# #1424



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 16, 2012)

.










.


----------



## bentcountershaft (Nov 16, 2012)

I almost love this one.  Great color and texture, but my mind immediately sees eleven squares with invisible lines making a twelve square grid that is just slightly off.  Sorry, my left brain is winning today.


----------



## Frequency (Nov 16, 2012)

I like this; will this work horizontal ?


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 16, 2012)

It might?

I wonder how many squares Bent sees in this version?





Bitter Jeweler said:


> .
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## bentcountershaft (Nov 16, 2012)

Square be damned I love it.


----------



## mishele (Nov 16, 2012)

I like the first one more. You have some nice vertical lines. The landscape orientation just doesn't do them justice. Great shot!


----------



## Frequency (Nov 16, 2012)

But believe me, i go for horizontal now;


----------



## PixelRabbit (Nov 16, 2012)

I like the vertical, the horizontal looks like a door cut in half to me.
I think it wants to be upside down as another option, it has an interesting "weight" to it...


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 16, 2012)

I hadn't thought about that! I felt the vertical was stronger, but I think flipping the horizontal really has its merits.

:thumbup:


----------



## mishele (Nov 16, 2012)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> I hadn't thought about that! I felt the vertical was stronger, but I think flipping the horizontal really has its merits.
> 
> :thumbup:


Do it...I want to see it.


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 16, 2012)

You do it. I want to see it too!


----------



## mishele (Nov 16, 2012)

<--------lazy....lol


----------



## PixelRabbit (Nov 16, 2012)

I'd do it but I'm on my iPod now and I'd kill it lol


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 16, 2012)

I just put two fingers on my iPad and turn it over. :lmao:


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 16, 2012)

For that matter, it looks good turned 90 clockwise and counter clockwise!


----------



## Tkot (Nov 16, 2012)

I prefer the uncropped, landscape orientation. I love the subtle vignetting and my eyes just keep soaking up the texture. Nice one!


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 16, 2012)

I feel defensive. I feel I need to tell you that the two images were shot separately. One wasn't cropped from the other. Whew. I feel better now.

I've learned to like the vignetting of the Tamaron 28-75mm 2.8. It's only a problem when you crop some corners, you have to add it back in for consistency.

Thanks again. 

I liked that little things, like the three little "squares" lower right, and the white "x" are more apparent than he horizontal.


----------



## KenC (Nov 16, 2012)

The vertical, but maybe upside down.  No, really, I'm serious...


----------



## unpopular (Nov 16, 2012)

hmm.

idk.

seems like these squares are a trap, bitter.


----------



## Demers18 (Nov 17, 2012)

Can I like both?
I don't have a favorite as I think it's very well both ways. 
Love the colour, texture and composition.
Again bitter nice work :thumbup:


----------



## pgriz (Nov 17, 2012)

Dang.  Late to the party again.  That's what happens when one has to work for a living. And that's because the Nigerian prince I've been corresponding with still hasn't sent me my cut of his multi-millions.  I even set up a fake bank account for him to use...  

Back on topic, very nice abstract.  Lots of little details that give the eye something to play with.  As for the orientation, they all work for me.  Even the unconventional 45 degree tilt.  Although for that, a square crop would probably be best...


----------



## JSER (Nov 17, 2012)

does nothing for me


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 17, 2012)

That's understandable, JSER. Thanks for taking the time to look and respond.


----------



## HughGuessWho (Nov 17, 2012)

I much prefer the vertical. The colors are very nice, and I'm all about texture. Nice stuff... as always.


----------



## sm4him (Nov 17, 2012)

I really like the first version; the second one, not so much.  




mishele said:


> Bitter Jeweler said:
> 
> 
> > I hadn't thought about that! I felt the vertical was stronger, but I think flipping the horizontal really has its merits.
> ...





Bitter Jeweler said:


> You do it. I want to see it too!





mishele said:


> <--------lazy....lol





PixelRabbit said:


> I'd do it but I'm on my iPod now and I'd kill it lol



Are any of you ever gonna do it?? 

