tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76718627202594269072024-03-28T00:52:54.966+01:00RotoMergeThis is my photography blog.
I'd like to dedicate it to the more abstract type of photography.
So don't expect much gear-talk here.Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-32023709779349259292019-10-17T21:38:00.001+02:002019-10-17T21:45:29.812+02:00Abstractifying perspectiveWell, that is a bit far fetched. But still: If you use a perspective that you normally don't see in images it has the effect of putting the subject of your photography in a slightly abstract realm.<br />
The following was a result of me constantly looking at the sky at a breakneck angle and shooting all the fascinating architecture that you encounter on a visit to Uzbekistan at an unusual perspective:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/48815805003/in/album-72157711119878223/" title="Uzbekistan_64059"><img alt="Uzbekistan_64059" height="333" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48815805003_1f4b440bc7.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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This elicited quite some Ooh's and Aah's from the group I was traveling with - and I was quite proud to have seen this. Although my neck still hurts ;-)<br />
<br />For more of my Uzbekistan images have a look <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/albums/72157711119878223/with/48815805003/">here</a>.Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-22587925695239062472019-10-17T21:28:00.001+02:002019-10-17T21:46:18.184+02:00Fractal patternUzbekistan is a treasure trove of patterns: All mosques, madrasas, and minaretes are covered inside and out with them. Some simply geometric others as abstractified scripture from the Koran.<br />
This leads to photographic opportunities where the pure and simple geometric forms are so dominant that they appear like fractal patterns.<br />
Have a look at this example:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/48853499701/in/album-72157711119878223/" title="Samarkand_65101"><img alt="Samarkand_65101" height="281" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48853499701_8523c38dfa.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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Think of it as a Mandala, print it out in black and white and get your crayons to color it. Endless hours of mind-relaxing activity is guaranteed...<br /><br />For more of my Uzbekistan images have a look <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/albums/72157711119878223/with/48815805003/">here</a>.Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-78418602124989279952019-10-17T21:17:00.001+02:002019-10-17T21:43:02.931+02:00Real abstractWhen visiting Uzbekistan I was overwhelmed by the intricate and colorful patterns used to adorn the mosques, madrasas and minarets.
I got a stiff neck from shooting the domes in the Naqshbandi Mausoleum trying to find out whether two domes were identical. No they were not!
See my Flickr album <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/albums/72157711304650898">here</a>.
But then suddenly you look at a wall and all the color is gone. And you encounter strict black and white architectural details that are reminiscent of a modern minimalist artist:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/48827272898/in/album-72157711119878223/" title="Naqshbandi_Mausoleum_Buchara_64695"><img alt="Naqshbandi_Mausoleum_Buchara_64695" height="333" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48827272898_93bd0f6ee1.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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And that was in the same Mausoleum which had the colorful domes.<br />
Fascinating!<br />
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For more of my Uzbekistan images have a look <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/albums/72157711119878223/with/48815805003/">here</a>.Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-60200945666316488742018-11-27T19:52:00.000+01:002018-11-27T19:52:04.764+01:00Too well knownVisiting Antelope Canyon was a dizzying experience: My eyes were constantly drawn up to the small strip of sky above me. And the images all the others before me have shot and published churned in my mind and made it hard to have an unbiased view of this wonderful slot canyon.<br />
Our guide made it even worse in pointing out all the viewpoints that other (famous) photogs have taken and even told us how to set the camera (or phone) to capture that enigmatic view.<br />
Well, looking up was a no-no with our tour-guide as one could capture the sky (gasp!) as a strong contra-light and that would probably cause problems. But it had the clear benefit of putting all other tourists out of the picture and capture the beauty of the canyon without them.<br />
The following is just one example of the images I like from this tour. And it would be almost abstract if the canyon was not so well known.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/31093516167/in/photostream/" title="Antelope_Canyon_48690.jpg"><img alt="Antelope_Canyon_48690.jpg" height="281" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4827/31093516167_e25a849d9b.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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Which is quite an interesting concept: "de-abstractification" through a high profile in public reception. Well anyway: The mystery of entering this canyon and looking at it in wonder was still there. And I hope my images can convey something of this unique place on earth.<br />
