwin Wiggett, www.darwinwiggett.com). This technique originated years ago with my efforts to imitate watercolor paintings by simply placing the images out of focus and if you have seen pen and ink and watercolor combinations, you will understand where the inspiration to add detail comes from.

The original technique involved sandwiching two or three transparencies of the same composition together. One slide contains the detail component, in focus and overexposed, the second and /or the third is the color component, and is out of focus and overexposed.

A tripod is essential, as this technique involves manipulating focus and focal length without moving the camera. I used a 70 – 210mm or 28 – 70mm zoom at F4 or F 5.6, creating an image with shallow depth of field to make the first exposure. This image is a controlled amount out of focus (a variable) and exposed anywhere from correctly to two stops overexposed, depending on the image and my intent in the final sandwich. If you bracket the exposure, you will have other choices on the light table. Next, with my eye to the viewfinder, I slowly bring the image into focus. However, the image is getting smaller as it comes into focus. Therefore, as I sharpen the focus, I must also zoom to compensate for this. If care is not taken, the sandwich can be quite askew with the areas of color not properly indexed with the detail and lines.

The use of digital cameras and Photoshop have given rise to many variations of techniques that produce similar effects. The new release of Adobe Photoshop Elements 10, in the fall of 2011, includes a guided action of the “Orton Effect”.

The slideshow "Earth Symphony" is a collection of some of my most memorable photgraphic moments featuring the Orton Effect as it evolved.

Past thought processes can also be utilized with new technologies in digital cameras and software. My earlier influences were always from a more painterly approach. I have been using camera motion since I began photographing years ago. "Consider camera motion in this way: The landscape you see through the viewfinder is a canvas wet with paint, your film in your camera is a blank sheet of white paper pressed against it. Any movement of your camera will result in the landscape being painted onto the film according to the movement." Photographing Creative Landscapes - Michael Orton .

My latest work, "Freedom" as seen in the slideshow and Fine Art Print Gallery has rekindled my passion for photography. It involves using a digital camera, compound camera motion and changing focal length and focus to paint my version of the landscape. Images vary from abstract to defined, combining colors as the camera moves.

The main difference now is that I left my tripod and larger camera bag behind and began working with only one body and one lens. This time I just let go and experimented without any preconceptions as to what I might do with these images. Camera motion began to evolve into compound camera motion - combining two or more movements at the same time. Besides this, some images were made by changing focus or focal length as this compound camera motion was being used. To me, the really exciting part, beyond being able to shape and “draw” the raw material, is the blending and mixing of colors to produce secondary colors. In other words, I was getting colors in the final raw file that were not visible to my eye when I made the image. Rain became a major factor in creating these images. The reflection from the rain causes brilliant colors that seem almost unbelievable. Some of the most vibrant colors were produced while working with material such as an old decaying tree stump by blending the colors together. As you watch “Freedom”, keep this in mind, the colors you see have not been added. Only the usual adjustments in exposure and levels etc. have been used. With the natural landscape as a color palette, unlimited raw material is produced.