Believe it or not, all photography is an abstraction.This beautiful quote above by photographer Ernst Haas graces the “front door” of my website for a very good reason. I hold his words here to heart and believe their truth. And just as painting and music are essentially abstract art forms, so too is photography. The “open eyes” that saw this seascape above didn’t see it as shown here. It took the “dreaming” part of a 10 second long exposure to see what my eyes couldn’t. The very nature of photography renders an abstraction of the world. Simply choosing to frame a photo as we do, choosing a long or short lens, our choice in area of focus and depth of field and more contribute to the abstraction of what is generally before us. 
So what exactly does the word “abstract” mean? Some have different interpretations, and certainly wouldn’t put a SOOC image (see my previous post on that) in the abstract category. But I kind of like the definition above, especially the part about its meaning in Latin. That said, there are lots of ways to delve deeper into the process of mindfully creating abstract images that go further than how the camera itself creates abstractions. 
 

This portrait of Picasso by renowned photographer Arnold Newman is a great example of a SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) film image that is definitely an abstraction of the artist, in a photographic way of what Picasso himself has done in many painted portraits. With nothing more than the refracting quality of a simple glass vase, Newman was able to create a portrait worthy of the artist. 
 

This image titled “Cutlery” is essentially a SOOC image from an iPhone that was captured using a wet-plate app and a piece of glass in front of the lens to render the refracting quality and reflections of this technique to take the abstraction quotient up a notch. Similar to Newman’s portrait, no other means of abstracting the image was used. Sometimes very simple methods can be used to create the most intriguing abstract images. 
 

Something as simple as a close-up or macro perspective is a powerful way to render a subject in a truly abstract way. To see a thing from a point of view we aren’t able to see with our limited vision puts us in a realm of wondering, first what am I seeing? Secondly, a feeling of something familiar, yet “detached” from our everyday view. We start to explore what is visually intriguing like we are seeing a new world. This dried banana leaf looks far more beautiful in its abstract macro view than it did on first picking it up. 
 

Even Ansel Adams, the photographer probably most associated with a “pure” or “pristine” aesthetic created abstract images. Choosing to work in the Black and White medium is itself an abstraction. Then there is the question of choosing perspective and framing…

Whether it’s Ansel working from the top of his car in Yosemite…

Or Margaret Bourke-White atop the Chrysler Building in New York City, the choice of perspective is a big determinant (and often the first one) in how we will see the thing to be photographed. 
 

Choice of perspective, coupled with some other techniques like long exposure, reflections, and the qualities of mobile phone apps can render the perfect quality of abstraction for a particular image. 
 

Sometimes it is the mere play of light in creating shadows of familiar objects rendered abstract that can delight the eye attuned to seeing the potential of that phenomena when it happens. Remember, the light is always changing and new things can be revealed from moment to moment. 
 

Man Ray, who I have written about previously, was a great practitioner of abstraction in both his photography and creating other artworks. Employing light (as in a long exposure with light writing) as an element to create an abstract self-portrait is just one of his many photographic techniques. 
Another is multiple exposures with a mix of both positive and negative elements. 
Starting with an image that already has levels of abstraction from the capture process on a mobile device, the impulse to abstract further can be intriguing and strong. Often my mantra of “What if?” coupled with Minor White’s admonition to see what else a photograph wants to ultimately be compels one to explore further possibilities. Sometimes you come back to your original image, or a variation there of, and sometimes you push on in exploring and never return to the source you started with. 
 

