Captured Jan 29, 2023 in Death Valley National Park. After a week of taking primarily grand landscape images, I was hankering for some small scenes and headed to a roadside spot just past Furnace Creek with a small creek running through it. The rocks on the ground were beautiful shades of gray, gold, brown, green, and white… perfect for ICM!
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Things I like:
I appreciate how random rocks on the ground can become almost a pattern with a little thoughtful camera movement. I also like the palette and the quasi-wavy movement I captured.
Questions/Feedback Requested:
I’m not sure there’s much story or message here, which is one of my struggles with some abstracts I do… there’s not an obvious story, and making one up feels forced to me. Or maybe I just haven’t devoted enough imagination to it. Thoughts about that as it relates to this image—and abstracts in general—are appreciated.
I also wonder if the few brighter white areas are too bright. They’re not clipped, but they do stand out to me. Along those lines, I processed this in a few different ways, including giving it a softer look. I like the more clearly defined texture and slightly deeper colors of this version, and I’m curious what you think. Too far? Not far enough? Just right?
Also curious what new crop or orientation possibilities you see in this.
Thanks in advance!
Technical Details
Canon EOS R, Lensbaby Velvet 56, ISO 100, 1/5", single exposure ICM. Edited in LR Classic.
Hi Beth,
what a beautiful abstract image. I love all these soft shapes and fine textures.
I’m afraid I can’t help you much with the story or message. I struggle with creating a story even with my abstract images. But I enjoy your picture even without the story.
I took the liberty, downloaded your image, and played around with it. I didn’t come up with a different crop. The difference isn’t really dramatic:
Hi Beth
I really like your picture as is and the way you post-processed it. Totally my cup of tea
The whites don’t disturb me at all, on the contrary, I think the picture works so well because of the different colours and tones.
As far as the story is concerned - I’m not sure if there has to be one in every photo? Can’t a photo just be simply esthetically pleasing? I wonder what other members think about that?
Just MAYBE the image would have been even stronger with a subject in it that stands out from the rocks, maybe even a rock that has a very different colour than the other ones, on one of the strong points in the composition. Or whatever else was there. If anything. If nothing, then I like it all the same.
As you know, I enjoy the ICM as well and this is a great example why. I love the colors that are revealed - well, they colors are already there, so lets say the colors and enhanced or made to be a primary element. As are the abstract shapes and patterns. And with that, there are no rules on color, contrast, saturation, etc. I think this works beautifully as presented in terms of processing.
Same goes for cropping. I have an affinity for square crops with the ICM and I think there are crop possibilities with this one. But also just like processing, it’s all a matter of personal choice. I’m enjoying this one as presented.
And to the topic of a story or meaning, I’m with you, there doesn’t have to be with all images - and most especially with ICM. I think we all know that the result of the process is pretty much random luck - although I hope you would agree there is some skill and experience in recognizing subjects, color, light and patterns that make better ICM than others.
Beautiful! Good luck with the competitions and publications and I’m looking forward to seeing your site come back online!
Lon
Cool! I don’t think an abstract needs a story. To me it evokes a woven rag rug. Interesting it was taken with a Lensbaby – double points!?
Interesting mix of sliders – not sure I have ever gone negative with Highlights, Shadows and Whites, then pushed Texture, Clarity and Dehaze way up – but with an abstraction, anything goes!! You got a very nice look and that’s what matters.
I only see one area (top center) that looks blown, and just barely. I’ve never thought the histogram was that accurate for the whites. The Color Sampler might reveal more.
Hi Beth, first I’d like to thank you for providing some wonderful critiques in the Abstract category. It doesn’t go unnoticed so thank you for dedicating some of your valuable time to help other members here!
Regarding your question about a story or message with abstracts, it is something I have been thinking about myself as I’m writing an article on abstract photography. Often, the story or message behind an abstract the image is not the actual image itself; it is engaging one’s imagination and about the discovery of a natural abstract scene. It is about being amazed by the wonderful artist that Nature is and about crafting a composition in a compelling way to showcase that hidden beauty.
Now some thoughts your fine image. The white’s look fine to me. I would like to suggest a vertical orientation of the image. I’d be curious how the image would look. The repeating overlapping patterns are what caught my eye and imagination so well done!
Thank you, Jens, for offering up your kind words and for taking time to see what resulted with some alternative edits. I, too, like the slight softness your edit gave the image. I also tend to push tones to the cooler side of the spectrum, so I appreciate you doing that here. It seems like there’s some interesting flexibility with this image that is worth continuing to play with. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggles with the story! As others have commented, we don’t necessarily have to have one, at least not in the traditional sense. That’s an approach I can get behind
Thanks for your very kind words, Alfredo. I find that turning a thoughtful eye towards others’ work is so enlightening; I so appreciate the open and generous attitude NPN contributors seem to have. It’s refreshing!
Your comment about a vertical orientation resonates with me, as my bias is towards portrait mode, almost to a fault. Here’s how it looks turned clockwise:
This is interesting to me, as it seems to take on an energy more like water, which is an interesting contrast considering these are rocks! I also tried it counter-clockwise, and that perspective made me think of clouds. Also interesting contrast. What do you think?
Finally, I agree with your thoughts on abstraction and story. The “story” can be the mood or emotion an image evokes, and that’s left to the imagination of the viewer. There’s a lot of freedom in that!
@Ingrid_Vekemans , interesting point about having a subject that stands out. I’ll have to look at other images I captured to see if any have something close to that. I’m starting to learn that one of my creative challenges is balancing harmony with disruption… I have a leaning towards harmony, and that makes for a lovely image but not one that’s got a special edge. I’m all for lovely, but sometimes, I’d like to have more edge!
@Lon_Overacker you’ve named one of the reasons I love ICM: in the processing, there’s often so much more revealed of color and texture than our naked eye can see or appreciate. It’s like we’re discovering a hidden universe! I also appreciate the idea of playing with a square crop. Will give that a go! And thank you for your good wishes. I am really anxious to get my website updated and expect that to happen in the next few weeks. Stay tuned
@Diane_Miller , yes, I see that same white spot. It’s the one that’s bugging me a bit. RE: the sliders, in general but especially with ICM, I like to move them around, take them to extremes, even, to see what happens. I’ve heard this idea that we’re not “supposed” to go “too far” in either direction, but to me it’s about getting the look I want, not the rules. If that means Clarity to 100, then so be it! Some images call for subtle slides, others more dramatic. I guess when it comes to sliders, my attitude is that it’s about the destination, not the journey
To all of you, I appreciate hearing your thoughts on story in abstracts. It’s validating to hear your opinions and embrace the fact that a certain aesthetic can be a “story,” that an image can be meaningful on its own merits without a grand narrative behind it. I know this intellectually; it’s the trusting it that I need to stretch into. Thanks so much for offering your perspective!
