The Karma runs over the Dogma

I have thrown this picture in the garbage and picked it out again

several times. I have finally found a good place for it, in the

corner of a portfolio page, as an accent icon.

 

I don't know if the image lends itself to fair critique, you either

like it or you don't.

 

I am posting it now in response to all the brue-ha-ha over the rating

system. Please feel free to rate or comment on it, and perhaps we can

get on to more intresting visual imagery and less verbal back biting.

 

John G.

Don't know about Karma or Dogma but this one does make a beautiful abstract

I really like the triangular arrangement of the flowers in the composition, and the square format. The intertwining of the stalks & the object is beautiful. Is that object drift wood? Only it looks a little like an old bone at first glance. Had it actually been bone I would assume some symbolic meaning (exactly what I have no idea). What I find unusual and interesting is the pale colour of the wood set in a white background. Very original, and very aesthetic, it is good to see so many 'shades' of white! Keep it away from the rubbish bin!!

Hi Geraldine; I'm glad you like this.

 

I think that it looks like a dog-like creature playing in the flowers. I find it whimsical.

 

It started with my idea that flower stems could be bent around into shapes. I wanted to do this because obviously, when shooting many flowers from a low angle, there is no way to include the inside of the flower. So I wanted a way to incorporate side and top views.

 

Then, I had this piece of driftwood. It was yellowish. I had a choice between bleaching and spray painting. At the first blast of spray paint, I said, "oh-oh". But I quess it worked out OK.

 

I set the shot up on a white background, didn't like it because I thought that it failed to seperate the driftwood, which was supposed to be the subject. That was the first time I put the concept on the shelf and threw the image into the garbage

 

Then I put it on tan colored formica so the driftwood would stand out. Shot it, printed it, threw it in the garbage.

 

Then I shot a background of beach sand, and dropped it onto the beach sand. Threw it back in the garbage.

 

Then I pulled it out again, silo'd the solid objects, desaturated the color contamination under the driftwood and put it onto a white background with a drop shadow. Threw it back in the garbage.

 

Then I pulled it out again, converted the original shadows to grey scale, seperated them into two densities with curves, and put them back in with layer blends.

 

This kept it out of the garbage, but it sat in the hard drive for a while before I created a nature still life page for my portfolio and I pulled it up again and dropped it small in the corner of the page. Looks great, but it was a long way around!

 

It could still use some work, more than your DJTripSwitch, the colors are super saturated. I could make them look better and when it Epson prints on glossy, it takes forever to dry!

 

See you!--John G.

Hi John. Well of course now I know how much went into this piece I will have to change my cleverness rating. I might have known you went to hell & back before being even remotely satisfied!! I think for me the main aspect that prevents this from being a 'winner' is not the white bkgrd/white subject, but the subject appears to be 'floating' mid air. I don't know why this is. I have looked at the direction of light, and the shadows don't appear to be misplaced. Perhaps it is because there is no separation of surface & bkgrd setting. The bkgrd & surface the subject is resting upon is all-in one. Although this gives a lovely clean crisp appeal, it looks rather odd in my mind. Like an optical illusion. Perhaps this oddity adds to the image, as it has kept me looking for some time now!

Hi Geraldine- If you get back here. Yeah, I know what you mean, I just don't know what to do about it. I have tried every background I could think of. Perhaps if I darkened the shadows and let the foreground go white with texture, and let the background go max white, there would be more depth. Also, the image is rotated quite a bit, originally the two lower flowers were on the same level.

 

Anyway, I have it in my portfolio as a silo and it looks great for that. ONWARDS AND UPWARDS !!!!

Hi John, yes I think your ideas would definitiely add the depth. Darkening the shadow, particularly a small area directly next to the wood (to almost black) would make all the difference. It's a lovely & unusual image as it stands though, makes me smile when I think the lengths an artist will go in order to strive for their conceived 'perfection'. All the best.