This is my submission for Brenda’s A Photo Study: Abstract Photography.
For many years, whenever I saw an abstract painting, I felt intimidating. It’s just a black canvas, isn’t it? Why is it hanging on the wall at this museum? What’s there to see? I didn’t get it, and frankly, it didn’t bother me a lot that I didn’t get it.
I was surprise how much I liked abstract photos. I guess it is because abstract photos are not totally abstract. I mean they are based on real (not abstract) subjects. Since I know they do exist in real form, I don’t have a need to question why they exist, so I can focus on seeing their beauty. (Make sense?)
First photo was taken at a dental office’s parking lot. I wonder if they knew how it would look like on snowing day before they built this wall.
One side of Zumbro River …
A different view of Minnehaha Regional Park… 😉
As always, I checked around on the Internet, and this time I found: ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIAL – Macro Photography Challenge Using Spoons. After seeing that video, I took the following photo.
Brenda said, “I’ve come to understand abstract/non-representational imagery as an absence of the type of discrimination and labeling process that seeks an answer to, ‘what is that?’ to one that invites the viewer to explore, ‘what feelings does this image evoke?’”
Ah… I think I am ready to go back to the museum to take another look at those abstract paintings! Thanks, Brenda!
Thank you for visiting my blog.
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Wow…great images. The first one is my favorite with the repeating patterns of snow. Thank you for opening me up to the possibilities of creating abstract photography with different perspectives. Nice clean lines with the forks especially with the black background…the fork from the right side seems to be created by the black….very interesting.
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Thanks, Brenda. Another fun project! The last one, I followed Ray Scott’s (the video I linked to) suggestion placing a black scarf under forks. I took several photos, and decided this would be the one. The first one was taken after we had a big snow. We stopped at that parking lot because the scene across the street looked good. But when I turned around, I found this interesting wall. They (a lot of photographers) were right — don’t forget to look behind you 😉
Have a great week. (Do you post a photo a day? They all look great!)
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I will have to remember to that amazing piece of guidance…look behind me. I go through phases where I have not posted for a while and then …. posting 1, 2, 3 times a day. Trying to hold myself to posting no more than once a day. Do you post daily?
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Most time, I post once a week; sometime twice 😉 So little time… I just created a photo book for neighbor’s boy. He will be surprised 😉 I like to give photos to people.I like them to enjoy their moments.
Have a great day.
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I enjoy creating photo books for Christmas.
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I relate to your experience with abstract in painting and photography. I’m not sure what the exact definition is, but with photography there is a sense that the geometry, shape and color of a real thing is the focus in an abstract, instead of the thing itself. Abstract paintings are not something I have learned to appreciate very much…yet.
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Your comment made me feel good. For a while (I mean many years ago), I actually tried not to show how confused I was with those abstract paintings. 😉
Your description of abstract photo makes a lot of sense to me. It is that thing itself, sometime, really doesn’t make sense. I learn something , and thank you!
Have a great day.
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A fantastic post. I love the forks setting and the snow very much. Brenda and you have inspired me to look into my archives again.
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Thanks, Rupali. You have inspired me, too. And you continue inspiring me with your daily post (great photos!) It seems like I can only do one or two a week ;-(
Have a great day.
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I really like your first image.
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Thanks, Jim. I wonder if your comment is free from bias. After all, that was Minnesota snow! 😉
Have a great day.
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These are all beautifully captured, Helen! The last photo is very interesting, I really like it. 🙂
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Thanks, Amy. The last one was quite easy — the hardest part was coming up with the idea. And, again, thanks to Internet! 😉
Have a great day.
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I feel the same way as you do about some abstract painting. On one of my visits to the museum of modern art, a docent made the art much more comprehensible. Your abstract photographs are wonderful, and you articulated very well the reason they may be more appealing to some of us than splotches of black and white on a canvas (or an all white canvas, or an all yellow canvas)
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Thanks, Carol. Deep down, I have a question (not sure if it’s a good question to ask): if a painting needs to be explained to be comprehended, how valuable is it?
Once I was told that if I stared at the painting for a while and blinked, I would see the really paining the artist wanted me to see (something like that). I tried, but I didn’t think I saw anything (my mind tried to convince me that I did, but I didn’t think I did.)
I really like abstract photos — hope this will make up to how disconnect I was with abstract paintings. Ha.
Have a great day.
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I love the wall in the snow! Like the commenter above I find having a guide explain abstract art to me makes it much more comprehensible.
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Thanks, Anabel. I don’t know. Once I was sitting on the chair (in the middle of the room), while a guide explaining an abstract painting to a small group of people. I was glad that my thoughts didn’t make a sound, because I kept thinking “really?”, “are you sure?” “how do you know for sure?”… 😉
Have a great day.
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Great captures Helen!!!
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Thank you, Paulo. Appreciate you took time to stop by.
Have a great day.
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nice thoughts! I like abstract arts a lot (when they make sense to me ^^) … however, I agree that abstract photos based on the reality touch my heart even better.
The winter scene is so peaceful. is it still cold? ready for the spring? it is very warm in the south now.
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Snow today (29 degree), Sunday, next Monday, Wednesday… I try not to think about spring. ;-(
I am hoping my appreciation for abstract photo will make me appreciate abstract paintings more 😉 I am not going to hold my breath though 😉 (Maybe, at least, they will start making more senses to me…)
Have a great day.
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OK!! now I have to confess… I love and appreciate avant-garde works very much… However, some of them really did not make sense to me. I only hope people don’t take advantage of “modern” arts… ^^
ah! 29-degree sounds like “winter” to a southern person like me. haha! Yes, be patient… spring is under the ground and going to pop up anytime…
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Helen, these are great abstracts!
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Thank you, Hien. Always happy to read your comment!
Have a great evening.
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