Fine Art Photography

ABSTRACTS

The word "abstract" means apart from the recognizable object. This opens up a realm of photographic opportunities. Shooting abstracts is a terrific exercise in enhancing your photographic vision, which in turn will greatly improve your picture taking abilities.

A good place to begin is with architectural subjects. All that construction going on in the area provides a wealth of abstract subject material. An isolated section of steel beams, reflections in glass panels, or a geometric curve in a building corner all lend themselves well to abstract photography.

A good way to make abstract pictures is to exclude part of the subject. We all tend to identify objects by their whole. We recognize their outlines and the context in which we find them. A shiny new or classic automobile is easily recognized when we photograph it in its entirety. But by moving in close, using tight cropping, and photographing just small sections of the car can produce interesting pictures of bold colors and unusual abstracts. The viewer may even have to guess at what they are looking at.

Try using slow shutter speeds to form abstracts. Colorful clothes hung out to dry in a breeze will produce a formless blur when a long shutter speed is used. Even try moving the camera up and down as you shoot a field of flowers. You'll be pleased with the abstract results.

Photograph still lives through heavily textured glass for another kind of abstract feeling. A scrap of shower door glass obtained from your local glass dealer works fine. Consider photographing your subject completely out-of-focus to where it may be barely recognized. You see there's no end to the possibilities of abstracts.

Nature abounds in abstract subjects. From the intimate pattern of veins in a single leaf to the vast array of geometric designs seen from an airplane, abstracts exist in abundance. One of my favorite nature locales for abstract photography is Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona. As shown here, these “slot” canyons are wonderful places for most unusual pictures.

So begin to think in abstract terms. Look through your camera that way too!