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Skerries Beach…
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i like this. I’ld stick it on my wall.
the pebbles on the sand, the tortured looking rock and the great sky. three pics all composed to make a top pic for me.
Nicely composed Rob.
I like the simplicity to this and it grows on me.
The square format works very well and gives it an almost abstract feel.
Andy
Sorry Rob but is it just me that can’t see the attraction in this one? Images that interest me generally attract a second glance but I don’t see anything that immediately attracts me. OK, technically it’s well executed, sharpened as we could only expect from you Rob but there isn’t a focal point to my eye.
I don’t mean to be negative but I gotta say what I think. :wink:
Alan.
Alan –
It’s a subtle image, and one of those examples (like the rule of thirds image a few days ago) that gets by without a focal point. It has lovely textures and flows very well. It’s more of an abstract than anything else, really.Of course, this is a subjective business, so it may just not be your cup of tea.
Uncultured so-and-so that you are!
Peter
I have to say I spent most of the morning looking at this asking myself “am I an uncultured so-and-so” because I just don’t get it. Like Alan said, it is technically sound as far as colour and sharpness go but compositionally it just wasn’t winning my attention.
Now, that being said I have looked at it maybe 10 times today trying to figure it out!!
I find images like this often work as sets.
With a single image presented on the web the reaction might be “I don’t get it”.
But present 20 similar styled images in a gallery and you might well be called a genius and you’d certainly achieve your ARPS. Such is art.
I do agree with Peter that it’s the abstract qualities that sets this apart from standard landscape fare. I also agree that the lack of a focal point does not necessarily matter. The “focal point” is a photographic myth and is another of those rules that we’d do well to break sometimes. Some people might say that the lack of a focal point renders a photograph into a wallpaper. I disagree with that philosophy.
The lack of a focal point can let us see things our own way.
Andy
Ah great – a debate. :D
Photography as Peter states is subjective. I’m not trying to apply rules though or stand by a philosophy as you state Andy. I just don’t get the images qualities. I bow to your superior knowledge of exhibitions and how this would render someone a genius but this one image I take at face value as it is presented. It’s not one that floats my boat.
And yes, Peter, I was dragged up, not reared! :wink: How perceptive of you, maybe I should get out more or keep better company :D
Alan.
Andy –
I find myself agreeing with you in part on the focal point issue. However, I think that unless the photographer is specifically going for an abstract, a focal point is required. Most people (especially those starting off) take ‘literal’ images – a record of what they saw, with the artistic aesthetics shoehorned in to fit the scene, if you will. In order for such an image to work, there needs to be something in the image to draw the eye.This sort of abstract work is harder to do well, and requires either inherent ability or a conscious effort to previsualize how the image will look – something that’s difficult for a beginner. I suppose what I’m saying is that it would fall under the topic of ‘advanced composition’ – if I were teaching a class on composition, I’d do abstracts pretty late in the course after the students had grasped the more basic forms.
I think that makes sense. Feel free to flame if not =)
Alan –
That’s the great thing about art. Some things float your boat, others don’t =)Peter
I wouldn’t disagree with that Peter.
I like to think more in terms of a focal line rather than a single focal point. Basically a line that guides the eye from a starting focal point to a finishing focal point.
Sorry to sidetrack this thread but Rob has presented us with a great example of an image which works very well without a focal point and it’s interesting to try to work out why.
Rob’s going to have kittens when he reads this and finds we’ve taken his photo to bits to see what’s inside. I hope we can put it back together before he comes back. And if we are left with a single curious screw, hide it quick.
Andy
Andy –
I agree with you on the line idea, it’s all building up on the basics.Cheers,
Peter
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