Blue

Edited February 19, 2018 by Norma Desmond

polyspheroid blues

Nikkor AF-S 85 G

Face of Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska, 1976

Andy, Hector both great shots. Does anyone else think they would have been even better if they’d been cropped to achieve a higher level of abstraction?

Andy, Hector both great shots. Does anyone else think they would have been even better if they’d been cropped to achieve a higher level of abstraction?

I actually don't think so. I think both give just the right amount of context to allow for a "real-world" take but with a sense of the kind of abstraction that can be found in nature and that can be conveyed by a keen eye behind the camera. That being said, perhaps they wouldn't be considered "abstract" in the purest sense and a textbook might reject them for having too much connection to the real world. There would certainly be sections of each that would make for interesting, more "purely" abstract images. I'm not questioning that. But, as photos not necessarily trying to fit into the purity of a specific definition of "abstract", I'd say they both work well as they are and might very well lose something as photos without the sense of reality. While I like a lot of the more purely abstract painters' work (Kandinsky, Pollock, Mondrian), when it comes to photography I often appreciate finding the abstractions presented in the context of the real world, since photography is so dependent on a camera being pointed at the real world for its raw materials.

[by the way, Norman, I know you base your opinion on textbook definitions but rather on your sense of aesthetics. And I can certainly see and understand where you're coming from. I just see the photos somewhat differently. Simply a matter of taste.]

Sorry, that should have read "I know you DON'T base your opinion on textbook definitions . . ."

If both cropped their iceberg images without some context then they just becomes ice texture studies but obviously closer to abstract by definition, but then this forum category hasn't been the hallmark of strictly sticking to the concept of Abstract as a disconnect from reality. There's been downright snap shots posted of obvious subjects that don't even convey anything close to Abstract.

 

No one complains, and neither do I. It's all good here.

If both cropped their iceberg images without some context then they just becomes ice texture studies…

 

would they? without context, how would you know they were ice textures?

No one complains, and neither do I. It's all good here

no one is complaining Tim

Edited February 21, 2018 by Norman 202

when it comes to photography I often appreciate finding the abstractions presented in the context of the real world, since photography is so dependent on a camera being pointed at the real world for its raw materials.

Good points Fred. From my perspective, whenever I look at any photo, I see abstractions so, I suppose, in “Abstract Photography”, I’m more in favour of stuff that’s even more abstract (unrecognisable ?).

Good points Fred. From my perspective, whenever I look at any photo, I see abstractions so, I suppose, in “Abstract Photography”, I’m more in favour of stuff that’s even more abstract (unrecognisable ?).

Yes, I totally get that.

 

I think abstract art and photography exist on a continuum. I get why the more extreme end of the spectrum would be appealing, and it sometimes is for me as well. But I also like playing with that balance and counterpoint between real and abstract. I try to make sure that photos I post here fall more than mid-way on the spectrum toward abstract, though that's probably not always the case for everyone viewing my work. Sometimes, it's a bit of a Rorschach test. A while ago, I posted a guy's face that was getting strong, geometric bands of shadows that curved with the contours of his face created by mini-blinds in a nearby window. That was pretty literal and some may have legitimately taken it quite literally, or realistically. But, it also seemed to lend itself to seeing the shadows and forms as primary and what they were projected on as secondary. Anyway, I like that sort of tension or dialogue between the real (recognizable) and the abstract so I often just play with it.