Abstraction
What is Abstraction?An abstraction in photography refers to photos that are abstract. This means that a photographer may of taken a photo and then changed it in some way, which can sometimes make it hard to identify what the image actually is. It can also just be different for instance; the photo could be in focus however it could just be different like the image on the right, or it could be in and out of focus or all out of focus. They all change the photo. They all grab the audiences attention. All works of art could be looked upon as being abstract because they are all showing life rather then the real life.
On my pinterest I have uploaded all types of pictures that have some form of abstraction. Using formal elements. |
My pinterest of abstraction:
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The picture to the far left is of the eiffel tower, taken by Jaroslav Rössler around 1929.
The pictures to the left are forms of abstraction. Something natural turned into something different, and 'abstract'. I really like these images because they are of something so normal yet look like something so weird and unearthly. Which makes them eye catching and abstract. |
The formal elements
Focus
Light
Lines and Shape
Repetition
Colour
Texture
Value/Tone
The photo on the right has repetition, colour, focus, line, shape, texture, light and tone.
Light
Lines and Shape
Repetition
Colour
Texture
Value/Tone
The photo on the right has repetition, colour, focus, line, shape, texture, light and tone.
FocusThe whole image is in focus although, there are some pictures where there might be a bit of soft focus in the corners of the picture or near the bottom. Like the photo on the right there is a slight soft focus near the centre of the image, this effect looks like a smudge on the camera screen. Focus and Blur are really easy to see, and can change the view of the image completely. Focus is sometimes used to draw your eye to that part of the image straight away, although sometimes the other way round.
Line and ShapeLines are another formal element.
The photo on the right, there are different types of lines, some straight, some curvy, some thick, some thin, some close together and others further apart. If this wood was just blank it would change the image completely. There is also shape like the straight lines in part of the image, again changing the look of it. ColourColour can change an image instantly. The image on the right is really vibrant in the centre, it captures your attention and the first thing you see is colour. However if you look around the colour near the bottom of the photo and around the edges it is completely black. This gives the colour in the centre even more vibrancy. If the background was green, or blue, or any other bright colour.. the explosions of colours would not be so eye catching. If the photo was black and white, it would still be different and eye catching however in a different way. The photo wouldn't feel the same and would be (obviously) seen differently.
Value/ToneOn the photo to the right you can see the shaded areas, the darker or lighter area. This really adds more 'texture' to the image, this effects the image because it makes it look different and distorted which adds impact to the photo.
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LightLight is also a formal element (this element is really easy to remember). Light can instantly change the feel of the picture and change the way it looks. For instance, the photo to the left really creates a dramatic effect to the image. Imagine it without that natural light, without it, this image would look a lot more dull and boring. Depending on where the light is, it can create shadows that, again, can make the image look more dramatic then without. In the photo on the left, the sun rays are hitting the edges of the flowers making them look like they have an aura.
RepetitionRepetition is a formal element, just a simple object can be repeated several times and create an illusion in an image. For example, the image on the left. The actual object is something that you pretty much see everyday however because it has been repeated it looks a lot more interesting. Also the photo has been taken at a certain angle so that it gives an illusion of an endless repetition. The sky in the background is also very eye catching.. which leads on to the next formal element.. Colour.
TextureTexture can make a photo seem really realistic, sometimes you might see a photo and almost be able to feel it.
For instance, the photo on the left has a lot of texture. The sand looks 3d because of the shade. If you could touch the surface of this image, what would it feel like? |
Taking pictures using the formal elements: 'Light' and 'Reflection' (at school)
My photographs of: Repetition, Colour, Light, Lines and shape and Focus.
I went around school and took any pictures that showed formal elements such as colour, light and shape etc. When you're looking out for these you notice that there are so many things. Some of the problems with taking these images was that it was hard to zoom in onto an object for example a leaf and get it as focus as possible.
I am interested in creating a series of light images in which focus is the main element. I am researching the work of Uta Barth because a lot of her images are the ones that I am aiming to try and take. How she captures the light is really amazing.
Uta Barth's work.
Uta Barth's is a contemporary photographer, born in Germany. A lot of her work is based around light. Many of her photos are unfocused and show light in some way or another. I really like her work because it's really abstract and captures the light really beautifully.
Black and white photography. Light, shadow. Emma and Blue
This is some more photography that me and Emma did which include formal elements such as light and shadow. We decided to take most pictures of things in front of light so that the object in the foreground looked more darker and more like a shadow. For example, branches against light.
On our school trip to the park, I am going to take pictures of the sky and water. Both of these ideas I got from
Photos I took at Sutcliffe park
My ipod photos (at Sutcliffe park)
My trip to Margate
On Wednesday 20th Our photography class and three art classes went on a trip to margate. It was really cold, wet and grey but that made it easier to get certain 'abstract' photos then on days where the weather could be nice. We had to take as many photos using the ipod or camera (or both) and try to take abstract photos.
Below, are all of the photos that I took (using the camera), most are quite grey and dull but i got into a routine of focusing on the raindrops on the windows in a gallery that we visited and I think they worked quite well.
