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10/20/2012 09:43:22 PM · #1
I don't know about you, but I have a real hard time finding the words to talk about a variation in photography that utterly fascinates me. I admire the work, I'm trying to do it myself, & I feel a bond with others who are doing the same. Whatever it is, there isn't a gallery for it here. There isn't a gallery for it anywhere I've looked. Most of the genres of photography have to do with the subject or the camera--few recognize the photographer's intent, or style. Some categories that come close: digital art, photo manipulation, fantasy, surrealism, abstract.

This thread is to honor & display digitally remastered multiple original photographs--Composite, Layer Blend, Collage, Montage, Pastiche--specifically those compositions entered in Expert challenges.

This thread is not about photo editing or post processing. This is about using multiple sources captured by camera with any other tool or method or software to create fine art--also finding a vocabulary to create/critique/admire it. But not necessarily to argue about what is or is not fine art.

Photography may not always be fine art, but it can be used to create a work of fine art. The Flying Pig will be, I hope, a discussion forum to recognize it, appreciate it, critique it, and also a gallery to display it. If you want to work on your commenting/critiquing skills this would be a good place to do that. I'm going to!

Anyone can post a composition to this thread. Post your own comp, if you want comments on it. I'm hoping for a discussion, sharing of ideas, a little extra recognition for the fine work of the artist/photographers among us.

[eta] 1/1/2013
I am finding it difficult impossible to know whether multiple originals were used to create a photography-inspired work of art. Sometimes it's fairly obvious, but not always. I think maybe it's not important. After all, the finished work has to stand on it's own, not as the product of a process.

[eta] 8/10/2013
Aside from the suspicion that trying to use words on photography is doomed to failure--& probably also silly--I suspect I'm doomed to try.

I once thought that I needed to understand how a photographer-artist got from idea to finished work so I could appreciate it properly. I still very much enjoy reading the photographer's notes, if there are any, because I enjoy the story. But I want to enjoy the finished work on its own, let it grow in my imagination

A Browsable Bling Gallery has been created for us by NiallOTuama -- check it out!

Message edited by author 2016-03-12 16:34:48.
10/20/2012 09:44:13 PM · #2

The first Flying Pig for


The Bathhouse at Entropy Beach
by Bear_Music

...a fine example of photography used to create fine art.

I'm calling this a tone poem, & defining it this way: A digital tone poem combines multiple digital images in a single continuous selection (as in a symphonic movement) in which an idea or thought is evoked. In its aesthetic objectives, the graphic tone poem seeks a union of emotion and intellect.

Merriam-Webster offers this definition of entropy: 'the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity." There is only one thing that can slow down this degradation--the occasional work of art that lights a spark & heats a few things up again.

At first glance, my brain perceived this as upside down because of the bird in the blue sky, standing out among the hot sun colors. Then, my brain found the other sky, causing me a little moment of vertigo, which I found entertaining. The same thing happens when I look at the 'roof' on the structure on the R--it looks like a roof, but also like a boardwalk.

This is not a representation of reality as we know it or fantasize it, though recognizable bits of representational reality have been taken out of context & used to create it. Leading lines in the architectural elements imply single-point perspectives, creating & supporting the illusion of space in this collage of saturated color. You could hang this on the wall for the color alone, or to snag the attention of anyone walking by, to encourage lingering & thinking.

Message edited by author 2012-10-20 21:45:45.
10/20/2012 10:14:24 PM · #3
Great idea. Good to see this thread!

Here's one that I rather like, it's just the number outside my first condo in Miami, along with a blurry palm tree shot, and a macro of some water stains on the outside of the window.

Not nearly as creative as Robert's entry, quite simple and without the real vision I think you're probably looking for here, but I'm still fond of it.

Looking forward to reading this thread often. (ironic? Perhaps, but I do actually rather like this stuff..)



Message edited by author 2012-10-20 22:15:05.
10/20/2012 10:25:10 PM · #4
Welcome Cory! I look forward to your comments. And anything in the way of fine art you might post. It takes me a while to think up comments. Feel free to add your own, if you feel like it, explaining your thought process as you put that comp together (if you remember it). That was back in 2011...did you do others? I hope so!
10/20/2012 11:16:53 PM · #5

I take a square crop to work with, paying particular attention to an interesting center & variety in the 4 edges. This square crop is digitally remastered by layering it back on itself, distorting the layers & choosing blending modes until I have an abstract with seductive detail that never leads to anything. Abstract to me means all the elements of a good composition, but no subject. And seductive detail that never leads to anything. The human mind is highly skilled at finding & identifying patterns in visual information. Even when there are no patterns, the mind will find something to see, like finding a dragon in the clouds or the face of Jesus on a tortilla. I get a kick out of my mind wandering all over my composition, looking for a pattern to recognize.