For more of my images of the Antelope Canyon have a look <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?sort=date-taken-desc&safe_search=1&tags=antelopecanyon&user_id=38912116%40N00&view_all=1">here</a>.Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-30461617311757853312018-05-25T20:29:00.001+02:002018-06-17T21:19:12.202+02:00Back to reality: Layered LandThe land at the border between Denmark and Germany is so flat that it's hard to get more than a few thin layers of colors when you look towards the horizon. Look at the following image (or even better: click through to the large(r) original) to see what I mean:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/28389863438/in/album-72157667181242977/" title="DSC_41891.jpg"><img alt="DSC_41891.jpg" height="133" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/959/28389863438_aaf6a4d084.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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By the way: that is not a pano composite from multiple shots but simply a 8228 x 2185 pixel crop from a single shot at 92mm focal length.<br />
Here you can nicely see all the layers from blue water at the bottom through dark yellow + dark green + yellow from the reed, then the light green from the meadow up to the light blue of the sky. Fascinating, flat but fascinating.Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-35426972828533107402018-05-24T11:36:00.001+02:002018-05-24T11:36:44.134+02:00Vertical panningMany associate panning with a horizontal movement. And there indeed exist a lot of long-exposure images esp. of land- and seascapes that blur the horizontal areas of sky, sea and beach into colorful stripes - more or less devoid of any structure. There are some impressive photos of this type out there but many of them I find lacking in structure/texture.<br />
At the workshop I experimented with both horizontal and vertical panning but stuck to a relatively short exposure (around 1/4 - 1/2 sec) and also tried to have a short period of holding the camera still before starting the pan. I wanted to get at least some overlay of better defined structure over the blurred "background". With such short exposure you better move swiftly and the results have quite some variation. That means you need lots of shots to get the results you want.<br />
I also found that with vertical panning I get more definition in trees, grass, reed as their vertical structure is better preserved. Still I needed quite some postprocessing with all the panning shots I did to recover contrast/pop and structure.<br />
Well, enough words, here are some of the results…<br />
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First up a 0.4 sec shot which retains quite a lot of detail:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/40390829230/in/album-72157667181242977/" title="DSC_42135.jpg"><img alt="DSC_42135.jpg" height="333" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/970/40390829230_e50ec34b57.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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The same location at 1/4 sec but with a faster pan produces longer strokes from the bushes and trees making the scene a bit more abstract:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/41297208115/in/album-72157667181242977/" title="DSC_42130.jpg"><img alt="DSC_42130.jpg" height="333" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/904/41297208115_650f3a5d0e.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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In both images I used a pretty strong grain (click through the images to see the larg(er) originals). It <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">sort of "fixes the color to the canvas" and</span> helps to mellow down the strokes which sometimes can look quite aggressive/scratchy.<br />
You can perhaps see some of the "scratchiness" in the following shot:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/41476453624/in/album-72157667181242977/" title="DSC_42050.jpg"><img alt="DSC_42050.jpg" height="281" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/832/41476453624_1caa1c48b4.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-38310362767557448032018-05-22T21:48:00.000+02:002018-05-22T22:01:00.461+02:00What, no Emil-Nolde-Weather?The next day of the workshop was dedicated to landscape photography. We started with a photo-walk from the Nolde Museum to a nearby lake and in the afternoon transferred to the North Sea hoping to capture a dramatic sunset.<br />
But alas! The sky was blue and the high cirrus clouds did not look promising. As Heinz Teufel said: Emil Nolde wouldn't have gone painting landscapes on a day like this.<br />
Well, we had to work with what we've got so here's my first try to capture the flat landscape:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/42151152932/in/album-72157667181242977/" title="DSC_41837.jpg"><img alt="DSC_41837.jpg" height="281" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/968/42151152932_cd84566032.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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The farm house is one of those often captured in Emil Nolde's paintings.<br />
I used a polarizer and did quite some color-pushing in post to produce at least some expressionistic colors. But certainly this is not a model of a "dramatic" sky.<br />
Still the shot captures the vast landscape under the endless sky quite well.<br />
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Here's a closer view of the same farm house:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/28324743738/in/album-72157667181242977/" title="DSC_41843.jpg"><img alt="DSC_41843.jpg" height="281" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/981/28324743738_e4c1b759ed.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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As always: click through the images to enjoy the large view.Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-54200129306460693062018-05-21T20:34:00.004+02:002018-05-21T20:39:17.800+02:00Emil Nolde and Photography?Disclaimer: This is <b>NOT</b> about emulating Emil Nolde but about being inspired by his ideas!<br />
