Abstract Image

[Jonathan Wienke]

This is an image I shot shortly before I went to Iraq. It is a "straight" photo in the sense that the distortions you see are not Photoshop manipulations; what you see here is what your eye would have seen if it was placed where the camera lens was located when the shot was exposed.



It's a bit different than my usual stuff, but after reading the abstraction thread I thought I'd give it a whirl here. Its merits are obviously not based in subject fidelity, so the standard technical criteria are not as applicable. Or are they? If so, how? And is this image more "art" than "photography", or is it some other category?

Constructive comments (positive and negative) welcome, as usual. But anyone complaining about excessive chromatic aberration will receive fifty lashes with a fragmented TCP/IP packet.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I find it quite delightful and whimsical. It brings to mind a wonderful self-portrait by Imogen Cunningham. She stands there with her twin-lens reflex reflected in a funhouse distortion mirror, while her two grandchildren mug beside her.

I think it is very healthy to photograph outside your usual comfort zone now and then. That can lead to growth and new ways of seeing.

Eric

[BernardLanguillier]

Interesting image Jonathan, thanks for posting.

Beyond the initial fascination with a different view of reality, it is often difficult to find a composition that is balanced in such scenes. Your image works for me from this standpoint.

I also like the texture that you can feel in the reflecting material (a plate of metal?).

Cheers,
Bernard

[Jonathan Wienke]

I shot this image from a stall in a men's room on the second floor of a building overlooking a children's playground. One of the walls of the stall was made of wavy glass blocks, and I shot the image through one of them. It just goes to show that you never know when you'll find something worth shooting.

[jule]

Jonathan, I find your image quite interesting. The first thing which I found most striking was the dimensionality of the image. There appears to be two distinct planes. The building appears to be extremely flat with a very shallow depth of field on that plane. Then there is the red, pink and yellow shape (the roof of the playground) , which appears to be on a completely different plane than the building. It seems to be floating in front of the building and gives  the image a surreal quality. The bland background colours contribute to the differentiation between these two planes.

The speckles of yellow in the sand play area link the upper part of the image to make it whole rather than two uninked sections.

I really like the colours. It is a refreshing change to have colours such as these instead of the usual blue skies and green hills.

I also find it interesting that there is no human presence, yet the traces of them - toys in the play area, opened windows.

Questions are posed about the building. Is is a school? Is it a workplace with an attached creche? Is it an apartment building with a playground? There are not too many clues - so these questions still remain unanswered, adding to the intrigue.

There are very strong diagonal elements in your image. Following the lines upward from both sides of the yellow/red/pink form, they lead up to the edges of the white roof. That seems to keep the focus into the centre where this swirling movement could originate.

I find the black line on the upper left does not support the 'globulating' fluid nature of the roof, and although continues the diagonal repetition of the three vertical lines, I think the image would benefit more if it wasn't there.  Would you be so kind as to have go at removing it to see if it makes a difference? ..and posting the results.?

Keep taking that camera wherever you go Jonathan!  

Julie

[rvanr]

Constructive comments (positive and negative) welcome, as usual. But anyone complaining about excessive chromatic aberration will receive fifty lashes with a fragmented TCP/IP packet.

I like it! I thought it might be a reflection in water. The bright colours make it for me. I was reminded of one of my own: Reflection of Venice

[Jonathan Wienke]

The building in the background has numerous offices in it (mainly Army support services and administration), and the playground is for the children of the workers. As suggested, I removed the black line, and I think it strengthens the image significantly. Good call, Julie.

[jule]

The building in the background has numerous offices in it (mainly Army support services and administration), and the playground is for the children of the workers. As suggested, I removed the black line, and I think it strengthens the image significantly. Good call, Julie.
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Thanks Jonathan. I think it strengthens it too.

Julie

[NLund]

I think it's a strong image that is fun and compelling. Nice work.

[Jonathan Wienke]

Thank you.