I have been trying around with things lately, that somehow, I have quite enjoyed.
right now I am not at all sure where this is taking me, and I guess that's why I haven't really shown any of it.

In most of these pictures I have focussed a lot on the role of light and color, and technically often less on the actual subject....
Here are some examples:

1. light

2. spring

3. communication

4. pride

5. motion




Now are these pictures in focus???

well light?
Probably not, by common standards....
well composed???

But I like them, maybe even because they aren't.

Instead, I could have taken the picture like this



or like this




but to me, those would have been boring.


So I am curious to hear what you think! please be reckless

uli

This is my very personal opinion and I don't know if it's a valid one in art circles. For me, to really like a picture, there must be something recognisable in focus. I agree that the phone booth or the light bulbs are not very thrilling subjects, but blurring them doesn't make them more interesting, IMO. The examples you gave are quite nice and very colorful, but (again, maybe only for me) that doesn't make these shots truly interesting. Although, all these blurred examples have one thing in common: They would provide wonderful backgrounds. Why not put something sharply in focus in front of these? Even with photoshop, if it's not technically feasible to do it in one shot. It would be so much easier to praise the picture without feeling like a fool.

You know, maybe it feels different for you because you have taken the picture and you know what it is, and the metamorphosis of a simple boring object to a burst of color is just amazing. As I can only see the blurred colors, I don't have this "amazing" factor.

I say it again, this is just me. A lot of others probably will like this a lot. And the colors are beautiful.

1. Maybe
2. OK
3.4.5. No No
6. I like the left half with the colours in the holes.
7. Prefer spring bulbs.
Sorry Wulinka, but I also like to see an end product.

There is a lot of precident for this sort of work in painting - where it is sometimes the goal of a piece is to distill the essence of a subject to a simple wash of color and shape. In these pieces, the subject is often scarcely recognizable - as it has been simplified to its basic forms. There is also the color-field school of art where the entire piece is composed of areas of color. So from an artistic viewpoint, what you have done with these pieces is a valid direction.

I encourage you to experiment with techniques that you find intriguing and post them. This is the only way that you can develop a style that you feel might have potential - it is hard to progress in a vacuum.

So on to the specifics of these shots:

#1 is probably the best IMO - as it lends itself best to an exploration of light, color and shape. Although it seems like a contradiction given this style, I would sharpen it to solidify the outer lines. I think the solidity would improve the abstraction - if you follow my convulted logic.

I also like #2 - because I like the flecks of color in the background mostly - I also like the black negative area in the upper left because it brings the color flecks into sharper relief.

#3 and #4 leave me kind of cold - I think these 2 either need more subject context, or more attention to the forms and interplay of the lines. Sorry - just my $.02

#5 is not bad composition wise - but I can see it is a flower - and because flowers are already basically studies of color and shape - I don't feel much is added here.

I really like your in-focus phone booth shot strangely enough.

I applaud your efforts to push your personal envelope and your courage in posting something experimental and new. Keep at it.

[edit] the more I look at the telephone shot, the more I like it. The repetition of the telephone form on both sides of the booth and the reflectio of the phone really work - sorry you think its boring.

Hi Uli;

I'm going to come back to these later tonight, when I have more time and have had a chance to look at them a little more. Until then:

- could you edit your original post to add numbers and / or names to the individual images? It makes it much easier to think about and discuss.

- not that it really matters, but how much of the image is a result of post-processing, and how much was created in the camera?

matthew,
there has been virtually no post processing to these shots, meaning all the effects are genuinely in-camera.
Sometimes I have to increase contrast a bit, because there is in inherent conflict between having the aperture wide and lots of contrast, but the originals are for the least very recognizable the same pictures.

thanks guys for feedback so far!
Toad, I've been reading a bit about the history of some art, and recognise some of the concepts I experiment with sometimes. clearly, if anything, these things are meant to be fine art and not documentary.

Thanks for your praise of phone no. 2 though, it has some humor I agree...

uli

I think you're onto something, toad, when you say there is probably an awe factor for me in seeing the transition of something intrinsically not very exciting like a phone booth or the light bulbs. like I said, my focus here is on the role of light, and on the colors.

However, ultimately my goal would be to capture and please the viewer with this product, this IS my end product. If I could bring people to be inspired by it instead of irritated because they can't see the subject in it,
I would be much more pleased than if I had to put something focussed into the picture to rescue the viewer.

no4 is slightly different, because this subject - in this country - is so iconic, that no one would not recognize it.

But hey, this is just the beginning of experimenting with something. And I don't expect everyone to like it.

What pleases me about shots like the last one, are aspects like the texture, and even the notion of motion introduced by the blurr.

thanks again

Toad, I played with the curves a bit to "sharpen" the edges of the bulbs. had not occured to me before to do this, I am not sure about it:



thing with me is that I like the fuzzy edges for their "feel" (texture?).

Well maybe you are right. I would always go with my gut feel over the opinions of others when you are working with highly subjective subjects like this.

Uli, I like what you are trying to achieve here in particular #4 pride.....why maybe because the name gives it away! This makes it a little easier to relate to.

I have checked out your smugmug gallery and I see other works along the same lines....well worth pursuing.

I really like the phone booth shot as well great use of repetition.

wulinka Wrote:I have been trying around with things lately, that somehow, I have quite enjoyed. right now I am not at all sure where this is taking me, and I guess that's why I haven't really shown any of it.

I appreciate being able to see a broad sample of photos. My favourites are numbers one through three; I find the simplicity of dark tones more satisfying. I find "Pride" (#4) too recognizable, and the powerful icon may not be a good choice if you're looking for an abstract composition. With "Motion" I'm a little distracted by what looks like lens flare or water drops across the bottom right of the image.

"Spring" is good, but I prefer the more ordered (and subtle) composition of "light". As they're presented, Light is my favourite. With my monitor lying on its right side, though, I really like "Communication".

I think Toad's right on with his encouragement. I'm a fan of colour-field art, and it has a big impact on my tastes and photography. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Thanks matthew,

it's funny, at one point I was playing with the orientation of "communication", precisely because I thought reorienting it would disconnect it more from the underlying subject (and of course I would in reality never display it next to the other shot of the phone).

Russt: yes, I've been trying around with this a bit, so far these shots just show up here and there in other categories... thanks for looking :-)

and thanks for your encouragement everyone!

I really like where you're going with these shots Uli... a lot!
I also just took a look at your smugmug website and noticed you have numerous other similar shots, including a great series of figures in the dark. Each photo is quite cryptic individually, but as a series they begin to make perfect sense. fantastic!

I think you are really onto something here and I'd love to see where you take it. You seem to have a natural eye for finding interesting subjects hidden amongst everyday objects and if you are able to successfully combine that with a unique visual style such as the one you're demonstrating here then I think you'll have a potent instrument for showing people the world through your eyes.
I look at these particular shots and see them as sketches for shots you are yet to take. Keep at it! There's an awful lot of potential there if you can flesh those ideas out.
I really admire your willingness to push yourself out of your comfort zone and into the unknown. Great stuff!

Cheers
Adrian

Thank you very much for your encouraging comments, Kombi, I REALLY appreciate them!

Just like you said, I feel like I have to streamline my work somehow in the futur, so I am trying to get myself to shoot projects instead of just shooting what comes along and then selecting and putting shots together according to some theme afterwards.
But that's a real challenge for me now! Takes it to the next - very important - level, of predicting what I want to shoot.

Working on it (*sweat*....)

Uli