The art of rain

September 14, 2014 / mikeosbornphoto / 15 Comments

An entire day of torrential rain ruins a photographer’s day out. This is the time to stay indoors and try to be creative with what you have. Water – plenty of it – running off balconies, roof windows and refracting the colours behind it. Usual everyday surroundings take on a different air, and the camera finds abstraction.

When the time comes to edit your shots, you can splash a little more colour there and create new landscapes. Here are the fruits of my rainy day play…

Click first image to launch the gallery

Garden abstraction

July 5, 2014 / mikeosbornphoto / 9 Comments

This is a story of lazing in a neat, suburban garden. It’s bounded on all sides by fences and is carefully sculpted. The sun beats down and you screw up your eyes to combat the glare.

You see a series of abstract moments, unusual visions from the corners of your eyes. Little corners that invade your being from the inactivity of the day. And the sunlight plays on the conventional parameters of this garden to conjure up dreams of a languid summer day in this garden…

Click first image to launch the gallery

Accidental shootings

January 25, 2014February 8, 2014 / mikeosbornphoto / 10 Comments

These are three shots that were not meant to be.

I was taking photographs with my new macro lens on a sunny afternoon in the park. My camera was anything but ready to take a picture in a spot where there was plenty of dappled light, but the shutter was released in a moment of clumsiness.

A multi-coloured, out of focus swirl was the result. But I didn’t delete. I liked the unintended effect and repeated with a slightly different exposure. And again.

Being a fan of experimenting with digital art, I edited the second shot in monochrome and inverted the colours of the third. Maybe it’s criminal to discard shots, however accidental. Do you agree?…

Click each image to reveal more detail

Beach stripes

November 14, 2013November 23, 2013 / mikeosbornphoto / 4 Comments

The stones, shells and gravel of Whitstable beach in Kent reveal their sun-strewn roughness through hazy pastel stripes of colour in this abstract shot.

Benches have a definite lure when it comes to creating photographs, and this pretty beach front seating place was no exception. They provide natural frames and peepholes to what lies beyond.

My favourite bench in Richmond, back here in London, was used to create Shades of Green. Don’t just sit on benches – go behind them and use your camera.

There will be more from England’s south-east coast in the coming days.

Inside out

August 18, 2013August 31, 2013 / mikeosbornphoto / 18 Comments

Click first image to launch the gallery

My mantra is to do as little as possible with photographs. A slight tweak in contrast here, an extra touch of colour there – but essentially keep them natural and true.

But I’ve recently cracked into the wealth of powerful effects offered by editing programmes, and have decided to breathe new life into some favourite shots.

These photos have been inverted, or had their colour schemes turned inside out, with some additional enhancing effects. I’ve discovered that it results in new creations, some of them vibrant and others abstract. It often subverts the identity of the original photograph and stands on its own feet.

This feels like another layer of creation, far removed from the original vision seen through the lens. It’s perhaps digital art, but achieved with software and a few extra mouse clicks and adjustments.

Does it do it for you? Is it art?…