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When you look at Emil Nolde's work it's pretty hard to make the connection between his ideas/paintings and their relevance for photography. But what inspired me most are his brilliant expressive colors and his dissolution of lines and surfaces with his brush strokes - and how he gave life to the pretty flat landscape of northern Germany. But that'll be the topic of another post...<br />
So there I was at Heinz Teufel's workshop thinking about what to extract from the great painter's "vision" and how to put it at work in my photography. As the first day of the workshop was dedicated to shooting flowers it was easy to get the expressive colors that Nolde is so famous for. And the dissolution of reality ("abstractification" ;-) comes with the shallow depth of field that is so typical for macro photography.<br />
So here goes:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/42197402531/in/album-72157667181242977/" title="DSC_41575.jpg"><img alt="DSC_41575.jpg" height="281" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/982/42197402531_91a504d9af.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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Or this one with the colorful petals reminding me of broad strokes on a canvas:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/42151105672/in/album-72157667181242977/" title="DSC_41636.jpg"><img alt="DSC_41636.jpg" height="281" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/823/42151105672_b102c02998.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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Click through the image to get to the large original.<br />
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Hope you like it!Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-76918407042790684172018-05-20T17:05:00.000+02:002018-05-20T17:05:05.001+02:00The Stroke of a GeniusKit White proclaimed in his "101 Things to Learn in Art School": "A painting should be satisfying at a distance of both twelve inches and twelve feet".
Now look at Noldes image reproduced pretty small here due to the limited width of 500 pixel, so somewhat akin to "12 feet" away:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/27336069247/in/album-72157696365235284/" title="Emil_Nolde_41722.jpg"><img alt="Emil_Nolde_41722.jpg" height="651" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/977/27336069247_045bd67cb8_c.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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Beautiful portrait of a lady sitting on a chair or couch in the warm afternoon light - until you recognize the second young lady sitting opposite to her. I really had my moment of slow reveal here as I did not immediately realize there was a second face in the image. Perhaps I was too close to the painting admiring the brush strokes of the genius Emil Nolde.<br />
Here is a close-up of the face on the right and I really urge you to click through the image and have a good look on the large version of that crop to get an almost life-like impression of being "12 inches" away:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/41486282214/in/album-72157696365235284/" title="Emil_Nolde_41723.jpg"><img alt="Emil_Nolde_41723.jpg" height="500" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/963/41486282214_5fc2a16993.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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Simply marvelous!Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-52771600070828333352018-05-19T12:29:00.001+02:002018-05-20T19:21:10.062+02:00Visit Emil Nolde Museum!Coming back from a visit to the Emil Nolde Museum in Seebüll (<a href="http://www.nolde-stiftung.de/">www.nolde-stiftung.de</a>) I can only say "Wow!" It is not a large museum and can only show a small part of all the work Emil Nolde did (1100 oil paintings alone) but they do a very good job in picking interesting pieces like the following portrait:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/27335600757/in/album-72157696365235284/" title="Emil_Nolde_41680.jpg"><img alt="Emil_Nolde_41680.jpg" height="672" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/910/27335600757_44cc80946b_c.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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See a selection of the paintings currently on display in the museum: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/albums/72157696365235284">My flickr album</a><br />
These are NOT faithful reproductions but I processed them to capture the images as best as I remember.<br />
Hope you like them!Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-37658691327321168062018-05-07T16:13:00.002+02:002018-05-07T16:14:27.547+02:00Preparing for Emil NoldeWith a photography workshop at Nolde's garden coming up, I've been reviving my idea of painterly effects. I was experimenting with layering sharp shots onto unsharp shots of the same subject in Photoshop when I ended up with the following result of a Geranium flower (best viewed large!):<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/41233385544/in/dateposted/" nbsp="" title="Geranium_41405"><img alt="Geranium_41405" height="313" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/943/41233385544_56e56b93b7.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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I pretty much like the combination.<br />
This is without any "post-merge" processing, but you can still bring more detail of the flower to the fore, if you wish.Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-51497286416845653632018-05-03T19:43:00.000+02:002018-05-20T17:06:17.115+02:00Back to orchidsI finally decided to make the following image my favorite when i was playing with Adobes new profiles.
