Abstract photography (Photo group project – challenge no. 1)

What is an abstract photograph? Well it can be so many things, which is what makes it such a great genre. Your only real limitation is your imagination! What camera or computer you have, is less important, because what you see is what is important, if we are talking general terms. So what do I look for? Abstracts can be found anywhere, in nature, in your home, at work.. I look for colours, shapes, patterns.. Things that don’t look like something you are instantly familiar with: a cloudy sky, a close crop of a rug, the many shapes found in nature make great abstract images! It can be blurry, out of focus, sharp, black & white, brightly coloured or just shades of grey. You can, and should, still follow some of the basic rules of photography, but in general few need to be applied when you do abstracts. Composition is always something to think about, by having something that draws you in and through the image, your half way to a great photo! This type of photography is definitely “playtime”, have fun and search for patterns in the world around you!

I’ll get more in to depth with composition in another blogpost.

Now that the first challenge in the photo group is complete (as mentioned in a previous post here), I thought I’d show you some of my abstracts! A couple from the challenge, and some other one’s I’ve done in the past, that I really like. The aim, for me, when participating in a project like this, is to get inspired. When we photograph the “same old same old” all the time, we not only get stuck in a rut, but we need a little push to see new things! So a little project is a great way to get the brain and eyes working again. And it has worked already, ’cause I am now constantly looking at my surroundings and thinking -will this do for an abstract?! 🙂