Photography Assignment - Abstraction

Submitted by stevej on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 12:37pm


saphotography (2 of 2).jpg

Abstraction

The idea here is to produce a photograph where the physical subject is relatively unimportant. Photographs can be color, black and white, edited or straight out of the camera. Think of this as an exercise in composition rather than an exercise in capturing beauty. Think in terms of dark/light, shape, line, etc. Anything can be the subject of an abstract photograph - even people

Abstract photography, sometimes called non-objective, experimental, conceptual or concrete photography, is a means of depicting a visual image that does not have an immediate association with the object world and that has been created through the use of photographic equipment, processes or materials. An abstract photograph may isolate a fragment of a natural scene in order to remove its inherent context from the viewer, it may be purposely staged to create a seemingly unreal appearance from real objects, or it may involve the use of color, light, shadow, texture, shape and/or form to convey a feeling, sensation or impression. The image may be produced using traditional photographic equipment like a camera, darkroom or computer, or it may be created without using a camera by directly manipulating film, paper or other photographic media, including digital presentations.
-Wikipedia

saphotography (1 of 2).jpg

Of course any photographs can be posted here - they don't have to relate to the assignment.

Open Thread

These assignments are posted in conjunction with Friday Night Photography Open Thread
This weeks Friday Night Photography Open Thread

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photography assignment
abstraction
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Submitted by stevej on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 12:41pm
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saphotography (1 of 1)-3_3.jpg

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Submitted by WindDancer13 on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 12:53pm
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Just wanted to share this (not my work):

Mellem Væggene from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo.

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Submitted by janis b on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 3:05pm
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Submitted by stevej on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 1:53pm
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thanks for posting it.

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Submitted by Terry Hutchinson on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 2:21pm

screen 232.jpg

bulb 233.jpg

scaffold 234.jpg

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If you don't know what you want, you deserve what you get.

Submitted by janis b on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 3:09pm
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Submitted by stevej on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 4:54pm
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see some monochrome - like these compositions a lot

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Submitted by janis b on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 3:01pm
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And thank you to all those who contribute with their images and comments. It encourages me to devote more time to photography, which is always such a pleasure for me.

I didn’t know what this weeks assignment was before I left home in the morning, but I think this photo fits. On my way back home I pulled off the road at the dam to wait out the torrential rain. Even though it is obvious what the image is of, I still consider it abstract. But I guess it's not unusual for a photographer whose inclination is toward the abstract to find the abstract in everything.

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Submitted by stevej on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 4:56pm
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Definitely abstract and definitely this:

But I guess it's not unusual for a photographer whose inclination is toward the abstract to find the abstract in everything.

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Submitted by janis b on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 3:33pm
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Submitted by Sedna on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 4:00pm
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...in my mind, the images are like visual jazz. Am thoroughly enjoying everyones different ways of looking at the world. I agree, Janis b, that:

... it's not unusual for a photographer whose inclination is toward the abstract to find the abstract in everything.

P4050046.jpg

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"So it goes."
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Submitted by janis b on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 4:10pm
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I want to touch the lichen which look as if they are made of velvet. The color and the light is also so inviting. Thank you.

Many photographers are also musicians, something sadly, I have no capacity for.

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Submitted by stevej on Sun, 05/22/2016 - 8:22am
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Abstractions evoke music...

Always.
Wonderful image

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Submitted by Bollox Ref on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 4:07pm
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tu8gh47.JPG

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Submitted by stevej on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 4:59pm
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where is this BR?

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Submitted by Bollox Ref on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 7:03pm
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It's a shot of the flying buttress work around the Chapter House of Lincoln Cathedral in England.

Lincoln is a bit off the beaten track, but the cathedral is a Gothic wonder.

Edit:

To quote Wikipedia:

The cathedral is the third largest in Britain (in floor space) after St Paul's and York Minster, being 484 by 271 feet (148 by 83 m). It is highly regarded by architectural scholars; the eminent Victorian writer John Ruskin declared: "I have always held... that the cathedral of Lincoln is out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any two other cathedrals we have."

Edit 2:

The problem with Lincoln Cathedral is that it sits on a hill surrounded by the houses of the old city. You really can't get a shot that does the building justice.

P1010007.JPG

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Submitted by stevej on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 7:13pm
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but wasn't sure. I visited Lincoln several times while I was living in Colchester. The last time my (American) wife and I were in the UK we made it to Norwich Cathedral but missed out on Lincoln - we'd planned to go but were just exhausted from too much travelling and Jet Lag.

I now have a 16mm efl ultra wide angle lens and that combined with some keystoning (perspective distortion) in Photoshop would probably squeeze a decent shot out of the building - I know what you mean though as I've never got a shot as good as yours in previous visits.

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Submitted by Bollox Ref on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 7:32pm
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The cathedral there is a lot easier to photograph.... plus it has a statue of Nelson (one of my school boy heroes).

I have some shots of Wells Cathedral around somewhere, along with Exeter and Salisbury, Rochester.

This was the best shot I could get of Winchester.

Winagain.JPG

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Submitted by stevej on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 8:11pm
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is probably my favorite - never made it to Exeter which is pretty inexcusable as its in Devon (SW England) - the county where I was born.

Nice shot of Winchester.

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Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 5:04pm
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Submitted by janis b on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 7:42pm
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Submitted by stevej on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 8:13pm
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I tried to make a pinhole camera by putting a hole in the cap of an old Nikon - could never get it to work though.

This is beautiful

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Submitted by janis b on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 8:18pm
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photographed by the pinhole camera through a glass shelf.

The pinhole camera is a Japanese Zero Image camera, that takes 120 film.

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Submitted by Bollox Ref on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 9:59pm
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Very wonderful.

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Submitted by janis b on Sun, 05/22/2016 - 12:59am
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The beauty of pinhole photography is the fact that it is full of surprise and mystery. My first ones were made with a sturdy box. You can make a perfectly well functioning one in an hour. I haven’t used one very much, but I think I might have to load it up again.

If you just want to let loose and experiment (and have your vision temporarily altered), then try some pinhole.

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Submitted by Sedna on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 9:17pm
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Thanks for the kind words Janis B and SteveJ. The photos shared by all in these Friday assignments are quite inspiring and informative. Wonderful shot of Lincoln Cathedral's flying buttresses, Bollox Ref - somehow a study like yours feels more intimate, like a glimpse of the spirit of the structure instead of a formal, staged portrait.

Hmmm, now am wondering where I stashed my old photos of St Giles in Edinburgh.

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Submitted by janis b on Sun, 05/22/2016 - 1:07am
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like a glimpse of the spirit of the structure instead of a formal, staged portrait.

It is fascinating to look at how others see things, and how others describe things.

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Submitted by Sedna on Sat, 05/21/2016 - 9:31pm
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The pinhole camera nautilus shells are exquisite, Janis!

P1270081.jpg

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Submitted by janis b on Sun, 05/22/2016 - 1:11am
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