A musician will sample ambient sound & then create a digital instrument to play it back with. There is a musical fence in Australia--part of it is designed to be played by the wind. I'm sampling reality with my digital camera. I take my captures home to the computer where I play it back in ways that interest me, digitally remastering reality. I hope everyone who sees it has a different, unique, personal experience.
10/20/2012 11:55:14 PM · #6
Interesting thread. It's just might be the balm I need.
10/21/2012 12:36:18 AM · #7
Welcome Johanna! Yes, I think you might enjoy this thread, I hope you have time to comment. I would love to see you adventure into more abstract digital art. I can see abstract qualities in your work. I think you'd enjoy it. I know I'd love to see it.
10/21/2012 02:21:53 AM · #8
I've been to the musical fence in outback Queensland and not to put too fine of a point on it, but it sounds bloody awful.
10/21/2012 10:13:05 AM · #9
Ok -- I'm kind of getting the idea of what this thread is about, but I'm still relatively confused...

Yet quite intrigued.

I'm also thinking that it would be an interesting challenge.

So could you distill it a little more? What would your challenge description be? (I know that it's limiting things, and the idea is to broaden, not limit, but I'm looking for a starting point.) What would you allow/disallow in the challenge?

(hopefully this isn't taking it too off topic)
10/21/2012 11:34:39 AM · #10
Hi Wendy! first of all this is a hybrid thread--a mix of Expert challenge results and a place to get comments for new work. The idea is to combine multiple exposures into one comp that has a strong abstract flavor to it. There are so many rules already, but to answer your question (I hope) a traditional documentary photograph would not qualify. HDR, even though it does use multiple exposures, would not qualify.

Maybe you have a few shots that you only like a part of, & that could be combined into one comp that you totally love. Try it out. Go for texture only, maybe. Think layer blend. Most of all, think abstract.

I don't have many in my portfolio yet, it's something I'm exploring. I'm feeling a little bored with traditional photography. Looking for a challenge. A little adventure. Right now, I'm mostly blending one image back on itself with distortions, creating a new original & then blending that back on itself with distortions, & so on, until I get something I like. Bear_Music & Cory blended multiple captures into one comp. Interesting things happen with multiple captures of the same subject, some focused, some not.

I have read Ursula's description of how she gets comps like this by blending blurred with focused shots. This is from a Free Study, so of course she didn't use that technique here, there are a bunch like this on 1X though. I couldn't find any in her portfolio here, maybe no expert challenges at that time. Beautiful, every one.


Here's another one of mine.


Another way to think about it

There are 4 things needed to do photography. Take away any one of the 4, & there is no photography happening.

-light
-a way to control the light
-something to capture the patterns of light
&
-TIME, a way to start/stop the exposure

What I'm trying to do is eliminate the presence of time in my composition. That's why it takes multiple originals to do it.

That's the one thing that all the comps posted so far have in common. That's what every abstract has in common. No TIME. Time as a concept, time in the abstract.

So if it was a challenge topic, the description would be to completely eliminate the presence of time from your comp by combining multiple originals into one abstract.

Message edited by author 2012-10-21 12:49:26.
10/21/2012 09:18:51 PM · #11
This is a lovely thread. Thanks for the flying pig! The discussion promises to be interesting, if it gains traction. I'm particularly interested in the relationship between (just to name two examples) images like the posted "Bathhouse at Entropy Beach" and works like Gyaban's latest, "Rocks have Feelings Too".

vs

I mean, on the surface of it, technically speaking, these are cut from similar cloth, in that both are composed essentially of disparate images repurposed to create the work. And yet, they're like night and day, conceptually. And clearly the community responds WAY more enthusiastically to his sort of work than to the other.

Any thoughts?
10/21/2012 10:08:15 PM · #12
Maybe like comparing poetry to prose. Take two examples along similar thematic lines, both may be exceptional but as you say, like night and day.
10/21/2012 10:11:02 PM · #13
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

This is a lovely thread. Thanks for the flying pig! The discussion promises to be interesting, if it gains traction. I'm particularly interested in the relationship between (just to name two examples) images like the posted "Bathhouse at Entropy Beach" and works like Gyaban's latest, "Rocks have Feelings Too".

I mean, on the surface of it, technically speaking, these are cut from similar cloth, in that both are composed essentially of disparate images repurposed to create the work. And yet, they're like night and day, conceptually. And clearly the community responds WAY more enthusiastically to his sort of work than to the other.

Any thoughts?


It's time. Gyaban's comp has time in it. Yours does not.

Message edited by author 2012-10-22 00:04:18.
10/21/2012 10:15:47 PM · #14
Originally posted by Bear_Music:



I mean, on the surface of it, technically speaking, these are cut from similar cloth, in that both are composed essentially of disparate images repurposed to create the work. And yet, they're like night and day, conceptually. And clearly the community responds WAY more enthusiastically to his sort of work than to the other.

Any thoughts?


Gyaban spells out his work exceptionally well for the viewer. no extra though required. now that's not knock against him and i remain in awe of his ability to put into picture his amazing imagination, i'm only pointing out that one doesn't need to dig deep into his works to find a meaning.

Too me the difference is that you can only see his works the way he wants you to see them as opposed to someone finding their own meaning in them, as with yours.
10/21/2012 10:58:16 PM · #15
Originally posted by mike_311:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:



I mean, on the surface of it, technically speaking, these are cut from similar cloth, in that both are composed essentially of disparate images repurposed to create the work. And yet, they're like night and day, conceptually. And clearly the community responds WAY more enthusiastically to his sort of work than to the other.

