7 replies to this topic

[Andrea B.]

Lewiston Falls
06.29.2012, Lewiston, Maine
From the series Maine Hydro.

The Androscoggin River carries a lot of silt when it is running high. As it tumbles over the rocky area of the falls, the silt gets stirred up and turns part of the falls an orangey colour.

[Andrea B.]

...and/or...the abstraction of the preceding abstract.

[Ann]

I very much like the first one with its rich, but natural, colours and detailed textures. And the square format suits it perfectly.

I think that you can guess my feelings about the second version …… ?!

[Bart Willems]

Tastes differ! Personally I dislike the yellowish colored water. I just brings up memories of the sewage processing plant near where i grew up and well... lets just keep it at that.

But the second one I like and it would do nice as a semi-abstract artwork on the wall. Orange/Blue is a powerful (and popular, check out modern movie posters) color combination and it works well here.

[crowecg]

Looks like a river of beer!

[Andrea B.]

Thanks everyone for the comments and reactions.

I'm liking the first shot because it fits in well with a series I've been working on about Maine rivers. Also, the structure of water tumbling and splashing always amazes me. The strong flow lines naturally produced the abstraction in the second version by "erasing" detail to make the shapes stand out.

Ann, I would not classify the second version as a photograph - after the detail "scrub" and the contrast hit, this could only be called Art Created by Using the Medium of Photography. Just as we have abstract canvases, collages & drawings created by Picasso, Matisse and other modern and contemporary artists which were made using varoius media such as oil paint, paper cutouts, pencil -- we can also use photography as the art medium. Not to do so would deprive us of a rich and fruitful avenue of artistic pursuit.

[Ann]

"Art" is in the eye of the beholder: image-making springs from the mind, hand and eye of its creator.

Sometimes the second can also become the first … but not that often!

An "Effect" (particularly those made after the fact by the use of canned Photoshop Filters) which was used for the sake of gaining attention or trying to make something out of a not particularly good photograph is usually not one of those times.

[Mike G]

No 1 is definitely the winner