A Closer Look at Abstract Photography

On Flickr this week, I’ve looked through over 200 abstract photographs and many more in search of abstract examples. As you’ll see in tomorrow’s Friday Finds, some people seem to have a natural eye for taking an every day scene or object and abstracting it from reality. To me, that’s what abstract photography is all about.

I love shooting the everday, the mundane and the ordinary. I like to find new ways to present tired old images. Breaking down a scene into its very basic colors, shapes and textures is an intriguing exercise for me.

Over the weekend I went to the park and took a few shots of tree branch silhouettes against the blue sky. When I looked at it in editing, I viewed it in a different light. By bumping up the blacks, I could take all the detail and color left in the tree silhouette. Now the shot is all about blues, blacks and the infectious lines spreading throughout the shot.

Abstract, Close-Up or Blurry Close-Up?

After the rain this morning, I was outside taking photographs and several abstract shots seemed to jump out at me. I liked this because of the lines and textures primarily. Is it abstract though, or is it just a close-up of the sidewalk near a drain spout?

I was actually zooming my lens in while taking this shot, but the shutter speed wasn’t slow enough for that effect to show. I like the shape of the water drops against the color and texture of the brick. I feel it could work as an abstract photograph especially because of its blurriness.

What’s the difference though? I haven’t exactly put my finger on it. I feel an abstract photograph should be separated from what it actually is, but is that a requirement?

I’m pretty sure there could be little argument that my first example is abstract. Are my last two examples anchored too much in reality to count as abstract though?