The wonderful Appalachian farmsteads of Madison County, North Carolina are treasured repositories of beauty. Often that beauty shouts at us from every angle we behold: the land, the structures, the beings – each sentinent in its own way. Sometimes, however, it is more subtle and must be uncovered through exploration and discovery, almost as if it were there just beneath the surface of our awareness, waiting to be brought to our attention by a look in a certain direction or the glancing reflection of a beam of light. What appeared to be old, or cast aside, now draws us with a depth that we must appreciate on a level that often has no words at first, only feelings.
When you read what I am about to say, you may, perhaps, be tempted to swear that I have gone over to the dark side; but consider this: I regularly use my iPhone to document locations to which I intend, or at least wish, to return with my DSLR. And usually I do return, but during a recent Appalachian Barns workshop, I was strongly attracted to the peeling paint and rust holding forth on an old mower at the Tom Brown farmstead in California Creek. Once one of the showcase residences of the county, the old home is now slowly falling under the spell of entropy and returning piecemeal to the earth from which it came. I have not yet had the opportunity to return, but in looking at what I had created, I realized that the work was sufficient to process and share as an Image for the Asking. The main camera on my phone is a 12mp device with a wide-angle (28mm in 35mm equivalence; in actuality 3.99mm) lens. It has a maximum aperture of f/1.8 and optical image stabilization (OIS). I did not engage the 5x digital zoom feature, but I did engage the auto-focusing sensor in the middle of the frame and released the shutter handheld from about 8″ above the surface of the metal.
Perhaps I will manage to return with my D-810 and dedicated macro lens to work this place of beauty with a different technology; and perhaps I will share the outcome of that work, as well. The essence of the feeling will not be changed regardless of the device for capture; that awareness lives in my heart as a wordless reminder of the beauty that dwells within.
The technology used to capture the image is irrelevant. The best equipment will not produce a great image if used by a bad photographer. A great photographer can use almost any equipment to capture a beautiful image.
Yeah!! I think the camera phones are amazing. You know I have been using mine for years to mark a spot, or to get the shot. Thanks for sharing this one. This abstract looks like the aftermath of a wild party! It is a good example of what Mother Nature can do when left alone with a piece of metal to paint on. Everything but the ring on the bottom right looks like her undisturbed work. Thanks for sharing!
What is the best camera? The one you have with you. While dynamic range and other features are limited on an iPhone, a master photographer can still produce masterful images. You just demonstrated that! (Even when using a Nikon, I use an iPhone as an artist would use a sketch pad to help make decisions about how to best use the “Nikon canvas.”)
The combination of colors and textures has my eye traveling and spotting images among abstraction. Thanks for sharing such a delightful time in a visual way. …and you have not gone over to the Dark Side… 🙂
Looks like a collection of early summer flowers. Makes me want to paint it, with your permission of course.
Howdy Don, such a new and exciting type of image. I’ve found similar type of images when I go to the transfer station to dump trash. Lesson is, always keep your eyes open.
Regardless of the camera, the same principles of photography still apply, and if followed, wonderful images can be created. Who knows. Next week you may be announcing a cell phone photography workshop!
Don, thanks for this intriguing image and your reflective message. First, about the image, I really like its color and, perhaps most important in abstracts, the design. Only on my second view did I catch the subtle circle in lower R attesting to its machine nature. The dappled character of it could be autumn colors, or a blotchy sunrise, anything.
Really appreciate, too, your musing about using a phone camera. I’ve become a big fan of doing so for both urban settings, close ups, and sometimes landscapes (meh). The ability to select a focus point, adjust exposure prior to releasing the “shutter” (haha), and control DOF a little bit enable me often to capture what I’m feeling. Not likely to replace DSLRs soon, but I suspect the day is coming…
Just back from four days in Bay Area for work; it rained every day, so my Nikon stayed tucked away, but I reached frequently for my phone and captured a few things that spoke to me. Thanks for the image, and have a great week. Ray
Even more beautiful that the image you took with your phone was the one you crafted with your word processor. Your images always express a thoughtful appreciation for the world around you, but your description of the intimate appeal and subtle influences of the abstract world revealed a broader and more basic presence that I often overlook. Thanks for reminding me to pay closer attention to the world around me and to appreciate its many perspectives.
I love the texture and colors!
Nice. Dark side? Well, if so, you are in good company. I have an attraction to rust, decaying or weathered wood, and love the subtle variations in cement and paved paths and roads. (Am I looking down too much?) My iphone is loaded with these images.
Thank you!
Another reason for loving old machinery.
This image reminded me immediately of fractals, a math concept. From the dictionary: “Fractals are useful in modeling structures, such as eroded coastlines or snowflakes, in which similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth, fluid turbulence, and galaxy formation.” And in the process, they result in something beautiful!
