these are some macro shots of an oak tree that I split up to burn in the fireplace. when I first split them and saw the grain I said to myself, wow that's beautiful... a week later I was stacking the wood to dry out and again was amazed by the beauty of the wood grain. that's when I thought, I should take some photos, this is what I got.
There are some beautiful forms and patterns there, Evan! Well spotted. I like your compositions.
To my eye, there is not quite enough in sharp focus in them. It might well be impossible to get it all sharp in a single capture with any of them, and that can be part of the appeal of macro shots. I suspect, though, that if you'd stopped down to f/16 or f/22 in aperture priority mode (which would almost certainly require a tripod), you'd get much more in sharper focus, improving the images- at least for me.
Also, the lighting is a bit "flat", and I would be inclined in your place to adjust contrast and colour balance. I've done this in my edit, and "sharpened", which doesn't achieve the same effect as a small aperture, but might hint at what's possible with this material. Hope you haven't burnt it yet!
Good on you for showing us what you saw!
Hi Evan! Great eye for finding a subject for a abstract. People struggle with that but not you! These shots are more macro than minimalism or abstract but I think they are worth talking about here because you are a breath away from a great abstract!
First, Chris is right one this money. Interesting that he chose the middle one for his example as it is my favorite too.
Additionally, if your goal is an abstract, this image would be a perfect subject with it's interesting lines. However, in an abstract you are trying to create something pleasing out of lines, texture, color, etc. The second image here would be a superb abstract if taken straight on so that all your eye would do is follow the curves and the shape of the lines as a whole would give an overall impression. The DOF hurts this as an abstract as much as it helps it as a macro.
This is probably clear as mud. I need some coffee! Regardless of the bit, you are on the right track and I hope to see more from you soon!
:)
PS - am going to look for an example pair of the same subject. I'll be right back.
I'm back! So... first one - much better technically but doesn't work as an abstract. Second one - not the best technically, much better abstract. I hope this makes the "clear as mud" less muddy!
Thank you both so much for your input... as far as the contrast and brightness, I agree with you and i will be taking some more shots of the wood today, to see if i can improve on that but i must say I really appreciate the not so sharp elaments of the photos maybe i will do one super sharp and one less sharp and see what everyone thinks... again thanks for the kind words.