Introduction
Abstract photography, sometimes called non-objective or experimental photography, is photography where the photos are not like a usual photo, where the formal elements are used in different ways. An abstract photograph may focus on a certain area of a natural scene in order to remove its main context from the viewer, it may be purposely staged to create a seemingly unreal appearance from real objects, or it may involve the use of color, light, shadow, texture, shape and/or form to convey a feeling or impression. The image may be produced using traditional photographic equipment like a camera, darkroom or computer, or it may be created without using a camera by directly manipulating film, paper or other photographic media, including digital presentations.
First set
The process
The way we took those photos is by making a small sculpture. To make the sculpture we used an A4 piece of card folded in half. Then we proceeded to add random bits of coloured film and bits of card. We also cut a few holes in the card. Finally, we took the photos using different angles and and using the natural light through the window to be able to see the shadows.
Second set
Second set evaluation
These photos were taken outside the classroom and outside the block. We covered things up and focused on certain thing through holes in the sculpture. My favourite photo is the over-the-shoulder one of Max taking a photo. I like that one because it uses aspects of abstraction and street photography because of the sculpture being in it and its an over-the-shoulder photo.
Evaluation
We watched a video by Anna Lucas who was the first to create these types of photos with the sculpture. It inspired us to make our own. The aim of the task was to use the sculptures that we made to take photos of interesting things around the school. These pictures weren't to hard to take mainly because when things are abstract they don't really have to make sense. So even if it doesn't look the best its still good because its abstract. The hardest thing I found was trying to get the perfect angle where you can see the sculpture and the shadows clearly. The way we got the different angles was by moving the sculptures into different positions. I enjoyed taking the photos and making the sculpture as it wasn't too hard but the outcome is quite interesting. In my opinion the best photo is the one in the middle because you can see the shadows and the sculpture perfectly.
No Focus/Out of Focus - Bill Armstrong
Obscured and disrupted views - Ray Metzker
This is my favourite photo of his because even though its distorted you can see the buildings and the object in the road. I also like how there is a person in the distance behind the pile in the road. This is good because even though the person is in the background, you can see that they are a subject. I think the way this photo was made was by making the exposure really low.
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Homework
I chose this abstract photo by Ray Metzker because there are many examples of the formal elements. There are many lines in this photo because it looks as if its in a city and all the road markings and buildings create sharp lines. He makes the lines stand put by making them bright white against the black background. It looks as if there is a lot of space in the photo because The buildings and the person are fairly far away from the photographer. I say fairly because they're not in the distance but they're not directly in front of the camera.
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Abstract Paper Photographs
In this task we had a piece of paper and we had to take photographs of the paper in different ways such as screwed up or folded in half. We also wasn't allowed to have the table or any background in the photographs. We had to take the photographs in different ways as well such as extremely close up, out of focus and at an angle, this was probably the easiest part of the task. I found it quite hard because it was hard to think of 16 different ways of using the paper to create unique photographs. Once I had thought of all the unique ways of changing the paper I found it quite easy to take all of the photographs. In some of the photographs the paper doesn't even look like paper and it looks like a landscape or a large expanse of land.
Homework 2
Out of all the photos that I took for this homework I thought this one was the best because I liked the way that the background is in focus but the actual subject is in focus. This is abstract because usually in photos the subject is in focus and the background isn't. It came out like that because everything was in focus but as I took the photo the subject turned around quickly that is why he is out of focus. If I didn't take this picture I could most likely know how I took it because even though it is simple it is an effective way to make the subject out of focus. I think the way that it is out of focus is interesting because it's not just out of focus, it's out of focus in a way that you can see that the subject is turning around quickly.
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Photos
Saul Leiter
I chose this image because it's interesting how Saul Leiter chose to crop the ladder so that there is only one small section if it. It's unusual how everything is in focus but it is clear that the main focus is on the ladder. I think the most important formal element for this photo is shapes. This is because nearly all of the shapes in this photo are geometric. However, lines could also be very important because the lines in this photo are very clear and straight. I think the fact that everything is in focus is important because you can see everything clearly but you can easily see what the photographer wants you to focus on. Saul Leiter's photos are abstract because they use most of the formal elements. The main formal element he uses for his photos is focus. He makes a lot of his photos out of focus because he makes use of depth of field.
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John Baldessari
In my opinion his work is great because he is making use of photographs and images that were otherwised not going to be used. I like the way that he covers up people's faces with the colourful dots. The reason I like this style is because it basically covers up the subject but you can still see what it is.
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Hannah Höch
In my opinion her photos are definitely abstract because it's multiple images cut up in different ways to make different images. Some of her images come out really weird. I think the most abstract photo is the one on the middle left because it looks like a person with a tiny body but a massive head.
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Final piece
For my final piece, I'm going to take photos using the same style as Boogie (A street photographer who takes his photos in black and white and using weird subjects) but then add stickers and stuff like a John Baldessari photo. I will place the stickers and other stuff over the subject but it won't completely cover it so that you can still see what it is. Once I have done that I will display the photos on a large board type of thing. If there's enough space on the board I will add some writing about the photos like how I made them and what made me take those photos. John Baldessari and Boogie were my inspiration to do this. I'm going to use both of these styles mixed together, the top row of photos are by John Baldessari and the bottom row are by Boogie.
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Final piece photos
Evaluation
For my final piece I took most of the photos in school however, I took the bottom three photos at one of the skateparks that I go to. Once I had taken the pictures I made them black and white in photoshop and added the coloured lines and shapes over certain things in the photos. I didn't put the colours over the subject in all the photos, in some of them I just put it in places that looked interesting.
My favourite picture out of all of them is the one of the graffiti. It's my favourite photo because all of the graffiti is in focus but the brick wall above and below the graffiti is out of focus and I think it looks really good that way. I also like how I made a triangle from the lines that are touching the edge of the 'O' in the graffiti. I also like how I cover up the middle of the 'O' with a red circle because it actually looks like it's part of the graffiti.
I think the hardest part about taking the photos was finding the right things to take the pictures of. I needed the pictures to be in a street photography style, have interesting elements and be able to look good after I had edited them. It was hard because I wanted the pictures to be perfect because it was the final piece and it needed to be as good as possible. Even though I took some of the photos randomly they came out good and I used them for my final piece.
My favourite picture out of all of them is the one of the graffiti. It's my favourite photo because all of the graffiti is in focus but the brick wall above and below the graffiti is out of focus and I think it looks really good that way. I also like how I made a triangle from the lines that are touching the edge of the 'O' in the graffiti. I also like how I cover up the middle of the 'O' with a red circle because it actually looks like it's part of the graffiti.
I think the hardest part about taking the photos was finding the right things to take the pictures of. I needed the pictures to be in a street photography style, have interesting elements and be able to look good after I had edited them. It was hard because I wanted the pictures to be perfect because it was the final piece and it needed to be as good as possible. Even though I took some of the photos randomly they came out good and I used them for my final piece.