Strongest Abstract Photos

These were my six strongest photos. My classmates told me that the images utilizing light would work well together in a series. This would include the two curtain images, the chair shadow image, and the fabric image. They liked the ways in which the blue hues of the photos played with one another and they thought that the red in the window photo was very interesting. They also thought that the focus of the book photograph was dynamic and that leaving it black and white allowed the viewer to focus on texture and contrast rather than color. 

Abstract Project Reflection

How did you find opportunities to explore abstraction through your work in this project? Which image is your strongest? How does that image exemplify abstraction?

During this project, I was able to explore abstraction through using deliberate photographic techniques and enhancing my photos using photoshop and lightroom. I used geometric shapes found in everyday objects to create abstract compositions. I also found light to be a valuable tool in creating abstract images, as the shadows and lines created by direct light sources made my photos more complex and dynamic. Cropping was also a valuable tool in my quest for abstraction, as I could focus on particular textures and colors to make the objects in my image stand out. The image that I have posted above was my strongest, and it exemplifies abstraction because I used cropping and light to create a composition that is unique and interesting. It is difficult to identify what the subject truly is and what is going on, leaving room for interpretation. 

How did you push yourself to gain a better understanding of the digital camera and photoshop? What are your favorite photoshop tools? In what ways did you come to better control the various tools you employed? 

I used the zoom feature in particular on my camera to find textures and lines that made interesting abstract compositions. The zoom lenses were very useful and helped me to find and create images that I otherwise may not have seen without such a close view. I really enjoyed playing with cropping and color / hue during the course of the project. Many of my photos had a warm, yellowish tone, and with photoshop, I made the images more interesting   when I switched the tint from a yellow to a blue. I used the editing tools to find hues of blue and green that enhanced the detail of my photos without being distracting. I learned through experimentation to use color in subtle ways that do not detract from the overall image quality and instead enhance my composition. 

FAB Work Reflection

What intrigues you about the artwork? What do you think the intentions of the artist were with the piece? what formal, technical elements of the work might you want to use in your own creative practice? 

I found this artwork to be very intriguing because although it seems one-dimensional at first glance, there are layers and layers of texture and color that make the piece more intriguing as you continue to look at it. I think that the artist was trying to demonstrate complex textures and use strategic colors and directional movement to make an emotional piece that may tell a story personal to the artist. To me, the painting is reminiscent to the heart monitors used in hospitals or to sound waves. Either way, I find the piece to be exciting and complex. I might use this method of layering color and texture in my creative practice to make layered and complex compositions. 

Abstract Evaluation

My peers appreciated the harsh line and asymmetry of this composition and the reverse effect that the light coming through the window and coming through the curtain had on the table surface. The use of light is interesting and the unexpected cropping was intriguing.

Photo Encapsulating Current Project

Off-Camera Flash

I plan to use both natural and artificial light to create complex shadows inside and outside of nature to convey something along the lines of passage of time. I plan to finalize my conceptual intentions during the upcoming weeks, but as of right now, I am drawn to shadows with unexpected light and attention to detail.

Map of My Mind - Reflection and Final Project

Conceptual Intentions

Although I initially struggled to create a piece that communicated my voice as an artist and as a person, I believe that I was eventually able to do so through incorporating photos of places that are important to me along with drawings that I have made and textures that I find interesting and communicative. I found this whole process to be very meaningful, as it allowed me to explore my inner consciousness in a physical project and forced me to find a way to effectively communicate my intentions using photoshop. I hadn't previously spent much time imagining what a physical representation of my mind would look like and it took lots of thinking to create a piece that told my audience the story that I wanted them to see. After hearing the comments that my classmates made regarding my final piece, I realized that I had communicated more about myself than I had even intended simply through the methods I used and the placements of certain objects, which made the critique both interesting and valuable for me.

Stretch and Explore 

Originally, I had placed several photos of nature bordering the entire piece but I struggled with creating a background that felt appropriate and I felt limited by my border. To solve this problem, I eventually removed the photos from the shorter sides of the image and incorporated a background that was very simple. In order to make this background meaningful and evocative of my mind, I made it symmetrical by mirroring the sky over the center line of the photo and place a circle of sky in the very center. The circle ended up being indicative of a camera lens, which was very appropriate for my mind and my imagination. Adding several drawings that I made around the border of the image also allowed me to evoke some final elements of myself and my mind. Despite changing my approach and adding and eliminating several images and drawings, I feel that I successfully represented my mind using photoshop and art that I had previously created. After having spent a few weeks getting to know Photoshop, I have come to appreciate some of its capabilities and the creative license that it allows. If I had been this comfortable with photoshop before starting this project, ideally I would have spent less time experimenting and more time effectively communicating my mind and the ways in which I think.