Abstract Photography

Abstract Photography...

Abstract Photography is similar to abstract art in that it focuses on shapes, lines, colours, and patterns to make the viewer think outside of the box about what the image is or what it is representing. Often in Abstract Photography the viewer won't always be able to tell what the object is but will have the essence of the image. Abstract Photography is designed to make people think about the image and this can create an emotional connection with the photograph. Abstract Photography is often of real life things and often very zoomed in or out of focus to alter and distort the way the viewer sees the

 image.

Tony Howell...

Tony Howell is a Landscape and Abstract photographer. In his Abstract work he focuses in on objects that have bold lines, textures and patterns because this makes for a better Abstract photograph as it draws the viewer in. He takes images and then turns some of them into prints which he has been selling since 1997. A lot of his work is zoomed in to the particular area or object to alter and distort the look of it and this makes for more interesting and individual photographs. He says that he has a minimalist nature, this is because by zooming in or getting close to the object it simplifies the image and creates different perspectives and illusions. His Abstract Photography leaves more to the imagination and lets the viewer look at it from there angle and decide what they see.

Tony Howell Image Analysis...

Descriptively this image is of panels of wood which have been half covered in green moss, with the shadows of the sun brightening the image, however from different perspectives it is viewed differently. The way he has zoomed in on to this object creates the illusion that it is something else as you cannot see the full image and this makes the viewer think a bit more about the image. The moss covering the edges of the wood gives the image a splash of natural colour and makes the somewhat plain image more interesting. The simplicity of this photograph makes it minimalistic and focuses the viewer on the image. The sun coming from the left of the shot creates a slight shadowed effect and makes different patterns on the wood which alters the composition slightly. The angle that the image is taken at makes the lines of the wood more prominent and makes them stand out more, by doing this it almost creates leading lines throughout the photo.

Ryan Bush...

Ryan Bush has been a Fine Art Photographer for 16 years and has been perfecting his Abstract Photographs and Artwork by focussing on finding the beauty hidden in everyday objects, particularly in nature. He currently works digitally but has been working in the dark room for many years. He also is very influenced and inspired to incorporate other medias into his Abstract Photography in medias such as paintings and drawings. Bush thinks of Abstract Photography as providing unique opportunity to connect the concrete visible world of our surroundings with the subtle, imaginable world of our own beings and souls.

Ryan Bush Image Analysis...

Descriptively, this image is of a persons shadow onto the wood panelled background with a knotted piece of string going straight down the middle of the shadow. However, in my opinion I think that it could represent the absence of the figure by the way that it is almost silhouetted within the shadow, and with the string in the middle being knotted could suggest the mind and how we think in todays society. A lot of Bush's work focuses on the purity and simplicity of nature and the outdoors; in the image I think this is portrayed in the simplicity of the composition being just three bold subjects. The shadowed figure is bold yet still the background to the string, which makes the string stand out more. The way the image is positioned in layers starting with the wood, and then the shadow and then the string draws the viewer in and makes the image more interesting.

 Bill Brandt...

Bill Brandt was born in 1904 was a photographer who although born in Germany moved to England which is where he became most famous for his distorted nude photography. Brandt zoomed in on and focused on particular parts of the body and changed the angles to create different illusions and perspectives for the viewer. Although he shot his nude photographs in unusual ways to create a more thoughtful photo, his nude artwork has been some of the most noticed pieces of Abstract Photography from his time, for the beautiful display of the human body in the peculiar and abstract perspective he took them at. All of his photos are in black and white which gives them a more powerful look and is more thought provoking for the viewer.

Bill Brandt Image Analysis...

Most of Brandt's nude photographs were taken on a pebbled beach which gives a good contrast to the different angles he shot his photos at. The fact that the photos are in black and white makes it more powerful and makes the figures and shapes more striking. The composition of this image is quite cluttered but it is clear that the interlocking fingers are the main subject as they are in the foreground and also surrounding the fingers is quite a lot of negative space which focuses the viewer on to the focal point. Descriptively, this image is on two hands locked together on a pebbled background with the sea in the distance. However, in my opinion, the way the fingers are positioned could represent a relationship between two people. Also, he has used the rule of thirds to make the composition a bit more interesting and it also focuses the viewer on certain parts of the image, that he wants to make more prominent.

My Abstract Photographs...

I took inspiration from Tony Howells work and tried to recreate them in my own Abstract photos. This is an image of a rusted pipe which I zoomed into to get the flaking rust. I liked how Tony Howell used nature and natural things that he found, to make Abstract photography, because I like how simple it is and it still creates interesting Abstract shots.

 

In this image I used the wood from a shed in my garden, and zoomed in on the tattered wooden panels to recreate another on Howells pieces of photography. I like how the panels almost create natural leading lines and it makes the simplicity of the object more interesting. I chose not to photo shop these images as I didn't think they need any editing or enhancing, however I did crop down a few of the images to make them more focused in on one thing to make them more abstract. I was inspired by Howells naturalistic and simple photos which create vibrant photographs so I chose to recreate this in my own work by choosing simpler objects to photograph.