Curves, Forms and Textures
Canon 1D Mk III, 24-70 F2.8L, f8.0, 1/60th, iso 125
I am a big fan of abstracts, both in traditional art forms (i.e. painting) as well as photography. In photography, abstracts allow a creative side that is quite different from say a landscape image.
When I first started shooting, I couldn't see a scene and envision an abstract. Later, I would take a photograph, and in Photoshop be able to turn it into something abstract. Now I find (at least some of the time) I can see a given subject or scene and say "hmm, I'll bet that would make a nice abstract?"
Abstracts are great for the corporate art world, because they don't depict anything specific. I named this image Curves, Forms and Textures because that is exactly what I was trying to convey with my camera distance, the lighting, and the way I framed the shot. That strong curve from bottom left to top right is no accident. If you can bring all those elements together, it seems to me you have the makings for a compelling image.
Then there is the "what the heck is it?" factor. In my abstracts, I want to go for that as well. I want the viewer to stop and say "okay, nice forms and color, but what was it a picture of?"
So let's have a little contest. Take a guess at what the subject was for this shot, leave a comment with your guess!
Update! Click on the continue link for the answer....
Stephan was on the right track with hammered metal. It is a propeller from a submarine. So it is metal, but not hammered, it's machined. The shapes of the blades have a beautiful, organic, quality to them. It looks like I didn't take a picture of the prop in its entirety - silly me, that would just be a snapshot.
In Nofolk, near part of the naval shipyard is a walk where they have huge pieces of Navy memorabilia like this on display. Very fun!
Thanks to those of you that commented, more are certainly welcome!
