Weekly Abstract and Experimental Thread #28 (9-30-2025)

The weekly Abstract and Experimental thread
This weekly thread, starting on a Tuesday, allows us to showcase our abstract and experimental photos and get some feedback.
Opening up discussions, not only on content, style, composition & techniques, but also on the creativity of the image.

It’s easy to participate
Post an image with a title and description. To make it easier to view in the forum, all comments should include the original title and at least one of the original images as a quote.

Thread Guidelines:
This weekly thread is for sharing and developing abstract and experimental photography skills.
We want to see wild, creative photography.
Give your entry a clear title and mention the technique used.
Provide constructive feedback on others’ images.
Try to go beyond simple praise or dismissal and explain why you like it, or what caught your eye.
”Likes” are encouraged too.
Negative feedback and suggestions are also OK (be polite, honest, and constructive).
Giving feedback is just as important as receiving feedback, both help to improve our artistic and technical skills.

What is an abstract or experimental photo?
Different ways to see and investigate the world around us. Abstract photography reduces a subject to shapes, tones or colors making it unrecognizable. Abstract subjects are everywhere.

Experimentation might include, Stereo/3D, Infrared, dragged shutter, zone plate, motion, fluorescence, multiple exposure, birefringence, ultra violet, optical including adapted lenses, tri color, fractals, manipulated Polaroids, pinhole, Kirlian (bioelectrography) and many other methods. Experimentation can be for artistic expression or pure science. It is often more difficult than standard types of photography. This is fine, we aren't expecting perfection. Every experiment enhances knowledge. Your idea can help others explore the universe around them. We love experimentation. You can explain your process or keep it a secret.

This will be a looser collection of photos compared to other weekly threads. This is good. It will be a place to get away from standard animals, babies & sunset photos. We don't hate animals, babies or sunsets. Show us your creative abstract and experimental images. Are you unsure if the image fits the category? Don't worry, just post it. FEEL FREE TO POST MULTIPLE TIMES TO THIS THREAD. This should be fun.

Thanks for looking and participating,
barondla

Experimenting with in camera editing. Pentax cameras have an amazing number of options that can be added together. There is a whole school of Japanese photographers that shoot jpeg and edit the picture on the spot to match their vision. Anyone do that here?
Thanks for looking and participating,
barondla

Lily pads make great subjects for nature abstracts, especially in fall when they start to die off or change colors.

The dark water makes the colors pop. I like the simple, clean composition. No distractions.

A nearby lake had beautiful Lily pads. For some reason the conservation agents removed them one year. I really miss them. They were so much fun to photograph.

Thanks for sharing and participating,
barondla

This is gorgeous. I would be experimenting with all sorts of multi exposure possibilities 😁

What type of multiple exposures experiments? Adding or "cloning" more Lily pads or something else?
Thanks,
barondla

I like to do stuff 'in camera' on the spot, so maybe superimposing a zoomed in view of one or two leaves, or just the texture of the bigger leaves. I've also been known to play around with different white balance settings in camera. The dark background is helpful when doing multi-exposures as it leaves space for play 😁

Cool. Your ideas would make grand images. The black water does allow lots of experimentation. Hadn't thought of multiple exposures using different white balance settings. I need to try it. Would love to see some of your multiple exposure shots. Please post some here.
Thanks for sharing and participating,
barondla

Multiple exposures on the same image, but for a different purpose.

The technique is very old (decades) and was used to obtain complex lighting without having multiple light sources available (for subjects in the dark). In this case, I had a helper who "walked" a flash through the area that needed to be illuminated and triggered the flash from multiple positions and in multiple directions.

At the time when film equipment was used, everything had to be well calculated, so that the final lighting would be correct everywhere, without having the possibility of checking on the spot. I also used colored filters in front of the flash if I wanted certain more special effects. While the person with the flash was moving, the camera with the shutter open (B function) was covered with a black cloth.

(for cross-view)

Fantastic images. Well calculated is an understatement. It is quite difficult to figure exposure so accurately and even tougher when filters are added. Haven't viewed 3D cave images since my View Master days. Wore out the Mammoth Cave reels.
Thanks for sharing and bringing back memories,
barondla

Thank you!