Can you make anything, interesting? Something from nothing?

[Dominantly]

Let me start off by saying that I am constantly looking at things and wondering how I would take a photo that would best show it off, or make it interesting.
To me, that really makes a professional worth their salt. A professional in a studio can buy the worlds best beauty lighting, a fancy set, assistants, etc; to help get great shots. But I think the person that can get out there and turn that newspaper dispenser on the side of the street into something interesting, screams talent.

-Do you guys ever walk around and look at things you see in your everyday life and wonder how you could make it into something people would be intrigued by viewing? (Examples: street signs, sprinkler heads, plants, park benches, fountains, fire hydrants, foot prints in sand, rocks, tree stump, grass, a bare empty room with white walls, etc)

-Do you ever take any shots of this type of stuff?
-What do you think are some tricks to creating visual appeal?

Post up some examples :mrgreen:

 

[KmH]

Is something like this what you have in mind?

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/landscape-cityscape/183791-whisky-sunset.html

 

[IgsEMT]

-Do you guys ever walk around and look at things you see in your everyday life and wonder how you could make it into something people would be intrigued by viewing?

Walk around and think white balance it is SCARY

-Do you ever take any shots of this type of stuff?

used to,

-What do you think are some tricks to creating visual appeal?

LONG exposures, rotating camera/lens during open shutter, etc

 

[Dominantly]

Is something like this what you have in mind?

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/landscape-cityscape/183791-whisky-sunset.html

Exactly...

I mean you looked at the wall and thought of a way to make it interesting, to show it in a new way, and made it something pleasing to view.

 

[Dominantly]

-Do you guys ever walk around and look at things you see in your everyday life and wonder how you could make it into something people would be intrigued by viewing?

Walk around and think white balance it is SCARY

-Do you ever take any shots of this type of stuff?

used to,

-What do you think are some tricks to creating visual appeal?

LONG exposures, rotating camera/lens during open shutter, etc

Thanks.

"rotating camera/lens during open shutter, etc"
Does this cause streaking? Do you have any personal examples?
I may try this later.:thumbup:

 

[ann]

google zooming for "rotating camera" it is very similar.

and yes there are lots of us who find day to day "boring" items interesting.

 

[manaheim]

If you push it far enough you can make many things interesting ... sometimes it takes going in super close, sometimes it takes distortion or odd zooming or off-focus, sometimes it takes some amount of post-processing.

That being said, your average telephone pole taken from some distance doesn't really make a good photo... the point is that not everything seen the way our eyes normally see it makes a good photo. I once thought a good photographer could find beauty in anything. It's likely true, but sometimes the extremes we need to go to in order to find it requires us to lose sight of what the object really is.

Just my opinion, of course.

 

[Overread]

Be carefull in your quest to make something interesting that you don't end up using methods which become the subject rather than the object that you are photographing.

In other words something really boring like a telephone pole - you can use a lot of funky methods to shoot it, but at some point you will pass a line where the shot is no longer about the pole but about the method that your using. At that point I would say that the photographer has failed to make the subject itself interesting to the viewer and has instead created something else.

 

[Time to Get Moving]

In other words something really boring like a telephone pole - you can use a lot of funky methods to shoot it, but at some point you will pass a line where the shot is no longer about the pole but about the method that your using. At that point I would say that the photographer has failed to make the subject itself interesting to the viewer and has instead created something else.

But does this make it a bad photograph? Maybe I don't totally understand what you're getting at..

 

[Overread]

I'm not saying it would make a bad photograph in any way - infact it could make a fantastic photo. But my warning was that if one intends to make something (like a telephone pole) interesting then the methods they use should compliment that aim - of making the pole itself interesting or presenting it in an interesting manner - rather than using methods which would end up with the processing/method becoming the focus of the shot rather than the telephone pole

 

[IgsEMT]

"rotating camera/lens during open shutter, etc"

Here are few old examples Photo Mystery # 1 - photos - PhotoForum.ru & Photo LiFe - photos - PhotoForum.ru. Think motion blur

 

[Dominantly]

Maybe we can do a little workshop. Pick a theme and post results for c&c.

What about soap...? Bar or liquid.

 

[Dominantly]

"rotating camera/lens during open shutter, etc"

Here are few old examples Photo Mystery # 1 - photos - PhotoForum.ru & Photo LiFe - photos - PhotoForum.ru. Think motion blur

I like the first example. I can't quite figure out what it was to begin with however.

 

[IgsEMT]

I like the first example. I can't quite figure out what it was to begin with however.

The ones with Blue lines? Mystery#1?
IF SO: My wife and I went to Atlantic City, we used to go pretty often, she plays, I hate casinos, so I walk around the peer mall. One one of the levels, the ceiling is filled with little blue dot-like-lights. Since I have nothing to do for about 2-3hrs, I play around.
I shot that with my old camera (D50) and Tamron 18-200 3.5-6.3 lens. I opened it up to 200mm, aperture 7.1, 2seconds, iso 400 i think (DEFINITELY not more then 400), AWB. While shutter was opened, I zoomed out and turned. It is weird and freaky, but that was the idea - mystery.
LiFe - I used to live in Dominica for few years, when time was permiting, I was shooting lots of landscapes and scenery.
I've attempted these motion blurs many times especially on flowers, trees. On people/portraits, it looks a bit weird, not bad, just weird, and it isn't something I often do at work UNLESS someone comes in to put on a fire juggling show or w/e.

 

[Torus34]

Would this print of junk count?

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/black-white-gallery/180925-homage-d.html