We have a new category dedicated to Abstract Nature images! We also have a new moderator for this category, please welcome @Alfredo_Mora as the newest member of our NPN team!
The Abstract Nature category is a place to share images of nature where the subject is not easily identifiable. This is the place for Intentional Camera Movement (ICM), Multiple Exposures, long exposures of water, etc., whether done in camera or in post-processing. There will be some overlap with other categories, use your best judgment on whether the subject is easily identifiable by others or not.
You are welcome to share straight abstracts such as water reflections, etc., that don’t use ICM, etc., much of @Bonnie_Lampley’s work is a great example of this, such as this image of water reflections. Or you can share those types of images in their respective category, the choice is up to you where you are more comfortable posting.
This category was created for two reasons:
Some members were not comfortable sharing abstract images in a category like Landscape, they weren’t sure if they fit into the category and didn’t want to overwhelm the feed with abstract images, especially more artistic renditions such as ICM. You now have the freedom to share as many of these as you desire!
Not everyone likes abstracts and this gives them the opportunity to mute the category if they choose to do so. You can select your interests here.
You can post to this new category just like any other category, there is now an option for Abstract Nature in the submission form.
This category is not the same as the old photo art category which tended toward heavy use of post-processing filters. It is geared more towards natural abstracts and the use of in-camera techniques. That said, some post-processing is allowed, like combining multiple images in photoshop, such as the examples at the bottom of this article by Alfredo. As you can see, it’s a bit hard to define this category, we didn’t want to be too rigid by requiring all abstracts to go to this category, but not so flexible that anything goes. Please use your best judgment!
So excited about this new category! Thank you @David_Kingham for adding it and thank you @Alfredo_Mora for taking the time to be involved as the moderator for it! Great stuff!
Thank you again @David_Kingham and NPN for adding this new category. I think this will be heads above the old Photo Art category of NPN 1.0 days… Looking forward to this!
Alfredo does an excellent job of explaining and illustrating his different ICM images. Very creative. I haven’t been that interested in this type of photography because the images I have seen so far have been so similar, but this opens up a whole raft of ideas. Thanks.
Alfredo, I neglected to thank you for stepping up to the task. I does look like the category is going to be a real nice success. Quite a few post already. Thank you for your contributions to the site.
I’m a little confused about this category. I never considered an ICM to be an abstract. Abstract doesn’t really have a good definition. If it doesn’t resemble reality then it’s an abstract?
This could get quite philosophical, Igor as there is no good definition of what abstract photography is. I like John Suler’s litmus test from his essay Photographic Psychology: Image and Psyche:
If you look at a photo and there’s a voice inside you that says ‘What is it?’….Well, there you go. It’s an abstract photograph.
To me, ICM falls into this quite easily. You may not agree, but I feel in the current culture ICM is generally considered to be abstract. This category is simply a place to post images that don’t fall nicely into other categories because of their potential abstractness.
Perhaps one could add that the image does not attempt to represent an external reality, but seeks to achieve the effect using colours, textures and shapes.
David, would this be a good addition to your post?
