With June knocking on the door and the US headed into a long (Memorial Day) weekend I'd like to kick off the new theme for the month - Experimental.
Now I know that 'experimental' can mean a lot of things to different members, but I want to see a focus this month on the new techniques that people are bravely trying out. This could simply mean techniques outside of your comfort level that you are trying for the first time, or some new technique that you are trying to develop for your own amusement.
So get out there and play! Results don't have to be anything stellar, just giving an idea of what might be achieved and generate thoughts/discussion.
As always, I have uploaded a few examples of my own that didn't quite make the grade. All are using variations of techniques as I try to figure out what works (or not!).
Don't forget to add to this post any you feel would be a good fit for our team banner.
I'm most drawn to #5 - looks like it was shot through a sheet of...ice?
What was the technique you were trying in the 2nd picture and why do you think it didn't quite make the grade? Have you revisited it to improve the technique?
Re #5, Bruce: turn it upside down.
;-)
Got it! Thanks! :-D
The first one looks like the image you made just before the accident you had because you were driving and taking photos at the same time, Alan!
The second intrigues me; too. How did you do it? The technique has potential. The image calls to my mind eastern Asiatic art, not for the first time with your work. Japanese cypress trees, bamboo groves.
4 is very appealing (partly for me because of its asymmetry) in its simplicity.
5 has a lovely shimmering quality. I'd be tempted to disguise its origins a bit more to maintain the mystery.
There's a lovely gestural quality to the couple in 6, speaking volumes about them, blurred as they are.
The final, very abstract flower (?) image is excellent in its Impressionistic effect.
4, 5, 6 & 9 definitely make the grade for me. You're a (too-?) harsh critic of your own work, Alan. Better than posting crap, I guess! I'll keep plodding in well-worn furrows while you experiment...
Hi Chris,I always look forward to your thoughtful and expansive input - thanks for putting so much time and effort into your feedback.
Here's a quick overview;
1) Good catch, I was wondering if anyone could figure out the content. This was indeed an experiment taking long exposures in a moving car (my son was driving.....). As maty be able to discern the subject is a car in front of us braking for a bend.
2) We really do think alike at times - I had the same impression. This is actually a winter scene with snow on the ground and branches (pines).If I remember right I was experimenting with luminosity masks and inverted one of the channels, and basically like the effect I do like this one, but I'm not sure it could be pulled off too often (needs that contrast of elements)
4) Was taken at a misty harbor long exposure with some movement), this was all about trying to capture a mood.
5) As you have guessed this is a reflection (in wet sand)
6) This was a couple dancing on a dock at sunset. I took a lot of long exposure (up to 2 seconds) shots trying to capture the flow of their movement. It didn't really come out as I had hoped, but I learned a lot in the process.
9) This was a test to see if I could take a long exposure of a subject whilst moving around it. Tricky, as you can't see through the viewfinder (with the mirror lifted), but again all part of the experimentation process.
BTW Chris - on your suggestion I revisited #5 and cleaned it up somewhat. Thanks for the endorsement, I may post later.
I'd be interested to see, Alan. I'm not sure it'd work, but that was my thought on seeing it.
Here it is......
That's good, Alan! Exactly what I had in mind. Now it suggests a mirage, if anything, or maybe a misty moist Impressionist scene. The atmosphere reminds me of a Pissarro in our main gallery here in Melbourne.
Hey, it's Friday - the day I plan to pick a new banner image from member submissions.
If you would like to be considered please add some of your experimental work for review.
Thanks for posting George, this certainly fits the theme.
Don't know if this passes muster as abstract. I was aiming for a black and green rectangle, a bit like a diagonally divided two-colour flag.
Sounds like you were experimenting with abstraction to me 😊. This certainly qualifies in my mind.
Thanks, Alan. I plan to post a series of renditions of this image, for reasons that will be clear when I do.
Can't wait....
At 1st glance i see a bunch of Ewoks.
As I am going on vacation I am posting the Friday banner image a little early (sorry Chris!).