My back hurts too much to pick up my whole computer and try to rotate it.   Guess I could look at it on my Kindle. But I'm here, and it's way over ----------------------------------> there.


----------



## PixelRabbit (Nov 17, 2012)

sm4him said:


> I really like the first version; the second one, not so much.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ok ok ok since I started it and I'm on the laptop now and have no good excuse I'll flip it


----------



## sm4him (Nov 17, 2012)

mishele said:


> Bitter Jeweler said:
> 
> 
> > I hadn't thought about that! I felt the vertical was stronger, but I think flipping the horizontal really has its merits.
> ...





Bitter Jeweler said:


> You do it. I want to see it too!





mishele said:


> <--------lazy....lol





PixelRabbit said:


> I'd do it but I'm on my iPod now and I'd kill it lol





PixelRabbit said:


> sm4him said:
> 
> 
> > I really like the first version; the second one, not so much.
> ...



Yay! Someone did it!
I like this orientation MUCH better than the first vertical one. But I still like the original better. I have no idea why--could just be the muscle relaxants. :lmao:


----------



## mishele (Nov 17, 2012)

Still like the first one better!


----------



## sharahug (Nov 17, 2012)

I love love love the vertical


----------



## unpopular (Nov 17, 2012)

I prefer the vertical. but I think that this particular composition is your crutch, Bitter. Be aware of compositions that you just keep turning to, they'll suck the life out of you.


----------



## mishele (Nov 17, 2012)

unpopular said:


> I prefer the vertical. but I think that this particular composition is your crutch, Bitter. Be aware of compositions that you just keep turning to, they'll suck the life out of you.


Is it a crutch or just the right choice? I think this is an interesting talking point. I brought it up the other day.


----------



## pixmedic (Nov 17, 2012)

Personally, i like the vertical one best.  I like the little square centered,  with the bigger square off center and partially cut out.  Dont know exactly why... It is just a more pleasing image to me. Great image Bitter!


----------



## unpopular (Nov 17, 2012)

I'm sure I've mention this before. While I was in a color photography class in college each week we'd bring in our slides for a critique. Early on I was getting a lot of praise for some abstracts I made at an abandoned mill. They had these huge vats that were fiberglass and translucent and had a lot of internal structure formed by layers of multiple colored dyes and places where the vats were patched and repaired, so I spent a lot of time there. However, it wasn't long before the comments started going away. Dozing off, bored by my OWN presentation, I noticed the entire class was asleep!

At the end of the semester, we had to bring in seven slides we'd taken over the course as a final review. The instructor paused, took my slides and started stacking them, rotating one here, reversing another there and then set the stack onto the light table. They lined up PERFECTLY.

The compositions were perfect. They followed every rule of formal composition, and reduced to to a predictable formula which I unwittingly repeated over several hundred exposures. It's something that I actively fight to this day, because I know that if I get back into that habit I will quickly become bored of my own work yet again.

You can make an effective image, but when you rely on essentially the same trick over and over it gets stale. It's very tempting, I keep finding myself doing this. Sometimes it's a matter of perfecting the result you want, and that's genuine and admirable, but sometimes it's just a matter of relying an earlier success over and over.

Maybe Bitter is trying to perfect this compositional theme. But if he's being drawn to it because it's comfortable, he ought to consider avoiding it, and move on.


----------



## sm4him (Nov 17, 2012)

sm4him said:


> Yay! Someone did it!
> I like this orientation MUCH better than the first vertical one. But I still like the original better. I have no idea why--could just be the muscle relaxants. :lmao:



Clarification: I definitely blame the muscle relaxants. I got vertical and horizontal kinda confused. 
What I *meant* was, that of the two landscape-oriented photos, I like the second one best. But my favorite is still the original portrait-orientation shot.


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 17, 2012)

I appreciate this discussion, unpopular. I am very familiar with it, and the struggle.