This led me to dissolve the contours of the flower even more radically leaving the color blotches like the mask of a Kabuki actor.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/41826425062/in/dateposted/" title="Kabuki_13181"><img alt="Kabuki_13181" height="281" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/968/41826425062_322bcf3b92.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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Hope you like it. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-51760185156234679522017-11-01T19:47:00.002+01:002017-11-01T19:50:16.674+01:00ZoomingThis can be a pretty effective way to abstractify an image - although it is a well-used technique.
As with other techniques that involve movement (of the camera) it tends to come with a penalty of reducing the contrast considerably. So be prepared to enhance contrast and/or colors in post-processing.
I captured the following shot by looking into an abandoned building through its glass front. Using a tripod an ND filter, f22 and a 4 second exposure I managed to produce a relatively smooth and even zoom from 24mm to 70mm - or was this the other way around? I honestly don't know. But I suspect that the results in this setup would not have been much different. Using the tripod was essential in creating straight lines when zooming. If you move the camera while zooming (which will be inevitable when hand-held) the results look pretty wild.
This is what I got - after turning the results to black&white + some contrast-enhancing. I also produced a "negative" by inverting the curve which interestingly now makes the image as if I'm looking (from the darker) inside out.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/38029855912/in/dateposted-public/" title="Room_with_a_View_26110"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4449/38029855912_c0177470d6.jpg" width="500" height="313" alt="Room_with_a_View_26110"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It has something of a ghostlike appearance.Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-76084798757930083932017-06-13T09:55:00.002+02:002017-06-13T09:56:49.572+02:00AmarylisPreparing for an internal competition in my photo-club I was playing around with an Amaryllis. At first nothing came out of it because it all looked like the pretty typical Amaryllis photo. Finally I tried shooting through the petals against a strong light-source capturing the inner structure and fine details of it.<br />
That was more to my liking:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/34469095133/in/dateposted/" title="Amaryllis_27207"><img alt="Amaryllis_27207" height="313" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4206/34469095133_a980b9bd5d.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-69546050799207311222016-12-25T12:54:00.000+01:002016-12-25T12:54:28.725+01:00DecayDecay can be a great abstractor producing e.g. rust with beautiful colors and fascinating patterns. But abandoned houses open to weather and forgotten in time you can also offer some interesting abstracts.<br />
Like these walls where the color and plaster eroded and left strange cracks, lines, and blotches.<br />
Found in Kolmanskop, Namibia.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/31010730984/in/dateposted/" nbsp="" title="Wall_06487"><img alt="Wall_06487" height="313" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/711/31010730984_ac8e85f1d6.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/31841586375/in/photostream/" nbsp="" title="Wall_06486"><img alt="Wall_06486" height="313" src="https://c8.staticflickr.com/1/587/31841586375_4489b39702.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-16682986609638379752016-12-22T14:34:00.001+01:002016-12-22T14:36:00.781+01:00One on OneIf you're using a macro lens like the <a href="http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Tamron_SP_90mm_f2-8_Di_VC_USD_Macro/">Tamron 90/2.8 VC (F017)</a> you are deep into abstract territory!<br />
We humans are not used to see things up so close. So any shot approaching magnifications of 1:1 ("one on one" ;-) is going to be a bit off the normal scale.<br />
Just captured these orchids in preparation for a shoot-out in my photography club with the topic of ... orchids.<br />
I'd like to capture more of the color than the form of the orchids. So I was looking for a highly abstract rendering of the plant. Not sure that I succeeded though regarding the "highly" part...<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/31765897396/in/dateposted/" nbsp="" title="Orchid_11888"><img alt="Orchid_11888" height="313" src="https://c5.staticflickr.com/1/363/31765897396_a8af7b4fc8.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/31430478390/in/photostream/" nbsp="" title="Orchid_11881"><img alt="Orchid_11881" height="313" src="https://c7.staticflickr.com/1/699/31430478390_188f1bc541.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-17993520169649170072016-12-11T11:55:00.002+01:002016-12-11T11:55:42.674+01:00Cause and effectI love this one from a macro-shooting at our local photography club:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/31455425966/in/datetaken/" nbsp="" title="Colorful_10454"><img alt="Colorful_10454" height="313" src="https://c7.staticflickr.com/1/603/31455425966_03ce7b9b3d.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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Well, everybody knows that depth-of-field is really slim in macro-shots as it shrinks with the square of the magnification. So some promote focus-stacking to get more dof.<br />