Any thoughts?


Gyaban spells out his work exceptionally well for the viewer. no extra though required. now that's not knock against him and i remain in awe of his ability to put into picture his amazing imagination, i'm only pointing out that one doesn't need to dig deep into his works to find a meaning.

To me the difference is that you can only see his works the way he wants you to see them as opposed to someone finding their own meaning in them, as with yours.


Very well put Mike.
10/21/2012 11:01:28 PM · #16
Originally posted by mariuca:

Originally posted by mike_311:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:



I mean, on the surface of it, technically speaking, these are cut from similar cloth, in that both are composed essentially of disparate images repurposed to create the work. And yet, they're like night and day, conceptually. And clearly the community responds WAY more enthusiastically to his sort of work than to the other.

Any thoughts?


Gyaban spells out his work exceptionally well for the viewer. no extra though required. now that's not knock against him and i remain in awe of his ability to put into picture his amazing imagination, i'm only pointing out that one doesn't need to dig deep into his works to find a meaning.

To me the difference is that you can only see his works the way he wants you to see them as opposed to someone finding their own meaning in them, as with yours.


Very well put Mike.


Ditto.

PS, I think this is new award is great!
10/22/2012 12:01:15 AM · #17
Originally posted by mike_311:



Gyaban spells out his work exceptionally well for the viewer. no extra though required. now that's not knock against him and i remain in awe of his ability to put into picture his amazing imagination, i'm only pointing out that one doesn't need to dig deep into his works to find a meaning.

Too me the difference is that you can only see his works the way he wants you to see them as opposed to someone finding their own meaning in them, as with yours.


Welcome Mike! and Lilysmom! and Maricua! and Jomari! and PamB!

Well put, Mike.

In my experience, it's a mistake as an artist for me to compare my work to anyone else's. I have to stay on my own path. Other people might compare my work to someone else's, but I'm not gonna do it.

Gyaban is following his own path. So is Bear_Music. The thing is to go for purity, honesty, clarity.

Message edited by author 2012-10-22 00:02:17.
10/22/2012 12:09:33 AM · #18
I am reading this thread with interest. Maybe I'll work myself up to some critique.

10/22/2012 12:20:26 AM · #19
Originally posted by posthumous:

I am reading this thread with interest. Maybe I'll work myself up to some critique.


And the crowd goes crazy! Welcome posthumous! I find it a big challenge to find the words to critique an abstract, hopefully I can learn from you. "D
10/27/2012 10:58:07 PM · #20
Originally posted by Cory:

Great idea. Good to see this thread!

Here's one that I rather like, it's just the number outside my first condo in Miami, along with a blurry palm tree shot, and a macro of some water stains on the outside of the window.

Not nearly as creative as Robert's entry, quite simple and without the real vision I think you're probably looking for here, but I'm still fond of it.

Looking forward to reading this thread often. (ironic? Perhaps, but I do actually rather like this stuff..)


Miami Condo
by Cory

It won't let me in, though I've stared at it for a long time, looking. Instead, it's like a gong struck for meditation, the reverberating sound I can barely hear causes me to float away, thinking nothing. Minimalist. It's a perfect abstract in that I get no sense of time at all, no sense of a moment in time captured. In spite of the pink sky & the wavy horizon, any sense of space I might get is forestalled by the curving shape. I'm going to call this asemic writing--a wordless open semantic form of writing. I hope you do more of these.
10/28/2012 01:03:06 PM · #21
Not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for, but I constructed a "non-existent reality" by combining two photos taken from opposite directions.

Resized original source inmages:
11/04/2012 11:05:31 AM · #22
Originally posted by GeneralE:

Not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for, but I constructed a "non-existent reality" by combining two photos taken from opposite directions.


Oh I remember this one! My first reaction was to the strange mirror-like symmetry of the scene. Then I noticed the way the details were arranged, not mirroring but the same. I thought it might be two shops with the same sign until I noticed the windows. I never did think 'non-existent reality' or even that this doesn't exist in the real world. Because it does.

I am enjoying the struggle for words to express my understanding of these concepts. The photographer strives to document the reality as seen with the eyes. Setting aside the argument is this even possible, given that the mind figures out what is seen & the camera just captures reflected/refracted light--the photographer documents reality & the artist/photographer uses a camera to express/create thoughts.

So, you had this thought that it'd be interesting to get both sides of that sign in one photo. In doing this, I think you maybe created a concept photo. The result is as photographic in nature as each original was, & at first glance I was looking at an ordinary snapshot photo until I noticed the details. So, no this is not exactly what I'm looking for. It is still photographic in nature in that it still has the presence of time, an instant in time, or, in this case, two instants in time. It does provoke thoughts, but those thoughts are about the reality presented.

All of this is just my opinion, I hope that goes without saying.

11/04/2012 11:13:19 AM · #23

This one by sfalice is interesting.
11/04/2012 11:15:17 AM · #24
Most of my images would fall into the horror category :)
11/04/2012 11:19:25 AM · #25

I gave this one a 10!
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