I see the same issues with lots of landscape photographers as well. Their work as a whole starts to have a sameness. They also seem to rely on tricks and techniques that they enjoy, and are comfortable with. The only thing that changes, really, is the content. You can say the same of any artists body of work, in my mind, from my experience and exposure. Artists do grow, and you can see changes over time. You can see them evolve. You can see them try new things.

When I look to myself, I know I like order, I like simplicity, I like lines and shapes, I like color, I like how all that works together, I like things to be "clean".  This is who I am at the moment. 
I am, or was, more comfortable working dimensionally, thus my sculpture background, and love of working with metal, clay, glass, and wood. Thinking two dimmensionally is really fairly new to me, or at least, being reborn. When working with images, I frame them to my current sensibilities. This image could have been presented numerous ways that would all feel the same, because in the end, it is my mind trying to make sense of it. I feel I am showing you how I look at the world, or interpret it. 

This is also where my personal jewelery design trends have fallen. When able (which I am not always, working for clients) to design freely, it tends to be clean, simple, polished, line, and shape defining form. When I am asked to make something rough, rustic, and primitive, I have a difficult time. I fight the need to polish the metal and make sure everything "lines up". These are pieces I am never satisfied with.

Currently I am quite happy with the imagery I produce. It is still exciting to me. I have been creating things in various materials for a long time. I have gone through phases. I know that there will indeed be a point that I will get less out of what I am doing now, than I do now, and I will look for a new way to express myself. I do force myself to experiment. 

I also am not trying to be controversial, or very conceptual. I am making images that I hope are pleasing to look at, and hold the viewer for more than a quick glance. I like presenting little bits of the world that a vast majority of people look past without a second thought. My only hope is that from my work, they may start having second thoughts. 

That may change. This is me today.

On the flip side, I see that I have made a difference on this forum over the years. What I do has challenged others to try seeing the way I do. Some with great success, and some not.
I think that is pretty neat. I have learned a LOT by looking at, or within, the world in a purely compositional manner. I am still learning. So is everyone here.



:cheers:


















.


----------



## mishele (Nov 18, 2012)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> This is me today.


Well said, Sir!!


----------



## unpopular (Nov 18, 2012)

It's not so much the theme of order and simplicity, rather these squares within squares specifically, I seem to see a lot of them lately from you - not exclusive, but enough to worry that it's a potential crutch. There is nothing wrong with minimalism in itself, but it's especially difficult to avoid compositional traps in the process.


----------



## mishele (Nov 18, 2012)

Who's to say how many "square" shots he has to take to make a portfolio that he's happy w/? If David ever takes that leap, it might take hundreds of shots til he is happy w/ 10-15.





'


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 18, 2012)

Oh. Well, I am doing a series on squares.

Just think of them as the Half-Dome or Landscape Arch of the abstract world.
...or sunsets and blurred water.
...or gritty old wrinkled headshots.


----------



## pgriz (Nov 18, 2012)

Crutch or not, David's work is very different from what I tend to shoot, and he challenges me to open my eyes (both physical and perceptual) and see things somewhat differently.  As well, I think we are all seeing images from a evolving photographic journey which is very interesting to observe, and learn from.


----------



## unpopular (Nov 18, 2012)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> Oh. Well, I am doing a series on squares.



Oh, ok. I was not aware. That really does change everything then.


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 18, 2012)

I'm also doing a series of people on interesting stairs, but that's much harder.

I have several themes, sets, or series I shoot for when I go out on safari. They're always in the back of my mind.


----------



## unpopular (Nov 18, 2012)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> I have several themes, sets, or series I shoot for when I go out on safari. They're always in the back of my mind.



I think that is how most project-oriented people do it. I can't imagine limiting myself to just one theme. What becomes interesting is when you set out with lots of ideas and find that there are more similarities between them than differences; what you thought were distinct projects actually have a common interest.


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Nov 18, 2012)

Yup.


----------

