Enhanced abstract

My interest in revisiting original photographs to create new digital works is threatening to rival the business of using the camera.

The deeper you delve into the tools at your disposal, the possibilities magnify – and the process becomes more complex, involving many more steps.

For this set, I chose a series of abstract shots, injecting colour and life into subtle frames. Some of the finished works bear little resemblance to the source material and have taken new titles.

It’s an interesting journey and I’d like to hear the views of photographers and artists alike.

Click first image for the full gallery experience

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Further digital art posts:

Night city colours

Inside out

16 thoughts on “Enhanced abstract

  1. These revamps are terrific Mike and what a great visual feast. I have to say I am drawn to Sunspot and Velvet Sheen as they are two opposites . The Sunspot image because of its brightness and simplicity and the Velvet Sheen because of its more subdued tones and the diagonal lead lines. Hope you have a great week!

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  2. Lovely work!! You have a unique eye. I’m in love with the two black and white subjects. I find them more alive then all the others. They seems to be showing me true energy. A constant story telling… not sure if I’m explaining my take on it.

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    • Thank you very much for visiting, Belkiss. I really appreciate your view as a creative person. The black and whites originally had colour… I wanted to reverse them. I enjoyed seeing your work too… full of life.

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  3. Great photos Mike, I particularly like the Sunspot one. Interesting to see your new views on old subjects. I really struggle with the post-processing side of things, hence why I have so many photographs uploaded in Lightroom and nothing has been done with them. A lot of it is lack of spare time and knowledge of Lightroom and photoshop :-( But I still love getting out there and taking pictures, maybe I should go back to film ;-)

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    • Thank you Claire, glad you like them. The idea of taking an old shot and making something new with it is compelling. I hear you on post-processing – it’s only quite recently that I’ve taken the plunge with regular photos and increased the range of what I do with them. Film is a good idea – then unless you have dark room space it’s left to someone else!

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  4. Enjoyed the virtual tour – loved them all especially orange subsection. Am torn in two directions. Trying to learn about photography and drawn to post-camera artistry! Wondered if better to have one blog for each but surely there is mid-ground?

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    • Hi Laura, thanks for coming by and I’m glad you enjoyed them. Well it’s definitely another arm of the business and can take up a lot of time the deeper you are drawn in. I’ve only done a few sets so far and see it as a good contrast to existing posts. And you need to take photographs to acquire your source material!

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      • Hello Mike, great pictures! I like your visual style, good color grading and visual perception.
        I´ve been doing digital work since 1996. in the beginning I used Photoshop to create work from scratch, using the tools to “draw” my pictures and then I discovered 3D Studio MAX (3DS). for me it´s like Photoshop in 3D, plus animation.
        back then all my “source material” was my own virtual creation, so there is no real need to take photographs to do digital work… but nowadays I also work with photos. it´s less time-consuming than creating the whole scene from scratch, but , as you described, “(it) can take up a lot of time the deeper you are drawn in”!

        keep up the good work – the limit is your imagination, there are no rules…

        Greetings,
        j.

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        • Julian, thanks so much for coming by. Very interesting to hear of your methodology. I visited your site and enjoyed the range and depth of your work.I haven’t done too much in the way of digital art lately, but feel it’s time to revisit some existing material. I presume you’re based in Germany?

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          • That is correct. Now I live in Germany, but I´d like to move to Portugal or Spain someday!
            In the UK, I´ve only been to Manchester in 2002 and London in 2006, unfortunately only to work… but London has a great vibe.

            Best wishes,
            j.

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