OCean City Sand

I do not get to the beach often. I never really noticed the abstracts in the sand until now. I have a series of these and maybe this has all been done before but it is new to me. After I processed this in B/W I could see more in the abstraction…can you?

Specific Feedback Requested

any and all

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
70mm f/11 1/13 iso 250

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This really resonated with me…recently I have had more of a WHO CARES approach to this idea. Who cares if it is “new.” My goal isn’t really to create groundbreaking images…thats rarified air. Doesn’t mean we don’t strive to be our best and see things in a creative way, but if our favorite artists only shared their groundbreaking images we wouldn’t have much to look at. We all take our ideas and experiences into the landscape with us so even an “icon” ends up with a little bit of us mixed in. I find the idea that exploring ideas that have already been explored is somehow less of an art to be a bit unhealthy.

On to the image. I like it, I would be interested in seeing the others. This is one of those images that my eye never really rests. I find myself jumping from one bit to the next to the next. Within this one image I could probably find 4-8 others that would be interesting to look at on their own!

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I bet there isn’t another image exactly like this given the (nearly?) infinite possibilities of how a patch of sand may look at any given moment. I like the abstract nature of this and the more I ponder it the less I am attached to the idea of sand.

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Really awesome image, Mario! It looks like a close up of a bird! It looks like feathers!

I don’t think people understand this idea very well. The point isn’t to make a totally new image every time. It’s not like writing a piece of research for a thesis that’s completely new to science. The point is to create something that’s not imitative. To create something that’s your voice and not someone else’s. It’s not about the subject. It’s whether you’re expressing yourself or making a copy of someone else’s expression. That’s what writers call an ‘honest’ image’.

Yes, others have made images of sand patterns before. Others had painted fields of wheat before but that doesn’t mean that Van Gogh’s paintings of wheat fields are unoriginal. Nobody would argue that.

I really like this image. I don’t really see other subjects in this image but it is a very expressive image. It comes from the swirls and light and dark shading. It evokes feelings of a realistic image without any reality. I love the freedom of expression here. You really took some chances and it worked out for you. But I agree that whether anyone will ‘get it’ isn’t really important to the image maker.

Although I have to say there is the snout of a pig in the urc. Lol.

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This is a very expressive image Mario, and I do not it to be an “imitative” image. For one thing a lot of these sand abstracts are done in color, and I think it’s refreshing to see this as a well processed B&W image. The composition creates a sense of energy and movement which engages me as a viewer.

I wouldn’t change a thing about this, I’m enjoying it very much as presented. Very well done…

This is very beautiful Mario.
I love the subtlety here. Very smooth; very quiet. Love it!
One of my favorite from you.