[ApparentlyNothing]

Given the theme, this might be a little less wordy, but here it goes.

dogfood


Pretty cool idea. I'd like it be sharper though. Also, it looks like it's been compressed way too much, or maybe it was just a really high ISO from a P&S camera. Compositionally though, not bad.

Emo_Rachael


I voted for this one because when I first saw it, it immediately interested me. There's just something about it. The lines in the front contrasted with the lines in the back are great, and I like how it's not just all lines, but you have the solid parts on either side, creating a simple, yet dynamic composition. I really also like the subtle difference in the front lines on the right that curve a little to break up the repetition and add just a subtle bit of interest. Well done.

Here-am-I


I like the colors. Compositionally though, I'm not really sure what I think. There's something about it that makes my eye uneasy. Perhaps it's the fact that, as an abstract, there are two significant parts that are demanding my attention. The left twigs/grass are interesting, the green stone is interesting, but putting them together in the way you did almost makes it like they're conflicting. Hmm, at least that's my initial reaction.

airsoft sniper


Honestly, I think this goes against the one rule that was set. The piece of silver is, in a way, the abstract piece. You just took a picture of something that was already an abstract. I think it would be passable if you did something with the abstract silver, such as create an entirely new photographic composition using it, but your photo doesn't do anything new with it. It's just..... lying there.

ApparentlyNothing


I'm actually pretty happy with this one. I don't know if I should have made it a diptych, but I liked both for different reasons, so I figured I'd just put them together.

tht00


I seriously don't know why you didn't get any votes at all. I guess maybe people didn't think it was abstract enough? It's a great photo, and I can definitely see what abstract you were going for, but it does take a little bit of a "leap" to see it only as abstract. Either way, I like it.

Jump5Fan


I don't really have a whole lot to say about this one other than I like the idea, and I think it works great as an abstract. Well done. It just didn't have that certain quality the ones I voted for had. But good job anyway.

redbaron


I think my opinion on this one is pretty similar to my opinion on tht00 and Jump5Fan's. I feel like it takes a little bit of a leap to view it as abstract (though not as big of a leap as tht00's). Also, I think it's a great photo, but as an abstract, it just seems to be lacking a certain dynamic. But it's a great photo, especially without trying to view it as purely abstract and more as a macro.

Rainer.


Ok, I'm starting to get tired of critiquing, so I'll keep it brief. I almost voted for it, yet I felt like while it was interesting, there wasn't anything that grabbed me unexpectedly the more I looked, which the ones I voted for seemed to do.

PontiusPirate


When I first saw this, I wasn't that interested in it. Yet, the more I look at it, the more I liked it. Compositionally, it's just beautiful. I feel like it would work well even as an abstract painting in a gallery. The two lines on the left contrasting with the 3 on the right, the in focus/out of focus dynamic that is almost unpredictable, ah, just great. Well done.

Rkchic[k]


Interesting use of repetition and a circular composition. It has a little bit of a lo-fi film feel, almost like it should have been a polaroid in terms of the quality if it were the right aspect ratio. Nice, but in the end, just didn't interest me as much as the others.



Ok, I apologize to those who are left, but I'm just completely too tired to go on. I guess I underestimated how many entries there really were. As a general critique, I'll just say that they're all pretty good attempts, some better than others, but in the end, they all still lack that special compositional quality that abstract pieces need to really grab the viewers attention.

[Rainer.]

Jon, you're dropping the critique ball. I would normally wait until later to do my critiques, but since I'm leaving for the week, here it is.

dogfood


I must say, I've looked down enough saxophones to know exactly what that was when I looked at it. You had a good idea here, it just could have been executed better, probably with the use of bright, directional lighting. This would have made the image more dramatic and sharper. Since cameras sometimes have problems focusing close, making sure the shot gets in focus sometimes means pulling out a little further, shooting, then cropping.

Emo_Rachael


I almost wish that fan was on for this shot. Might have made for some interesting streaking. But nevertheless, an interesting shot of a pretty ubiquitous home object.

Here-am-I


I think it's a decently interesting picture here, but as far as an abstract goes, I don't think it quite hits the mark. To me, an abstract composition uses light, form, and textures of objects to create a new composition, but this here seems pretty representational of the objects that were shot. I'm also not sure exactly what you were trying to focus on.

airsoft sniper


Again, too representational of the object. To echo Jon, the image isn't taken in a way that makes the image itself an abstract composition, but it's just an image of an object. The lighting here is decent, though.

ApparentlyNothing


I didn't vote for you because you're murdering all of us in the vote department...
I love the colors, and really like how the diptych breaks up the continuity of the lines in the right image.

tht00


I thought this one was good, too, in that the approach here wasn't really the abstraction of forms, but rather the abstraction of textures. I have a partiality to the traditional B&W tones, too. I think you should have cropped out the top portion, it's a little distracting.

Jump5Fan


I liked this one, too. I think the area on the left should have been cropped out, so your image would be working with purely the squares. I think I also would have picked a background that contrasted, to really have the form of the squares stand out.

redbaron


I think this image is gorgeous. But like Jon said, it's gorgeous as a macro still life. It's representational. But it's still a great photo, easily one of the best in this composition, but it's not quite abstract.

Rainer.


This wasn't quite the idea i was going for at first. I think it turned out decently, I'll try for my original idea someday...

PontiusPirate


I think this one is a great abstract shot. The light, texture, and form all create an image which is an abstract composition to itself. Easily my favorite of the competition.

Rkchic[k]


Interesting. I think the subject matter is entertaining, and you had an idea and pulled it off well.

Goatmania


Interesting textures. Some more intense side lighting would show off that texture even more. I don't quite love the composition here yet, though. It doesn't quite interest me.

natedawg5280


I will admit, this one made me look twice. A couple things just killed me with this, though. Firstly, the lighting. Everything is just really dull in the shot. Next, the choppy composition of it all. Chopping the image in half works sometimes in an abstract, but here, it just breaks any sort of eye motion somewhat awkwardly.

hapa_angel


I wish that the subject weren't in the middle of the frame, and that the background would be a little simpler.

Art
[/QUOTE]

Blur-fest! This one hurts my eyes.

[ApparentlyNothing]

Originally Posted by Rainer.

Jon, you're dropping the critique ball.

I know, I suck at life.

Basically, ditto what you said on the ones I didn't get to.

So, if I win, I wouldn't mind letting the second place winner pick the next one, if everyone else doesn't mind and thinks that's a good idea.

[Here-am-I]

Originally Posted by ApparentlyNothing

I know, I suck at life.

Basically, ditto what you said on the ones I didn't get to.

So, if I win, I wouldn't mind letting the second place winner pick the next one, if everyone else doesn't mind and thinks that's a good idea.

That would be kind of hard, as there are two second place winners.

[ApparentlyNothing]

Originally Posted by Here-am-I

That would be kind of hard, as there are two second place winners.

That would make things difficult. I know that originally we decided that in the event of ties, the person who made the challenge decides who wins. But, since this situation is a little different, I'm open to other suggestions too.

[PontiusPirate]

Since I voted for my own, I will go into my rightful "Third place" position.
Tada.
Problem solved.