Hi everyone, I hope you and yours are doing well. A couple of weekends ago I went to a photography workshop with Nigel Gaunt from Red Dirt Photography. I have long admired Nigel's landscapes of northern Western Australia. He lived for many years in Broome in the Kimberly but now operates out of Fremantle near Perth. Please check out his website to see some of Nigel's amazing images.
Organised by the Photography Group of Bunbury, the workshop was not about landscapes but about urban detail and abstracts - which is quite different to street photography (usually including people) or urban architecture.
There is always something to photograph even in an urban environment. The workshop opened our eyes to see and appreciate the little things in the urban environment - textures, lines, curves, shapes, colours, repetitive pattens, grunge, rust, cracked and peeling paint, drain pipes, gutters, door handles, numbers, strong colours, contrasts, light, shadows.
They are everywhere around us - where light, shadows and contrast all play a part and imperfections create interest. Break the rules.
Nigel suggested that square crop helps pull the viewer into the image and perhaps question "what is it?"
Urban abstracts are not for everyone, but here I am sharing a few of mine from the day. I hope you might find some inspiration to have a go yourself. You don't have to go far from home - even in a rural environment you will find oportunities.
A couple of different crops of the same scene - seen in a gutter
And one a bit further away
