Monday, 1 April 2013

photographic abstraction #6

Welcome to the latest in my series featuring abstract photography; links to previous posts in the series are provided below. I am attempting to stimulate the individual viewer’s imagination with these photos, so I am interested in hearing what you think you see in the pictures. Also, based on what you see, you may want to suggest alternative titles. Cropping, altering the tonal balance and increasing the contrast have been used to produce images that are inspired by abstract expressionism, although none of the photos in this post resembles the work of any of the leading artists in this field.

other posts in this series
Photographic Abstraction
Photographic Abstraction #2
Photographic Abstraction #3
Photographic Abstraction #4
Photographic Abstraction #5

pulse


silent witness


poetry in motion


welcome to the machine


fractured
Posted by Dennis Hodgson at 9:30 am
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14 comments:

  1. Rum-Punch DrunkMonday, 01 April, 2013

    Loved the poetry in motion as it looks like paint being poured into the water and the colours go well with a hint of red at the top.

    Fractured looks as if someone has made a rough pattern in the sand. For some odd reason it looks like this photo is looking up towards the ceiling rather than looking down at it (hope I explained this properly).

    I can see an image of a man that looks like an eskimo in the first picture 'pulse' if you turn it on it's side. The more you stare at these pictures the more things you start to see.

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    1. Dennis HodgsonMonday, 01 April, 2013

      You do have a vivid imagination Rum! You correctly identified that Poetry in Motion is a shot of water, and I agree that it does look as if someone has dribbled paint onto the surface, but the reflections are actually of the masts of yachts in the Causeway Bay typhoon shelter.

      I visualize Fractured as a vertical surface, not horizontal from above or below. It reminds me of the complex micro-folds that you sometimes get in metamorphic rocks.

      Pulse makes me think of the trace of an oscilloscope (hence the title).

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  2. Yun YiThursday, 04 April, 2013

    I love the "Poetry in Motion", reminds me Chinese calligraphy.

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    1. Dennis HodgsonThursday, 04 April, 2013

      Now why didn’t I think of that? For your information Yunyi, I took several other photos at the same time as Poetry in Motion, some of which may well find their way into future posts in this series.

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  3. iancochraneThursday, 04 April, 2013

    Great matching of thought against vision, with my favourite being `silent witness'; I see something sombre in that one. Possibly the headstone effect(?)

    Nicely done Dennis.
    Cheers, ic

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    1. Dennis HodgsonThursday, 04 April, 2013

      Ian, Silent Witness actually reminded me of the statues on Easter Island, gazing endlessly at the same scene. The difference is that here the ‘faces’ are in deep shadow. I would say melancholy rather than sombre, but that’s probably because I didn't see the dark blobs as tombstones.

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  4. nothing profoundThursday, 04 April, 2013

    Intriguing titles, Dennis, as well as photos. "Pulse" looks to me like a cataclysmic eruption beginning in outer space. "Fractured" like an aerial view of Arizona's Catalina mountains.

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    1. Dennis HodgsonFriday, 05 April, 2013

      For me, Pulse definitely shows a huge burst of energy Marty, but you will note that the picture is almost symmetrical about a line halfway down, which is why I saw it as the recording of an explosion rather than the actual explosion. Your likening of Fractured to a specific mountain range tells me quite a lot about the geology of that mountain range. As I explained to Rum-Punch Drunk (above), my interpretation was also geological.

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  5. Joelle FordFriday, 05 April, 2013

    I agree with nothing profound that your titles are especially intriguing. "Silent Witness" is my favorite image.

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    1. Dennis HodgsonFriday, 05 April, 2013

      Silent Witness is a photo I just had to take Joelle. It’s actually a shot of my neighbour’s roof in the UK. Because it faces north, there are huge globs of moss, which I’ve dubbed the silent witnesses.

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  6. umashankarThursday, 11 April, 2013

    Dennis, the titles are apt. I find 'silent witness' and 'poetry in motion' striking. Alternate titles that I can think of are 'silence of the witnesses' and 'poetry of ponds'!

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    1. Dennis HodgsonThursday, 11 April, 2013

      That must mean that you think like I do Umashankar. I certainly see Silent Witness as a group of featureless heads, and being featureless they can only be silent. Thank you for your alternative titles, which are also apt.

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  7. Pat TillettTuesday, 07 May, 2013

    Although I like them all, the first one totally reminds of the cross section of a Geode (or Thunder Egg, as many folks call them).

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    1. Dennis HodgsonTuesday, 07 May, 2013

      I can see what you mean Pat, although as I mentioned above, I see it as an oscilloscope trace.

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