Art I Love: Ed Freeman

I keep coming back to photographer Ed Freeman’s work — in particular, his underwater images. Freeman is considered a highly controversial artist for his open use of Photoshop in his art:

I’m not particularly concerned with reporting on the world the way it is. There are lots of people out there who are doing that far better than I ever could. I approach photography as if it were painting; my pictures are about the way I want the world to be. I take photographs just like everybody else, but Photoshop manipulation is an integral part of my workflow and really the creative center around which everything else revolves. It’s hard to pigeon-hole me because I work simultaneously in a variety of styles – so many, in fact, that I’ve had to put up two different websites to cover them all. But what everything I do has in common is computer manipulation – sometimes subtle, sometimes massive.   

Ed Freeman, interview: Qufoto

I love the ethereal quality of his pieces. They remind me of a modern day version of John William Waterhouse’s 1890s paintings, in particular Hylas and the Water Nymphs. And, of course, they remind me of ballet. 

All photography is in part self-portraiture; what’s in back of the camera is just as important as what’s in front of it. If you want to make better pictures, work on becoming a better person. In the end, that’s what we’re all here to do.

Ed Freeman