artBob wrote:
Abstracts actually do have a focus, not necessarily being in focus, or focusing on a thing, though. The focus could be movement or anger, or serenity, or......several thousand other things that we humans experience and convey in our creations.
This work strikes me as more of a visual experiment in a technical aspect than as an abstract except in the layman's, general sense. Taking it at what it tells us objectively, which is the best way to start with an abstract, here is what I see.
The shapes are pretty much all the same, circles and oblongs. As an abstract they are pretty good, i.e., follow the prime guideline of composition/design, "Unity with Variety." Introducing a few more shapes as contrast would make it a step upwards. The colors also follow that principle, being mostly intense and warm (even the greens being a warm green), with a few duller colorings and other hues mixed in.
The composition, not being yours, but just a random shot, has a pleasant compositional surprise, and some major letdowns. Composition is where it all has to come together as an overall visual experience. The good news is that a circular movement is created by the brighter hues and the directions of the individual shapes. The bad news is the imbalance of the stronger color, yellow, on the left side, and on the lower left side, a boring "clump." The lower right side is a much better example of direction while still creating interest. Then, there's the dark brown, vertical, geometric shape to the right of center that's photo bombed your photo. Aaarggghh! It just doesn't belong.(Snuck in there, eh?) ;-)
So, what you've done is a great start, even if it was mainly an experiment. By working on the other aspects mentioned, experimenting because there are many ways to achieve the ideal "Unity with Variety," whether in camera or via post processing, you should have a challenging but joyful engagement, and end up with a truly great piece. Thanks for brightening up my day!
Abstracts actually do have a focus, not necessaril... (
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Although I'm also guilty of it from time to time, your explanation is precisely the anal approach to examining an image that I think is, by and large, not necessary. Every input has value of course, but I'm trying to go in the other direction by not being so concerned about excessive analyzing......