22. How to Take Photos 17: Abstractions

There are many ways to make an image abstracted from reality - to remove it by degrees from realism. There are levels of abstraction, and it's often a joy to see an image as both a real place or thing, and a conglomeration of shapes, lines and effects. In photography there are many ways to achieve this, and it occurs to me, this one lesson will likely be expanded into several. For now, I will make a simple list of various ways and forms of abstraction, and leave it to my future self to expand on it:

1. You can take such an extreme close up that an object becomes obscure and mysterious, a random combination of color and texture.

2. You can do the opposite, taking an aerial photo of such a strange place that no one can place it.

3. You can play with slow shutter speeds, in combination with filters to make the mundane seem alien and full of drama.

4. Simply taking a black & white photo adds a level of abstraction. We may not realize it when we view the photo, but imagine walking around in a world that's black and white? It would be surreal.

5. You can print the negative of a photo.

6. You can solarize a photo in a darkroom, making Sabatier photos. 

7. You can create photo collages, both digitally and from darkroom prints

8. You can create abstract photograms - the possibilities are endless.

9. You can dabble in scanography.

10. You can create multiple exposures, both digitally and in a darkroom.

11. You can manipulate images digitally through filters, gradients, and other tools.

12. You can create custom filters over your camera lens to make exciting and abstract bokeh forms.

13. Or, as seen below, you can just photograph what you see, and the abstract pattern jumps out at you before you even recognize what you're seeing:

The Side of a Building, by Vivian Maier, 1956

Untitled: Fire Escape, Chicago, by Vivian Maier, 1956

Untitled: Window Blinds, by Vivian Maier

Untitled: People Walking Under an Above-Ground Railway, NYC, by Vivian Maier

Untitled: Self-Portrait, by Vivian Maier

In-Camera Multiple Exposures (How To)

You can blend textures, create ghostly images, and simulating long exposures without an ND filter. Yes, you can do this in post by stacking photos, and it gives more control. Doing it in camera is fun and surprising:

In your MENU you must ENABLE MULTIPLE EXPOSURES. There are two options. FUNC/CTRL allows you to see one picture and then take your time taking the next one. You look where you’re lining things up and layering them on top of each other. The next is CONTSHTNG (continuous shooting) – use this with burst mode to shoot a bunch in sequence. You can also choose the number of exposures (2-9). For SAVE SOURCE IMAGES you have a choice to SAVE ALL or only the RESULT. This is if you want the separate images to put them together yourself in post, it gives you that option. Then you can choose to do this ONE TIME or CONTINUOUSLY. You may also get an option to “select image for multi. expo.” This allows you to select any image on your SD card to be the first image and then shoot another pic over it.

The main setting for this you need to know is “Multi-expos ctrl”. You have four options: Additive, Average, Bright, and Dark. Additive combines photo images together like film would. The issue with this is, as you add more photos, the image will get brighter and brighter. With Average, the camera makes an auto adjustment to keep your exposure down. With Bright – this works better for overlaying different images. The bright areas of the 2^nd photo stand out, while the shadows ghost away and show the 1^st photo. Dark does the opposite, the shadow of the 2^nd photo stands out while the highlights ghost away to the 1^st image. If you’re going to overlap images like this, make sure the camera is using an image that’s the same number of pixels, ideally shot by the same camera.

How to create Custom Bokeh

Draw a circle on black construction paper, equal to the size of your lens. Add 3-4 rectangles that attach to this circle with tabs on the end. In the center of the circle, cut out a small design – about 1cm square. You can make any design – an 1/8^th note, a cat’s paw, an eye, diamond, heart, etc. Place the filter over the lens and put a rubber band on it to hold it in place. It helps if you use a lens at 50mm or above, the largest aperture possible (smallest f stop),  you get close to your subject,  place your subject far from the background, have lots of little lights far in the background.