Or you live with it and enjoy the resulting blur from using f5.6 which in this case renders the image in the top-half/background abstract.<br />
Or to be honest: The image was abstract to begin with, as it is simply the artist's palette ;-)Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-69454280173762422322016-12-05T12:14:00.002+01:002016-12-05T12:15:45.338+01:00Abstract Nature?Well, you could always find some pretty abstract images in nature.
This one is from a round-trip in Namibia where we visited the famous "Organ Pipes" at Twyfelfontain.
The Basalt structures lend themselves easily to some form of abstract photography as they seem to defy the normal expectations of "nature".<br />
I processed every color out of this image except for orange and yellow which already seemed to be the dominant colors in this shot.<br />
Enjoy!<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/31433267305/in/datetaken/" title="Orange_Basalt_08088"><img alt="Orange_Basalt_08088" height="640" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5727/31433267305_5695758147_z.jpg" width="488" /></a><br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-48643043817117017222016-10-03T17:54:00.002+02:002016-10-03T19:48:04.509+02:00Experimental StaircaseHere's a more experimental development of the staircase below with a pretty complicated (at least for me) merge in Photoshop of four different layers:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/29463566704/in/dateposted/" nbsp="" title="Staircase_from_top_01629-7"><img alt="Staircase_from_top_01629-7" height="313" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5083/29463566704_f7184b6e53.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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I like the puzzle-like quality of the colored patches upon the gray-and-white "ground plan". And I like the element of random-ness when the patches were created by separating the lightest and the darkest areas of the original image. <br />
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But as I sifted through the myriads of filters in PS I found it (again) pretty hard to pre-visualize any of those effects and was pretty fast lost. I had an idea of what I liked to do but never even came close. So this image is sort of a by-product of my research into the depth of filter algorithms...Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-79835403031837045772016-09-30T22:06:00.000+02:002016-09-30T22:06:04.947+02:00It depends...The following image is not really abstract but a nice reduction of a staircase to geometry none-the-less:<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/29735473610/in/dateposted/" title="Staircase_from_below_01954"><img alt="Staircase_from_below_01954" height="333" src="https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8553/29735473610_394079793e.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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It was shot from below looking up and I developed it in a high-key way and further reduced distracting coloration in post-processing.<br />
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How much different the view from the top was!<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/29915970372/in/photostream/" title="Staircase_from_top_01629"><img alt="Staircase_from_top_01629" height="657" src="https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5143/29915970372_0ed487bcc8_c.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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The colors of the floor and the railing plus the bright lights cast by the sun shining through the windows were all absent from the shot from below.<br />
Fascinating how a change of perspective can produce totally different images of the same thing!<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-1848036580918619912016-07-26T21:08:00.000+02:002016-07-27T15:39:50.350+02:00A little more abstractNow this one should be more than <span id="goog_1272526471"></span><a href="http://rotomerge.blogspot.de/2016/05/a-little-abstract.html">10% abstract<span id="goog_1272526472"></span></a>:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/28462378172/in/dateposted/" nbsp="" title="Fantasy_World_99023"><img alt="Fantasy_World_99023" height="313" src="https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8794/28462378172_a3fb989571.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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... and I hope you didn't immediately recognize it for what it is ;-)<br />
