Many thanks to all those who participated in the last round of the abstract challenge and to those who chose my photo as the winner. I am very grateful for the honor!
And now it’s time for a new abstract challenge to begin! “What actually is an abstract?” you might ask. There are two general ways to answer this. The first, and most accurate, comes from the word “abstract” itself. It’s when you pull (or abstract) a detail out of a common object and turn it into something totally unrecognizable. The idea behind this process is to bring out or evoke an emotion from the picture that is not based on a previous feeling or thought about that object.
For example, you have a picture of a cat, and everyone can see it’s a cat. But when you zero in on the cat’s whiskers, play around with the lines, and add some color or effects, by the time you’re done playing with the picture, no one recognizes it’s a cat. The lines may make someone feel secure, or agitated, or intrigued, but those feelings are not related to cats.
The second approach is to take the picture and manipulate in such a way that the object is barely identifiable by cropping, blurring, taking the picture from a unique pov, changing the color to one which that object does not usually come in, and other forms of photo manipulation you wouldn’t commonly apply to that object.
In this format you may take the picture of the cat from underneath or overhead (if your cat cooperates!), highlighting the ears or nose. Then in post-processing you may crop the picture in for a close-up, blur the details and apply a watercolor effect. Some people may still recognize it’s a cat, but instead of reacting to the details, they may remember how some cats do like affection or that others are moody- no matter how much they recognize of the cat, the picture will still make them feel something even if it’s not about cats.
As mentioned in the last abstract challenge there are some tips that might help you capture or create an interesting abstract:
Shoot the ordinary.
Choose strong shapes.
Get up close.
Use color to grab attention.
Seek out texture.
Look for repeating patterns.
Use lines and curves.
Photograph reflections.
Shoot through another object.
Capture motion.
Go macro.
Start Date: September 13, 2022
End Date: October 13, 2022 (midnight any time zone)
Tag: abstract-67
Entries can be viewed here: https://365project.org/tags/abstract-67
Any photos taken in that time frame are eligible. Enter as many photos as you wish, but only one image per photographer will be shortlisted.
I am looking forward to seeing which approach you take to create some amazing abstracts. Have fun!
@olivetreeann Ann, I like your article post. However two people have posted in abstract 67 on or before September the 13, 2022. Do those posts count? Also they describe and tell what their object/subject is. Do you want us to guess or do you want participants to give away what the subject matter is by telling viewers?
Thank you,
Regards,
Sam Sutlive.
@sutlivesam I will take them into when it comes time to select the finalists but since there's only two listed, I don't think I'll back-date the challenge. As to identifying the subject, that's up to the photographer and what they put in the commentary on their project. The idea of this challenge (as I understand it) is more artistic as opposed to guessing game. But some do enjoy asking their followers what they think it is on their project page. Thanks for checking in Sam!
@olivetreeann Thanks for the information Ann. That helps! I think I will participate. I feel like people can get really really creative with this one !!
Best,
Sam.
@olivetreeann
Ann, i just thought that the 365’s algorithm dating system for posting photos might disqualify me out of the abstract-67 project. I wanted to let you know that the real photo taking dates are posted in my descriptions. The first day I joined I posted several photos and went forward in chronological order for the algorithm date listing system when I should have back dated so my current photos would then be the accurate dates in the system of 365.
I hope that clears up any questions you may have about the dates.
Regards,
Sam.
Here to apologize and draw your attention to the fact that my entry to this challenge ( the spiral one) is probably not actually eligible. It was created on Oct 13th but the photo used as the base was taken in august so not in the correct time frame. I’ve taken the tag off the photo and hope that it will just slip away un-noticed.
@gardencat Thank you Joanne- it did slip away but for future reference, in my opinion, if it was created within the time frame it is still an eligible abstract. Abstracts can be sooc or composite work in my mind, so I would have accepted it. Thank you for being so considerate!
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Thank you,
Regards,
Sam Sutlive.
Best,
Sam.
Ann, i just thought that the 365’s algorithm dating system for posting photos might disqualify me out of the abstract-67 project. I wanted to let you know that the real photo taking dates are posted in my descriptions. The first day I joined I posted several photos and went forward in chronological order for the algorithm date listing system when I should have back dated so my current photos would then be the accurate dates in the system of 365.
I hope that clears up any questions you may have about the dates.
Regards,
Sam.
Thank you Ann! It has been fun so far.