Figure in Red

This is one of many ice abstracts that I’ve taken of my backyard ponds. Winter conditions in the mid-Atlantic favor the formation of thin, clear ice that lets the colors of underwater plants show through, with the distortions introduced by the ice textures making nicely colorful abstracts. This is a 6 shot stack to get full field sharpness. Working with a long lens at short distance is important for isolating the shapes, colors, and textures that I believe make for good abstracts under these conditions.

Specific Feedback Requested

The cubist/impressionist aspects of this view popped out when I rotated it from horizontal to vertical.

Technical Details

7D2, 180 mm macro, 1/4 s, f/16, iso 400, tripod, cable release and polarizer.

5 Likes

Wow! Stunning image Mark. I would crop a small bit off the bottom to get the diagonal red edge to go to the corner but that’s just my personal preference. Love it.

That’s great Mark! Feels like a Picasso.

Very original, well balanced image. I love the push/pull of the colors. I don’t really care what it is I’m looking at, I just enjoy the journey the lines & colors take me on. It’s very successful as is to my eye, but I’m wondering if some elements of blue would provide an opening “escape” from the greens to reds part of the color story. Just an idea.

Hi Mark –

This is a great abstract. I love the textures and colors. Overall, I think most of the composition works well in terms of the shapes, textures, and colors. It is chaotic but there is enough to pull it together (and the chaos is part of the joy here).

I have two points of feedback. First, you could consider a slight bump in contrast. In the example below, I added a levels adjustment and adjusted the right and middle sliders a bit. This is a minor adjustment but I think it helps the textures and colors pop just a bit more.

Second, I cropped off some of the top. There are a few compositional elements that I think distract along the top fifth of the frame. First, the little red crescent of color is an element made of curves whereas the rest of the frame is composed of more linear elements. It is also comparatively bright. The upper left corner feels like the small triangle is all off on its own without a connection to the rest of the scene. There is also the angular point that almost touches the top edge. And the green space on the right is kind of empty compared to the rest of the scene. By eliminating these elements, I think the composition feels more cohesive and balanced. I also cloned out a few tiny distractions.

She’s lost her crown. I like your increase in contrast, Sarah. But I prefer to keep her head intact - perhaps reduce the brightness of her curved crown. Either way, if this were a painting it would surely be hanging on a wall.

1 Like

Stunning image, Mark. I don’t think I can add anything else to this except that I just love it!!!

Excellent Mark. I like the original composition. I would adjust the reds in the body more toward orange. But I would keep the reds in the ‘cubes’ as they are. Another words, move the color scheme in the direction of Van Gogh. Abstraction at its best.

Beautiful image, Mark. Really nice patterns, shapes, lines and colors.