Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Transforming Ice, Water, Mud, Sunlight, and a Twig into Modern Art

The above photo taken yesterday at Mapleside Farms in Brunswick, Ohio is called “Mineral Water” and carries on a wintertime tradition of mine involving the creation of abstract art by using an ice-covered pond for inspiration.

It can be quite a challenge in Northeast Ohio to get decent sunset photos during the winter. The weather tends to be so overcast that there’s even a local folk song the gist of which describes Cleveland as the land of “a hundred shades of gray.”

Yesterday, when the sun finally came out and the clouds were magnificent dramatic billows in the sky, was a cause for celebration. So what caught the attention of my camera? The humble muddy edge of an ice-covered pond with an embedded twig and weak sunlight playing across the surface. Awesome!

Below is the original photo.

With the help of Photoshop, nature can become surreal to the point of unrecognizability and abstract to the point of one’s own imagination.

Question for Readers: Have you ever used nature photography as a starting point to create fantastic, otherworldly, surreal, or abstract effects? Please feel welcome to describe your venture from nature photography into art, or alternatively, your preference for realistic nature scenes.

10 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Femin Susan said...

Hi………
Nice shot.....Absolutely fantastic post! Good job!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

CD: That is neat what you did with your photo. I enjoy art in all forms.

Montanagirl said...

I clicked on your link in my Blogs I'm following, and all these new creative photos came up! When I click on Country Corner in my bookmarks, none of them shows, hence, why I've not commented recently. I'm not sure what's up with that or how to fix it. Anyway, great photos.

CountryDreaming said...

Betsy from Tennessee: You're the absolute right person to leave an opinion, there are no wrong answers on this. In fact, it helps me to know that you better appreciate the realistic, straight-from-the-camera photo. That actually broadens my horizons.

As for enhancing something too much, I agree. If you can believe it, I even had to tone down this abstract image because while playing with the lighting effects it was making me nearly jump out of my seat. The crazy thing is, if I had posted the more vivid image that had bothered me, someone out there in the blog universe would have been bound to love it.

Femin Susan and fishing guy: Thank you very much for your kind compliments!

Montanagirl: Glad you like the photos. No worries about the technical difficulties. Blogger's been giving me some challenges as well.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Country Dreaming, I felt SO SO SO bad about leaving that comment --about not liking your first picture. I've worried about it all day long... SO--I deleted it and decided to write again and apologize to you.

I have no right to give an opinion on something I know nothing about... You are an artist --and I am not. I SO enjoy your blog--and I can definitely learn from the EXPERTS...

Please forgive me!
Hugs,
Betsy

CountryDreaming said...

Dear Betsy,

I've been delighted getting to know you and most of all I appreciate your friendliness and your kindness in making me feel welcome since I'm a brand new blogger.

Your earlier comment was honest, straight from the heart, graciously cordial, and it taught me something about how to see beauty.

Yesterday on the Flickr photography website, I wrote a private message to thank a critic who had left an embarrassing comment on one of my photos. I let the comment stay public because it was, after all, honest. I also took his message to heart and edited the photo. The reason why I thanked him for it was because the image he had critiqued so bluntly was "Intergalactic Scenic Overlook" ... the same image that I blogged about a few days ago for winning first place at the art show in Lockport, NY. My harshest critic turned out to be my greatest benefactor, and it did me a world of good!

As for me being an expert? Imagine Forrest Gump as an artist. This whole artist thing just sort of happened on a wing and a prayer, like Forrest being good at ping pong and making all that money with the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. So feel free to give your opinion. "And that's all I've got to say about that." :-)

Finally and most importantly, I look forward to getting to know you better both here and in your blog. I think we might become real good friends.

rosecreekcottage-carol.blogspot.com said...

These are just fantastic photos! Did you get zonkered today with all the snow we got here on the east side?? It's beautiful from the inside...but treacherous to drive in! Stay warm and safe. Carol

Rosebud Collection said...

Isn't it funny, but even the mud looks pretty..Beautiful picture.
I am always chasing the sun/clouds.
My husband laughs at me..first he hears the door opening, then the patio door..I am back and forth..

CountryDreaming said...

Carol: It's been snowing off and on. While I even enjoy winter storms, it's definitely nice to get a break in the clouds every now and then. Thanks for your kind words and take care.

Rosebud Collection: It's a fine gift given to the sensitive of heart and mind to be able to see beauty in mud. It's also good to hear that you're prepared with camera ready and waiting for those all-too-elusive and quick moments of perfect lighting and weather conditions.