Weekly Abstract and Experimental Thread #7 (5-6-2025)

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, 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.

Ultra Violet Induced Visual Fluorescence (UVIVF) image. Stock Pentax 645Z camera with Pentax 645 120mm macro. A special B+W UV filter was used to eliminate all UV light from entering the lens. The tree limb was lit by a 365nm UV flashlight. This causes the subject to fluoresce in the visible light spectrum. I've posted this before in the IR & UV thread.

Thanks for looking and participating,
barondla

One of my favorite experiments is to take a picture of a reflection and turn it upside down. I took this as a demo during a class I was teaching on phone photography at a local botanical garden . This ratty little pond that catches overflow from a creek and isn't much to look at, but a reflection of a tree is more interesting upside down than rightside up. You can make some spectacular images this way if you have a spectacular setting like El Capitan reflected in the Tolumne! Sometimes I clean up some of the edge debris in Photoshop but sometimes I just leave it there like with this one.

High speed water drops

Maybe you guessed already, these drops of water were photographed on the surface of a CD with a light source angled to get the colour display looking good.
It turned out looking like the drops were travelling at high speed through space ;-)

I'd never have guessed it. A creative idea with a brilliant result. As you say, drops of water or alien craft flashing through space.

Delightful head turning image. Takes a little while for the brain to figure out what is going on. Like that you left some edge debris in. It gives a clue to the "trick" used to compose the picture. Which method do you use most, debris left in or removed?
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

Fabulous image. Reminds me of a liquid Tron still photo. This definitely gives the sense of speed and the colors are terrific, they really pop. Not an easy photo to make. Well done.

To get the trails were the drops moving?
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

Thanks :-)
The drops were completely still.
The "trails" were all light reflections and The colours came from the interference patterns you get with all the very thin parallel lines inside the CD. Working like a diffraction grating.

Rundle street. Adelaide.

"Iridescence is rather a complex science! For example, there are three main types or classes of iridescence in beetles: multilayer reflectors, three-dimensional photonic crystals and diffraction gratings (Seago et al., 2009)."

Iridescent green beetle.

Quite psychedelic. It demands attention. Night shots are so cool.
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

Iridescence is also difficult to photograph properly. Stereo adds a whole extra layer of complexity. You nailed it. Enjoying these 3D images. Any idea which type of iridescence this is? Do the 3 types look different?
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

Details can be found here: Gold bugs and beyond: a review of iridescence and structural colour mechanisms in beetles (Coleoptera)

Cetonia aurata shows iridescent "diffraction gratings" type.

A simple fractal that suggests an extraction facility.

Original image modified to suggest a Sci-Fi scene with an industrial structure on another planet.

Thanks, glad you like it. I'm always on the hunt for images with mystery in them. I want viewers to wonder, then devise their own explanations so I usually leave some of the debris in the frame, and edges too, even if just a sliver. I left more edge stuff in this one than I usually do though. One kind of reflection image where I usually remove the edges is the kind made with ICM and/or very slow shutter. Edges and debris can make a mess in those.

Would never have guessed how this was done! Fascinating.

Love the scene. Lighting and "structure" are beautifully managed.

The second image does look like a sci-fi scene on another planet. Everything fits together well. Mission accomplished.
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

As others said, that is fascinating. I've played with CDs before but never thought of making a picture of it. Awesome !
I only wonder if it would be even better without the CD center in the top left corner, then there would really be no clue if what it really is.