The Fall of Icarus

Pieter Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus provides us with a clue for how to go about obtaining images which, after we have converted them into underdrawings, we can thereupon paint.

We want to avoid composed, contrived settings. Sharp, well composed and focused photos are just fine as is. Why transform those into paintings? But setting up a good photo is a left brain enterprise. We are painters and - while we do use cameras to capture our image - our purpose is to draw upon if not necessarily to draw on the right side of the brain. To uncover the out of focus image that we glimpse out of the corner of our eye.

So how do we do this with a camera?

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus portrays a fine Flemish landscape:

But the real subject is Icarus' fall,  tucked away in the lower right:

We go around with the left side of our brains seeking fine Flemish landscapes to photograph. Only later do we notice that "Hey! I've got a shot of Icarus falling here." And that's what we want to paint.

For example, here we have an underexposed, poorly arranged, tilted photograph:

Certainly this is an unpromising photo. But this young lady is its Icarus:

And here is her photo converted to an underdrawing:

This means, generally speaking, you want a camera with a wide angle lens, a deep depth of field, and shutter speed fast enough to prevent blurring. This will enable you to capture as much imagery as possible. You will decide - or, rather, you will discover - what actually to display later. As for the artistic effects and visual impacts - that is what painting is for.