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I am currently doing a project on Abstract. I have started to do on each month to stimulate me to get out more with my camera. In a sense the point of the theme is to make me do this, so it isn't really important what it is. I wonder though if this sort of treatment would be considered as "abstract" by others on ePz ? Should it all be done in camera, or does photoshop have a role.
I call this shot " hello, goodbye" but does that give too much away in terms of the idea of abstraction ?
it's a lamp post....
I'm not completely sure of the definition of "abstract", but I've always thought it to be a photo which doesn't really tell you what the subject is; part of something, a texture, an slice of it, some colours from it, a blurry pattern off it...
here you've created something arty which is definitely, without a doubt, a lamp post.... and even if I squint really hard to blur it, it still looks like a lamp post...
quite a cool effect though 
You didn't notice the people saying hello and goodbye below the lamp post then...
this is from the oxford dictionary:-
relating to or denoting art that does not attempt to represent external reality, but rather seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, colours, and textures:
nearly as contenscious a discussion subject as the "is photography art?" question....the old cop out was if its recognisable it aint abstract, so maybe ask the camera club members in which section would they enter an image like that at competition time?
Abstract is a broad concept that can be applied to numerous other contexts. For example: in social science we talk of abstract concepts e.g. Methods of classififying ideas which in themselves are conceptual as opposed rresentative of external reality. At the heart of your question lies deep undercurrents of philosophy (e.g. Ontology and epistemology - what is real and how do we know it?)
Given such a broad definition an idea behind an image can be abstract - even if the resulting image itself is quite clear in terms of its compositional make-up. E.g. I'd propose that my clock shot series "Time in the Landscape" are abstract narratives - the images are clear in terms of their contents, but their meaning is less obvious. Whether that is sufficient to make an image abstract I'm not sure - but I think it is. When judged in that was your image qualifies as abstract to me as I don't fully understand the meaning of the image - although I can guess and ascribe my own meaning. The problem is when viewed from this perspective every image a viewer looks at could equally be judged as abstract.
Sorry for the long post - and I doubt it answers your question but rather muddies the water further. As bornstupix states - this a contentious topic! But interesting so thanks for posting.
Adam
Adam, This would explain why i have always found it difficult to explain to my wife why I took certain shots. She never saw the point and trying to explain to her got me nowhere. Now i see we just have different versions of reality. I would like to think about all this a bit further. I am sure there are a lot of practical day to day implications. ( existentially speaking ofcourse ! )
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