Margate photo set
There were some photos that worked a lot better then others. The photo on the left I don't think worked very well because it's not very abstract and it quite boring, even though it shows the landscape it's not very eye catching. I think the photo on the right worked a lot better because it has quite a lot going on, its focused in the foreground on raindrops on a window however in the background there is almost like a figure completely blurred, which makes it quite abstract.
Using photoshop
I picked one of my photos and decided to edit and change it using photoshop, I picked this photo because I really like it and I like the focus on the raindrops and how the background is completely blurred, and I think that this is quite an abstract photo. I used a 'vintage' effect that I downloaded from Deviantart.com and then played around with the different effects.
The original photograph is on the right and the photos below have been edited. I like both edits because they both brighten the photo and change it quite a bit. The photo below changes the image and makes it look quite blue and I like this because it's almost like the colour of the sea and it adds an atmosphere to the image. The photo below on the right I like because it, again, brightens the image and changes the feel. Compared to the original photo it adds more colour, like faded pink and dark blue. It sort of warms the photo up. I then wanted to try the photo black and white, I quite like the way it turned out and I think that old vintage effect works a lot better then the others. I think this because the original photo is quite dull, and the black and white complements it.
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Final piece
After trying a photo in photoshop I really liked the vintage effect because it adds faded colours in the photo which makes the photo more dramatic. So I decided to choose 4 photos to add this effect to. I chose these 4 photos because they all have something in common, 'water on windows'. These were the 4 photos I decided to group.
What do I want to do for my final piece? (Ideas)
For my final piece I want to do something involving rain/condensation on windows, I think it's a really cool and a fun idea that can look abstract and eye catching. I also want to attempt zooming in on a raindrop so that you can see whats beyond it in a distorted way. Whats also good about this idea is that because it's rainy and wet a lot at the moment there will be lots of opportunities to take photo's of the rain on windows. I think i'll be using formal elements such as light because it will make the photo's a lot more dramatic (natural light and manmade light), either with the light out of focus in the background or shining on the rain to add reflection on them.
I want to attempt things like this:
For my final piece I want to do something involving rain/condensation on windows, I think it's a really cool and a fun idea that can look abstract and eye catching. I also want to attempt zooming in on a raindrop so that you can see whats beyond it in a distorted way. Whats also good about this idea is that because it's rainy and wet a lot at the moment there will be lots of opportunities to take photo's of the rain on windows. I think i'll be using formal elements such as light because it will make the photo's a lot more dramatic (natural light and manmade light), either with the light out of focus in the background or shining on the rain to add reflection on them.
I want to attempt things like this:
However, I also would like to try photos that are out of focus and blurry, like this one I took at Margate at the Arcade. Using the formal element colour so that it makes all sorts of shapes but it's abstract because you don't know what the shapes really are. So I'm going to try this idea too. I might try combining both of these ideas together, with condensation/raindrops in the foreground but in the background have things like the photo on the right. Where everything is colourful or something is happening in the background or someone is there so that the photo looks a bit more interesting and is a bit more eye catching. I might try and take photos a bit like Saul Leiter. Here are is an example of his photos: |
They are quite abstract because the things in the background, like the person, he looks quite distorted and strange because of the condensation on the window.
I want to do these type of images because I think they are quite creative and will be fun to mess about with and can make good abstract photos. I want something going on in the background, whether its colours or lights or people or something thats quite interesting so that the photo is more vibrant and has something different going on in it other then just raindrops on a window. |
On the left is a photo I have taken through a car window which had condensation and raindrops with the background blurred and abstract. I like this photo because the raindrops look quite cool they look like they have been pixelated and this makes the photo look more abstract and also makes the background of the image look more abstract. I want to take more images like this or that are similar to this for my idea, and then take a series or related images that will go into my final piece all involving water on windows with something blurred in the background even if its just light. |
My second final piece:
I am going to use the photo below that I took over the holidays and then edit it in different ways to make it more abstract. I will then display the original photo and the edited photos together.
I want to edit this photo and make it very strange and abstract. My idea is to print out the original photo and then print out every photo where the effect is gradually happening.
The process:
Firstly, I went to the site Deviantart.com which is where you can download all types of actions for photoshop to edit and change your photo. I first looked at cross process actions.
Here are some examples below: The original image and then the two edited images. In this new action named 'HDR post effects' I tried one effect called 'Tweak-soft'. Both of the edited images below are the same effect but the 3rd image has been doubled by the same effect. I quite liked this effect as it really changed the look of the image and made it quite strange. I then tried another effect called 'colour green'. This effect really changed the image. It highlighted some of the shadows and sort of disorientated the image. I quite like this effect as it is completely different to the original image.
This effect was also another strange effect called 'Maximizer - medium' This effect was really strange as it lightened and also softened the image.
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I downloaded 'photoshop colour actions' This gave many different options to choose from. Some worked more then others.
I then tried another action under 'overlap photoshop actions'. These actions were quite bold. EvaluationIn the end this idea didn't work out. I thought that the fading into a more vivid colour was a good idea however I decided to experiment and cut a strip from each photo and place them all together however this idea didn't really work because the photo was already very abstract and so it just made the photographer more messy and confusing.
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