Good afternoon Everyone. What a delightful conversation awaits us. Thank you all very much for joining me. If you pause to consider it, a well-executed abstract image (and hopefully this qualifies as reaching in that direction), almost by its nature evokes a wide-ranging collection of responses; for it is not so much about the visible world as about how we respond emotionally to that world when the concretions of it are removed. Back in the good old days my English teachers taught that there are three classes of noun: concrete, abstract, and collective; and I have spent six decades trying to understand deeply what they were telling me. Cracked, peeling, and rusting paint on metal seems to attract me everywhere I look, and at the Tom Brown Farm there was no exception.
Hi Barry, it’s great to hear from you. Bonnie and I think often about your wonderful vocal talents and hope you continue to share them with others. There are multiple ways to express the profound thought you have given us, and they all amount to the same takeaway: it’s not about the equipment, it’s about the photographer and the photographic vision. Hope you are well.
Hey Nancy T. I thought you would appreciate this one, because I know how much you enjoy being creative with your phone. You know, I positioned that ring near a “power point” for two reasons: because it was such an anomaly and because it seemed to be such a powerful element in its own right. Thank you for pointing our attention to it. And Mother Nature’s party is still going on wherever we look. Be well.
Howdy J. Warren. It’s always good to have you with me. Now the truth is coming out: You and Nancy T. have been closet phone-camera creatives all along. You are right, it was never about the Dark Side; it is always about using the best tools we have in the best way possible; and never being quite satisfied just because we are where we are. Walk in Beauty.
Hi Rosemary. Of course you can paint from the Image. The only caveat would be that you not sell what you produce until we talk about some sort of user fee. For your personal use, please feel free.
Howdy, Michael. It is good to hear from you; I hope you’ve been well and the Rhode Island winter has been a productive one for you. We are both students of the Yogi Berra School, ‘You can learn a lot just by looking around.’; or as the old farmer said, ‘I might not can pay much, but I can pay attention.’ even, and especially, at trash dumps. Thanks for your kind words, my friend.
Hey Kev. Who knows; actually we’re talking with Road Scholar about just such a thing at Lake Junaluska. Thanks for joining me, and thanks for saying again what Warren and Nancy T. have said – we cannot be over-reminded – it’s not the camera, it’s the operator. The same principles apply across all the platforms, some platforms have limitations, but all can perform when used properly.
Hey Ray, it’s always good to have your thoughts and observations, both for the Image, as well as the writing. We know, almost at a cellular level, the human response to warm tones and especially a vibrant red; and so color and graphic design become the hallmarks of abstraction; but isn’t it the same with any other imagery. It’s simply that with abstracts the design is not about things we know visually, but rather about things we feel emotionally. You nailed it exactly when you posited that the image itself might be any number of things – a sunrise, or autumn color – and what it is is insignificant compared to how it makes us feel – the same as an actual sunrise might. No, my phone camera is not likely to replace my D-SLR soon; but it offers me both a way to create, in its own right, and to make my D-SLR a more effective tool for creation. Always good to have you back in the Wild East. Walk in Beauty.
Hi Greg. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for your very kind words and for listening to my musings. That my words would serve to encourage an increased attention on your part is reward beyond expression. This is precisely what Bonnie and I seek to nurture in our Mindfulness adventures. You would be more than welcome to join us. When my mind and my heart are connected, my words will express clearly what I feel.
Hey Kristin. Thank you for joining me and for your kind thoughts. I appreciate that the color and texture of this Image would speak to your as this has. I hope all is well with you.
Hi Dianne. Thank you very much for being with us and for your excellent and thoughtful comments. I would never suggest that you are ‘looking down too much’, nor that you eschew your fondness for cracked paint, rust, or weathered wood: all noble and wonderful photographic elements. I was actually suggesting, tongue-in-cheek, something about my use of my iPhone as the creative tool. As has been suggested, this tool may have some limitations when compared to more traditional cameras, but it’s capacity to create is undeniable. Let’s enjoy what it offers us and go where we wish from there.
Hey Boss. It is so good to hear from you and to have you state what should have been so clear to everyone from the beginning. This is exactly a good reason, as you and I know, to love old machinery. If we can no longer mow with it, by golly, at least we can be photographically creative with it. Walk in Beauty, my friend.
Howdy Donald. I’m going to have to start charging you for math tutoring, ha! Little over half a century ago my calculus professor suggested some foreign idea called “fractals” and opined that they would one day be a way of performing mathematical operations that were almost impossible to conceive of at the time. Thank you for joining them to photography in such a wonderful way. Hope all is well in Arizona!
As I offered at the outset, this collection of thoughts, ideas, and observations has been one of the most profound and fun gatherings in the six years we have been doing this. Thank you all very much for your additions to the conversation. May we Walk in Beauty across the awesomeness of our world.