Weekly Abstract and Experimental Thread #9 (5-20-2025)

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.

B&W infrared with full spectrum modified Pentax K-01, Pentax 31mm Limited and Hoya R72 IR filter.
Thanks fo looking and participating,
barondla

Light Science and Magic,...

...Is the title of a great book from Fil Hunter, et al., about all the aspects of light and lighting that you’ll need to know for your next experiments 😉

One of the chapters was about photographing glass objects.
After reading this book, 15 years ago, I placed some glass things on the table and tried a few different ways of lighting them.
They can take on completely different characters under different lighting conditions !
Here’s just some of those old experiments.

As a start , just put them on the table as they were and clicked

You can change the lighting to make the rims dark

...or the rims light

and then add in some coloured light too

so many different possibilities!

Arte Museum, Las Vegas, a few days ago

The immersive art installation is pretty cool and especially so for photographers, though I only had my phone camera to work with. This abstract is shot straight up at the mirror ceiling in the 30 ft tall waterfall room. The room seems infinitely huge because all those little squares are mirrors. The round things are for projection. I'm the blue blob in the middle. No editing except noise reduction.

Is there anybody there...?

Inspired by minniev's mirrors above, I recalled these shots of the La Palma space telescopes.

The out of focus vegetation looks psychedelic. Wild effect. Amphibian looks nice and seeing the whole body is a plus. Did he sit still for a while, or did he leave quickly?
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

Fascinating post and images. Glass can be difficult to shoot. Lighting changes the character of glass so much. Fantastic job illustrating the many looks of glass. Just ordered a copy of this book. Appreciate the recommendation and your informative post. Keep on experimenting.
Thanks,
barondla

Warp speed! Very structured but chaotic at the same time. Seeing the reflections of people makes the image even stronger. Was the exhibition crowded?
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

Fabulous diptych. Abstract and reality are quite a combo. The mirrors are impressive. Did you have special credentials to view the telescope?
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

No special credentials required - there are several telescopes scattered across the mountainside, close to road and hiking paths. Individually they have security fencing, but easily visible and photographable. I think these two are the William Herschel Telescope and the MAGIC telescopes.
www.google.com/maps/@28.7576697,-17.8789583,2438m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDUxNS4wIKXMDSoJLDEwMjExNDUzSAFQAw%3D%3D

Thanks Barondia.

I was feeling a little guilty wondering does this actually qualify as an abstract. But I had decided your thread intro provided some scope...

They float around in the dam close to the surface. Easy to spot because they release the odd bubble or two of air. Then they will come up to breathe for a while. If they don't feel threatened they will stay still for a long time. With my lens I am plenty far enough away for them to feel comfortable.

This one stands out to me the most because the lighting shows off the cut and engraved glass the best. Also the balance of light at the bases and reflection on the table provides a sense of delicateness to the glass and the scene.

What a neat area to visit and explore. Many, many years ago my family visited an observatory in Texas. Our friend was the head astronomer. It was so cool to see how it all functioned.
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

No reason to feel guilty. Your image is excellent and uses "obstructions" in a creative way. I am always trying to get rid grass and things that "don't belong" in the picture. You`ve shown another way. Don't worry if an image fits Abstract & Experimental. Just post it. This thread Is much looser than the other "classic" picture threads.
Thanks,
barondla

I like trains

There's just something about trains and train tracks that speak to me. I find myself photographing them constantly and this set of subway tracks in Vienna also happened to make a pretty pattern.

Oh wow, this didn't immediately register as interesting, but upon a closer look I really love it. You managed to make a fairly ordinary scene of a graveyard into something truly eery and special. The combination of shades of white and grey and the subject matter (the graveyard), as well as the warm grey sky make this feel properly alien, like some kind of reality altered dream sequence.

It's always a pleasure seeing close-ups of the kind of telescopes that give us truly mind-boggling insights into space. The telescopes themeselves are also pretty mind boggling. While I do appreciate seeing the whole construction, I am tempted to zoom into the mirror segements and presenting them divorced from context.

Between the two pictures, I actually prefer the second one aesthetically. The round white shape, juxtaposed against the soft empty blue sky looks amazing. The fact that the whole image essentially exists in shades of white and blue makes the whole thing very visually pleasing. I also really love the mirroring of the round shape of the dome in the ladder shadows.

The tracks are a great pattern and look swell in B&W. Symmetry makes this a strong composition.
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

Thank you. This is one of the last images taken with the APS-c Pentax K-01. The shutter died and there are no replacement parts. So had the full frame Pentax K-01 converted by kolari Vision. It has a stronger shutter and has been in production a lot longer.
Thanks,
barondla

Agree on both counts 😁 However the first shot as posted was already a crop, so I didn't want to lose too much image quality by cropping further. perhaps it doesn't matter.
I prefer the second as an image in itself.