• Members 312 posts
    April 29, 2025, 4:28 a.m.

    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, Infrared, dragged shutter, zone plate, motion, 3D, 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.
    645Z4248fallleavesleica90colorplanDPR.jpg

    This was taken with an adapted Leitz 90mm F2.5 Colorplan slide projecter lens from the 1950's. The adapter was cobbled together using a Pentax 645 to Pentax 6X7 adapter with cardboard wrapped around the lens for a relatively tight fit. The thickness of the Pentax 645Z DSLR body won't allow anywhere near infinity focus with this combo. There is no focusing helicoid so I moved the camera to achieve focus.
    Thanks for looking,
    barondla

    645Z4248fallleavesleica90colorplanDPR.jpg

    JPG, 178.4 KB, uploaded by barondla on April 29, 2025.

  • Members 48 posts
    April 29, 2025, 9:34 a.m.

    fairy forest at home

    IMG_20250428_194652.jpg

    Yesterday I was sitting outside on our balcony and I was struck by how pretty the afternoon light looked, shining through our climbing rose bushes and the textured glass.

    IMG_20250428_194652.jpg

    JPG, 2.6 MB, uploaded by streamdream on April 29, 2025.

  • Members 48 posts
    April 29, 2025, 10:36 a.m.

    You've really managed to capture what wind feels like! I especially like how the almost circular blurryness in the background really gives you this incredible sense of motion! My favourite leaf is the bottom. That large halo is very pretty. Well spotted!

    My only slight complaints are that I wish the colours were a bit more saturated. I'm assuming this is a fairly accurate representation of what the colours looked like irl, but it feels like the colour values are pretty similar across the image, making it feel a bit muddied. And that I think a narrower crop would help with a slightly more balanced composition.

    IMG_20250429_121044.jpg

    I made a quick n' dirty edit on my phone. Cropping it a bit and upping the saturation of the pinks and greens in the image. Obviously the pinks are exagerated a bit from reality, but I think there's a lot of fun in messing with more unrealistic colours and abstracting your images away from reality. Especially since we're in the abstract thread! :D

    IMG_20250429_121044.jpg

    JPG, 187.9 KB, uploaded by streamdream on April 29, 2025.