Burning questions
One key aspect of my approach to my nature subjects usually originates from a question, or series of them. While one may wish to be all knowing, it is quite hard to accomplish in actual practice. Shocking I know.
This particularly applies to the interesting patterns I may find in the woods that I enjoy making abstract photographs from. Sometimes after I photograph something, the answers come later on, leading to a bit of education. More often (much more than I like to admit!), the photograph remains as a reminder of those questions.
In the case with this photograph, I came across a burnt pile of wood in the middle of the woods near my home. Aside from wondering how the wood was burned to begin with (kids? lightning? meteor? magic staff blast?), I was quite curious about the pattern formed. It was hardly uniform, and I really didn’t know what type of wood it was. For sure it has something to do with the thermal decomposition of the cellulose in the wood. So questions about this pattern lead me down the path of learning about cellular structures in wood and the interaction with temperature.
I don’t always get the specific answers I am looking for. The pursuit and appreciation of the unknown are part of the journey. I suppose once I no longer have any questions left, I can stop photographing.
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. – Albert Einstein
This macro photograph was made in the woods along the Clinton River, Sterling Heights, Michigan. The photograph was captured by a Nikon D700, 14 bit RAW file, Nikon 200mm f4 macro lens, and post processed using luminosity masks in Photoshop CS3, and the plugin Topaz Adjust on a Mac Pro.
Tags: abstract photography, art, curiosity, macro, Michigan, my woods, wood
http://t.co/1xjuh7fT - posted on 22 hours ago
I strive to learn all I can about nature & my camera’s been a great help. Recently I’ve been able to flip that. I offered a local, non-profit nature center use of photos I’ve taken there to update their webpage & in other, promotional materials in exchange for a small name credit & to my delight, they were already familiar with my work & have accepted my proposal.
Good for you Lana, congrats!
Looking this close-up, I could mistake it for being sedimentary rock. I think when you quit being curious about life and things, you’d better pull the plug. But maybe that’s to drastic.
Thank you Ove – I also thought it looked a bit rock-like.
This is one of the things I love about macro – so much texture, form, and shading in something most people would pass by without a second glance. Very nice, Mark!
- Jack
Thanks Jack.
Abstract photography like this always invites the viewer to ask, What is that? Unlike abstract paintings, abstract photographs are always *of* something. Macro really lets us explore abstraction in the world and forces us to look even more closely than our normal photographer eye demands.
There’s something about this one that makes me thing of sound waves, for some reason, emanating from the lower right corner. Nicely seen!
Thank you for the comment Bob. I often wonder if it is better for the viewer to never know what it is and keep them guessing, or they ultimately need to connect with something familiar.
This is the pleasure of photography. It allows us to intimately explore a subject while taking the photograph and then we re-examine and adjust our initial perspective from memory when processing the image. The final product is a blend of what was, and what our memories and imagination have made it.
I’ve researched a lot of the flowers I took this past two summers since moving to Ohio from Colorado. I do not know what these different plants are. So, yes I’m asking questions.
Your photo looks great, and thats the wonder of macro photography taking pictures of things around us in macro really gives the image a diff perspective and sometimes may look alien on some people not knowing that the subject of the photograph can be found everywhere.
Thank you Monte, Adrian, Deborah.
Since wood doesn’t actually burn but with heat is converted to gases that burns I’d have to guess that these patterns are determined by the density and different conversion rates for different areas of the wood. Why there are these different rates of conversion, I don’t know.
Wonderful closeup shot Mark. I love macro/closeup photography in that it offers unique views of the world around us and makes us ask these types of questions.
I believe seeing this image without explanation I would of guess burned wood — my parents had a wood stove for years and I’ve seen this pattern often.
Thanks Earl. I think you are right about the patterns, but I do wonder about the uniformity (or lack there of!).
It was only last year that I experienced needing a wood stove for heat. Not fun having to get up during the night!
The biggest questions I face these days seem to all start with “What if…”. This is particularly true with my photography as I look to explore various creative avenues. In the field, it’s “What if…?” In post-processing, it’s “What if…?”
Mark, I find the texture in this particular image to be really wonderful. Nicely seen and captured.
Thank you Ed. I should have “What if” tattooed on my forehead.
I’m going to go with magic staff blast