I like what you did here. You could have easily framed it as a 2D abstract; but by including the pavement edge you gave it a base, that carries the composition. Good Job! 🙂
Thanks Harrie. I think I actually prefer semi-abstractions to abstractions but it’s a tough call. ☺
Well, most of the time I shoot what draws my attention; what gets to me. And I think that a photo ‘an sich’ never can be an abstract. When the shutter opens, the light from the outside, real world of that moment, will touch the sensor. And the sensor is unaware of what’s in the frame. So, it’s up to us whether a shot is an abstract or not. For me it has to do with ‘meaning’. A total white shot of a piece of paper can be about purity; but it can also just be a shot of a white paper. So, what grabs me is Important to me and I tend to call it an abstract when there are hardly any recognizable objects in te frame.. ✋
That’s it. Perfectly said. Much of what gets called abstract photography might be more accurately described as semi-abstract because there are cues or recognizable objects in the image. But as you say, the shooting process is not about terms it’s what gets our attention .👍
What I’m seeing here is less marble than lichen, isn’t it? But anyway: mysterious and very worth seeing photo.
Yes, lichens on the back of a marble tombstone. And a bit of irony: after an hour of seeing pictures in this cemetery I lost my glasses there 🙄
Oh, losing glasses is very annoying! Did you rely on the autofocus for this take then?
No. I tend to use the viewfinder in most situations so I typically remove my glasses. 🤔
The lichens appear to be emerging from some deep well of nourishment inside the rock’s center.
What a good conversation you and Harrie had (obviously something I’ve been thinking about, too). And you lost your glasses…made me remember dropping mine on the ground in some wooded area in the CT countryside and then being violently attacked by a swarm of bees when I reached down to pick them up. Better to just lose them! I had to drive myself to the ER! 🙂
After posting this picture I read some of the comments at your site and it served to highlight the large amount of territory occupied by the word “abstract” with respect to photography. Harrie’s point was excellent, I think. For the first 170 years, none of it was abstract (at least not the way the word is used in painting). But with every advancement in digital manipulation all bets are off.
I love your thought about lichens emerging from a well of nourishment in the marble. These New England tombstone lichens seem like old growth trees to me: full of interesting color and textures, ragged and furry.
I like that characterization of lichens very much – and they often grow very slowly so it makes logical sense as well as poetic sense.
Harrie does really have a good point – not unusual! (Did you know that Joe & I spent a very pleasant afternoon with him 4 years ago in Leiden?). I wish I had half of your knowledge of the history of photography. Well, as you said, the word ‘abstract’ can cover a very large territory (and we each have different ideas about what that is). It’s a place we can return to again and again.
JOHN TODARO 
I like what you did here. You could have easily framed it as a 2D abstract; but by including the pavement edge you gave it a base, that carries the composition. Good Job! 🙂
Thanks Harrie. I think I actually prefer semi-abstractions to abstractions but it’s a tough call. ☺
Well, most of the time I shoot what draws my attention; what gets to me. And I think that a photo ‘an sich’ never can be an abstract. When the shutter opens, the light from the outside, real world of that moment, will touch the sensor. And the sensor is unaware of what’s in the frame. So, it’s up to us whether a shot is an abstract or not. For me it has to do with ‘meaning’. A total white shot of a piece of paper can be about purity; but it can also just be a shot of a white paper. So, what grabs me is Important to me and I tend to call it an abstract when there are hardly any recognizable objects in te frame.. ✋
That’s it. Perfectly said. Much of what gets called abstract photography might be more accurately described as semi-abstract because there are cues or recognizable objects in the image. But as you say, the shooting process is not about terms it’s what gets our attention .👍
What I’m seeing here is less marble than lichen, isn’t it? But anyway: mysterious and very worth seeing photo.
Yes, lichens on the back of a marble tombstone. And a bit of irony: after an hour of seeing pictures in this cemetery I lost my glasses there 🙄
Oh, losing glasses is very annoying! Did you rely on the autofocus for this take then?
No. I tend to use the viewfinder in most situations so I typically remove my glasses. 🤔
The lichens appear to be emerging from some deep well of nourishment inside the rock’s center.
What a good conversation you and Harrie had (obviously something I’ve been thinking about, too). And you lost your glasses…made me remember dropping mine on the ground in some wooded area in the CT countryside and then being violently attacked by a swarm of bees when I reached down to pick them up. Better to just lose them! I had to drive myself to the ER! 🙂
After posting this picture I read some of the comments at your site and it served to highlight the large amount of territory occupied by the word “abstract” with respect to photography. Harrie’s point was excellent, I think. For the first 170 years, none of it was abstract (at least not the way the word is used in painting). But with every advancement in digital manipulation all bets are off.
I love your thought about lichens emerging from a well of nourishment in the marble. These New England tombstone lichens seem like old growth trees to me: full of interesting color and textures, ragged and furry.
I like that characterization of lichens very much – and they often grow very slowly so it makes logical sense as well as poetic sense.
Harrie does really have a good point – not unusual! (Did you know that Joe & I spent a very pleasant afternoon with him 4 years ago in Leiden?). I wish I had half of your knowledge of the history of photography. Well, as you said, the word ‘abstract’ can cover a very large territory (and we each have different ideas about what that is). It’s a place we can return to again and again.
Yes, I recall the story from Leiden. Really cool!