My iPhone self-portrait combines multiple techniques learned from Man Ray and others to see how far a simple self-portrait can be pushed into the abstract realm. Elements of Black and White wet-plate effects along with solarization to play with the positive/negative qualities, and finally processed through a unique color film app on the iPhone rendered this quite abstract self-portrait in four panels that is at once a bit disturbing and revealing upon reflection. I’m reminded of when a young Picasso was invited to paint the portrait of his patron Gertrude Stein after her protege Henri Matisse had already painted her. Picasso was challenged to “out do” Matisse. After many sittings, and struggling with how he wanted to portray Gertrude, Picasso came up with how to complete his portrait to compete with Matisse. When he announced he was finished, Gertrude came around the easle to see it. At first she was perplexed and said it didn’t look anything like her. Picasso replied confidently, “It will”, to which she smiled, and placed the new portrait above Matisse’s on her salon wall. 
Portraits are a great subject to explore the process of abstraction. When you are trying to say more about the subject than can be “portrayed” in a more straightforward photograph, you need to find elements and ways of bringing out more abstract, illustrative qualities. This portrait I made of one of my mentors Jerry Uelsmann the first time I met him in person many years after he was such an influence on my photography. Obviously this isn’t a SOOC portrait. I wanted to convey his quality of being a master in the Black and White analog chemical darkroom, so I found a border in an application that had the look of darkroom chemicals and film border markings. 
Much later on I decided to re-work that original portrait and take the abstract nature of it further and created the multiple-exposure with positive and negative aspects (a technique Uelsmann is famous for) to say more about him than I did previously. I titled this variation “He of the Darkroom Eyes” as the analog darkroom was the domain that Jerry ruled over for so many years, and is my homage to an artist who had the most influence on my early days in a high school darkroom. Such happy days! 
 

Reflections in store windows can create the abstract illusion of a multiple-exposure image in a simple single capture. If you are very deliberate in your framing and composition, you can create very compelling images like photographic artist Mona Kuhn. 
Or you can use various techniques including apps for mobile phones that allow you to create true multiple-exposure images by combining separate captures into a single image like this one titled “Café Reflections.”  The results are always a surprise when you don’t know and have no control on how the images are combined. The Hipstamatic  app is one such app that gives you the ability to create these random, multiple-exposure abstractions. In the same way you can create such images using an SLR film camera on analog film.

Sea Grass Bromoil This image called “Sea Grass”, captured on my iPhone with a long-exposure app and slight in-camera motion (ICM) during exposure to give a sense of motion from the sea breeze, and processed in a way to mimic a bromoil print is a great way to create an abstraction of a common subject and elevate it to a work of art with full intention of what I wanted to achieve. 
The use of blur motion and long exposure moving the camera (up-down, left-right horizontally or in a swirling motion) can render a look that is far more interesting and unique than a SOOC image alone. Abstraction gives the eye of the viewer a chance to “dance” through the image and at the same time the abstract qualities have a chance to say something more about the subject,even (or especially) with portraits, be they self-portraits or of others. 
By carrying the abstract quotient further like in this iPhone image titled “Navajo Rose Dreamcatcher, a unique kind of beauty is revealed that would otherwise never be realized. 

In much the same way as music is probably the most inherently abstract of all the art forms, the ability to create what I call “the visual equivalent of music” is my enduring goal. And as music is a universal language that all can understand, I believe that visual abstractions can equally transcend the barriers of common language. 
  There is a truth and purity that is spoken in the abstraction of visuals. Making music for the eyes is a worthy pursuit. Once you have the experience of “seeing” music (have you ever seen a Jackson Pollock painting? Or one by Mark Rothko?), you will begin to “see” it everywhere.

This image, titled “Symphonic ~ The Visula Equivalent of Music”, was created from an iPhone image of scratches cut into the glass window of an abandoned store. I saw it as I walked by, and it intrigued me, the way a piece of music might intrigue you as you passed by its source. The only embellishment here was in playing with the colors a bit, otherwise it’s as captured. 
I saw this chalkboard message board that hadn’t been properly cleaned in a while in a coffee shop and quickly used my always handy iPhone to make an image, just as you see it. As I said, once you orient yourself to seeing in an abstract manner, you will see abstract images and visual potential everywhere you go. 

Tape residue from posting signs on a metal door will remind you of something you’ve seen before, perhaps an artists work or you might notice an abstract, stylized head and face. 
This practice of embracing and seeing the abstract, of embracing the aesthetic possibilities allows you to create a language all your own and to express yourself though that language.

It can open your imagination to infinite possibilities and the freedom to explore how far your language can take you. *If you’d like to explore more of my images and various ways I carry out my abstract aesthetic, see my :: FIVE :: gallery you can access at the top of this page in the menu bar. These are 100 of my mobile phone images collected in one gallery. Be sure to read the “Gallery Intro Card” at the beginning.