I love the swirling, bubbling, and chaotic structures in this one. Plus the reduction in color.<br />
Processing was pretty straight forward in Lightroom, the main lever being a completely inverted curve, which produces the effect of a negativ film.<br />
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Hope you like it!<br />
<br />Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-65744125369955610632016-07-16T13:07:00.000+02:002016-07-16T13:07:07.053+02:00ExperimentDefocus is a great way to abstractify images, but if nothing is sharp at all in the image I often find the result not satisfying. That leads to the idea to superimpose or merge a second sharp image of the same scene like I've done <a href="http://rotomerge.blogspot.de/2015/12/glowing-wood.html">here</a>.<br />
Today I tried with different processing of the individual images before merging them in Photoshop and also a different algorithm to calculate the composite. As Photoshop has an overwhelming number of methods it was a bit trial and error, but I like the end-result:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/28262617281/in/dateposted/" nbsp="" title="Rooftops_98383"><img alt="Rooftops_98383" height="313" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8596/28262617281_66bf26b933.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-66940742814509663712016-05-15T14:43:00.002+02:002016-05-15T14:43:47.216+02:00Blurred TulipsJust came back from shooting black (and white) tulips for an upcoming foto contest.<br />
After doing the obvious stills from the bouquet I went wild with some long-exposure experiments with moving camera.
Lots of shots, little satisfying results - but I knew from experience that you have to be patient.<br />
Two shots came out in a way I liked:
The first one called "Tumbling Tulips" was shot at 1 second during which I turned the camera:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/26931096992/in/dateposted-public/" title="Tumbling_Tulips_96966"><img alt="Tumbling_Tulips_96966" height="333" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7051/26931096992_b223af367d.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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I like the dynamics suggesting a vase tumbling over. But I can assure you: no flowers (or vases) were harmed in this experiment ;-)<br />
The second shot was of the "drop the camera" type at 1/4 sec. Called "White Space":<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/27026367145/in/dateposted-public/" nbsp="" title="White_Space_96960"><img alt="White_Space_96960" height="749" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7778/27026367145_498e1d4632_c.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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The colors and contrast was tweaked in post-processing. And naturally the images needed some amount of cropping. But everything else in these compositions comes straight out of the camera from a single long-exposure shot..<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-88545615828490602752016-05-05T09:40:00.000+02:002016-05-05T09:41:58.284+02:00A little abstractWell, here we go again: is "abstract" absolute? In my opinion absolutely not!
There are so many degrees of abstractification when you look at photography.<br />
And if you define an easily recognizable well exposed subject in a full color photograph as the most realistic image (although lacking 3D) then anything from a black-and-white conversion or a crop that masks the true nature of the subject is already somewhere towards the abstract.<br />
On a scale from totally realistic/easily recognizable (=0%) towards a fully abstract image (=100%) I'd rate the following perhaps at only 10% abstract. It depends a little on how fast you recognize the subject. Enjoy!<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/26685953752/" title="Turbulence_96732"><img alt="Turbulence_96732" height="313" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1487/26685953752_41e35529a3.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7671862720259426907.post-25974557439127074912016-03-05T00:01:00.001+01:002016-05-04T22:25:29.649+02:00UprootedTrees are very high on my photography list and I love it when winter has bared them of all leaves. You see more of their structure / personality and the ever spreading branches and twigs against a bright sky are a nice challenge for any lens.<br />
I captured this one and thought about pulling it off from reality into in upturned "alterverse" where up is down and black is white. This works quite well with trees as the treetop has a certain semblance of their roots.<br />
So here goes:<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasrubach/25311150561/in/datetaken/" title="Uprooted_93090"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1705/25311150561_ceb4c08c6b.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Uprooted_93090"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05349507394278352832noreply@blogger.com0