Concentration Commentary

In the beginning of my concentration series I was taking photos of abstraction in nature, but towards the final weeks of preparing my concentration; I started exploring photos dealing with the effects of nature. I explored four different groups: an earth-tone of nature, serene color, deterioration from an angle, and man and nature. My first photograph is a close of up two dried leaves overlapping each other. I think the wariness of the brittle leaves accentuate crispiness which really brings out the detail. My fifth photograph is a bundle of cherry blossoms at the end of a branch. Through the way I shot this image I don’t think it looks like an ordinary flower photo. It appeals more as an effortless fall in the fluffy clouds; the light pink tone is very soothing and wondrous. My tenth photograph is an angle of deteriorating wood. The deep crevasse’ adds a dark, mysterious feel to the photo. The leading lines help lengthen the photo by making it seem like a never-ending dark hole. My twelfth photo is an old lawn mower that’s been rusting away for decades now. The process of this concentration started with strictly abstraction of nature, getting deeper, and fresher ideas as the weeks progressed. I started with things I thought were interesting in nature, or had intriguing texture to catch my eye. I also searched for things with color, and point of views I thought hadn’t been fully discovered. The last few weeks of prepping for my final concentration I progressed into more of the effects nature has on objects, the toll they encounter through the battle of every season. In Photoshop I edited my photos by cropping some sides, boosting the contrast, and lowering the saturation for an intense look to add to the contours of my subjects. I used rule of thirds to capture the viewer’s attention and move their eye outward throughout the image. I took very clear macro images and blurred the repetition in the background. In one of my bright, bold images I used natural lighting to help explore the true texture of the subject. I took a photo of light colored pine needles with a mocha colored branch to grab the attention with warm/cool contrast. I created movement by using leading lines to guide the eye from one side of the image to the other in an intriguing way. I tried incorporating shape with leading lines by having the shape be fairly blurred in the background. In most of my pieces I tried creating a mood by using multiple principles of design so they work together nicely in the final product. I was very interested in using abstraction for my concentration theme because I wanted to show beauty in ordinary objects you wouldn’t think was there. My final closing images were a twist in abstraction of nature. I wanted to see a different point of view for the tolls of nature, and the effects through every season. I have two closing images and both feature deterioration. The first is peeling paint due to harsh winds in the fall and spring. The second and final closing image is an old subject that has suffered through grueling, cold winters and strong rain showers.