Abstract

[Manfred M]

This is a detail of parts of the roof of the Bahá'í House of Worship, New Delhi. It is better known as the "Lotus Blossom Temple". There are 27 marble "petals" that make up the roof.

As the lines lead out of the frame, I constrained the image with a white border. As this is very much a monochrome image, I processed it to bring out the colours and texture in the marble.







To put things in context, here is a more traditional view of the place.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured, a new way of looking at an often photographed structure.

[Rider in the Sky]

Is it possible, the Sydney harbor concert hall was inspired by this temple?

[Manfred M]

Is it possible, the Sydney harbor concert hall was inspired by this temple?

No. The Sydney Opera House opened in 1973; 13 years before this building opened.

[Mike Buckley]

I thought that surely this thread had been attacked by gremlins; it simply wasn't possible for me to associate Manfred with abstracts.

Nice one. Great eye!

[IzzieK]

Is it possible, the Sydney harbor concert hall was inspired by this temple?

No, the Sydney one was inspired by an orange peel or peeling an orange actually...

Mike, same here...but it was nicely done...the overview was good though...it is nice to know how it actually looks like before he mangled it to illustrate his abstract... OK...I will be kind...it is good really, Manfred, just that I do not think of you as having an abstract bone in your image/s...

[Manfred M]

Actually Mike and Izzie - as a design engineer, I spent most of my career taking abstract ideas and concepts and turning them into physical things (or in the case of business process design, abstract things). So abstraction is definitely part of my DNA. I would say that one of the reasons I got back into serious photography as a counter to all of the abstract things I was usually doing to earn a living. Now that I've retired and my photography has gotten a high enough level, am starting to look at things in more abstract ways.

When I look at some of the work of the great abstract artists; Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore are two that come to mind. Look at some of their early work; they were both excellent traditional artists. They did not move on to abstract art until they had mastered the more traditional forms.

I find the same thing goes for abstract photography; the skill set required to create a good abstract photograph is identical to that required to create a traditional image. The hard part is being able to recognize something that will translate well into an abstract photo as the photographer still has to be able to create a compelling image, without the ability to rely on the viewer's personal experiences to help carry the piece over any rough spots.

I've started to do more abstract shots over the past year or so, but in general, they are not quite where I want them yet. I think I'll create an album on my Flickr site for these one of these days.

[Wavelength]

very nice find

[bnnrcn]

Great image Manfred, I love it

[Donald]

Nicely captured, a new way of looking at an often photographed structure.

And that's one of the abilities of the knowledgeable, experienced and skilled photographer.

[Ndukes]

A superb abstract Manfred.

[kmak]

Wonderful photo, I love abstract images such as this. Did you try it in black and white?

[joebranko]

Interesting way to look at a structure!

[just me]

I love abstracts....and your photo is one of them.......nice !!!!!!!

Griddi.......