Visiting Arles, France with Viking River Cruises

I have long been an ardent fan of the impressionists. The impressionists grew out of a rebellion against the camera, and here I am in Arles photographing the same spot where Vincent Van Gogh created his painting entitled The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, also known as The Café Terrace at Night.

It seems like a weird twist, doesn’t it?

Below, I’ve combined Van Gogh’s painting on the right with my recent photograph of the scene on the left.

Click the photograph for a larger view. ©2015, David A. Porter

As our Viking River Cruise guide walked us around the town of Arles, we continually found replicas of Van Gogh’s paintings in the very spot where he would have set his easel to create his works of art.  I tried to get my photograph in the exact same place as Van Gogh’s easel, but there were just too many people in my way.

Today’s digital photographers have tools that seek to mimic impressionist painters like Van Gogh.  Here’s a snippet of my photograph above with a Van Gogh filter applied.

Click photograph for a larger view. ©2015, David A. Porter

As you can see, the filter is a very lose impression (hah, get it?) of Van Gogh’s painting, but I still enjoy the colors and the slight re-imagining of his famous work of art.

I’m quite sure that Van Gogh and the other famous impressionists are rolling over in their graves as I use a camera to re-imagine their artistic rebellion pieces, but like they say in France, c’est la vie (that’s life).

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 🙂

Link: Viking River Cruises

Disclosure: our experience was provided by Viking River Cruises.  The Roaming Boomers maintains all publishing control and we’re happy to share our experiences with you without interference. All opinions are our own.

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