Breaking Out

Sometimes it's nice to change your direction and focus on creating images that are outside your comfort zone. I for one have never been a very strong abstract photographer, yet while at school I loved the work of Rodchenko. And while a Constructivist and not strictly speaking an abstract photographer, his work really challenged perspective and made the frame a place where we can confound and displace our relationship with the figure/ground. What we typically call abstract photography today is generally unworthy of Rodchenko's name, but for me, his photography will always be the place I start from when thinking of abstract photography.


And in my case abstract photography always means bad images. But being bad at something usually means I just need some more practice, and that's where stepping outside one's comfort zone and exploring new genres can really become educational. I have seen Ghery's Pritzker Pavillion photographed millions of different ways, and had been impressed by a handful of skilled photographers who seemed well versed in the abstract style. So, with a mission in mind, and a great subject at hand, I took myself to task and tried to create some images that went beyond my own comfort zone. A nice change for me with some rather nice results I think.