@Sarah_Marino I replied to your comments on my image, but realized you most likely wouldn’t get notified because I didn’t add @. I wanted you to know I appreciated your critique so I’m just letting you know I responded to your comment.
Hi Donna - I think of your photo here as more of a small scene with some abstract ideas supporting the composition. For example, if the photo only included the ice, it might feel more abstract because the subject and scale are more obscured. With the leaf, the subject is more obvious.
This is how I think about the distinction: photos can fall along a continuum of abstractness, with some abstract ideas helping form a composition (like repetition, for example) to a completely unrecognizable subject and scale. I find it worthwhile to work with subjects along this full continuum.
One skill to work on when looking for abstracts is to look past the literal subjects. Instead of seeing grasses, look for lines and curves. Instead of seeing tree branches, look for repetition and texture. Once you start seeing elements of visual design (lines, shapes, textures, patterns, repetition, light, movement), subjects for abstracts will pop up all over the place.
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For me, this is a great example of how NPN can help us improve our skills, both technically (as so clearly shown by the three photos above), and conceptually (as shown by the comments). I’ve learned a lot just by reading through them.
Glad you caught this one, Mike. Nice thread for learning some things about abstracts.
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