My World: Escaping Actuality: strategy and pitfalls in the creative process!

In the quest for finer pixels, flat optical planes and magical lighting, we risk being herded into a coral of exactness, as if we are documentarians. That's fine for many uses of photography, where one deals with specific expectations of various markets for photography.

Here, I'm interested in photography to serve as a muse, to engage and allow us to drift or to consider ideas and especially to feel. To this end, escaping from the exactness of the modern photograph, (which anyway lacks the context of smell, noise, wind and the sensations of crunch sand, snow or autumn leaves), one can use an array of stratagems.

So, a picture by Michael Nagel, taken through glass with water running over it, caught my attention. The photograph is worth revisiting. Anyway, it lead me to try out the water on glass as "filter". However, no one was with me to help pour the water!

So I came up with an interim solution, (vaseline and gauze I'll try, shortly, too), use of plastic wrap to hold water and create some distortion.

Then the plan is to take this further by simplifying the image and then altering the set of hues to bring out a more "muse" inducing ambience.




This is a start, knowing that the path is fraught with pitfalls in the way of getting kitschy or following some new fad. So I am taking a disciplined approach by investigating how some maneuvers might help me express images in a way that is more delightful to experience, but will not just be "modern" and out of fashion a year from now.

Asher

I realize that I do not have the benefit of moving water, so instead I'll use The Topaz "Simplify" filter to deconstruct the image somewhat, just a little and also enrich those incidental blue bg colors.

Asher

Please note in the pictures below, 90% of the "abstraction is already achieved by the use of the wet cellophane filter.




So here's the picture simplified with Topaz "Simplify"





and then I've taken added a set of stronger hues with Topaz "Restyle".





For your consideration. Feel free to comment on the process and ideas.


Asher

The image by Nagel is just gorgeous. Very nice indeed and really worth to be seen.

However, this kind of images can be obtained by the use of filters in CS. This is a creative process, anyway.

I have never experienced or experimented this trend but I do have done some experiments with layers and blending modes with pleasant results.

More comments after dinner !

I could remember a photograph I made some months ago with the iPhone.
I post the original photo and the same one after Color Efex 4/Detail Extractor applied.

Asher,

I feel honored that you took my experiment as example for further experiments on your own.
You are taking a different route with your technique.

What struck me is the difference on the approach here.
I took advantage of what was there to record what I saw standing there.
Your approach is to take a visual effect and to try to emulate it while carefully constructing a picture.

Both approaches are valid.

Antonio's pictures (thanks) are more spontaneous - closer to how I would operate.

Best regards,
Michael

Michael,

It's the effect you have that I really like. The slow shutter speed helps. Mine is at the moment more static. Still, in a kitchen i've taken over a year to build, another flood is not a consideration, LOL!

One can be spontaneous if one is prepared. I'm trying to get a clean setup with flowing water over a glass surface. Need to get some sort of a pump to get the water over the glass and not over the floor.

The cellophane is just an intermediate step, but it does abstract the still life and makes a start in the right direction.

Asher

Once one has a setup then one can be in the moment and the heat just vanishes.

Antonio Correia said:

I could remember a photograph I made some months ago with the iPhone.
I post the original photo and the same one after Color Efex 4/Detail Extractor applied.

Click to expand...

Antonio,

This is admirable. The direction of the man's intent follows the water! The Nik filter seems apt here.

Asher

Hi,
what I see as an important aspect is, that one should not forget, that this is photography, not painting.
The more you try to develop a photo towards a painting, the more you and your photo ist lost between spaces, or as we say here: you sit between two chairs.

Just have a look at this one, it is a photo, catching the moment during a very fast movement on a train while it is raining outside, comparable to the one of Michael ...

Wolfgang, this is very nice.
The black canvas helps the composition and so does the vignetting.
Have a good Sunday !

Wolfgang Plattner said:

Hi,
what I see as an important aspect is, that one should not forget, that this is photography, not painting.
The more you try to develop a photo towards a painting, the more you and your photo ist lost between spaces, or as we say here: you sit between two chairs.

Just have a look at this one, it is a photo, catching the moment during a very fast movement on a train while it is raining outside, comparable to the one of Michael ...

Click to expand...

Of course, Wolfgang,

You're point is so elegantly made. We don't wan't to lose it's photographic heritage by trying to make it look like a painting. The independent and honest beauty of that picture stands well on it's own. I just want to take that and extend it's pushing of the envelope of reality.

You see, I'm trying to reproduce the photograph in my brain. Whereas some may sharpen, I may want to blur or twist the canvas.

Asher

Under "Work" on LR keywords I was able to find these among some others...