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Let's dance before we screw

rob marshallrob marshall Registered Users Posts: 224 Major grins
edited May 2, 2012 in Other Cool Shots
Three screws on black reflective perspex. I thought it would make an interesting thread... All shot wih Canon 5DM2 and Sigma 105 macro. Studio flash and diffuser, and a lot of patience.


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Let's dance before we screw by macro meister @ www.robmarshall.net, on Flickr

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Sitting this dance out by macro meister @ www.robmarshall.net, on Flickr

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Jitterbuging by macro meister @ www.robmarshall.net, on Flickr

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    toragstorags Registered Users Posts: 4,615 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    Me likey..... :D

    Creative stuff... thumb.gif
    Rags
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    DaddyODaddyO Registered Users Posts: 4,466 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    rolleyes1.gifWonderful piece of work wings.gifYes, yes, yes
    Michael
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    rob marshallrob marshall Registered Users Posts: 224 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    DaddyO wrote: »
    rolleyes1.gifWonderful piece of work wings.gifYes, yes, yes

    Thank you. I'm working my way through the garage... I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, my new shelves have just fallen off the wall...rolleyes1.gif
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    RyanSRyanS Registered Users Posts: 507 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    These are spot on for abstracts, and I'll tell you why. There is enough ambiguity that it requires the viewer to invest more than a simple glance to understand the image. But there is enough still left of the original object that the viewer is rewarded for investing the effort. You brain physically likes that. Or, it produces a physical effect in the brain most people classify as pleasing. Hope you'll do more like this with other objects.

    By the way, you might capture the viewer a bit longer if you pick a more abstract leading text. I don't know for sure because I can't "unsee" the seen image. Just wondering if that would be the case.
    Please feel free to post any reworks you do of my images. Crop, skew, munge, edit, share.
    Website | Galleries | Utah PJs
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    rob marshallrob marshall Registered Users Posts: 224 Major grins
    edited April 30, 2012
    RyanS wrote: »
    Hope you'll do more like this with other objects.
    I have done several (although not exactly the same as this) I have made money, but not a lot yet, from selling shots like this. Some companies do seem to be very interested in abstract/unusual images objects when they are of their products. I suppose it's just something different. Apart from that, they are fun to do! I think it important to develop a style with this sort of thing.
    RyanS wrote: »
    By the way, you might capture the viewer a bit longer if you pick a more abstract leading text. I don't know for sure because I can't "unsee" the seen image. Just wondering if that would be the case.
    Do you mean I'm suggesting too much what the image is 'about'? I do tend to do that. I have a strong feel for what the images dialogue is, and I sometimes perhaps try too much to make sure it gets across. Perhaps I should leave it more open for the viewer to interpret. Is that what you mean?

    Thank you for the comments.
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    RyanSRyanS Registered Users Posts: 507 Major grins
    edited April 30, 2012
    rob marshall wrote: »
    Do you mean I'm suggesting too much what the image is 'about'? I do tend to do that. I have a strong feel for what the images dialogue is, and I sometimes perhaps try too much to make sure it gets across. Perhaps I should leave it more open for the viewer to interpret. Is that what you mean?

    As only a suggestion, yes. I wouldn't want to suggest that it was a bad choice at all. I only wonder how a different choice would work mentally. Because on an Internet forum I usually read the caption first and then view the image, the caption tends to take a slightly more central role in the viewing process. At least, I find that for me personally it does.

    I'd like to propose that the caption on an Internet forum placed in the subject field probably has some impact on aesthetics. I don't know that it is conscious. I don't even think most people are aware of it. I'm starting to wonder if the photographer can better "set up" the viewer to process the image in different ways by changing the "pre-caption." Or the text leading up to the image viewing experience. Just a few words can totally change the emotional state of a person's brain. You are physically changing brain chemistry. Make sense?
    Please feel free to post any reworks you do of my images. Crop, skew, munge, edit, share.
    Website | Galleries | Utah PJs
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    rob marshallrob marshall Registered Users Posts: 224 Major grins
    edited April 30, 2012
    RyanS wrote: »
    As only a suggestion, yes. I wouldn't want to suggest that it was a bad choice at all. I only wonder how a different choice would work mentally. Because on an Internet forum I usually read the caption first and then view the image, the caption tends to take a slightly more central role in the viewing process. At least, I find that for me personally it does.

    I'd like to propose that the caption on an Internet forum placed in the subject field probably has some impact on aesthetics. I don't know that it is conscious. I don't even think most people are aware of it. I'm starting to wonder if the photographer can better "set up" the viewer to process the image in different ways by changing the "pre-caption." Or the text leading up to the image viewing experience. Just a few words can totally change the emotional state of a person's brain. You are physically changing brain chemistry. Make sense?

    Ryan

    I agree completely. I think the title of a shot, and any accompanying text, can alter significantly the way that something is perceived by the viewer. The subject may just be a simple object, but shot in a certain way/style with a verbal message, as well as a visual one, will create an expectation or mood in the viewer. I think it works even more so when the object is portrayed in an abstract or alternative manner, and the wording suggests other possibilities. Here is an example of a shot I did recently. It's just a corkscrew, but the positioning and angle suggests sensuality, and all that is required is some suggestive wording in the title (and a bit of a pun I'm afraid) to portray something quite different.

    6795977298_dd49e49375_z.jpg
    Lie back and think of wine bottles by macro meister @ www.robmarshall.net, on Flickr
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    RyanSRyanS Registered Users Posts: 507 Major grins
    edited May 2, 2012
    rob marshall wrote: »
    Here is an example of a shot I did recently. It's just a corkscrew, but the positioning and angle suggests sensuality, and all that is required is some suggestive wording in the title (and a bit of a pun I'm afraid) to portray something quite different.

    That is exactly the point I'm trying to make. A magician doesn't tell you how the trick works because it ruins the magic. What if you had not said anything about corkscrew, wine, etc? What if you had simply said something like "Romance" or "Sensuality?" Just one word could alter what the viewer "sees" in the image. Consider another word. What if the title of this image were "Precision" or "Force." See how that might completely change the viewers expectation? Or, if you don't want to mess with the viewers brain at all call it "Untitled." Then the viewer is left to figure out what they see or don't see. In this image, had nothing been said about it, I would have seen a mechanical face. I would have thought "bad hair day, for a robot."

    By using the word "wine" and "corkscrew" I see exactly that. A macro shot of a tool for opening a wine bottle. By never revealing what the object is, you maintain your power to manipulate the viewing process. Of course, this typically applies to abstract images.

    There isn't a wrong way to do any of this, only different ways. The artist chooses which method to apply. All the approaches are correct. Even explaining exactly what is being photographed is great. I'm trying to imply that the decision to tell, not tell, reveal, not reveal, suggest, not suggest.... those are creative choices. Which is why I wouldn't want to tell you how to go about it. Does that help clarify?
    Please feel free to post any reworks you do of my images. Crop, skew, munge, edit, share.
    Website | Galleries | Utah PJs
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